Rural telephony: Connecting India’s heartland
For long India's hinterland has been technologically a no-man's land, but not any more. This was evident at a seminar on Rural Telecom held in the Capital on July 3, 2009, which discussed all aspects of the telecom sector in rural India. The seminar, organised by Rural Marketing Association of India, saw the participation of all major telecom service providers in the country.

For long India’s hinterland has been technologically a no-man’s land. However, the scene is changing fast with unprecedented growth of mobile and Internet service in rural India, enough to charge up companies to make a beeline for a hitherto under-explored market. This was all the more evident at a seminar on Rural Telecom held in the Capital on July 3, 2009, which discussed all aspects of the telecom sector in rural India.
The seminar was organised by Rural Marketing Association of India (RMAI).Ericsson was the main sponsor of the event, while media partners were Business Line, exchange4media.com, Pitch and impact.
The event commenced with opening remarks by RV Rajan, President, RMAI. which was followed by a keynote address by Dr JS Sarma, Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Route to market strategy
The first session of the seminar focused on market strategy for the rural market in India. Panelists at this session included Sunil Colaso, CEO (Mobility UP Circle), Bharti Airtel and P Balaji, VP - Marketing & Strategy, Ericsson India.
The session began with the success story of Airtel in the UP circle. Colaso explained, “We have achieved a target of two million customers in the UP circle. This shows the growth of Airtel in rural areas.” He took the audience through Airtel’s market strategy in rural India through a Power Point presentation, wherein he spoke at length about the opportunities and estimations for the telecom sector in the rural markets.
On the growth in rural areas, he said, “In 50 years, only 40 per cent of rural India was connected by roads, however, in the last 10 years alone we have seen a growth of 30 per cent.”
The key points in Colaso’s presentation were Network Superiority, Distribution Advantage, Rural Alliances, Demand Creation, Rural Customer Service, and Rural Communication.
Following this presentation, P Balaji took to the dais, where he made a presentation on Ericsson India’s rural success story. He highlighted the need for making communication available for all and shared Ericsson’s business model for rural markets.
Balaji spoke at length about six case studies of business models and rural growth stories, which included managed services, Gramjyoti (Ericsson’s rural broadband service), Ericsson Tower Tube, BTS Power Savings, and Sustainable Energy, among others.
The session concluded with a Q&A with the audience.
Rural promotion and communication
The second session of the seminar focused on promotion and communication in rural areas. The session saw Rajendra Chourasia, COO, Idea Cellular Ltd, and Raj Kumar Jha, National Creative Director, Ogilvy Action, making their presentations.
Starting off with an AV presentation on ‘Why mobile in rural India’, Chourasia shared Idea’s promotional plans through media platforms like television and radio. He informed, “On television, we have a programme called ‘TV Jalsa’, which is aired on Doordarshan. We also have two programmes running on AIR FM called ‘Idea Madhur’ and ‘Masti Ki Pathshala’ for the rural areas.”
He also spoke at length about use of other mediums of promotion and communication in rural areas, such as wall paintings, ‘haats’ and ‘melas’, promotions, van promotions, etc.
Raj Kumar Jha noted that it was not an easy task to create awareness in rural areas for the service providers and mobile companies. He said, “To create awareness or to communicate with rural consumers we have to keep some major points in mind, such as language, literacy and their learning capacity.”
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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