$4.

4b
khaleej times Friday, July 24, 2009 technology

29

TCL, Sichuan Changhong and other Chinese

TV companies are expected to buy a total $4.4
billion worth of LCDs from Taiwan this year.

Demystifying Digital
Shivani Mohan

V
ijay Sankaran is the Digital
Strategy Director of Urja
Communications, a leading
interactive marketing firm
in India. He has worked in advertising,
communications, and digital technol-
ogy, largely in creative roles, for over
two decades.
He has planned and executed brand-
ing, advertising, digital and integrated
communications for clients in the auto-
motive, consumer goods, engineering
andfinancialservicesindustries,among
others. His interests in the digital arena
include Enterprise 2.0, customer rela-
tions in the social Web era, and the ap-
plication of Web 2.0 paradigms in edu-
product review cation and social change.
Sankaran spoke to Khaleej Times re-

Sony’s Walkman X-Series cently about the challenges of digital

marketing, coping with the downturn,
and other issues. Here are excerpts
Ready to Rumble from the interview.

Alvin R. Cabral the lowdown

Q: Tell me about your com-
pany, Urja.

du b ai — Here’s something that can
give the mighty Apple iPod Touch a
run for its money.
Sony Gulf recently launched the
Sony Walkman X-Series, the latest
addition to its Walkman line of por-
table media players. And it’s serious
about giving competition.
A. Urja is a pioneering
interactive design and
◆ interface: 3-inch, OLED marketing firm based in Mumbai, with
touch screen with hardware over eight years’ experience in interac-
buttons around it tive marketing and over 20 years’ expe-
rience in traditional advertising. Urja
◆ playback time: 33 specialises in developing advanced
hours of music; nine hours customer experience solutions and
of video interactive campaign solutions. Urja
◆ connectivity: WiFi embeds intelligence and measurement
Internet; allows you to capabilities within all solutions and is
Vijay Sankaran’s company, Urja Communications, specialises in developing advanced customer experience and
interactive campaign solutions.
companies about surviving the eco- referral and word of mouth. Recently a audience and customise your message.
nomic downturn? CEO approached us after seeing my ar- Obama did that.
ticle on Obama’s marketing saying, “Do Also in digital, you have to be
A. Retention is the new acquisition. an Obama plan for us for our Web start genuine as a brand and engage the
As the 80-20 rule goes, 80 per cent of up” This conference has led to some customers. Broadcast messaging
your business comes from 20 per cent new client enquiries. doesn’t work.

Q:
One key feature of the Walkman browse with NetFront, and focused on delivering higher ROI (re- of your customers. I have also initiated a community on
X-Series is its 3-inch, one-touch or- easy access to YouTube and turn on investment) to clients. Marketers should focus on their Linkedin for (an) Indian digital mar- Tell me a bit about your

ganic light emitting diode, or OLED,
screen. A significant benefit of the
OLED is that it does not require a
backlight and, thus, can be thinner
Q:
Slacker best customers, engage the rest and keting professionals agency, clients childhood, education and
What innovations have grow their relationship value. One-to- and Web entrepreneurs. Knowledge career path.
◆ capacities: 16GB Urja introduced to ensure one automated programs using digi- sharing is the way to grow the profes-
(NWZ-X1050) and 32GB a rich user experience? tal channels like email and mobile are sion and industry. A. I am a typical Mum-
(NWZ-X1060)

Q:
than liquid crystal display panels. It very effective. baikar, (a) Tamilian brahmin who

also draws far less power from the
battery, allowing 33 hours of non-
stop music playback, as well as nine
hours of uninterrupted video.
It is also the first media player to
integrate digital noise cancelling
technology, ably decreasing unwant-
ed noise for users listening to music
or viewing videos. The Walkman X-
◆ other come-ons:
Drag-and-drop transfer of
data using bundled software
— including Media Manager,
Windows Media Player 11
and Sony Content Transfer
— from Windows Explorer,
iTunes and Cyber-shot
cameras
A. Each one of our cam-
paigns is unique and tailor-made for the
diverse needs of particular clients. Urja
recently designed izone for ICICI bank,
a “real branch” experience on the Web,
using video, voice and 3-D tools. This is
a first for any bank site in the world. The
entireonlineexperienceisthatofvisiting
an actual bank and availing of all facilities
Q:
Do you think online and speaks fluent Marathi (and) grew up in
Is Web 2.0 still a vague digital marketing has to- acosmopolitanAirIndiacolony.Ilearnt
concept? Are we banking tally overtaken conven- more from books than any institution
too much on it? tional media? How can or course. Did my B.Sc (in) statistics
companies strike the right but was interested first in journalism…
A. No way. It’s the fu- balance in choosing their marketing and then film-making.
ture. Wikepedia, Linux and Firefox and advertising media? Settled for advertising and now digi-
are examples of Web 2.0 peer-to-peer tal storytelling — it’s a two way story
collaboration. Facebook, Twitter, You- A. In India, marketers are still be- and more fascinating.

Q:
Series provides entertainment with provided by the bank sitting right in the Tube have changed the way individuals hind the curve. Forty-five million ur-
a wide variety of media formats — ◆ you wish it had: comfortofyour home. work and socialise. ban educated Web users constitute What are your other inter-
Bluetooth and a camera

from music, videos and pictures.
Offering Wi-Fi connectivity, it
enables users to easily access the In-
ternet to download media, and sub-
scribe to podcasts via RSS with its
NetFront browser. It also gives users
easy access to YouTube and Slacker.
For those looking for other con-
nectivity means, such as Bluetooth
(a personal preference), no dice.
The Walkman X-Series would have
of the player’s menu and contents.
Hardware buttons — especially the
ones on top — are cleverly placed
for easy in-pocket control.
The Walkman X-Series is ideal for
music lovers with active lifestyles.
Its portability and functionabil-
ity makes it easier for users to play
Q:
How have you managed to
face the economic down-
turnandhelpedyourclients
remain profitable and effi-
cient inthisenvironment?
A. We are focusing on leveraging the
one-to-one aspects of digital for large
marketers. A recent email marketing
campaignforabanksaw25percentofthe
Companies like P&G (Proctor & a segment larger than English (lan- ests?
Gamble) are crowd-sourcing inno- guage) print circulation. In the West,
vative solutions using the Web to the Web has changed society and con- A. My family — two
save millions. sumer habits completely. kids… and my wife Mala-
(US President Barack) Obama’s suc- Marketers and agencies are fol- ti, a former journalist and now free-
cess was as much an example of Web lowing consumers and moving bud- lance writer.
2.0 social paradigms as Web 2.0 tech- gets and their strategic focus to
nology. digital. I am into Yoga — not so much the
The biggest impact of social media is Even large brand launches are now physical stuff as much as the spiritual
going to be inside organisations: Flex- happening completely on the Web, side. It changed my life and pulled me
ible collaboration, knowledge shar- and successfully. through tough times. Otherwise, I am

Q:
been even sweeter with a camera their favourite media, any time and emailbasesignupfore-statements,help- ing. Walls will disappear. Cultures will interested in English Club Football and

Q:
around. Maybe Sony will take these anywhere. It comes with bundled ing the bank save on costs and contribute change; (they) will have to. Your presentation — 10 good movies.

quibbles to heart and supply an even
more souped-up player next time.
Available in 16GB (NWZ-X1050)
and 32GB (NWZ-X1060) capacities,
thedevicefeaturesauser-friendlyin-
software, including Media Manager,
Windows Media Player 11 and Sony’s
Content Transfer, allowing seam-
less transfer of media files from
Windows Explorer, iTunes and Sony
Q:
to saving trees. Digital is the future, and lessons for marketers
our focus hasn’t changed. Other than What media have worked from Barack Obama — Is there a long-time goal
that, we are watching costs carefully, fo- best for you in terms of so- is much talked about. you often dream about?
cusing onprofitable customers. liciting new clients? Why have Indian leaders
been unable to leverage new media to A. To give back on a larg-

terface. Simply tapping or dragging
the screen allows easy navigation
Q:
Cyber-shot cameras. Which of your cost-cut-
— alvin@khaleejtimes.com ting practices have yield-
ed the best results? What
advice would you give to
A. Our clients span lead- their advantage? er scale. I am keen on exploring how the
ing marketers in banking, financial ser- Web can change the way we learn, espe-
vices, retail and telecom, among others. A. New Media is not about being in cially in organisations and among the
Our clients have largely come through your face. You have to segment your less privileged.

Keeps Getting Better: ‘Chaiwan’ Set to
Reshape Asia’s Technology Landscape
Rhee So-eui and Baker Li
— The growing tie-ups
se o u l /ta ip e i
between China and Taiwan, dubbed
“Chaiwan” by some, look set to alter
the balance of power in the technol-
ogy sweepstakes in north Asia, hurting
Korean companies in the business but
likely boosting their Japanese rivals.
The ultimate winner, though, could
be China as the realignment brings to
the country what it has long craved —
advanced technologies and production
facilities in the mainland.
South Korea, which competes fierce-
ly with Taiwan in many areas including
memory chips and flat screens, is at
the greatest risk of losing its standing
in China, as Taiwan emerges as the
leading supplier to the world’s third-
largest economy.
But it could be good news for Japa-
nese players which have long partnered
with Taiwan to outsource production
of electronics components.
“The impact of ‘Chaiwan’ in the re-
gionwillbegreateronSouthKoreathan
Japan because Korea’s trade patterns
with China are similar to Taiwan’s,”
said Kim Min-jung, an analyst at Hyun-
dai Research Institute in Seoul.
China is the biggest market for both
Taiwan and South Korea, two export-
dependent manufacturing centres for
tech products.
“The combination of China’s funds
and Taiwan’s technology will weaken
Korea’s competitiveness in technology
and products,” Kim added.
Price competition and lack of net-
works have been traditional challenges
to foreign brands operating in China,
but politics is now adding to their woes
as China tries to curry favour with Tai-
wan by opening its market wider to
cross-strait exchanges.
China is already sending delegations
of buyers to Taiwan for computers, flat
screens and chemicals, and may lower
tariffs on Taiwanese goods through a
proposed trade pact next year. And Tai-
wan was preparing to allow a range of
investments by the Chinese for the first
time from May, as ties with Beijing thaw
under a year-old China-friendly Taiwan
administration.
Investors are giving the thumbs up to
the warming of ties between the once
implacable foes.
“Our top picks are Taiwanese tech-
nology companies that have bigger
exposure in China,” said Jerry Lee, a
fund manager at Yuanta Securities In-
vestment Trust in Taipei, who counts
The combination of
China’s funds and
Taiwan’s technology
will weaken Korea’s
competitiveness
in technology
and products
flat-screen makers AU Optronics and
Chi Mei Optoelectronics among his
top picks.
Advantage China
China’s 1.3 billion population with
growing consumption power is a prom-
ised land for Taiwanese firms, which
enjoy the advantage of sharing the same
culture and language.
“Since China is a big story, we can’t
ignore their competitiveness there in
the longer term,” said Lee, who man-
ages a T$4 billion ($122 million) Asia-
Pacific growth fund for Yuanta.
Early beneficiaries of the changing
relationship are Taiwan’s flat-screen
makers, whose combined share in Chi-
na rose to 57 per cent in the first quar-
ter from 36 per cent a year earlier, as
Taiwanese suppliers built up ties with
mainland TV brands.
TCL, Sichuan Changhong and other
Chinese TV companies are expected to
buy a total $4.4 billion worth of LCDs
from Taiwan this year.
In the same period, South Korean
panel makers Samsung Electronics and
LG Display saw their share in China’s
LCD market fall to 30 per cent from 46
per cent.
For Japan, which has largely moved
out of commodity components, Taiwan
provides outsourcing that enable Japa-
nese semiconductor firms to focus on
premium products and cut costs.
Elpida Memory, staving off bigger
Korean rivals Samsung and Hynix, is
using ties with Taiwan’s United Micro-
electronics to tap Chinese production
sites. — Reuters
Toshiba Likely to Embrace One-time Rival Blu-ray
tokyo — After losing its battle to
make the HD-DVD the successor to the
DVD, Toshiba Corporation is consider-
ing making products in the winning for-
mat, Blu-ray.
Although Blu-ray is backed by Toshi-
ba competitors such as Sony Corpora-
tion and Panasonic Corporation, Toshi-
ba has little choice. It no longer makes
recorders and players in HD-DVD. The
Blu-ray alliance was more successful in
wooing Hollywood studios.
The Yomiuri, Japan’s biggest newspa-
Social Gamers’ Network Helps Friends Play Passwords for
— Raptr, a social network
ne w yo rk
aimed at gamers, is hoping to make it
easier to see what your friends are play-
ing on a broad range of platforms such
as the Xbox 360 and personal comput-
ers. And if you want, you can join them
in the action.
On Wednesday, Raptr launched
new software that integrates various
instant-messaging services, as well as
Twitter and Facebook, and automati-
cally updates users’ status with the
games they are currently playing.
It recognises about 32,000 games,
including hardcore titles like “Halo 3,”
music games like “Guitar Hero” and
social games such as Zynga’s “YoVille”
on Facebook.
And if your friend is in the midst of a
multiplayer game, you can join in, pro-
vided you’ve installed Raptr on your
computer, for free.
“Most people prefer to play with
friends... but finding friends and play-
ing with them is hard,” CEO and found-
er Dennis Fong said. “Your friends are
per, reported without identifying sources
that Toshiba plans to enter the Blu-ray
market. Toshiba spokeswoman Yuko
Sugahara would notconfirmthe report.
“It is true that we are being flexible
in looking into such possibilities. But at
this point no decision has been made,”
she said.
The move would be reminiscent of
Sony’s strategy after its Betamax video-
tape standard lost to Panasonic’s VHS
in the 1980s. Sony ended up making
VHS products.
everywhere, and they play games on a
lot of different platforms.”
Raptr is expanding its service as more
people play video games online and so-
cial networks proliferate in use. Com-
bining the two, Raptr is like a Facebook
for gamers. Using the service, PC gam-
ers can chat with users of Microsoft
Corporation’s Xbox 360, though Raptr
does not yet support the other gaming
consoles, Sony Corporation’s PlaySta-
tion 3 and Nintendo Company’s Wii.
TheMountainView,California-based
startup also signed deals with two ma-
jor video game publishers to bundle its
service with upcoming titles, which will
expose its service to many more gam-
ers. Fong said no money changed hands
between Raptr and the game compa-
nies, THQ Incorporated and Activision
Blizzard Incorporated.
Raptr isn’t the first gaming venture
for Fong, a former professional video
gaming champion. In 2006, he sold
Xfire to Viacom Incorporated for $102
million. — AP
The Blu-ray market could be too lu-
crative for Toshiba to pass up. The Jap-
anese electronics maker racked up its
biggest loss ever, ¥344 billion ($3.7 bil-
lion) in its last fiscal year, which ended
in March.
Apart from home entertainment
products, Toshiba is also a large maker
of PCs, in which Blu-ray drives are
slowly supplanting DVD drives.
Without Blu-ray drives, Toshiba lap-
tops could lose out to other manufac-
turers. — AP
Brazilian Jobless
Site Insult Users
ri o d e ja n ei ro — It’s a shameless
thing to do in an economic crisis.
Jobless people seeking information
about their benefits on the Brazilian
Labor Ministry’s Web site were forced
to type in passwords such as “bum”
and “shameless.”
Labor Minister Carlos Lupi apolo-
gised for the situation. He blames
a private company that created the
site’s security system.
Lupi isn’t naming the company,
but says its contract with the minis-
try wasn’t being renewed, which may
have prompted the pranks.
The insults were discovered after an
irate user wrote to the O Globo news-
paper about it.
The site was temporarily taken
down. By late last week, it was up
and running — without the insulting
words. — AP