AFR February 01-15-2016-Lr

February 1-15, 2016
Volume 4, Issue 16 ` 100
22
INTERVIEW
Rohit Ohri
Looking to revamp FCB
Ulkas creative culture.
RAJASTHAN TOURISM
As you Like it
ARNAB GOSWAMI
Marketing the state all over

again.
PRESIDENT-NEWS & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF,

TIMES NOW AND ET NOW
Ten
Years
LaTer...
It is exactly a decade since Times Now
was launched. What have the years
taught Arnab Goswami?
20
COLORS
Hissing Success
Of snakes and urban and
rural viewership.
ASCI
More Bans
PUBLICIS GROUPE
Start-up Focus
16
GROUPM
Sky High
BIG BOSS
Open to the Public
8
8
12
18
editorial
This fortnight...
O
February 1-15, 2016
Volume 4, Issue 16 ` 100
22
INTERVIEW
Rohit Ohri
Looking to revamp FCB
Ulkas creative culture.
RAJASTHAN TOURISM
As you Like it
ARNAB GOSWAMI
Marketing the state all over

again.
PRESIDENT-NEWS & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF,

TIMES NOW AND ET NOW
Ten
Years
LaTer...
It is exactly a decade since Times Now
was launched. What have the years
taught Arnab Goswami?
20
COLORS
Hissing Success
Of snakes and urban and
rural viewership.
ASCI
More Bans
PUBLICIS GROUPE
Start-up Focus
16
GROUPM
Sky High
BIG BOSS
Open to the Public
8
8
12
18
Volume 4, Issue 16
ver a year back, I was given a rather atypical assignment; I went to Yash Raj
Studios to interview Ranveer Singh. The next day, I felt like a celebrity myself
Everyone in office wanted to know how it went, what he was like, how he looks
in real life, what he said...
Few days back, my colleague, and author of this Cover Story, went to the
Mumbai office of Times Now to interview Arnab Goswami for this issue of our
magazine. When she got back to office, the reception she got was at par with the one
I did. What was he like?, Did he get into a heated argument with you?, Did
he raise his voice?, Did he let you complete your questions? The folks in office
wanted to know everything.
Turns out, Arnab is surprisingly cool, calm and composed, off air. In fact, the
Jekyll and Hyde contrast was even more striking because he was in the middle of
reporting on a terror attack in a university in Pakistan, when our correspondent met
him.
Recently, at the office of a professional acquaintance, I saw a slide show about
the variables that drive the viewership of news channels. An entire slide in that
presentation was about how drastically the viewership of Times Now fell when
Arnab went on leave for a few weeks; there was a detailed bar graph on this, for
crying out loud.
Speaking of loud, at Goafest last year, I attended a session in which Arnab spoke
about why sensationalising news is not the worst thing in the world. While thats all
very well, I, personally, have a problem with the tacky fire graphics that accompany
the words The Burning Issue during The Newshour.
Times Now just turned ten. On the occasion, we bring you an interview with the
face of the channel about the decade gone by, and the one that lies ahead.
EDITOR
Sreekant Khandekar
PUBLISHER
Prasanna Singh
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Ashwini Gangal
SENIOR LAYOUT ARTIST
Vinay Dominic
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Andrias Kisku
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Fotocorp
CONTENTS
12
EFFIES 2015
Mullen Comes up Trumps

The agency sweeps the Effies with six
gold medals, followed by Ogily which
bagged four golds.
24
11
BY INVITATION
Prabhakar Mundkur
15
Why brand ambassadors get

dumped.
POV
Titans Smartwatch
14
Can Titan succeed in a

business dominated by techcompanies?
ARRE
COCA-COLA
EXIDE LIFE INSURANCE
The digital media brand

announces its first sitcom.
Now, a fully-integrated
Taste the Feeling campaign.
The insurance brand launches

a social media campaign.
To the New
Its Simple
No Quick Fixes
afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2 0 1 6
advertising
RAJASTHAN TOURISM
As You Like It
Ogilvy has created a new logo

and a multimedia ad campaign
titled Jaane Kya Dikh Jaaye
for Rajasthan Tourism,which
marks the states return to tourism
marketing after 25 years.
By Snehojit Khan
Rajasthan is my
home state and
I think I owe
it an impactful
and effective
campaign.
Rajasthan creates
an immediate
recall for sand,
so we decided to
capitalise on this
factor.
PIYUSH PANDEY
SURESH ERIYAT
Rajasthan in the middle of the Thar desert.

While the third film shows Binoy visit the
mysterious deserted village of Kuldhara at night,
the fourth film features Meera, who finds her
Rajasthan amidst colourful hot air balloons in the
clear blue sky. The fifth film is set in Kumbalgarh
Fort where Huan finds her Rajasthan.
The sixth and the last film introduces the
revamped logo of Rajasthan Tourism. Created by
Eeksaurus studios and directed by Suresh Eriyat,
founder and creative director, Eeksaurus, the video
is a stop-motion picture created on sand.
With regards to execution, after the entire
50-seconds animation on paper was ready, each
afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2016
FOTOCORP
FOTOCORP
he Government of Rajasthan has finally

decided to market the state of Rajasthan
after an interval of 25 years and has rolled
out a multi-year, multi-modal and multi-narrative
domestic and international campaign on January
15. Titled Jaane kya dikh jaaye, the campaign
consists of six films, of which five are named after
the protagonists who feature as tourists in the
videos. The sixth film is a stop-motion animation
on sand which reveals the new logo of Rajasthan
Tourism.
The campaign, which has been conceptualised
by team Ogilvy and guided by Piyush Pandey,
executive chairman and creative director, South
Asia, Ogilvy & Mather, aims to change the way
the state has always been perceived. The challenge
was to attract the youth to a different Rajasthan, a
destination for adventure seekers and explorers.
The Rajasthan Tourism campaign is the
campaign I have been waiting for the last one
decade. Rajasthan is my home state and I think I
owe it an impactful and effective campaign. I look
forward to the exciting times ahead, says Pandey.
The first film depicts how Jane finds her
Rajasthan, when a diversion on NH-76 leads her
to a view of Garadia Mahadev in Kota. The second
video titled Aryasthan shows how Arya finds his
frame was translated digitally to laser cut stencils.

These stencils were then worked over by clay to
provide the three-dimensional depth that is seen
in the film and then animated over frame by frame
with sand - the most elementary component
related to Rajasthan.
Commenting on the campaign, Eriyat, says,
The state of Rajasthan creates an immediate
recall for sand, so we decided to capitalise on this
factor. Sand animation calls for a great amount of
attention to detail, and therefore, every movement
and change in surroundings has been looked upon
very delicately.
The campaign, along with the TVCs, will also
be advertised extensively on print, outdoors, radio

and digital platforms.
Vivek Verma, senior vice-president, Ogilvy
& Mather, Mumbai, says, We went beyond the
general places to show the lesser-known sides of
the state. To some, the state may be peaceful, and
to others it may be adventurous. We decided to
explore every nook and corner of the state. I would
say, come to Rajasthan, Jaane kya dikh jaaye (you
never know what you might discover)!
The music created by Amar Mangrulkar
mainly consists of Rajasthani folk and is used as
the background score. We decided that there
was nothing better than local folk music for
this campaign through which the audience will
connect better with the state. It gives a different
feel to the videos, he says.
The films capture some of the best images of
Rajasthan, be it the authentic Rajasthani culture,
places of historical importance, the camels that
walk across the desert, or the music, stuff that any
tourist would die for.
To work on the Rajasthan Tourism campaign
was a challenging experience. Changing perception
isnt an easy task. After several brainstorming
rounds, we stumbled upon a very simple idea to
make Rajasthan look different from the eyes of
different travellers. It becomes Aryasthan through
the eyes of Arya and Meerasthan through the eyes
of Meera. The campaign has shaped up well and
we are thrilled to be on the team that is bringing
about this perception change, say Azazul Haque
and Mahesh Gharat, group creative directors,
Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai.
The state government is expected to spend over
Rs 100 crore on this campaign over the next few
years.
Despite some of the best tourist attractions,
the states lack of tourism marketing over the
last quarter of a century as compared to its
neighbouring states, has resulted in a sharp dip in
the number of international tourists (its share has
fallen from 33 per cent of international travellers
to 20 per cent), as well as domestic tourists (the
state gets half of Madhya Pradeshs 63 million
continued on page 6 >>
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advertising
COCA-COLA
Its Simple
The fully-integrated Taste the Feeling campaign, which will roll
out globally throughout 2016, celebrates the experience of drinking
an ice-cold Coca-Cola. By News Bureau
Cola, says, We are reinforcing the brand image
that Coca-Cola is for everybody. Coca-Cola is one
brand with different variants, all of which share
the same values and visual iconography.
According to de Quinto the Taste the Feeling
campaign will bring to life the idea that drinking
a Coca-Cola is a simple pleasure that makes
everyday moments more special. Weve found
over time that the more we position Coca-Cola
as an icon, the smaller we become. The bigness
of Coca-Cola resides in the fact that its a simple
pleasure, he says.
The fully integrated Taste the Feeling
campaign -- which will roll out around the world
throughout 2016 -- celebrates the experience of
drinking an ice-cold Coca-Cola.
An international network of agencies is
developing the Taste the Feeling promotion.
Four agencies, namely, Mercado-McCann, Santo,
Sra Rushmore and Oglivy & Mather, produced an
initial round of 10 TV commercials, digital, print,
out-of-home and shopper materials. Six additional
shops will work upon the creative as the campaign
evolves.
Meanwhile, in India, Coca-Cola has used
Bollywood celebrities such as Aamir Khan,
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, and Siddharth
Malhotra to reach out to consumers.
Coca-Cola re-entered the Indian market in
1993, and expanded its portfolio with offerings
including Diet Coke, Thums Up, Fanta, Limca,
Sprite, Maaza, the Minute Maid range of juices,
Georgia and Georgia Gold range of hot and cold tea
and coffee options, Kinley and Bonaqua packaged
drinking water, Kinley Club Soda and BURN.
The company, along with its bottling partners,
claims to have a network of over 2.2 million retail
outlets. Its major competitor is Pepsi. n
oca-Cola has replaced its Open Happiness

tagline with the new Taste the Feeling.
This marks a major strategic shift in the
global beverage brands marketing strategy as
the company replaces its seven-year old brand
proposition of Open Happiness. It will now
adopt the one brand approach which will extend
the equity and appeal of the brand to Coca-Cola
Light/Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero and CocaCola Life.
The company stated that while Cokes awardwinning Open Happiness campaign leaned
heavily on what the brand stood for over the
last seven years, Taste the Feeling will feature
universal story-telling with the product at the
heart to reflect both the functional and emotional
aspects of the Coca-Cola experience.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in Paris,
Marcos de Quinto chief marketing officer, Coca-
<< continued from page 4
As You Like It
domestic tourists). This is not only
a missed opportunity in terms of
attracting international tourists, but
for economic growth as well.
According to Shobha Narayan
(author and journalist and member
of the steering committee created
by the state government to
monitor the campaigns creation
and
implementation),
the
agencys mandate was to come up
with something fresh and digitally
native. Tourism marketing has

considerably changed with the
internet and social media, and
we look forward to presenting
something from Rajasthan Tourism
for this new world, she says.
The campaign is part of an overall
plan for Rajasthan Tourisms Phase
3. Phase 1, which took off during
Independence and carried on until
the early 1980s, focussed on the
feedback@afaqs.com
states landscape. The second phase

began with the heritage hotels
and forts. The current phase will
combine assets from both phases
along with an aggressive marketing
campaign, a new logo, and an
experience calendar that is being
developed.
UNCONVENTIONAL, YET
TRADITIONAL
hupal
Ramnathkar,
founder and managing
director, Umbrella Design,
feels that this campaign is
better than the previous one.
The new logo will last longer
in the minds of the audience, he

says.
Emmanuel Upputuru, founder,
chief integration officer, ITSA
Brand Innovations, says, The
campaign is not extraordinary. The
concept of showing a place from
the eyes of a third person through
ads is neither new nor unique.
With regards to execution, there are
sparks, but in the bigger picture the
message is lost in between.
The videos showcase how a
person sees the state of Rajasthan.
It does not speak on behalf of the
state, he explains. n
snehojit.khan@afaqs.com
advertising
ASCI
Another Ban?
A look at why Bollywood celebs endorsing pan masala brands is a
problem for The Advertising Standards Council of India.
By News Bureau
hanks to The Advertising Standards Council

of India and pan masala, Bollywood actors
Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Leone, Ajay
Devgn, Govinda, Saif Ali Khan and Arbaaz Khan
find themselves in the same boat. They all endorse
pan masala brands across mass media channels.
The Advertising Standards Council of India
(ASCI), a self-regulatory body that propagates
responsible advertising, has announced in its
official communique, that it will look into pan
masala advertisements featuring celebrities as they
have been found to be in violation of ASCIs code
of self-regulation in advertising content.
Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny
Leone, Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, Arbaaz Khan
and Govinda have been issued letters by the health
department of the Delhi Government requesting
them to stop endorsing pan masala brands.
Devgn endorses Vimal Pan Masala, Shah Rukh
Khan appears in ads for Pan Vilas Pan Masala,
and Leone, Saif Ali Khan and Govinda endorse
Mehak Kesar Shilajit pan masala, Pan Bahar Pan
Masala and Pan-e-Shahi Pan Masala, respectively.
Arbaaz Khan is the brand ambassador for Paras
Pan Masala.
Pan masala may not be considered harmful
FOTOCORP
The ASCI code

doesnt permit
using celebrities
for products which
by law require
health warning.
SHWETA PURANDARE
by itself, the areca nuts which are carcinogenic

(cancer-causing) in nature and can be likened to
caffeine, tobacco and alcohol for their addictive
properties, render it harmful in the long run.
The letter requests all the above-mentioned
celebrities to withdraw themselves from the
endorsement of any pan masala brands since actors
are often role models for youngsters, especially
minors under the age of 18, who are easily
influenced.
The letter has also asked the actors to support
the governments anti-tobacco campaign, and help
prevent oral cancer.
Commenting on the announcement, Shweta
Purandare, secretary general, ASCI, says, At this
juncture, we would like to educate the consumers
and the advertisers that while products like pan
masala and supari are not banned for sale or from
advertising by law, the ASCI code does not permit

the use of celebrities in advertisements of products
which by law require health warning on their
packaging or those that cannot be purchased or
used by minors.
According to Purandare, complaints against
such advertisements have been received by ASCI
and are being looked into. ASCI will approach the
concerned advertisers to take necessary corrective
action post the decision taken in this regard by our
Consumer Complaints Council, she says.
As per the Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI) rules, statutory warnings like
Chewing of pan masala is injurious to health
and Chewing of supari is injurious to health are
mandatory to be printed on the product packaging,
as well as on advertisements. n
PUBLICIS GROUPE
Start-up Focus
The Group has taken a new approach to usher in
its 90th anniversary. By News Bureau
s part of its 90th anniversary

celebrations, the Publicis
Groupe, which was founded
by Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet in
1926, has launched Publicis90, a
platform which will mentor, support
and fund 90 digital start-ups.
The aim behind launching such a
platform is to offer the much-needed
support to entrepreneurs in order to

help them set up their projects as
well as guide them in their journey
to the next level. Anyone who wishes
to be an entrepreneur, whether it
is a student, a start-up, or even an
employee of the Publicis Groupe
may avail the benefits of the platform.
Entries through the Publicis90
Publicis90 will
mentor and fund 90
digital start-ups.
feedback@afaqs.com
platform (www.publicis90.com) can

be submitted up to February 28,
2016.
The Publicis90 platform will first
select projects on a region-wise basis
from countries which include the
US, Asia-Pacific, Europe, West Asia
and Africa, where the first round
of votes will be open to all Publicis
Groupe employees (all projects
submitted remain anonymous). A
regional jury will draw up a shortlist
of the projects selected from the list
of pre-selected projects prior to the
final selection, which will be made
by a global jury which will choose
Give your brand

the edge it deserves
Amar Ujala Grows

by 28%
Source : 24.90 lac copies (JJ 2015) over 19.53 lac copies (JJ 2014)
Audit Bureau of Circulation
presents
campaigntrail
New campaigns across television, print, out-of-home and digital media.
VIDEOS
MAHINDRA FIRST CHOICE

SERVICES
JEEVANSATHI.COM
In its first TVC titled, Free ke baad First Choice, Mahindra

First Choice Services, a chain of multi-brand car service
workshops, talks about how the brand offers honest advice
and service to car owners beyond the free ones.
Jeevansathi.com, a matrimonial website, has rolled out a

TVC, Be Found by your soulmate. Based on the premise
The one you are perfect for, is waiting for you to log
on, it is in contrast to the idea of looking for a match on a
matrimonial portal.
Creative Agency: Supari Studios
Creative Agency: The Lonely Cloud Consulting Company
Creative Agency: J. Walter Thompson
AMAZON.IN
FLIPKART.COM
MEDIMIX
Creative Agency: Dentsu Webchutney
Creative Agency: Metal Communications
HIDESIGN
FORTUNE
BASMATI
RICE
GODREJ NATURES BASKET
Godrej Natures Basket, the retail venture from Godrej

Group, has launched a TVC #WorldFoodApp, to promote
its mobile application, which makes product shopping
easier.
The global e-commerce giant has rolled out a video

titled #RealAmazonStories which shows how the online
marketplace helps a family set up a home in Guwahati
where it faces the language barrier. The film informs
customers about Amazons delivery service.
With four videos depicting people from all corners of India,

Flipkarts digital campaign #EveryoneOnFlipkart aims to
motivate people to shop online through the e-commerce
portal.
The Nothing better than natural campaign from Medimix

highlights the benefits of using the brands Natural
Glycerine soap.
PRINT
MICROMAX
CANVAS 5
The print
creative for the
smartphone brand
titled, The AllPowerful Canvas
5 showcases the
smartphone from
three different
angles and lists out
its various features
such as Octacore
processor and 3
GB DDR RAM.
Hidesigns print
ad, Slow is in the
details highlights
the brass buckles
used in its products.
The creative
features a brown
satchel set against
the backdrop of a
lazy beach.
Adani Wilmar has

come up with a
print ad, Nurtured
over three perfect
seasons for its
range of basmati
rice featuring film
actor Kajol. The
ad tells about the
different variants
of the basmati rice
available.
Creative Agency: Triton Communications

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
10
media
To the New
The comedy series will be launched across Arrs digital

platforms and YouTube. By News Bureau
rr, the digital media brand from UDigital,

co-founded by Ronnie Screwvala, B
Saikumar and Ajay Chacko, has announced
the launch of its first sitcom I Dont Watch TV. The
series is a wild comedy on the ever-evolving Indian
TV Industry, its idiosyncrasies and its colourful
inhabitants.
Its also a tongue-in-cheek commentary on
Indias decadent celebrity culture and its obsession
with Bollywood. The show is produced by television
personality Nakuul Mehta. Mehta will play himself
in the series.
The series features actors Drashti Dhami,
Karan Patel, Rithvik Dhanjani, Kritika Kamra and
Karan Wahi. It will also have a humorous cameo
by film critic Rajeev Masand. Mehtas close friend
Alekh Sanghal plays his best pal in this series
which features Ram Menon, and is directed by
Ajay Singh.
Saikumar, founder and MD, Arr says, I Dont
Watch TV is perhaps the ideal sitcom with which
to launch our video slate. We dont believe in doing
the straight and narrow and after Ho Ja Re-gender,
a social experiment on gender issues, we now
present IDWT which is a fictionalised, irreverant,
yet realistic look at the idiosyncracies of the daily
soap industry.
Speaking about the new series, Mehta says,
We found a great synergy with the folks at Arr
and their backing of disruptive ideas makes them a
perfect platform. n
feedback@afaqs.com
ADVT.
ARR
11
advertising
EFFIES 2015
Time to Shine
Mullen Lowe Lintas swept the Effies with 6 Gold

awards. Ogilvy finished second with 4 Gold
awards. By Suraj Ramnath
ullen
Lowe
Lintas
reclaimed the top spot
at the Effies by beating
O&M to become the Agency of
the Year. The agency finished
with 6 Gold awards. The Golds
are for its Brave N Beautiful
campaign for Dabur Vatika and
Delay Marriage campaign for Fair
& Lovely (Consumer Products Cosmetics and toiletries, personal
hygiene Category), Drinks &
Memories campaign for Paperboat
(Consumer products - Beverages
& drinks and David v/s Goliath
category), Go Solocampaign
for Hotstar (Services - Media
& Entertainment category) and
From Packaged Good to Packaging
Good campaign for Tata Tea (Best
On-going campaign).
Ogilvy followed with 4 Gold
awards. The award winning entries
are End Acid Sale campaign for
Make Love Not Scars (Direct
Marketing and Effie for Good
category), A for Anthem for The
Akanksha Foundation (Effie for
Good category) and Winning
Back Lost Love for Titan Raga
(Integrated Advertising Campaign
category).
BBDO went on to win 2 Gold
awards for the Ariel - Share The
Load campaign for Ariel Matic
(Consumer Products - Others &
Integrated Advertising Campaign
category).
McCann Erickson too won
2 Gold awards for the U Quit
Something I Quit Something
campaign for Nicotex and Making
Joseph George, Fali Vakeel & Arun Iyer collect

their Agency of the Year Award
Womens Heart Visible campaign for

Saffola (Experiential Marketing/
Brand Experience).
Contract Advertising won a Gold
award for its Take The Right Call
campaign for Truecaller (Services
- Telecom and related products
category)
This year, the Ad Club of
Bombay received 603 entries from
57 agencies
The Grand Effie Award went to
Mullen Lowe Lintas for its Drinks
& Memories campaign for Hector
Beverages Paperboat. Hindustan
Unilever won the Client of the
Year Award. n
HUL wins Client of the Year Award
suraj.ramnath@afaqs.com
GROUPM
Sky High
roupM has released its

bi-annual
advertising
expenditure futures report
This Year Next Year (TYNY),
forecasting Indias advertising
investment to reach an estimated
` 57,486 crore in 2016. This
represents a growth of 15.5 per cent
for the calendar year 2016 over the
corresponding period in 2015.
Categories expected to pump in
money on media this year include
FMCG (28 per cent), auto (8.2 per
cent), e-commerce (8.1 per cent),
retail (7.6 per cent) and telecom (6
per cent), in that order.
12
In
2015
the
advertising
expenditure (AdEx) in India stood
at `49,758 crore, which was 14.2 per
cent over the AdEx during 2014.
According to the latest report,
India is the fastest growing ad market
among all major markets of the
world. In terms of growth in ad
spends, 2015 was the best year for
India, in the last five years.
Events like the T20 World Cup,
IPL and state assembly elections will
give a further impetus to ad spends in
2016, predicts the team. While digital
will remain the fastest growing
platform, India is one of the few large
SUSHIL KUMAR
In 2016, Indias advertising investment will touch

`57,486 crore, predicts GroupM, in its annual
AdEx futures report. By Suraj Ramnath
Advertiser confidence is
building up on mobile as
a platform.
CVL SRINIVAS
markets where all traditional media

platforms will show positive growth.
In 2016, the FMCG segment
is expected to emerge as the most
dominant sector, with a 28 per cent
share of the total AdEx. Despite facing
volume pressure, as the team puts
it, the sector is expected to continue
its investment in advertising, aided
by the softening of commodity
prices.
Another big contributor will be the
auto sector on the back of multiple
launches across both four-wheelers
and two-wheelers segments.
Discussing the report, CVL
Srinivas, CEO, GroupM, South Asia,
says, We are seeing high growth
on digital versus last year; advertiser
confidence is building up on mobile
as a platform. TV continues to
show healthy growth. Newspapers
will have a better year compared
to 2015 because there are quite
a few categories which would be
advertising heavily in newspapers. n
suraj.ramnath@afaqs.com
pointsofview
Titan Launches A Smartwatch.
Will It Fly?
The legacy watchmaker enters a niche category of smartwatches with Juxt, priced at `15,995. Can a
traditional watch marketer succeed in a business dominated by tech-companies? By Saumya Tewari
raManujaM SridHar
niMiSH duBey
Contributing Editor,
TechPP
TITAN IS A MARKET
LEADER BY FAR
AND THE ONLY
PROFITABLE
WATCH COMPANY,
BUT TODAY, THE
MARKET HAS
IM NOT SURE
IF TITAN CAN
SUCCEED IN
THIS CATEGORY
BECAUSE A
SMARTWATCH IS A
GEEK AND NOT A
HariSH Bijoor
Brand Expert and CEO,

Harish Bijooor Consults Inc
ManiSHa Sood
Sandeep Budki
Country General manager,

Fitbit Inc
Managing Editor,
The Mobile Indian
SUSHIL KUMAR
CEO,
Brand-Comm
changed immensely ever

since its launch in 1987.
Titan is no longer an
aspirational watch for the
young upwardly mobile
consumer. Many young
people today are not
even wearing watches.
This launch is an attempt
by Titan to stay relevant
and contemporary. It has
refrained from launching
a gadget-looking watch
because that would
mean less opportunity
considering Titan is not
a technology company.
The primary TG for Juxt
would be consumers
between 25 to 35 years,
and the secondary TG,
35 to 44. I think , Titan
is positioning Juxt as a
watch which has smart
features, but is stylish.
14
mainstream product.
Owing to the fact that
smartwatches have so
far been associated with
smartphones, the consumer
tendency is to trust a brand
that deals in such products.
Hence, a Sony, Samsung or
Motorola have an instant
recall value when it comes
to smartwatches. Titans
foray in this segment has to
be welcomed because with
more players the pricing in
the segment will become
competitive and product,
mainstream. But the going
will be tough for Titan
because currently, I do not
see any killer advantage
that it is offering vis-a-vis
other players.
EVERY ASPECT
OF THE DIGITAL
WORLD IS GOING
TO IMPACT
CONSUMERS IN A
BIG WAY. TITAN
HAS TO GRADUATE
from analog to digital,

and now to smart.
The next move could
be the IoT (Internet
of Things) watch. To
my mind, it is a good
move. The best part
is it doesnt look like a
typical smartwatch. Titan
has managed a good
combination between
traditional cosmetics and
modern connectivity.
The product will appeal
to an eclectic mix of
consumers. In an era
when a Fitbit costs
Rs 6,000, and where
an iPhone 6 costs Rs
60,000, to keep its price
within that range is a fair
gamble. Titan has played
it properly in terms of
pricing.
THE TRACTION
FOR THE SMARTWATCH SEGMENT
IS COMING FROM
THE YOUTH FOR
WHOM IT IS MORE
USEFUL AS A
health monitor, and
at the same time a
notification device. Most
tech-wearables are in
the health space and are
priced between Rs 2,000
and Rs 7,000. Titan is a
traditional brand, hence,
it may generate goodwill
from older consumers. Its
TG may be a father of an
18-year old who has been
using the brands watches.
From the technology
perspective, other players
in the smartwatch segment
have made significant
investment which will
be difficult to match. I,
therefore, feel that the
Titan smartwatch will
appeal to someone who
falls in the age group of
35-45 years, and who has
been a brand loyalist.
THE LAUNCH OF
TITAN JUXT IS A
WELCOME MOVE.
IT SHOWS THAT
FITBIT IS IN THE
RIGHT DIRECTION
AND WE HAVE THE
first mover advantage

worldwide. We
understand the psyche
of the consumer
well. India is a nation
with high incidence
of diabetes and heart
problems. A typical
Indian consumer
doesnt like to go to a
gym and therefore a
fitness band is an apt
choice for him/her.
After the Fitbit launch,
we have seen several
players entering the
tech-wearable space
in India. This just
pushes the category to
grow further. It leads
to increased consumer
awareness.
digital
EXIDE LIFE INSURANCE
No Quick Fixes
Start-up Focus
the 90 most promising start-ups.
The selected projects will be
mentored by Publicis Groupe experts
from the marketing, communications,
management and technology divisions.
These projects will receive funding
that will be an investment within the
range of 10,000-5,00,000 Euros for
projects which are about to be launched
and for start-ups that are already scaling
up, respectively. Moreover, the selected
projects submitted by Publicis Groupe
employees will stand to benefit from a
special internal incubation scheme.
Besides this, those whose projects get
selected will get a chance to be invited
for participation to Viva Technology
Paris which claims to be the first forum
The life insurance company has launched the #NoMoreShortCuts

campaign across social media. By News Bureau
t is easy to take shortcuts and we are perhaps often

tempted to take a few whether it is to beat the
traffic, solve a problem or to simply get things
done faster. Taking a cue from this behavioural
insight, Exide Life Insurance has launched a new
campaign whose theme centres upon jugaad, a
Hindi colloquial term for shortcut. The objective of
the campaign is to educate consumers that not every
problem in life can be solved through jugaad and
advocates the need for better financial planning.
Titled #NoMoreShortCuts, the video campaign
features a male protagonist called Jugaadulal who
uses numerous tricks and shortcuts to solve problems
in his day-to-day life. The humourous tale takes
the audience through Jugaadulals experience of
using shortcuts, the
failures he encounters
as a result of it and
his final realisation
that shortcuts arent
the best solution and
cannot win over longterm planning.
Exide plans to
generate engagements
and
conversations
Projects will receive

funding in the range of
10,000-5,00,000 Euros.
with its customers over a 30-day period through

the campaign, which has been executed by Autumn
Worldwide.
Speaking about the campaign, Mohit Goel, director,
marketing, Exide Life Insurance, says, Through this
execution, we want our customers to know that while
shortcuts work sometimes, they arent always the best
solution. And, for a long and happy life, you need to
have the foresight for long-term planning. This is
truly specific for financial planning because there are
no shortcuts to making money.
Interestingly, this campaign follows another one
recently executed by Ogilvy and Mather for Sulekha
app and has the same theme of urging consumers to
go #AntiJugaad.
Both campaigns not just have similar themes,
but also feature two similar sequences - cooling two
rooms simultaneously using a trouser, and putting
an additional seat on a scooter to accommodate more
people.
Head-quartered in Bengaluru, Exide Life Insurance
commenced operations in 2001. The company claims
to serve over 10 lakh customers across India. It
distributes its products through various channels
such as agency, alliances and direct channels. n
in France to bring together people who

matter most in digital.
The Viva Technology Paris event will
be held at the Paris Expo Exhibition
Centre at Porte de Versailles, during
June 30-July 2, 2016. The 90 selected
projects will be honoured at an awards
ceremony held during the event.
Maurice Lvy, chairman and CEO,
Publicis Groupe, says, Publicis90 is
in line with the philosophy of Publicis
Groupe and its founder, Marcel
Bleustein-Blanchet. The idea is to help
young entrepreneurs achieve their goals,
not just through investment, but also
by putting Groupes resources at their
disposal for a year. Rather than look
back and pat ourselves on the back for
90 years of history, we have taken the
forward-looking approach of extending a
helping hand to young entrepreneurs.n
saumya.tewari@afaqs.com
feedback@afaqs.com
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- Printout of this form is acceptable
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- All disputes subject to Delhi jurisdiction
15
ARNAB GOSWAMI
FOTOCORP
PRESIDENT-NEWS & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, TIMES NOW AND ET NOW
INTERVIEW
Its all about conviction

Arnab Goswami talks about the Times Now decade, its style of
news and relevance.
By Shweta Mulki
ost Indian households

know him as Arnab.
Guests are known to
return on Newshour, his primetime show, even after being yelled
at incessantly.
Aggressive on air, he is known to
be calm and affable off it, especially to journalists interviewing him.
His brand of journalism may have
been questioned time and again,
yet Newshour remains the most
watched news show in the country.
On the question of the channel
being dependent on one man, he
says his show is a consequence of
what they do the entire day, and that
its about an overall editorial philosophy guiding the channel, more
than the person.
16
Its been 10 years of Times

Now, and we have Arnab Goswami,
President-News & Editor-in-Chief,
Times Now and ET Now, sharing
insights, his learning and views on
news. Edited Excerpts:
In your launch year (2006), the
story of the little boy, Prince,
falling into a borewell got you
the ratings, and this perhaps
influenced your programming
vision. You said it needed the
kind of sensationalist approach
you took. How has your view
changed for the news business
and the success within it?
I was very raw when I started
this channel. I hadnt got the programming mix right and was more
involved in the logistics of setting

up. But I was constantly searching for stories that would have an
impact, and Prince was one such.
Those were the pre-Twitter days
and impact was felt in terms of how
many people were calling you. In
a newsroom, which felt it had low
ratings, and a channel, which had
collapsed when it was launched, this
was validation for us. The viewer
responds to impactful stories and
there is no complicated science to it.
My peers in television and print
criticised me then and called that
story sensationalist. The big lesson for me was that it was all about
conviction. You will see the same
spirit in our stories today. Theres a
common thread between Prince and
Rohith, the Andhra student who

recently committed suicide.
We are putting the person, the
citizen, on top. Just recently on the
occasion of the 26th anniversary of
the exodus of the Kashmiri pandits,
we put out a video of Anupam Kher
talking about what happened then some people termed it extreme, but
it was about speaking the truth.
Can the channel depend on one
man? If Arnab goes on leave, ratings are said to dip - doesnt that
bother you?
It doesnt. You cant deliberately
make fewer people watch you. We
need to balance it out. Also, are
any of the other channels stronger?
They have single digit viewership
coverstory
The news business is reviled in

social media and the concept
of breaking news is trivialised
even in popular cinema. Does it
upset you?
Right now as we are speaking theres a siege in a Pakistan
University. Thats breaking news.
What happened in Pathankot,
Rohiths suicide and the political
debate that followed it was breaking
news. We do serious news as breaking news. I am not driven by social
media. Its a useful tool sometimes,
but you cant take opinions passed
on it with a sense of finality. In our
business if you ask a tough question
to a Congress person, you are on
the rolls of the BJP and vice versa.
Weve questioned every political
party.
So, trivialisation is also a stereotype. I think there has been a return
of news on all channels including
Hindi. We havent got viewership
by trivialising news, and others have
also realised that you dont need to
spend 50 per cent of your time on
crime and Bollywood to get ratings.
Today, I can confidently tell you
that news is 10 times more relevant now than it was seven years
back. People were beginning to lose
faith in the sansani format of news
then. What have we (Times Now)
done since? We broke big scams,
our election coverage competes with
international channels, and we have
a prime time show watched by millions.
We are bringing back confidence in the news industry as a
whole. Times Now trends nationally almost every night and globally,
many times more than the BBC.
But is the respectability and
credibility the same as, say, 15
years ago?
Yes, and those who say it isnt,
are cynics. In my business there are
a lot of them. Why should we waste
time on them? Do they have the
ability to break a Lalitgate today?
One thing is to be cynical, the other
is to be rational about what news
What about audience perception

of news? Hasnt that changed?
The viewership we have is
because of trust and credibility. The
day it goes away, you can do a show
about it, rationalise about what you
did wrong, but the viewer out there
knows. Yes, there are channels that
have lost that trust because of certain events, or because of what happened to individuals within them.
Channels whose credibility has
been affected once, never get it
back. Journalists whose ethics are
questioned, never get their credibility back. Im positive about this
industry. People believe in the news
they watch, they like the formats
in which it is presented, and this is
a great time to be doing television
news.
the amount of original content on

digital news is negligible. Three,
high impact coverage on digital
news platforms has not happened.
Four, people want to watch on
digital, not just read. The quality of
audio-visual content on many new
platforms here is amateurish, to say
the least. Also, in India, people are
not consuming as much news on
digital as they should.
In the future, digital in India will
be driven by audio-video. Right now,
these enterprises pick news from
everywhere, add a catchy headline
and put it up on 10 different platforms. If Arnab does a show that gets
talked about they do an article on it,
thus cannibalising news. There is
too much focus on the vehicle, and
too little on the message. But Im
hopeful that in the next 5-6 years,
the errors will be washed away, and
a new vision will come in for digital,
that will encompass and be built
upon the power of television.
People are turning to news on

phones. Wont online do to television news what television news
did to the newspaper business
years ago - forced them to move
from bare news to analysis? If
online brings in the immediacy proposition, where does that
leave television?
Digital will be dependent on television. Why? One, digital ventures
that are based on news aggregation alone cannot succeed. Two,
As the screen gets smaller, ad

revenue per viewer plummets.
As long as TV profits subsidise
online expense, it is fine. But
where do you see the TV news
business five years from now,
after 4G especially?
If you like watching something,
youll find your way to watch it cable or Netflix. The challenge is to
create formats that will pull people
towards it. 4G, 5G, 6G doesnt matter. I have to create a programme
has done.
In fact, print has followed television in terms of what high impact
news has done.
Im positive about this

industry. People believe
in the news they watch,
they like the formats in
which it is presented,
and this is a great time
to be doing TV news.
FOTOCORP
between 9 and 11 pm. We have over

70 per cent of the viewership. Will
our channel become stronger if we
have only 10 or 20 per cent viewership? Indian viewership cycles show
that there is a predominance of
walk-ins at prime time, heading into
super prime time. It is also true of
GECs where there is a spike post
7 pm. Indian viewers generally are
tuned in more towards evening,
while American viewers are tuned
in, in the morning. Newshour has
done well for 8 years in that slot theres no plan or strategy here.
that you want to watch. Im watching

OTT platforms with a lot of interest
- its working for non-news channels,
and it could work on news too, provided you have compelling content.
For sometime though, the revenue
will be tilted towards television.
In a utopian world, if you did
not have to be driven by ratings,
what would you change?
Nothing at all. Am I doing anything on my channel for ratings?
Even if there were no ratings I
would not make our channel boring.
I would not stop questioning politicians. I would not please interviewees by asking them silly questions. I
would not have a much older team
sitting in Lutyens Delhi delivering news in a 1990s format - right?
(smiles) So, I wouldnt change anything. Ratings are not about excel
sheets, they follow conviction.
Times Nows foray into the UK whats your programming strategy there?
The Indian channels which you
receive there are the Doordarshans
of private news channels. We have
a more argumentative style of
questioning different from UK or
American formats, and our language
sensibilities and nuances are also
different. I want to take our kind of
television outside of India.
Also, we are sometimes far
quicker than international channels.
During the Paris attacks, my guy at
Brussels was there before CNN.
My dream is to make the world
watch global news through a neutral
Indian lens. And we should be able
to do this by 2020.
Its been 10 years of your channel. Where do you see the trends
and challenges forming?
The first year was a tough time,
but second year onwards weve been
bullish about news, and people have
been bullish about us. We are No 1.
The gap earlier was 5-10 per cent,
now its 25 per cent and there is no
clear No 2.
We have a clear leadership - hard
won, hard fought and hard defended. The challenge is to keep defending that. Another challenge for me
is to marry the success of television
with digital. Ive also become obsessive about smaller changes that I can
keep making.
For the next decade, television
will continue to climb, and digital
will continue to grow. I would put
my bets on digital-led television
and television-led digital, but digital
without TV will not work. Those
who are trying to do the latter, good
luck to them.
17
coverstory
How much do you focus on innovations to make the news process
more effective and quick?
My focus is not on innovations
and logistics. People think they can
spend their way into news. Seven
years ago, a channel launched saying they were the first HDTV-ready
channel in India, thinking they
could impress viewers. It made no
difference and never got ratings.
Those who understand news can,
and without spending money, make
it look like a million bucks.
Almost all of the technology that
we used for our election coverage - which broke records in 2014
- was either borrowed or hired.
There were other channels with
large rooms and offices, scalability,
buses with transparent roofs and
drones for coverage. I have a great
team and Im abreast with technology, but money cant make you win
the TV news game.
As a genre, analysts are still very
sceptical about the news business being a lucrative one. When
will that change?
Investors or advertisers look at
viewership. We have 12 advertisers

on Newshour, and the number is
only growing. We have rates over
`35,000 and these are only the mast
head sponsors Im talking about. So
we are grateful.
Rural ratings have shown support to English news, but even
so, are you doing anything specific to make programming
more rural-friendly?
ple are watching you in outer

Ghaziabad than in Delhi. So wed
keep doing the same, but yes, we
do use a bit of Hindi and regional
languages in our news. None of
us expected rural to be a lift-off
point.
Mostly international, as Ive

interviewed all the Indian guys.
Vladimir Putin comes to top of
mind. Hes the terror of the West
right now. I think hes an emerging
force and it would be interesting to
read his mind.
The four-window format of

discussion has been adopted by
many other channels. Whats
next?
There are viewers who can be

put off by all the yelling, and
high-volume debates can lose
their way. Does your viewer
come to you for information or
entertainment?
Viewers always come back and
watch. Our most heated debates
were during Lalitgate. Do you
expect four different political leaders to come together and say nice
things - that would be fake!
Look at it this from a top-down
approach. Netas today are scared
to take the citizen for granted,
thats enough for me. Theres a
sense of accountability that somewhere on a television show you
will be made answerable. If you
were to lose this platform, would
we be better off? n
Im abreast with technology. However,

money cant make you win the
television news game
The night before the BARC
ratings came, I was very nervous, and I had a sleepless night. I
thought we were going to be gobsmacked. If you have 60-70 per
cent share in urban and no share
in rural - or some other channel has more share in rural - that
would be worrisome. However,
we were delighted that our share
in rural was more than the urban
share. Its crazy that more peo-
Im going to do something in the

next one year, which will change the
game in a much bigger way. 2016
will be the year of big change. Im
not here to participate in the game,
Im here to help my team become
game changers.
Youve said earlier that youve
wanted to have a longer interview with Sonia Gandhi. Who
else is on your wish list?
shweta.mulki@afaqs.com
BIGG BOSS
Open to the Public

Colors reality show which had celebrity contestants for nine
consecutive seasons, will now scout for contestants among the
public. By News Bureau
he Hindi entertainment channel Colors

has announced that the 10th season of
Bigg Boss, its reality show, will open
its gates to the public as contestants. For nine
seasons in a row, Bigg Boss has housed a host of
known faces - some popular ones, some lesserknown. While most contestants have been Indian,
there have been some international ones as well.
But now, for the first time, Colors will scout for
Bigg Boss contestants among the general public
for the show that involves participants to stay in
confinement for over 100 days with a group of
housemates.
Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, says, You could
be a doctor, engineer, lawyer, teacher, preacher,
banker, entrepreneur, home-maker, taxi-driver,
coolie - from any domain, any socio-economic
background, with any kind of calibre...if you
think you are an entertainer, then this is the break
that you have been looking for. He adds, Every
year we receive thousands of emails, SMS-texts,
enquiring about ways to enter the show. Finally,
the day has arrived. I hope fans and avid viewers
will make full use of this opening.
18
You could be a
doctor, engineer,
lawyer, teacher,
preacher, banker,
home-maker,
coolie...
RAJ NAYAK
As the channel gears up for casting, it has

already called for interested participants to
upload their three-minute videos on the channel
website. Entries will be accepted until May
31, followed by the audition. The shortlisting
process will start thereafter.
The channel also plans a big-scale promotion
to induce the masses to participate in the show.
The 360-degree campaign will include on-air
promos, radio promotions and outdoor. n
feedback@afaqs.com
MY FM
RADIO A GAME CHANGER
IntervIew
MANISH BHATT
FOUNDER DIRECTOR,
SCARECROW COMMUNICATIONS LTD.
Tell us about your favourite campaign?
What mediums were used to execute
it?
It has to be a campaign that we recently did for a not
so regular brand called Varuna Pumps.They wanted
to do an ATL campaign for the first time, to increase
their brand awareness. Pumps are high utility but
low involvement products & the decision makers
install pumps without thinking too much about the
brand. So, as this brand had a diversified audience
and a moderate budget, we decided that we should
do this campaign using Radio as it is a theatrical
medium and it would offer us an opportunity to form
an emotional connect with the listeners. In addition,
radio spots can reach out to listeners from rural to
tier one, two cities to metros & media-dark regions.
Though you are an art guy at heart,

how do you analyse the success of a
Radio Campaign?
I think there are quiet a few ways
in which one can utilise Radio, the
be leveraged primarily in three
conventional way though is using
different ways. One is using Radio
the medium to create a theatrical
as a theatrical medium where
Radio as platform
effect. For example, if the radio
one can create the desired effect
script opens in a Colosseum, you
has always been the by using a dramatized, purely
dont have to go there and shoot,
acoustic performances. Second
nations local medium would be, using radio as a
you can still create the same
environment with the help of an
narrative medium where someone
for entertainment,
audio. Whereas with TV, if the
like a sutradhar recounts the
and it allows to grow events and narrates the brand
film opens in Colosseum, you will
have to go there so that you are
nations local brands ideology to the listeners. Thirdly,
able to commit to the visuals. So
one can use Radio as a music
all the time.
this in my opinion is the beauty of
medium, where you convert your
Radio as a medium besides being
brand campaign into a musical
a low investment production. In
property. In my opinion, this is
addition, every viewer/listener
the most impactful way of all
likes to believe that they have the
for optimising a brands ROI on
acumen to choose wisely and make smart buying
Radio as it works on the subconscious mind of the
decisions. Radio as a medium helps advertisers to
listeners. So a brand can actually get into the minds
give the much needed ego-boost to their TG as it
of the listeners without giving any logical argument.
evokes peoples imagination.
Further, if the brand wishes to connect locally,
thanks to the FM format, marketers can reach out to
According to you, how important is a
the region specific TG and establish a local connect.
Even national brands have to choose Radio over
good script in making a radio campaign
other mediums because it is interactive, engaging
successful?
I think its the backbone of a campaign. Print and
and even gives voice to their listeners opinion.
TV have visual support, which help the campaigns
to create a rub off effect. For Radio, a good script
Its effectiveness and ability to reach
plays the trick. Also, radio as a medium gives a lot of
out to the masses in tier II and III
scope to the script as one does not have to commit
cities have always attracted marketers
to the visuals.
towards it. Any other benefits that
How can a marketer leverage radio as

a medium to reach out to his target
market?
As I said earlier, that Radio as a platform can
marketers targeting these areas can

look at leveraging through radio
advertising?
The cost of producing a Radio campaign Vs a TVC is
huge, Radio is a low cost production media. So for
anyone with a restricted budget, radio would be the

obvious choice over other mediums as after TV it is
the only medium through which a brand can form
an emotional connect with their target audiences.
Secondly, radio has a capability to create a musical
property for a brand which is catching on again and
reviving.
How does your approach change when

creating advertisements for Radio in a
particular campaign?
We believe that Radio is a powerful medium, which
can be utilised to create a high EQ (emotional
quotient) but its potential is still untapped, not many
brands have worked on it. So, when we create a
radio campaign for a particular brand, we ensure
that we take the best of the talent from theatre and
music industry. If we are to produce a particular
tune, we create it using live instruments, we pay a
lot of attention to the details. Scope-wise a lot can
be done with radio and we try and experiment with
our campaigns by using new talent, mix medium
productions etc. We try and extract the most out of
it & I wish other agencies and brands should try and
utilise this medium to its fullest.
How do you see the growth of Radio

industry in India?
In my opinion, Radio as platform has always been
the nations local medium for entertainment, and
it allows to grow nations local brands all the time.
Also, once the brands are done with their macro
level marketing, the next logical step is always to
reach out and forge an emotional connect with your
local consumer and Radio is the most viable medium,
when it comes emotional communication. l
media
NAAGIN
the first time, released rural-inclusive

viewership data, with the rural
segments comprising 30 per cent
of its total 22,000 metres. Recently,
theres been a slew of new shows
with supernatural plots and snake
themes. Post Naagins success, are
we looking at a trend thats here to
stay?
Nayak says, The success of Naagin
may spiral other shows in similar
space. I think our programming team
has broken that myth about weekend
shows not working. Abroad, you
have shows such as Vampire Diaries
and Werewolf. Naagin is an Indian
version of that in similar space.
Zee Networks &TV recently
launched a snake-themed show
Adhuri Kahaani Hamari, while Zee
TVs Neeli Chatri Waale also had
a nagin track. Naaginn - Waadon
Ki Agniparikshaa, a Zee TV soap
in 2007, and Colors show Sasural
Hissing Success
20
A clean weekend slot with no strong

competition has also helped.
After the Anil Kapoor-led show
24, Naagin is Colors second
offering in finite fiction (the show
has only 34 episodes) airing on
weekends - a relativity rare feature
for content of this kind.
Raj Nayak, CEO of Colors, says,
We have to fill in a one-hour slot on
weekends as per our FPC. It was our
programming heads idea to attempt
a weekend fiction show. She had
wanted to do Naagin for almost a
year before its launch.
IMPRESSIONS (000)
17199
18125
19824
19847
18549
18525
17819
19576
EPISODIC RATINGS OF NAAGIN IN URBAN AND RURAL SEGMENTS

WEEK
51
51
52
52
DATE
20-Dec, 2015
19-Dec, 2015
27-Dec, 2015
26-Dec, 2015
HSM
19370
17722
20285
19420
HSM URBAN
13441
12665
13358
12994
HSM RURAL
5929
5057
6927
6426
Source: BARC. Period: Wk 51 - Wk 52 2015 (weekwise). Analysis: Impressions (000s)
Nayak, Kapoor & Kapoor: a hiss in the buzz
Nayak adds that the concept has

always been a winning formula.
Nagin movies have done well in
the past. This compounded with
the casting, story-telling, execution,
graphics, production values, and
the time slot put together, along
with television czarina Ekta Kapoors
magic touch captured the imagination
of the viewers, he says.
Talking about returning to Indian
folklore with this show, Ekta Kapoor,
head of Balaji Telefilms, and the
shows producer, says, I believe
RANK
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Source: BARC Data {HSM : NCCS All : Individuals : BARC India base All India (U+R)}
FOTOCORP
he mere mention of the word

Naagin conjures the image
of actress Sridevi swaying to
the tune of the popular song Main
Naagin Tu Sapera from the 1980s
Hindi film Nagina. Two decades
later, that top-of-the-mind recall
seems to have been replaced by an
Ichchhadhari naagin (a female snake
who can change her form at will)
from televsion - thanks to Naagin,
Colors weekend fiction show.
Naagin has remained unshaken at
the top of the Hindi GEC viewership
charts for eight consecutive weeks.
In a record climb to the No.1 slot in
just the fourth week of its launch- as
per BARC data, it has taken over the
saas-bahu dramas from Star Plus,
Zee TV and Colors itself.
During its launch on November
2015, Manisha Sharma the
channels programming head had
called Naagin a mystical thriller
incorporating a dramatic twist at
every corner to add an element of
thrill. The show is led by television
actress Mouni Roy (playing
Shivanya) while actor Arjun Bijlani
is the male lead. Roy is a popular
small screen face having appeared in
shows like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi
Bahu Thi, Devon Ke Dev-Mahadev,
and the celebrity talent show Jhalak
Dikhkhla Jaa.
Commenting on the shows
popularity, Shailesh Kapoor, founder
and CEO of Ormax Media, says,
Colors has managed to present
this genre using GEC elements
that work today, namely a strong
female protagonist (Shivanya) and
ample twists and turns in the plot.
PERFORMANCE OF NAAGIN IN THE PAST 9 WEEKS

PERIOD
Week 3, 2016- January 16-22
Week 2, 2016- January 9-15
Week 1, 2016: January 2-8
Week 52: Dec 26, 2015 Jan 1, 2016
Week 51 2016: December 19-25
Week 50 2016: December 12-18
Week 49 2016: December 5 11
Week 48, 2015: November 28 - December 4
that a story-teller should be able

to present his/her viewers with a
convincing storyline which is not only
substantial, but also creates a thrilling
experience. Since childhood, I have
always been fascinated with such
stories. Tales like these turn out to be
really interesting and entertaining.
When asked about the limited
number of episodes, she says, This
was my answer to those who keep
complaining about the indefinite
continuity of fiction shows .
In October 2015, BARC India, for
FOTOCORP
What does the success of Colors reptilian saga tell

us about urban and rural viewership tastes?
By Shweta Mulki
Simar Ka had snake women too.

Experts feel that it was the popularity
of this particular track in the latter
that sowed the seed for Naagin.
Producer Sunjoy Waddhwa,
CMD, Sphereorigins, says such
shows work well on weekends.
Channels may be experimenting in
this genre, with shows doing fairly
well. I see more of these shows
working as sub-plots, not mainstream
daily shows, he says.
NAAGINS VIEWERS -URBAN OR RURAL?
aagin seems to have countered
certain assumptions in the
what rural would like context.
Currently, statistics show it to be
slightly more popular among urban
audiences, but that could change.
Vikas Khanchandani, director at
Aidem Ventures, says, The show
has seen mass appreciation and the
data seems to be consistent across
e-commerceroundtable
Television Disruption
A roundtable organised by afaqs! in association with amagi witnessed leading e-commerce players
discussing the opportunites and challenges of television as an advertising medium. By Saumya Tewari
PRESENTED BY
arketers
from
eight
e-commerce companies
operating across categories
participated.
The
moderater
was Soumya Mohanty, vice
president, IMRB. Some of the key
points included convergence of
television and digital as key trends,
measurement of ROI, the changing
consumer behaviour and how to
leverage the medium in a better way.
In a bid to disrupt TV as a
medium for marketers for building
brands, amagi has been trying to
personalise television by giving
them reach through geo-targetting
capabilities. Edited excerpts of what
the participants said:
ANKITA DABAS,
Co-founder and Director - Strategy,
Fab Furnish
It is easy to track metrics such as
traffic and conversion on every rupee
spent on a digital campaign. While
television brings trust and scalability
for the brand, my painpoint remains
efficiency. I have to continously
inspire my customer because
furniture, as a category, is not an
impulse buy. For that, I cannot rely
on television.
I wish technology will solve
problem of attribution and efficiency
of television as a advertising medium.
PRABHAKAR TEWARI,
CMO, PayU Money
My first brush with TV
advertising happened in 2005 for
Maricos hair oil brand, Parachute.
For that kind of brand, heavy
weightage had to be put towards
the beginning or end of the month
because that is the buying cycle.
When Danone entered India, it
was launched in Maharashtra and
Andhra Pradesh but we had to
buy national TV spots to promote
it. There is no option of geotargetting.
For a wallet brand such as PayU,
the requirements and challenges are
different from those of FMCG. Each
brand has to figure out what works
Photo-op: The speakers, sponsors and the moderator
best for it and choose the mediums

accordingly. Technology must
solve the problem of convergence,
attribution, ROI and measurement
of TV advertising.
SAI NARAYAN,
VP Brand, PR and social media,
PolicyBazaar
This is an exciting time for
e-com players targetting consumers
through TV when they have a
mobile phone in their hand. If the
communication is engaging they
will search the brand instantly.
Therefore, it is a merger of highest
reach medium (TV) and fastest
growing medium (digital). I think
appointment viewing is dying. While
a consumer is watching television
alone, he/she is communicating to
the world through the smartphone.
Awareness will come from
highest reach medium (TV), but
the fastest growing medium will be
the convergence of both digital and
television.
RAHUL SETHI,
COO and Head Marketing, Royzez
We spent crores on TV advertising
in November last year and got
mileage. But while evaluating the
ROI, we realised that though we did
invest in right places, the amount was
not right.
Brands must highlight their
objective while selecting a medium.
If sales is the sole objective then they
may leverage digital and for brand
building there are other mediums.
However, the main challenge with
TV advertising continues to be the
ability to calculate ROI.
MANAV SETHI,
Group CMO and Head, Digital
strategy, Askme
NITIN AGARWAL,
AVP Marketing, Shopclues
The size of the container really

defines the kind of medium you
should pay for. But if a startup is
looking to target a regional market,
it should not even consider TV
advertising.
The radical difference is that
today I do not have the luxury to
rely on patterns and trends that
a FMCG marketer has. There is
sufficient learning while acquiring
media for big brands because they
know consumption behaviour and
trends. E-commerce players do not
have that luxury. I will still need
television to build consumer trust but
addressability as to who is watching
the brands TV ads continues to be a
major challenge.
First brands build expectation

through TV campaigns, then they
have to meet them and that is how
they get into the rut of TV being the
performance marketing channel.
For most online brands, the
landscape is constantly changing.
We are reaching out to more
regions, people are graduating to
the consumer segment, buying new
category products and their lifestyle
choices are becoming better.
Today, the shelf life of our ads is
shortlived. We have to find new ways
to present the same thing otherwise
it will cause consumer fatigue. The
surround (radio, print and OOH)
that used to accompany TV is moving
to digital.
ABHIMANYU,
AVP, Stayzilla
GAURAV NABH,
Marketing Director, Koovs
Investment made in TV
advertising will translate into a spike
in website traffic and consumer
awareness. It leads to conversations
around the brand. However, from
an efficiency standpoint a standalone campaign will not take a brand
anywhere.
The story is not about the
medium but the consumer as well
as the content. The power of great
content is bigger than any medium.
Brands and marketers are creating
content for TV and then using it
in other mediums without realising
that consumption patterns and
devices differ. There is no currency
to measure video advertising except
YouTube views along with GRP and
additional data.
I believe earlier brands were

selling products for life, Vicco
Vajradanti is an example of that. In
the last 18 months, the push that has
come to television has been backed
by venture capitalists. And that is
reflected in the kind of campaigns
we see today.
We too face a similar challenge
because Stayzilla is selling an intangible
experience and the purchase happens
weeks or months after the campaign
breaks. If you are building an
experiential brand, you are constantly
tugging on the emotional string. So
a TV campaign may mean increased
traffic but it may not result in spike in
business. Stayzilla needs to build itself
as a long standing brand just the way a
Vicco Vajradanti is. n
saumya.tewari@afaqs.com
21
ROHIT OHRI> GROUP CHAIRMAN AND CEO, FCB ULKA
interview
FCB Ulka is three campaigns away

from sexy!
An interview with Rohit Ohri, group chairman and CEO,
FCB Ulka. By Ashwini Gangal
or Rohit Ohri, group chairman and CEO of FCB Ulka, a revamp

of the creative culture tops the list of plans for the agency. Hes also
keen to make good on the equity hes got in Delhi and build brand
FCB Ulka in that market. Edited Excerpts.
What does occupying the CEOs seat at FCB

Ulka - one that has been vacant for over 18
months - mean to you?
This is the first time the agency will have one
leader across the group, versus being run by a
board. Thats the philosophy they had earlier - it
was a board-managed company.
Now, it will, very clearly, be individual-managed.
There will be one clear face for the agency, versus a
group of people.
I would like to leave a legacy in this agency... Im
going to look at every single piece of this jigsaw puzzle
and see what we can do to make it more competitive,
more cutting-edge. The currency of the agency
needs to be energised.
How do you plan to go about
this?
First, I want to look at the
organisational culture, the people,
their beliefs and the way they work.
While there are many good things
about FCB Ulka, there are bits that
need to change.
The fundamentals of this agency
are very strong. Its just a question
of building on that and adding new
energy.
Today, the biggest challenge for
agencies is retaining talent and
clients; Ulka has never had to
struggle with this.
So, its more the perception
of the agency that needs to be
corrected. We could create three
famous campaigns in 2016 that
could completely change the
perception around the agency.
Were just three campaigns
away from...
The agency has been built on famous campaigns, but in the last four to
five years, we havent seen much. Given the current context of the changing
market and consumer, I see new challenges ahead; I dont think were very
well equipped to take them on. We need to ask - What are the new skills the
agency needs to pick up?
We need to bring back the entrepreneurial streak - thats how Ulka started
off in the first place. Were not a boutique or a hotshop; that, we may never
be. But, wed like to have that mindset.
In a previous interview, we spoke to Ambi about how Ulka lacks
razzle dazzle at the pitch level. For you, how important is it to fix
this?
I dont want to rush into a mad flurry of pitching, right now. We need
to first answer a few questions, build a few capabilities and get our pieces
organised.
And its not like the agency has not won pitches. It has. But yes, it
hasnt been as successful as we would all like it to be.
I want to create campaigns that are talked about and shared. You cant
chase razzle dazzle or fizz. You have to chase creativity.
Or, you could chase a chief creative officer! After all, a lot of
your plans for FCB Ulka rest on the shoulders of a
yet-to-be-appointed creative head...
Of course. Its been a bit unfortunate that
Satbir (Singh) moved out.
But its not so much about one individual
who will come and change the fortunes of the
company, anymore.
While its a solid

brand building agency,
the work lacks fizz.
I have no time-line in mind. While
there is an urgency, I dont want to rush
into this and get someone who cant
deliver the goods.
What are the other bits you

want to change?
The big focus is around creative
and the whole creative culture. While its
a solid brand building agency, the work
lacks fizz.
22
SUSHIL KUMAR
... From becoming sexy?

(laughs) Yes! FCB Ulka is
just three campaigns away from
sexy.
When you switch jobs, you switch

not just agencies, but networks
- from WPP to Dentsu to now
Interpublic Group. How different
are all these systems?
Barring scale, IPG and WPP are not
too different. They can be put in one
basket, versus Dentsu.
Dentsu is very strong in Japan but
has never managed to succeed outside of
Japan. The success doesnt exist in the US,
Europe... its an Asia-Pacific brand.
When I used to attend Dentsus global
meetings, I noticed they struggled with
things that other networks did 15 years back.
IPG is flatter and more empowering than
WPP, which is like a large ocean... you could be
swimming in it forever and nobody notices who you
are. IPG is about people, not companies. n
ashwini.gangal@afaqs.com
byinvitation
PRABHAKAR MUNDKUR
Why Brand Ambassadors

Get Dumped
A
mitabh
Kant
of
the
Department of Industrial
Policy and Promotion in
India justified why Bollywood actor
Aamir Khan had to be sacked as
the brand ambassador for Incredible
India.
A brand ambassador promotes a
brand. People will come to India and
the tourist flow will increase only if
the brand ambassador of Incredible
India promotes India as incredible
India. But, if the brand ambassador
of India says India is intolerant, he
is surely not working as its brand
ambassador, Kant says.
In other words, Incredible
India, according to him, had lost its
incredibility!
I sometimes think that it is not
so easy being a brand ambassador.
Because when you sign up a brand
you pledge allegiance to it. As the
number of brands that you endorse
keep growing, you pledge your
allegiance to several brands.
Is the removal of Aamir Khan as
brand ambassador a unique case?
Not really.
RIHANNA AND NIVEA
inger Rihanna, who is mostly
known for making headlines for
wardrobe malfunctions, was caught
leaving Ashton Kutchers house at 4
am, and throwing up outside night
clubs. Following such incidents,
Rihanna was sacked as the brand
ambassador for Nivea.
Rihanna is a no go... I do not
ADELE REFUSES
ENDORSEMENTS
dele recently detailed all
endorsement deals she had
refused. She said she didnt want to
be the face of anything because she
doesnt need anything but her music
to contribute to self-branding.
Khan, Rihanna, Stone and Adele: Dumped

understand how to bring the core
brand of Nivea in conjunction with
her. Nivea is a company which stands
for trust, family and reliability, said
Niveas CEO, Stefan Heidenreich.
Now, it would seem that he
should have known that Rihanna
does not exactly stand for trust,
family and reliability even before
she was hired as an ambassador for
Nivea. In this case, it just seems like
a bad fit of brand and ambassador
that was justified only at the time of
sacking.
SHARON STONE AND
CHRISTIAN DIOR
ollywood actress Sharon
Stone, known for her (in)
Hissing Success
all HSM markets. The commercial dynamics on
subscription defines unique audience/reach between
free-to-air and paid channels. Its difficult to capture the
performance of a programme in rural and urban unless
its available on both platforms simultaneously to gauge
affinity index vis-a-vis whats available to watch.
Divya Radhakrishnan, managing director, Helios
Media, agrees, Rural appeal may not necessarily have
24
famous interrogation scene in

the film Basic Instinct, in which
she uncrossed her legs under the
suggestion that she was not wearing
underwear, was sacked by Dior
when she made an inappropriate
comment about the earthquake
in China. Dior felt that she had
made insensitive remarks about
the earthquake that killed 68,000
people.
Theyre not being nice to the
Dalai Lama, who is a friend of
mine. And, then, this earthquake
and all this happened and I thought,
is that karma? When youre not
nice, do bad things happen to
you? Stone had commented on
the tragedy.
to do with the willingness of the rural consumer to

pay to view the channel, but the sheer capability of the
service provider (largely cable) to make the channels
available. Increase in the rural sample size reflecting
the true universe base (which is equivalent to urban) is
when the real picture will emerge.
Experts feel that the success of shows like Naagin
could determine how FTA channels invest in fresh
content in the next phase, and this will drive perception
and better understanding of the difference in fresh and
repeat content for the mainly rural FTA audience. n
shweta.mulki@afaqs.com
LESSONS FOR CELEBRITIES

You can never be yourself. You
have to be watchful in the public
eye, because you are always going
to be under scrutiny.
More the number of brands you
endorse, the tougher life is going
to be at a personal level. After
all, the ramifications of every
statement have to be examined.
Who would have thought that
Sharon Stones remark about
karma could affect the whole
Chinese market for Dior?
Anything you say, either direct or
indirect, which has an implication
on the brand, its market, its target
consumer, or its reputation,
could make you liable to getting
dumped.
Improper personal behaviour, as
in the case of Rihanna, means
that your public image as a brand
ambassador is very important to
the brand. If that image is not
morally of the highest order,
is indecent or vulgar, it could
affect the image of the brand
you endorse. Tiger Woods is a
good example, where his personal
behaviour jeopardised many an
endorsement.
And, of course, there is a high
price to pay in terms of personal
behaviour for the atrociously large
fees that celebrities are known to
charge for brand endorsements.
If you are a spokesperson for
a brand, you may just have given
up the freedom of expressing your
innermost feelings and being a
spokesperson for yourself! n
(The author is chief mentor, Percept H)
jobswitch
Post: Business Development

Manager
Company: Adworth Media Pvt Ltd
Profile: Client Pitching, Giving
Presentation to the clients,
Thorough knowledge of Media.
Exp: 3 to 4 yrs
Location: Rohini (Delhi)
Email: marcom@adworthmedia.org
.............................................................
Post: Manager - Operations
Company: Live Events
Profile: Must be well verse with
vendor management, planning &
execution of the event. Should
know how to prepare costs and do
event set up.
Exp: 4 to 5 yrs.
Location: New Delhi
Email: work@go-live.in
.............................................................
Post: Executive Assistant / Secretary
to the Managing Director
Company: Triverse Advertising Pvt.
Ltd.
Profile: Maintain calendar,
schedules and co-ordinate
appointments & meetings, take and
relay messages, respond to requests
for informationMaintain records,
data, systems & MISManage basic
troubleshooting of computers
and softwareManage routine
correspondence
Exp: 3 to 5 yrs
Location: Gurgaon
Email: triverse@triverseadvertising.
com
.............................................................
Post: Digital Manager
Company: Graffiti Collaborative Pvt
Ltd
Profile: Thinking for the brand
involves listening to customers,
understanding their sentiments
and creating 2 way communication
channels. The best platform to
interact with customers is through
the various social channels,
where people are able to share
their thoughts freely. We are on
the lookout for passionate social
media managers/asst who can
understand customers, state rise
communication, develop content,
manage communities, run analytic
s and encompass all of these into
effective reports.
Exp: 3 to 5 yrs.
Location: Bengaluru
Email: hr@graffitimedia.in
.............................................................
Post: Assistant Project Manager
Company: Quotient
Communications Pvt. Ltd.
Profile: The candidate will be
assisting the Project Manager for
an initiative run by Coca-Cola
(Global Division). The job will
involve co-ordination with divisions
across the world and adequately
answering and solving their queries/
issues related to Graphic Content
Management. Comprehensive
training will be provided.
Exp: 0 to 2 yrs.
Location: Mumbai
Email: team@quotientcomm.com
.............................................................
Post: Receptionist
Company: Live Events
Profile: Good communication skills
Lady, preferably within 35 years
of age. Should be able to handle
day to day admin issues.Pleasing
personality. Computer savvy.
Exp: 3 to 4 yrs.
Location: Kolkata
Email: barnalisengupta@shreyansh.
in
.............................................................
Post: 2D and 3D Animator /
3DArtist
Company: CHL Worldwide
Profile: We are looking for 3D
Artist having experience on creating
2D-3D Animation, Motion
Graphics, Whiteboard Animation
Character animation, Combining
videos with Flash Animation and
Video editing.
Exp: 3 to 6 yrs.
Location: Noida
Email: thrdept@crystalhues.com
.............................................................
Post: Conceptualiser
Company: Entertainment Network
(India) Ltd
Profile: Primary responsibility: To
develop 360 degree ideas to clients.
To have great understanding of
brands across categories. To be
able to think and write in hindi
and build an idea into a large
campaign. Other responsibilities:
To constantly track all multi media
advertising from big brands. To
have a fair sense of advertising
across platforms like digital, on
ground and activation A good sense
of audio and music would help..

Exp: 4 to 7 yrs.
Location: Mumbai
Email: deepti.jani@timesgroup.com
.............................................................
Post: Events Production
Co-Ordinator
Company:Hotstuff Events & Repro
Pvt. Ltd
Profile: Should have good
knowledge of Costing, Production,
execution and events related
supplier contacts
Exp: 4 to 5 yrs.
Location: Mumbai
Email: jobs@hotstuffbuzz.com
.............................................................
Post: Account Manager
Company: Broad & Wide
Advertising
Profile: A witty mind + a jovial
nature, added with good looks can
win a lot of people. May be that is
the primary qualification for the
business development team here
as we believe in relationships as
the key mantra to win accounts or
even to sustain them for long. The
ideal candidates for the role would
be either MBA with marketing
or Mass Communication college
with at least one year of working
experience in an ad agency, in the
role of a client servicing executive
or media department, with an
ambition to have a scope to make it
big in life. The job would involve
pitching for new business, exploring
new business opportunities for the
agency.
Exp: 5 to 7 yrs.
Location: Mumbai
Email: dhiraj.bnw@gmail.com
.............................................................
Post: Chief Content / Copy Officer
Company: EvolutionCo Digital &
Interactive Consultancy Pvt. Ltd
Profile: Lead / guide a team of
writers and spearhead all content
initiatives on clients digital assets
Generate / execute editorial ideas/
plan for clients and in-house
documentation for department
Eye for grammar, clarity, accuracy
and creative language Track and
analyze content performance,
and suggest solutions Excellent
researching and conceptualization
skills Conceptualize and co-create
content for scalable websites Review
and rewriting of content

Exp: 5 to 8 yrs.
Location: Mumbai
Email: careers@evolutionco.com
.............................................................
Post: Sr. Visualiser
Company: Melange
Communications Pvt.Ltd
Profile: Ability to convert the
creative brief into workable ideas &
appealing layouts
Exp: 3 to 4 yrs.
Location: Mumbai
Email: t skataria@
melangecommunications.com /
jobsatmelange@gmail.com
.............................................................
Post: Design Lead
Company: Nutcase-Nutcaseshop.
Com
Profile: Should be able to
conceptualize & executive designs/
thoughts, Should be able to lead a
team Illustration & sketching skills
will be added advantage Should
be always looking at upping the
ante. Understanding of printing
techniques.
Exp: 2 to 5 yrs
Location: Mumbai
Email: careers@nutcaseshop.com
To adverTise, conTacT:
abhilash singh
Ph: 09999989454
Email: abhilash.singh@afaqs.com
aakash Bhatia
Ph: 09650544122
Email: aakash.bhatia@afaqs.com
sumeet chandiramani
(Mumbai)
Ph: 09820590172
Email: sumeet.chandiramani@afaqs.com
jobswitch@afaqs.com
To view other jobs in Marketing,
Media and advertising, log on to:
www.jobswitch.in
Join us on
: facebook.com/jobswitch
25
>> MOVEMENTS/APPOINTMENTS<<
ADVERTISING
CB
Ulka
Advertising,
which is part of the
FCB Ulka Group,
has promoted Nitin
Karkare to the position
of chief executive
officer. Prior to his
new
appointment,
Karkare was chief
operating officer, FCB NITIN KARKARE
Ulka, Mumbai and
Bengaluru. Karkare has been a part of the agency
since 1986.
LinEngage, the experiential marketing arm
of Mullen Lowe Lintas Group has appointed
Raman R S Minhas as group creative director.
Minhas comes on board with a mandate to
add new dimensions to the way consumer
RAMAN R S MINHAS
SRIHARSH GRANDHE
engagement is defined and delivered for brands.

He will report to Sriharsh Grandhe, executive
vice-president, LinEngage.
Neo@Ogilvy, OgilvyOnes global media
agency and the performance marketing network,
people
A round up of some major people
movements in the last fortnight
MEDIA
has appointed Ankit

Agarwal
as
vicepresident and head
of
performance
marketing, and Suraj
Nagaappa as vicepresident and head,
North, as part of its
growth plan for 2016.
Cheil India has
announced
the
ANKIT AGARWAL
appointment of Farah
Bashir and Shekhar
Suri to bolster its digital
and strategic planning
capabilities.
Bashir,
who joins as general
manager,
planning,
will report to Sonal
Narain, chief strategy
officer. Prior to this,
she was vice-president,
planning, at Lintas. Suri
FARAH BASHIR
joins Cheil as general
manager, digital, from DigitasLBi where he headed
the Delhi Branch. He will report to Sanjeev Jasani,
head, digital.
Taproot
has
appointed
Ninad
Umargekar as head
of strategic planning.
Ayesha Ghosh joins the
agency as the general
manager. Based in
Mumbai, they will
report to Umesh
Shrikhande,
CEOTaproot India. n
AYESHA GHOSH
vinash
Pillai,
m a n a g i n g
partner-Team P&G,
MediaCom India,
has been promoted
to the role of regional
director,
IMEA
(India and South
Asia, the MiddleEast, Africa), on the
P&G business.
AVINASH PILLAI
Rahul Kansal has
resigned as executive
president of Bennett,
Coleman and Co. Ltd
(BCCL), publisher of
The Times of India.
He had joined the
company in 2007 as
the chief marketing
officer of the group.
Kansal was executive
president since April RAHUL KANSAL
2012, and had looked
after the brand and business strategy for The
Times of India, the Mirror publications, and the
companys language
brands.
Azim Lalani, the
national sales head of
Network18-led news
portal Firstpost has
been elevated as its
business head. In his
new role, he will drive
overall strategy and
revenue growth for
Firstpost. n
AZIM LALANI
network Wamba.com. His prior stints include

associations with companies such as HT Mobile
Solutions (a joint venture of Velti plc & HT
Media), Zapak Digital Entertainment, and BCCL
(Bennett, Coleman & Co).
ATL Digital Media Entertainment (ALT
Digital), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Balaji
Telefilms, has announced the appointment of
Ekalavya Bhattacharya as chief strategy officer.
An official statement says that Bhattacharya
will work closely with the leadership team to
define the corporate
strategy for ensuring
wider acceptability
and success of ALTs
digital initiatives.
Ola, the mobile
app for personal
transportation, has
appointed Raghuvesh
Sarup as its chief
marketing officer. He
will join the company
EKALAVYA BHATTACHARYA
in February to lead
marketing across the brand and P&L (profit

and loss) for all categories. Sarup joins Ola
from
Microsoft,
where he worked as
director, marketing,
after relocating to
India. Prior to that,
he had worked at the
Nokia headquarters in
Finland.
Sarup has over 20
years of experience in
marketing, sales and
brand management
RAGHUVESH SARUP
across
brands
such as Microsoft,
Nokia, Yum! Brands (Pizza Hut), and
Procter&Gamble(P&G).
Praveen Kumar, partner and exchange head,
South and East, Mindshare, will move to Amazon
India as senior media manager. He will be based
in Bengaluru. Kumar will join the company
in March this year. At Amazon, Kumar will
replace Sudhan Deo, who recently moved to
DIGITAL
atra.com,
the
online
travel
agent, has appointed
Vikrant
Mudaliar
as chief marketing
officer. He joins
the company from
Lenskart where he
was chief sales and
marketing officer. In
his new role, Mudaliar DUSHYANT KOHLI
will be responsible
for leading marketing
activities across all Yatra.com business lines and
group entities. While focussing on strengthening
Yatras brand equity in the travel category, he
will also be responsible for driving the marketing
and communications strategy to support the
companys overall strategic objectives.
Subscription-based video entertainment app
nexGTv has appointed Dushyant Kohli as headgrowth. Kohli joins the organisation with over
13 years of experience in digital marketing across
multiple businesses including the social discovery
26
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February 1-15, 2016

Volume 4, Issue 16 ` 100

Marketing the state all over

PRESIDENT-NEWS & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF,

Open to the Public

Volume 4, Issue 16 ` 100

Marketing the state all over

PRESIDENT-NEWS & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF,

Open to the Public

SENIOR LAYOUT ARTIST

B-3, First Floor, Sector-4,

501-502, Makani Center, 5th Floor,

Owned by Banyan Netfaqs Pvt Ltd and

Mullen Comes up Trumps

Why brand ambassadors get

Can Titan succeed in a

EXIDE LIFE INSURANCE

The digital media brand

The insurance brand launches

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2 0 1 6

Ogilvy has created a new logo

Rajasthan in the middle of the Thar desert.

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2016

he Government of Rajasthan has finally

frame was translated digitally to laser cut stencils.

be advertised extensively on print, outdoors, radio

continued on page 6 >>

Parul Dawar (West) : +91-9833089699

Indias No.1 News Network

Gautam Dutta (East & South) : +91-9830032447

oca-Cola has replaced its Open Happiness

<< continued from page 4

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2016

native. Tourism marketing has

states landscape. The second phase

in the minds of the audience, he

hanks to The Advertising Standards Council

The ASCI code

by itself, the areca nuts which are carcinogenic

advertising by law, the ASCI code does not permit

s part of its 90th anniversary

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2016

support to entrepreneurs in order to

platform (www.publicis90.com) can

continued on page 15 >>

Give your brand

Amar Ujala Grows

New campaigns across television, print, out-of-home and digital media.

MAHINDRA FIRST CHOICE

In its first TVC titled, Free ke baad First Choice, Mahindra

Jeevansathi.com, a matrimonial website, has rolled out a

Creative Agency: Supari Studios

Creative Agency: The Lonely Cloud Consulting Company

Creative Agency: J. Walter Thompson

Creative Agency: Dentsu Webchutney

Creative Agency: Metal Communications

GODREJ NATURES BASKET

Godrej Natures Basket, the retail venture from Godrej

The global e-commerce giant has rolled out a video

With four videos depicting people from all corners of India,

The Nothing better than natural campaign from Medimix

Adani Wilmar has

Creative Agency: Triton Communications

afaqs! Reporter, February 1-15, 2 0 1 6