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Volume: XX

February, 2009

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In these hyper charged times where news comes in as fast as it becomes outdated, we need a source that can keep track of what matters to us. At ZenithOptimedia we have created Wavelength to apprise all of us of the happenings in three areas i.e. 1. Trends in Digital, Retail, OOH, Consumers and the International Advertising 2. Media & Advertising Research 3. Environment

Also included here are innovations and news that ZenithOptimedia is making across its network globally, under three sections 1. ZO Zone 2. Fast Forward 3. Touchpoints.

Simply click on any of the sections on our snazzy control panel and you will have the latest updates at your fingertips. Wavelength will reach you in the first week of every month so that you have information that leads to insights.

Drop in a mail at pchandra@zenithoptimediaindia.com with your suggestions and comments.

Media & Advertising Research Watch

AdEx Findings

12. TV ad volumes of 'passenger vehicles' increased by 29 per cent in 2008 compared to 2007.

Source: Indiantelevision

13. 'Hindustan Unilever' was the number one advertiser for the consumer durables brands on TV during 2008.

Source: Indiantelevision

14. National channels had contributed maximum in advertising of two wheelers on TV during 2008.

Source: Indiantelevision

15. 'Tata Motors Ltd' was the top advertiser in 'passenger vehicles' category advertising on TV during 2008.

Source: Indiantelevision

Television and Media

16. Great expectations: Slowdown might garner good viewership for IPL – Feb 10

According to the media planners, the slowdown has seen people cut down on the time spent outdoors, instead preferring to stay at home with their families. They feel that this was one reason why IPL Season 2 might see high ratings. Even brands would not want to miss being noticed during this time. There are some beliefs that with the slowdown, people prefer to stay home and spend less time out, therefore, they will watch more television.

Source: Exchage4media

17. ‘Billu Barber’, Hungama Digital join hands to rekindle old friendships – Feb 12

Just like the old friends from upcoming Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Billu barber’ come together, now even people can connect with old friends using the Billu ‘Dosti Ke Rang, Shahrukh Ke Sang’ application and recreate one’s old gang from school, college, etc. One lucky gang planning a reunion using this application would have SRK attend the reunion in person, to make it magical..

Source: Exchange4media

18. Slowdown hits ICL, Grand Championship postponed till October 2009 – Feb 13

Source: Exchange4media

19. Cartoon Network gets cricket closer to kids with Toon Cricket – Feb 13

Source: Exchange4media

20. Pond’s Age Miracle gets a Candid touch – Feb 14

Source: Exchange4media

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This tracker has been compiled from external sources and does not necessarily reflect the views of the company.
Links provided will take you to the full articles appended at the end of the file.

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Full Articles

16. Great expectations: Slowdown might garner good viewership for IPL

Feb 10

Exchange4Media

In the follow-up to the report on the Indian Premier League (IPL) dropping the exclusivity tag, exchange4media spoke to media planners on their expectations from Season 2 of IPL. Most are positive about the tournament garnering good viewership numbers, thanks to the slowdown.

According to the media planners, the slowdown has seen people cut down on the time spent outdoors, instead preferring to stay at home with their families. They feel that this was one reason why IPL Season 2 might see high ratings. Even brands would not want to miss being noticed during this time.

Sandeep Lakhina, MD, India - West and South, Starcom Worldwide, said, “After tasting success in Season 1, and with India also doing pretty well in cricket, I believe that the IPL Season 2 will be bigger and better. Pakistan’s absence from the game will have no effect on the numbers, but the slowdown has got its own mixed bag. There are some beliefs that with the slowdown, people prefer to stay home and spend less time out, therefore, they will watch more television.”

Sudha Natarajan, President and COO, Lintas Media Group, said, “We have big expectations from this season of IPL. Firstly, because of the delivery of Season 1, which was worth all the hype, therefore, we believe that Season 2 will be very good. Given the current market scenario, it is believed that the consumption of all external media will be stagnant and the consumption of television is on rise. And at this time with a product like IPL Season 2 coming on, it can only mean very good viewership.”

“People are still gung ho about the property that they are fairly keen to spend on it. There are certain sectors that have got affected in terms of employment and pay cuts, the rest of India is reacting with caution because of the overall sentiment. There are still enough brands for whom IPL is a huge opportunity loss if they do not get on the bandwagon, so there will still be more brands being part of IPL irrespective of who prefers to stay back. In fact, had this scenario not been there, then IPL would have been a difficult property to buy,” Natarajan pointed out.

According to Prasanth Kumar, Managing Partner CTG, GroupM, “IPL is a pretty good property, and after the success of Season 1, the expectations are really high over Season 2 and it is looking good. However, I believe that it will perform the same as last year, but it all depends on how they package themselves, therefore, their challenge lies on the novelty factor, which was high last year.”

No doubt, media planners are high on IPL Season 2, and thanks to the economic slowdown, there may be much higher viewership for the game this season as compared to last year. Even if there are brands that have preferred to stay out of the game this season, there are still several others waiting in line, and had there been no slowdown in the market, IPL would have been a difficult property to buy.

17. ‘Billu Barber’, Hungama Digital join hands to rekindle old friendships

Feb 12

Exchange4Media

Lost touch with some of your old friends? Wonder how you can re-connect with all of them? Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd has taken the concept of social networking to the next level by giving people a reason to connect and rekindle old friendships over the popular social networking sites on the Internet.

Just like the old friends from upcoming Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Billu barber’ come together, now even people can connect with old friends using the Billu ‘Dosti Ke Rang, Shahrukh Ke Sang’ application and recreate one’s old gang from school, college, etc. One lucky gang planning a reunion using this application would have SRK attend the reunion in person, to make it magical.

Hungama is creating a collision of the film world of Billu and the digital world of social networks. Just like the film ‘Billu Barber’ is about two worlds coming together to create special moments between two great friends, Hungama Digital has created an application to help create a special reunion between old friends over the web. Once the Billu ‘Dosti Ke Rang, Shahrukh Ke Sang’ application is downloaded, one can create a group photograph of the gang with pictures that could be uploaded, or from one’s social network profile.

Khan would be a part of this gang at the centre of the picture and each picture would be signed by the superstar. The application also allows the user to interact on a designated message board with one’s gang. Furthermore, Khan will pick one lucky gang himself and attend their actual reunion hosted by Hungama Digital.

Neeraj Roy, Managing Director and CEO, Hungama Digital Media, said, “With the film ‘Billu Barber’, Hungama has taken the theme of the movie and created a relevant product for the digital platform. The application ‘Dosti Ke Rang, Shahrukh Ke Sang’ brings alive the theme of the film on social networking sites, which – in a manner of speaking – are catalysts in reconnecting old friends. Today, digital marketing has moved beyond just movie websites and blogs, to using the medium to get a connect with the stars and movie concepts.” Hungama has also developed four other products as part of the digital promotion for ‘Billu’ for the digital and mobile space.

18. Slowdown hits ICL, Grand Championship postponed till October 2009

Feb 13

Exchange4Media

The political scenario revolving around the recent terror attacks that took place in Mumbai has taken its toll on cricket as well. Essel Group’s Indian Cricket League (ICL) on February 12 announced that the Grand Championship, which was scheduled for March 2009, had been postponed to later half of this year along with World Series Twenty20 tournament. Now, the Grand Championship has been packaged the World Series Twenty20, to be played in October-November 2009.

The absence of Pakistani players of the Lahore Badshahs team and the current economic slowdown have been cited as the prime reasons for postponing the tournament.

Following this decision, the sponsors of the game are also likely to take a hit. However, the domestic tournament of ICL will be held as scheduled in Chandigarh from March 6-19, 2009.

Himanshu Mody, Business Head of ICL, said, “The non-availability of the Pakistani players of Lahore Badshahs, who are the ICL’s biggest draw, is a other major reason for the cancellation of the March tournament, which will be replaced by one involving Indian players. The October edition of the World Series is on schedule as of now.”

19. Cartoon Network gets cricket closer to kids with Toon Cricket

Feb 13

Exchage4media

Cartoon Network is bringing, what it calls, India’s first day and night match in the Toon world – ‘Toon Cricket - The Battle for the Omnitrix’ – in Hyderabad on February 15 and Mumbai on February 22. Toon Cricket combines Indian kids’ two biggest passions – cartoons and cricket.

The two teams playing Toon Cricket are Bentastic versus Maximojo. In its sixth successful run, Cartoon Network’s most celebrated event promises maximum action and excitement as the popular Toons captained by the youngest superhero Ben Tennyson from Ben 10 and the evil Mojo Jojo from The Powerpuff Girls get ready to battle at the pitch.

Adding to the excitement and experience will be the celebratory inaugural ceremony with a sound and laser show and a live-performance by the pop band Aasma at the beginning of Toon Cricket.

This year’s Toon Cricket is a quest to find the true keeper of the Omnitrix (the mysterious watch that gives Ben Tennyson his super hero abilities) and each inning will have five overs of four balls each. In an effort to fulfill his desire to take over the world, Mojo Jojo has stolen the Omnitrix from Ben Tennyson. As a result, the young superhero has challenged Mojo to T-20 style cricket match. The winner will be announced as the true owner of the Omnitrix.

Speaking on the signature event, Monica Tata, Deputy General Manager and Vice President - Entertainment, South Asia, Turner International India Pvt Ltd, said, “It’s a tradition at Cartoon Network to consistently innovate and think out of the box to keep our fans entertained and engaged. Instituted in 1999, Toon Cricket has successfully managed to create an irresistible combination of two Cs – Cartoons and Cricket – a winning formula for Indian kids and adults. As Cartoon Network’s most famous and adored toons gear up to sweat it out, Toon Cricket - The Battle for the Omnitrix is ready yet again to be the ultimate sporting extravaganza for kids.”

Kids can also play the toon cricket game on their mobiles and can get a chance to win invitations to the match. A Toon Cricket micro-site on http://www.cartoonnetworkindia.com has been created that has wallpaper, icons, video clips of the toons gearing up for the match apart from information on teams that will play Toon Cricket.

20. Pond’s Age Miracle gets a Candid touch

Feb 14

Exchange4Media

Below-the-line promotion agency Candid Marketing recently executed a BTL activity for Pond’s Age Miracle to coincide with Valentine’s Day, from February 5-15. The activity was designed to introduce women to the micro derma process of Pond’s Age Miracle products and induce trials.

Commenting on the initiative, Atul S Nath, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Candid Marketing, said, “This promotional activity has been designed to create awareness amongst our TG, that is, SEC A, A+, B, B+ housewives and working women, and to introduce the micro derma process. The brief was to introduce the full Pond’s Age Miracle regime to the TG and recommend usage for the same on daily basis.”

Nath added, “This activity was undertaken basically to communicate the Pond’s Age Miracle Valentine’s Day offer – to buy and get an assured gift on the spot – to the TG and convince them to buy the product. The activity is being carried out at Lifestyle, Spencer’s, Shoppers Stop and Hypercity at Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.”

He further said, “An activity in the above mentioned activation points and cities have been designed to match the set objectives. Thematic kiosks with product branding have been created, and the brand ambassadors hired and trained to communicate the special/ongoing offers. A complete procedure on approaching, educating, registering, giving a skin analysis, introducing the regime and availing the special offer have been laid out and explained to the brand ambassadors to achieve the brand objectives.”

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