<p align=justify>I am still not wholly convinced that the state of branded content in India does not give results. We have seen tremendous opportunities in cinema. Television would remain important... there is major room for growth in how we handle television and messaging innovation in television. Now, it is not so much about putting a brand in a show – it is simple product placement. It is more about integrating it with the show or even better, working with the content creator to create content for the brand, to create content that the brand would own and would traffic in commercial times. It is powerful for the show, for the brand to have that affinity to raise favourability – those metrics still work.</p>

exchange4media Staff Apr 29, 2011 12:00 AM

<p align=justify>I am still not wholly convinced that the state of branded content in India does not give results. We have seen tremendous opportunities in cinema. Television would remain important... there is major room for growth in how we handle television and messaging innovation in television. Now, it is not so much about putting a brand in a show – it is simple product placement. It is more about integrating it with the show or even better, working with the content creator to create content for the brand, to create content that the brand would own and would traffic in commercial times. It is powerful for the show, for the brand to have that affinity to raise favourability – those metrics still work.</p>

exchange4media Staff Apr 29, 2011 12:00 AM

Whether there is Phase 3 or not, radio will grow to 6 per cent from the current 3.5 to 4 per cent of the ad pie. The first push in that direction will come from ratings itself. We are already seeing very early green-shoots of loyalty towards slots or RJs, which did not happen in the past. Slowly we are seeing the time spent listening to stations going up. The second growth driver is from revenues. Increasingly there are more people who are trying radio at the lower end. From 5,000 advertisers on radio last year, this year there were 9,000 advertisers. At the higher end, the amount of money that people are spending on radio is increasing. So, we can say that overall only 4 per cent of ad budgets reach radio, but large advertisers are spending 8-10 per cent of their budgets on radio now.

exchange4media Staff Apr 22, 2011 12:00 AM

Neil Hudspeth, Regional Digital Director Asia Pacific, Leo Burnett, spoke to exchange4media while on a visit to Delhi. He talked about the reason why he believes that the investment in, and engagement with, digital media is going to accelerate in 2011. Digital is now integrated into video, into outdoor and print, particularly through mobile, which is growing exponentially. Technology is important, not for the wow factor but because it is a part of people's lives.

exchange4media Staff Apr 12, 2011 12:00 AM

The company’s focus is very clearly set on globalisation. Jaquar aims to establish itself firmly in the world’s top markets, to be acclaimed as an international brand. Jaquar has its presence today from the United Kingdom and the Middle East to Africa and the Far East besides Asia. Its products have been very well received in international markets, where they have successfully competed with major international brands.

exchange4media Staff Apr 11, 2011 12:00 AM

2011 is going to be a year where Equus is going to demonstrate to the world all its inadequacies and how it plans to sort out those. The problem with most advertising agencies is that they don’t know what they are bad at, but I am acutely aware of what we are bad at and I am not bothered about what we are good at. These ‘bad’ aspects are going to be fixed in 2011

exchange4media Staff Apr 8, 2011 12:00 AM

Emerging markets typically tend to leapfrog either technology or even best practices. At some level, one can say the same for PR in India. We are seeing the development and use of a comparable range of methodologies and tools in this market…From web 2.0-style news tracking tools to applications for social media tonality or sentiment and CRM tools…there is an increasing adoption within the PR practice community. That is an encouraging sign.

exchange4media Staff Apr 5, 2011 12:00 AM

New business wins will happen as and when they should happen. I don’t see any point in running around and trying to get accounts from day one just because one is new to the agency or has contacts in the market. The system needs to be able to deliver that automatically... I have no hesitation in saying that Starcom is definitely going to do well in the future as long as we are able to leverage our skill-set, our knowledge base, and the strength we have both globally and locally.

exchange4media Staff Apr 1, 2011 12:00 AM

The people selling ‘likes’ are behaving like door to door salesmen, talking about the price of a ‘like’. It’s nonsense. It’s like saying that I will put up one hoarding on the highway, and guess what? A lakh or more people are seeing it every day. What value is that actually adding though?

exchange4media Staff Mar 31, 2011 12:00 AM

A level of authenticity is required today. Information is readily available, and if you don’t share something, it’ll come out anyway. So you need to be able to explain your motivations, so that people can form a connection with the brand. This is all part of the brand purpose, which you must reinforce through innovations in product and clear two way communication with the consumers.

exchange4media Staff Mar 25, 2011 12:00 AM

For 125 Years, Avon has worked towards improving the lives of women around the world. Avon pioneered the concept of the unique earning opportunity through revolutionary direct selling business model. This has resulted in financial independence and personal empowerment of women. Over the decades, ‘Avon Lady’ has created an identity for herself and for other women.

exchange4media Staff Mar 24, 2011 12:00 AM

Most IT marketing is not about selling just technology, because what you’re actually selling is a business decision; you’re selling technology for transformative purposes. So it’s not just about capturing eyeballs…Instead of selling a box of software and walking away, you first need to sell a vision, like the smarter planet initiative, and then find a way to fit the vertical, and then actually demonstrate the value that you are providing to your partners.

exchange4media Staff Mar 15, 2011 12:00 AM

I don’t think viewers see ratings when they watch a news channel. Ratings are primarily for advertisers, and going forward, dependence on advertising will reduce. Ratings are increasingly becoming less critical for success of news channels, which is already working out for our organisation. And trust me, I have confidence in our nation’s intellect. I am sure there is a need for sincere news content. Even ratings of Zee News channel are corroborating this.

exchange4media Staff Mar 11, 2011 12:00 AM

One sector that needs business discipline is media agencies. In their rush for aggregating volume and growing in size, media agencies have knowingly or unknowingly brought down value for broadcasters and for themselves. In the end, they are not delivering value to advertisers as well, as they are just trying to buy cheap. There are agencies that are doing business at .5 per cent or 1 per cent, and some I am told, at negative rate of return. Then these agencies come to broadcasters and make meaningless offers. Will this not impact industry growth?

exchange4media Staff Mar 10, 2011 12:00 AM

<b>Aggie:</b> The question is whether Indian advertising can be called an industry? An industry is a group of companies, which while operating independently, are actually creating some common thing. <br> <b>Paddy:</b> Everybody is biased about their own needs and wants, especially when it comes to awards. Whichever official is in charge of a body makes sure that his agency benefits the most. This is not how an industry operates.

exchange4media Staff Mar 4, 2011 12:00 AM

From Piyush, I learned the power of enthusiasm; from Prasoon, the power of poetry; from Santosh, the power of thinking; and from Bobby, the power of personal standards… I believe that Indian creativity consists of a bunch of brilliant people who have their own methodology to fall back upon and know what world class work is.

exchange4media Staff Feb 25, 2011 12:00 AM

I believe that being a customer-centric industry, life insurance needs to aggressively leverage the digital space to increase customer connect; drive awareness; leverage data for analytics and tailored and customized services and products and build a reputation for the brand. This is especially relevant to create a positive perception about the brand to the consumer and enrich the overall brand experience. This is a strategic focus for Max New York Life which is helping us build increased loyalty towards the brand.

exchange4media Staff Feb 22, 2011 12:00 AM

“‘Every bottle counts’ is what Carlsberg believes in and that is what I personally tell my team. We have to have that kind of passion for our brands because every bottle that we sell leads to increase in our market share, profitability and mind share. In next five years, we should be amongst the top players for sure and enjoying a healthy market share.”

exchange4media Staff Feb 21, 2011 12:00 AM

The crucial challenge is all about markets. It is all about being able to justify the fee or the revenue which the agency merits. I think that is the biggest challenge. There is tremendous pressure and if you are able to demonstrate the value which you add to the client’s business and therefore, justify what you truly deserve as remuneration. The challenge linked to that is to have people who have the capacity to deliver on that platform.

exchange4media Staff Feb 18, 2011 12:00 AM

If you just focus on the creative work, all the good things will happen – the brands will get healthy, the agency will grow, you will get new business, you’ll make more money, you will be able to pay bonuses. Creative work is the whole agency.

exchange4media Staff Feb 11, 2011 12:00 AM