MUMBAI: Taking interactive campaigning a new level, popular food delivery app Swiggy has recently launched its new social media campaign ‘Voice of Hunger’ challenge on Instagram. The campaign has been conceptualised in collaboration with Dentsu Webchutney and used the newly launched feature of Instagram voice notes in a creative way.  

The campaign will constitute 5 challenges in which the participants will have to recreate the shape of food items like a Kebab Skewer, a Nacho, Pancakes and many more, using the voice note feature. Whoever completes all 5 stands a chance to win a year’s worth of food vouchers from India’s largest food delivery platform, Swiggy. This is apart from daily prizes for each challenge. Day 1 of the Challenge was a Kebab Skewer, which garnered close to 10,000 entries with voice notes, and the brand’s follower count is already up by 2,000 courtesy the challenge.

Speaking about the campaign Swiggy AVP Marketing Ashish Lingamneni said, “There are very few things for a marketer that match the thrill of a properly executed UGC campaign. We’re hoping this hits the right chords, literally. By innovating with the voice note feature on Instagram, we're excited to offer our audience a creative way of interacting with Swiggy and expressing their love for food, winning a year's worth of food vouchers in the process.”

Dentsu Webchutney executive creative director PG Aditya managed to squeeze in a couple of words: “This is by far the wackiest use of Instagram yet. Watching adults blabbering gibberish all day on voice notes has been nothing but a blast. The first 12 hours of the challenge saw close to 10,000 entries. We like our inboxes like we like our excitement: overflowing.”

So far, #SwiggyVoiceOfHunger has seen participation from social media influencers like Rohan Joshi, Srishti Bansal and TheFilmyKudi with several surprises planned around the challenge.

Your mom’s birthday is coming soon and you want to make it a memorable day for her. You would want to compensate the day for not being able to be there around her always. If you are thinking of buying gold, it would be the best gift you could give. But, you don’t know what in gold to gift?

Gold Chain

A gold chain with a variety of designs which she could wear it with or without a pendant. You could also pair it with a cute and beautiful pendant. A chain adds to the existing beauty of the neck and adds a different kind of glow to the face. Wearing a gold chain without a pendant looks equally elegant.

Gold Necklace

Gold necklace is one of the perfect gold gifts you could buy. Choose from various gold necklace designs with weight you want to gift. Necklaces are every woman’s dream and it makes the look of the saree or dresses so elegant. There are beautiful designs to choose from, with different combinations of weights.

Gold Bangles

Bangles made from the yellow metal are just perfect. It is considered as one of the purest forms of traditional wealth; just not in the name of gold or money but also the way it is passed on from generations to generations. You could even select from gold bangle designs for daily use, ideal for your mother. 

Gold Earrings

Gold earrings, with diamond studded, just beautiful. The gold will melt her heart and the diamond will brighten her face.

If you plan to buy gold online, there are various websites which are authentic and safe to buy from. You could even do your research from which site to buy from, comparing the prices from their price lists online. If you are worried about being cheated with the quality of gold, don’t worry, you can verify the certification of the gold.

You can compare the making charges of different stores before you buy your perfect gift. Of course, you want it to be special for her, but you don’t want to spend extra or unnecessary cost which could be saved by buying the same design from a different store having less making charges.

Buying jewelry online would reduce your cost because you wouldn’t be traveling to different stores and check their designs. And you don’t have be reminded of the benefits of shopping online if buying from a trusted website. The price of the jewelry online will be less than that of ones in the store, because they don’t have to spend on the store, on sales representatives, and related fixed costs.

Yes, buying gold is not an easy decision because it includes weights, designs, making charges, then a quality certificate, 24 carats or 18 carats, what is the quality of the stones studded on the jewelry and what not. Relax, you don’t have to worry. The sales representative at the store will explain to you everything you want to know and the manuals and FAQs on the website will inform you about everything you must know while buying gold jewelry.

MUMBAI: In an endeavour to transform India through transforming lives, Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. (KNPL), pioneer of ‘Healthy Home Paints’, has beautified Indira Bhavan in Prayagraj in sync with the theme of ongoing Kumbh Mela 2019. The art-depiction on Indira Bhavan is to commemorate saints, sadhus, and pilgrims from all walks of life.

Speaking on the occasion Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd GM – marketing Peeyush Bachlaus said, “As Pablo Picasso had once said, the purpose of art is to wash the dust of daily life off our souls. The Kumbh Mela is graced by millions of devotees who travel to the pilgrim centre from all cultures and walks of life to take the holy dip at the sacred ‘Triveni Sangam’. Depicting this spirit of MahaKumbh and synergising it with our belief of transforming India through transforming lives, we at Kansai Nerolac found it opportune to connect with our audiences by showcasing our homage to the city / the festival.”

YUVA Foundation founder and Kumbh Art Festival curator Shantanu Gupta quoted, “It gives us immense delight to have partnered with Kansai Nerolac and be a part of the Kumbh. We have tried to assimilate the spirit of Kumbh through Nerolac shades that we have used in the mural on the facade of Indira Bhavan. Over the past few years, there hasn’t been enough attention given to artistic aesthetics in urban regions and the visual appeal it can bring to the cities in our country. And hence large-scale wall artwork during festivals is what our team looks at to change that trend. Under #AyodhyaArtFest and #KumbhArtFest, we have created cultural artwork on public and private walls in Ayodhya and Prayag respectively.”

Apart from the painting the 30,000 sq ft area of the building, Kansai Nerolac has also actively participated with Delhi Street Art in beautifying the town of Prayagraj, by painting 10,000 sq ft of the city walls. Nerolac, along with extensive support from its paint trade dealer network will also act as distribution centres, will make over 3-lakh customised cans available for the devotees to carry the holy-water from the Ganges home. To retain the purity of the canned liquid, they will include a shankha made of alum to champion the cause of purifying the holy Ganges.

MUMBAI: The 14th edition of the premiere Advertising Festival -  Goafest 2019, presented by Viacom18 is just around the corner and the preparations are in full momentum for the apex industry event and awards. Celebrating creative excellence in the Advertising and Media industry, the ABBY awards presented every year at the festival  is a key focus area for the fraternity to showcase their their best work. The Advertising Agencies Association of India &The Advertising Club have now announced the Awards Governing Council for the prestigious awards. 

 The  celebrated Awards Governing Council for the ABBY’s 2019 are. 
Awards Governing Council  on behalf of The Advertising Club 
•    Shashi Sinha: Chairman of the Awards Governing Council, ABBY Awards 2019, Secretary - The Advertising Club and CEO, IPG Mediabrands India
•    Vikram Sakhuja: President, The Advertising Club & Group CEO - Madison Media & OOH - ‎Madison World
•    Ajay Kakar: Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital
•    Ajay Chandwani: Director, Percept Ltd
•    Aditya Swamy: Head – Agency Partnerships , Google
•    Sapangeet Rajawat: Head – Marketing, Hindi Mass Entertainment

Awards Governing Council  on behalf of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI)
•    Nakul Chopra; Chairman - Goafest 2019
•    Ashish Bhasin: Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network - ‎Aegis Group plc
•    Anupriya Acharya: CEO, Publicis Media India
•     Rohit Ohri: Group Chairman and CEO, FCB India 
•    Jaydeep Gandhi: Chairman & Director, Jaya Advertising

Speaking on the focus of the AGC  for the upcoming edition, Shashi Sinha, Chairman of the Awards Governing Council, ABBY Awards 2019 & Secretary, The Advertising Club said  “The newly appointed Awards Governing Counicl is committed to ensuring that the awards are inclusive and have multi sectoral  representation.  The combined experience  and the expertise of the council is sure to ensure that  all aspects of the awards from jury selection  to jury deliberation and review and  winner announcement thereafter is conducted with the highest standards of due diligence.”       

Speaking about the awards, Mr. Ashish Bhasin, President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) said, “ABBY Awards have always been  the highlight of the festival and a key plaform for  the young minds from the industry to showcase the pioneering work done by them through the year . The awards governing council council formed to conduct this marquee awards includes industry thought leaders and media mavens who will come together to deliver another inclusive , highly represented  and  successful  year of the ABBY’s.”

Speaking about the AGC appointment, Vikram Sakhuja: President, The Advertising Club said “Winning an ABBY has always been a careed defining moment  for and the awards have year on year ensured that only the best in class campaigns that have showcased effectiveness and creativity are lauded. The newly appointed Awards Governing Counicl will ensure that the ABBYs continue to live up to its repute of being the ultimate industry awards that celebrate meritorious campaigns.”

Mr. Nakul Chopra, Chairman - Goafest 2019 said “ Every year ABBY’s have  not just recognized the best in best work done by the industry but also encouraged individuals from the industry to innovate and push boundaries to deliver the best creative campaigns.  We are sure that this year too will see  a lot of innovative work entered that will be judjed by a renowned  jury panel curated by the eminent Awards Governing Council.”  

Presented by the Advertising Club and AAAI the Goafest 2019 will once again see the entire advertising and marketing fraternity soon come together in Goa in April 2019.  

MUMBAI: Reckitt Benckiser has taken a milestone leap in the direction of driving a transformational change on sanitation and hygiene by launching its ‘Dettol Banega Swachh India Handwash Digital Curriculum’, in collaboration with the All India Imam Organization.

The event was graced by All India Imam Organization chief imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi and also saw presence of other dignitaries including India Islamic Centre chairman Sirajuddin Qureshi.

RB Health India senior vice president, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia (AMESA) Gaurav Jain said, “We are proud at the way Dettol BSI has created a deep impact on the hygiene and sanitation habits of people across India, by driving behavior change in the last four years. Now in its fifth year, we are focusing on driving behavior change through collective community efforts. Consequently, we will execute this campaign in a phased manner to sensitise about 6 crore children in over 5,50,000 madrasas in India, over a period of five years. I strongly believe that this effort would help boost the movement we have gathered to reach the desired goal of overall cleanliness and health.”

Commenting on the development, Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, said, “I am overjoyed to share the news of the partnership between the All India Imam Organization and Dettol Banega Swachh India. As part of this first-of-its-kind partnership, we would include the Dettol BSI Handwash Digital Curriculum in the entire educational syllabus across all the madrasas in India. We will take this initiative to other countries in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and, eventually, turn it into a global program. Children are the change-agents of the society, and this step is going to ensure that we inspire these young minds to inculcate the learning into a habit, through engaging multi-media tools and activities such as animated videos, which would turn them into influencers for others, and nation-builders of tomorrow.”

As part of the campaign activations, Dettol BSI plans to expand its hygiene and sanitation curriculum to sensitise about 6 crore children in over 5,50,000 madrasas, over a period of five years, across multiple states in India. Additionally, appropriate efforts will also be made towards increased training and capacity building among teachers at madrasas to ensure effectiveness of the curriculum.

The campaign will be focused on helping children build healthy habits, focusing on cleanliness, from early childhood. This will be done through videos and multiple activities and tools that will be both fun and engaging. The curriculum would focus on highlighting the importance of good hand washing practices, benefits of regular hand washing in preventing the spread of diseases and improving the overall health of growing children.

MUMBAI: In the third week of its launch, Republic TV BHARAT has built significant viewer engagement in the HSM Market.  The channel’s reach spiked by 50% garnering 96.08 million eyeballs. Bharat’s extensive focus on big stories nearly doubled the impressions delivering 142million impressions.  R.Bharat witnessed a double digit growth in the HSM market making it the fastest growing Hindi news channel.

 At 18.2 minutes per viewer R.BHARAT  continues to deliver higher time spent due to its exclusive news coverage. 

On Saturday, 16th February, wide expanse of on-ground reporters captured the national sentiment after the Pulwama attack.Republic Bharat ensured non-stop coverage of the Pulwama martyrs’ final journey and India’s Last Salute to them.

The coverage included reporters being present near Wagah Border as well as anchoring of shows from India Gate, which allowed the Bharat viewers to get a massive diversity in content while staying with the core sentiment and resolve of nationalism across the country.  Keeping the focus on Pakistan from The Hague, Republic Media Network’s Legal Editor was reporting live and getting non-stop exclusives on India’s strategy on the Kulbhushan Jadhav case at the ICJ from Netherlands. This added a different dimension to the Indo-Pak relationship post the Pulwama attack. 

On 17th February, Republic Bharat’s anchor Sucherita Kukreti was live from Pulwama, where she spoke to CRPF jawans present during the convoy attack.  The energy, the resolve and the ‘josh’ in the CRPF Jawans at Pulwama despite the attack uplifted the sentiments of every Indian. 

At a time when every Indian was thinking about what they could do to help isolate the enemy, Republic Bharat had launched a nationwide campaign to isolate Pakistan right from the local level, which got immense feedback. 

From Bharat extensively covering the massive decision to cut off any extra water being given to Pakistan via River Ravi on good faith, to upholding it's belief in Rashtra Sarvopari, Bharat was at the forefront of reporting and taking a position that campaigned wholly for India’s interests and Nation First. 

Ending the week on a big high in terms of content, Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami got the first interview with the Union Home Minister on 22nd February (Friday) wherein Mr. Rajnath Singh declared India’s decision to fight “a decisive battle” against terrorism post the Pulwama attack and reassured the nation on the way forward. 

Through the week, there was an overwhelming feeling of Bharat echoing the sentiments of the people of India and the brave Forces by roaring: Rashtra Ke Naam and Nation First. 

MUMBAI: Pepperfry.com, India’s No.1 Furniture and Home products marketplace, announced the launch of Gift Registry - a first of its kind service by an Indian e-commerce company. A unique service, it will make gifting social and convenient for home and furniture consumers across the country. Through this launch, Pepperfry wants to partake in important buying occasions like weddings, housewarming, anniversaries, childbirth, etc. which is in line with Pepperfry’s mission to ‘spark a feeling called home’ in the lives of millions of Indians.

Pepperfry is known for its pioneering spirit in organizing the unorganized home and furniture segment.  The introduction of Gift Registry service is another step in the direction to make branded home and furniture products easily accessible to consumers.  It also establishes Pepperfry to be India’s first interior and home e-commerce marketplace as a full stack service provider offering interior solutions and an exclusive gifting avenue.

As the leader in the furniture and home segment, Pepperfry is known to provide enhanced and hassle-free shopping experiences to its customers. Over the past 7 years, Pepperfry has built a highly differentiated and curated portfolio of over lakh products on the marketplace. Pepperfry’s unparalleled catalogue is design diverse and caters to a varied consumer demographic. This is backed by Pepperfry’s robust big-box logistics service spread across 500 cities with the shortest turn-around time in the industry.

Leveraging these strong service capabilities and its deep understanding of the Indian consumer, Pepperfry has introduced Gift Registry - a convenient and technologically superior service for consumers across the country who are seeking avenues of gifting home and furniture productsto their friends and family in a seamless and hassle-free manner. It is positioned to transform home and furniture gift shopping by making it social thus further enhancingPepperfry’s consumer experience. It strengthens Pepperfry’s position as a one-stop-shop for its consumers not only for their own home and furniture requirements but, also while choosing presents for their special occasions.

In an endeavour to make an arduous task of gifting a simple, virtual and social activity Pepperfry users can create a Gift Registry on the marketplace by adding their desired products to a wish list through a single click of a button.  This list can be shared with their friends and family via Whatsapp, Facebook and other social channels. To further simplify the process the contribution amount can also be split easily for a selected product by different individuals. Once Pepperfry receives the complete value for the wish listed product the order will be delivered to the recipient. Taking the promise of convenience, a step further, the Pepperfry Gift Registry is available across various payment modes like ATM/Debit cards, Credit cards, Net Banking, EMI and Pepperfry Gift Cards.

Talking about the launch of this service, Abhimanyu Lal, Chief Product Officer, Pepperfry said, “As the leaders in this segment, Pepperfry continues to bring groundbreaking introductions to expand the home and interior market. While the concept of a Gift Registry is popular in various markets globally, we are delighted to have pioneered the concept in Indian e-commerce at a grand scale by offering this service across 500 plus cities.  Through this service, we aim to change the landscape of the gifting process and form a deeper engagement with our consumers through improved shopping experiences.”

The Gift Registry service is available across all existing Pepperfry platforms- Desktop, WAP and APP and the products will be delivered to 500+ cities that the company currently caters to. All the products available on the Pepperfry marketplace can be availed through this service.  

MUMBAI: Over the last two decades IdeateLabs has established itself as one of India’s biggest independently funded end-to-end digital media companies. With offices in Mumbai, Dubai and Singapore, IdeateLab’s has catered to some of India’s biggest brands such as Future Group, HT Media, Hiranandani Group, Tata Teleservices amongst others. In line with the ever-transforming media landscape and varied consumer needs, IdeateLabs is set to introduce a series of new IP’s each designed to cater to a unique consumer base, the first of which is Alcohowl – India’s one and only platform for fine drinking experiences.

Alcohowl follows the philosophy that fine drinking isn’t just about what’s in the bottle, but the story and soul behind every sip. Alcohowl aims at creating the perfect blend of alcohol related events, reviews, tastings and trends to give alcohol connoisseurs a different outlook on the art of fine drinking.

Vrutika Dawda, Director, IdeateLabs calls it a “dynamic futuristic direction,” adding “At IdeateLabs we pride in our ability to combine content and consumer experience to deliver strong results, Alcohowl is one such example of that. It is a wholly niche space, but one that is far too overlooked. We’re in the midst of a cultural shift and as ones’ exposure to global culture and hospitality increases, the demand for unique avenues that provide such experiences will increase as well. Alcohowl is the first of its kind in this sunrise sector that is soon to witness a boom. We’re thrilled with the potential it offers and excited to see where we can take this.”

Vrutika added, “We are committed towards creating communities led by strong content. As a company we intend to focus on community led marketing. Taking that into account we dipped into the fabulous talent pool at IdeateLabs, Pallavi Naidu, one of our own will be fronting Alcohowl as the CEO. With her intrinsic knowledge of the space and the consumer base we’re targeting as well as her exceptional instinct for success, Pallavi is sure to take Alcohowl to great heights.”

Speaking of the platform, Pallavi Naidu, CEO, Alcohowl, said, “Alcohowl is all about the experience of fine drinking. We understand that while there are platforms that focus on food and beverage, none of them exclusively cater to alcohol connoisseurs. With Alcohowl, we not only intend to present them with a unique perspective, but also weave a story around their experience. It is about shifting away from the mundane and diving into a world of niche spirits and drinks. As a brand, Alcohowl will be present at two levels, as a digital platform creating custom content for the consumers in the form of our upcoming E-Magazine and branded videos and as an on-ground experiential platform providing curated experiences through special events and activities”

Currently operating only in Mumbai, Alcohowl is rapidly expanding their presence, starting with Goa, Delhi and Bangalore. Alcohowl will soon be launching India’s first E-Magazine dedicated to fine drinking and partnering with brands and OTT players to create custom content.

MUMBAI: The third edition of Indiatelevision.com’s The Content Hub had an insightful panel on the global syndication market. The panel consisted of Go Quest Media ventures MD Vivek Lath, Swastik Productions and One Life Studios MD Rahul Kumar Tewary, MX Player head-content acquisition Mansi Shrivastav, Sony head networks - licencing Malvika Prabhu and ANM Global co-founder partner Nidhish Mehrotra and moderated by Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.

Go Quest Media ventures MD Vivek Lath said that a lot of countries are now doing indigenous production. “But what they lack is the kind of creative maturity and evolution India has gone through. That’s where we see much larger opportunity going forward.”

Swastik Productions and One Life Studios MD Rahul Kumar Tewary said that the demand for Indian content has reduced over time. “But what we need to understand is what kind of content we are creating. Does it resonate with the international audience or are we only catering to the Indian market? In the end, it is a business and we only cater to the Indian market. But if we really want our content to travel the world, I guess we need to re-look at what kind of content we are creating,” he said.

Another issue syndication faces is that, according to Lath, Indian content creators don’t value their content as people from Korea, Turkey and China do because of which it is underpriced. Tewary agreed with Lath and said, “Turkish, Chinese and Korean dramas have got a standard market price. No one brings the market price down. So they value their content. Unfortunately, we are the cheapest. You can sell it for $50-70.”

Much of Indian content travels to Southeast Asia because it has a similar market. In India, shows are telecast for 5-6 days a week which is 260-312 episodes a year. It becomes difficult to sell so many episodes across the world because the appetite for such viewing is lacking. With Thailand emerging as a new market in the last two years, it helped cushion the impact from the other markets. Latin America is also a promising area but tough to crack which Tewary feels will open up soon.

The genres that are doing well currently are animation, fantasy, mythology and the modern drama series. Experts also foresee a future demand for Indian horror thrillers on OTT platforms, because of their high production quality. Lath believes that GEC dramas are the fastest moving in the international markets across 60-odd countries.

The deciding factor for content buying is the platform. MX Player head-content acquisition Mansi Shrivastav said, “I think for OTT there is more flexibility because there is an ability to programme for an individual customised experience. When you are buying for linear TV, you have to keep the overall target audience in mind and there is only one kind of programming."

For OTT, there is still limited data available on usage and behaviour patterns. But sometimes, you follow your gut and take a risk. MX Player has just bought 100,000 hours of content which varies from two-minute videos to long-form series. “Movies in each language are important to us because there is a lot of traction for that. But we are buying across top ten languages; we are giving a lot of importance to regional markets including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, etc. and Hindi, of course, is a key language,” Shrivastav added.

According to experts, the Indian content export business excluding movies is around Rs 400 crore as the syndication of Indian content started only from 2007 onwards. “I think in the future, animation is something which is going to add on a lot of export to India in the next 5-10 years,” Tewary concluded.   

MUMBAI: Much of the Indian TV market is ruled in one way – the broadcasters keep IP rights for the shows and not the production houses. The scenario is the same whether it’s Hindi GEC or kids or lifestyle. Indiantelevision.com’s The Content Hub hosted a panel discussion ‘Animation Producers: Getting Animated’ with panellists Discovery Kids head Uttam Pal Singh, Golden Robot Animation head of business development RK Chand, Paper Boat Animation chairman, creative director Soumitra Ranade and Biscopewala managing partner Nishith Takia. The session was moderated by Kinsane Entertainment CMO Pranab Punj.

Emphasising the retention of IP rights, Ranade said, “IP creation is a big thing and for this socio-political aspects are to be kept in mind as to what kids are watching now and five years later. But for this, we need to create relevant stories. It’s not going to work if we make B grade version of Disney or Pixar.”

Singh said that Discovery Kids is making relatable shows for the Indian market and targeting global reach with OTTs. The idea behind making Little Singham was to create an IP and make it a brand.

While speaking of the emergence of OTT platforms, Singh was of the opinion that he has not seen significant investment from the OTT players to create IPs which come to the OTT platform first and then on linear television. He added, “While OTT is growing and most of the English TV genres have been affected immensely in terms of audiences, the kids' genre, on the other hand, has grown on Indian television. It has grown to 8 per cent as per BARC report and we still see that a broadcaster has maximum reach as opposed to OTT platforms.”

Moreover, Chand said that OTT platforms have given them the scope to explore new ideas and stories. He said, “The entire catalogue of Chhota Bheem was the first kids content on Amazon. OTT gives us a range of audience that isn’t restricted to TV. Netflix and Amazon have enabled us to innovate stories and characters.”

Takia revealed that his company is talking to OTT platforms in a bid to make content for them. He added that budgets restrict the quality of animation. “We feel that very few people understand the aesthetic behind the project. Budgets also restrict the quality of animation. If you want to create high-quality content, you need high budgets,” he said.

MUMBAI: Clinique, the skin care brand has introduced Bollywood actress Radhika Apte as its first brand ambassador for India. Known for her real, natural and authentic approach to beauty, Apte exemplifies Clinique’s philosophy of empowering, inspiring and delivering happiness to women by celebrating natural beauty through great skin.  

“Since its inception, Clinique has paved the way for the beauty industry in delivering innovative, high-performance skincare ahead of its time, while uploading its foundation of inspiring confidence and embracing natural beauty at the heart of everything it does”, says Estée Lauder Companies India general manager Rohan Vaziralli. “Similarly, Radhika is a trailblazer in her line of work - through the roles she portrays to empowering women to focus on inner beauty. She is fresh, dynamic, young, strong minded, natural and genuine, making her the perfect expression of Clinique. We’re delighted to welcome Radhika to the Clinique India family and am confident she will inspire millennial consumers in India and around the world.”

“What better way to start this year than with Clinique!”, says Radhika Apte. “Skin care has always been an integral part of my beauty regime alongside drinking water, staying fit and sleeping well. I’ve long admired Clinique and strongly believe in its philosophy of great skin equals happiness. Joining this family is extremely special as it’s the first time Clinique India has had a brand face, so it’s a privileged opportunity and I hope to inspire women to be real, natural and authentic in everything they do, without forgetting that beauty lies in simply being happy!”

Clinique India aims to increase brand awareness, deepen consumer engagement and drive education on the importance of good skincare habits through a series of campaigns featuring Apte in 2019. Audiences will see her appear in her first campaign for a new revolutionary moisturizer, Clinique iD™ in March 2019 followed by its cult hydrator, Moisture Surge™ in May 2019. Apte's campaigns will play across digital media, social media and in-store in India and around the world.

MUMBAI: Satyanarayan Jena, the chief financial officer of the MSO Ortel Communications has stepped down. The resignation of the executive was effective from yesterday.

“We hereby inform you that Satyanarayan Jena, has resigned from the post of chief financial officer of the company. The company has accepted his resignation and he will be relieved of his responsibilities effective from close of business hours on 28 February 2019,”  the company said in a BSE filing. Jena was elevated as CFO back in 2017 when Manoj Kumar Patra resigned from his position. He was associated with the company since 12 November 2015.  

Ortel Communications is undergoing corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) and as on 27 November 2018, the National Company Law Tribunal passed an order for comencement of CIRP in last November. Sony Pictures Networks India( SPNI), an operational creditor of Ortel filed the application.

MUMBAI: After the first season’s mammoth success, Bacardí House Party Sessions (BHPS) has announced its second edition with a spectacular line-up of winning artists – Ape Echoes, Zenith & Charan, and Pull. While the initial season largely witnessed EDM, this year had over 150 artists send in entries across a plethora of genres of music ranging from Ska, rock and hip-hop. BHPS is bringing on-board a few of the most celebrated voices of India’s music fraternity - Amit Trivedi, Benny Dayal and Mohini Dey, to mentor these winning artists.

The first season of Bacardí House Party Sessions saw the rise of a host of new talent from across the country. Some like Ritviz, whose journey to stardom has been meteoric right from his first BHPS track “Udd Gaye” to the all-new EP he recently launched under the BHPS banner, “Ved”. Going strong and steady in its second season, Bacardí House Party Sessions has not only dedicated itself towards fostering independent talent, but has also expanded the vision further by attracting more genres. All of these artists draw strong synergies with the Bacardí vibe and are ready to be fine-tuned by the stellar mentor bank, each of whom bring a distinct set of expertise in their respective genres. 

National award-winning composer Amit Trivedi says, “An upcoming artiste can face a number of challenges and, having been on this journey myself, I can fully attest to how impactful the right platform and the right mentors can be for an artiste at the onset of his or her music career.”

“When I was approached to be a part of Bacardi House Party Sessions and outlined their ambition to give back to the artiste community, it instinctively moved me to work with them on this initiative. I believe this platform gives up-and-coming artistes a chance to showcase the depth of talent that India's indie music scene has. My message to every artiste out there is to 'Do what moves you' and keep chasing your dream," he added.

Mr Anshuman Goenka, Marketing Head, Bacardí India says, “Bacardí has always been committed to the cause of independent music. The roaring success of Bacardí House Party Sessions Season 1 has inspired us to come out bigger, bolder and better with Season 2. Bacardí advocates the sentiment of ‘do what moves you’, and the idea is not to just find fresh talent, but to fuel these aspirations of the artists and be a part of their every milestone. With this platform, Bacardí is passionately nurturing the musicians of tomorrow, bringing their unique sounds to every house party scene. This year promises to be even more exciting owing to our collaboration with seasoned mentors to give this initiative a solid foundation, and take it a notch higher.” 

The next two months will see 3 incredible tracks being launched by the winning artists - Ape Echoes, Zenith & Charan, and Pull, co-created with their respective mentors Mohini Dey, Benny Dayal and Amit Trivedi. These artists will go on to perform at India’s Happiest Music Festival, Bacardí NH7 Weekender 2019, and tour across India through the express editions. 

MUMBAI: Usha International, one of India’s leading consumer durables company, is the sponsor for the annual Dr. Bharat Ram Open Sports Fest 2019 at Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi. This underscores the company’s commitment to encourage youngsters to adopt an active lifestyle and instill sporting spirit and values amongst them by providing them an inclusive platform to promote young talent across colleges in Delhi & NCR.

This year, Usha International will be setting up Learn-&-Create DIY stations at the Usha Experiential zone across the three-day event to introduce students to the easy-to-use yet technologically advanced Usha Janome automatic sewing machines like Dream Maker 120, Wonder Stitch Plus, and Allure. 

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Harvinder Singh, President for Cooking Appliances and Sewing Machines, Usha International said, “The Bharat Ram Open Sports Fest is a place where passion and energy comes together for exhilarating performances. It’s a great privilege to partner with LSR for this as it gives us a chance to engage with the youth and promote Usha International’s philosophy of an active and healthy lifestyle. To fuel some creative passion this year, we have set up an Usha Experiential Zone with DIY work stations for students to explore their artistic side and experience Usha International’s wide range of innovative sewing machines.  To add the fun and ‘active’ quotient, there are other activities including Spin the Wheel, Ultimate Frisbee, and a Fitness Challenge to keep the excitement alive.”

Ms. Meenakshi Pahuja, Assistant Professor, Physical Education- Lady Shri Ram College added, “Dr Bharat Ram Sports Meet, the annual sports event of Lady Shri Ram College For Women is one of the most awaited sporting event in the university circle. Here, we get to see so much potential, talent and dedication towards sports, it's inspirational and eye opening. Inspirational, as we get to see youth tap into their talent and explore leadership, peace, harmony and friendship. Eye opening in a way that doesn't just show us the growth in one's sport but also shows us the difference in our personalities and what makes us one. This sports meet is also a huge platform that encourages us to take on a healthy lifestyle, and work towards our goals."

Dr. Bharat Ram Open Sports Meet at the Lady Shri Ram College for Women is a three-day event from 28th February to 2nd March 2019, with participation of over 1200 young sportspersons from various colleges and universities of Delhi-NCR. This event has thirteen disciplines ranging from from archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, judo, lawn tennis, shooting, table tennis, volleyball, football, yoga, and para athletics.

Usha International supports numerous sports and related tournaments in the country including Ultimate Frisbee, Ladies and Amateur Golf, Marathon, Deaf Cricket, Junior Golf Training Programs, Blind Sports (Athletics, Kabaddi, Judo and Powerlifting) and Football.

MUMBAI: Viacom18’s flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Colors is all set to make its presence felt in the Indian Premier League 2019 through its brand association with three-time champions Mumbai Indians. Having established itself as the #1 channel in the premiere & urban Hindi category, Colors will be the principal sponsor for the Rohit Sharma-led side. Adding more color-ful hues to their bleed blue spirit, Mumbai Indians will don the Colors logo on the back of their jersey as showcase their mettle at the 12th edition of the IPL scheduled to kickstart on 23 March 2019.

Commenting on the partnership said a spokesperson from Viacom18 said, “Cricket is like a religion in India that brings every member of the family together and so does a leading general entertainment channel like Colors. Therefore, associating with the most popular cricketing team of IPL – Mumbai Indians which enjoys tremendous adulation, is a perfect blend with our brand positioning. Both Colors and Mumbai Indians are consistent, entertaining, ambitious and aggressive and exemplify the same ethos. This is yet another avenue for us to connect with our audiences both on and off the field as well as on-air.”

Setting the tone for the IPL fever, Colors will bring viewers closer to the Mumbai Indians players through a series of innovative integrations and contests on-air as well as through digital engagement.

Mumbai Indians spokesperson added, “We are extremely delighted to bring COLORS as the Principle Sponsor for Mumbai Indians and look forward to developing a long term, mutual benefiting association. Through the journey this IPL, Mumbai Indians and COLORS will create consumer-centric entertaining content, which we hope our global fans will appreciate and associate with.”

MUMBAI: Virgin TV has become the UK’s first ever Pay TV provider to add an on-demand library of films and shows through two Asian entertainment apps.

The Desi App Pack, which Virgin TV customers can add to their package from Thursday 28th February 2019, brings together two of India’s biggest entertainment apps – Eros Now and Voot – into an easy to access apps pack that allows TV viewers to watch a range of shows and movies at a click of a button.

There are multiple hours of content for viewers to watch which is available in more than 10 languages.

Voot is home to exclusive original productions including It’s Not That Simple, Feet Up with the Stars and hit shows Bigg Boss, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Silsila Badalte Rishton Ka amongst others and over 400 movies.

Eros Now has a blockbuster library of more than 12,000 films including original productions such as Operation Cobra and Enaaya.

Those who currently have Asian Mela TV as part of their subscription can add the service for just £6 per month. It is £12 per month for all other customers.

Customers can add the service though their TV set box or over the phone. To access the Desi App Pack, customers will need a V6 box and go to channel 800 and press the red button on their remote.

Over the past year Virgin TV has invested and bolstered its Asian TV offering with new channels and upgraded many standard definition channels to HD.

David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said: “We designed our V6 TV box to work seamlessly with on demand apps such as Netflix and to maximise the power of our fibre network for instantaneous access to the limitless programming available on demand. The addition of the Desi apps further strengthens our lead in the on demand viewing experience”

Commenting on the integration deal, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO - Eros Digital said: “With increasing consumption of cross border content and popularity of Indian films, we are excited to announce our collaboration with Virgin Media. Eros Now is the largest South Asian Video Service with close to 16M paid subscriber’s world over and the United Kingdom is one of our primary international markets. We are happy to cater to this growing community with best of Indian content and remain focused on expanding our global presence by exploring opportunities to connect with local audiences.”

Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18 said: “The UK consists of a vibrant Asian diaspora and is indeed one of our stronger overseas markets. Virgin TV’s Desi Apps pack is a winning proposition for all involved – consumers can now view the best of entertainment, on demand on VOOT, and it opens up an entire range of audiences for our content as well.”

MUMBAI: PromaxBDA is back with its 16th India edition. Since 1997, PromaxBDA has honoured creativity, innovation, and storytelling in the media and entertainment industry. In 2019, PromaxBDA India is once again committed to celebrate exceptional work in promotions, design, and marketing. They have revealed ‘The New Wave’ as this year’s exciting theme.

“What’s best if we can ride the new wave and turn this force of nature that impacts our creative world by embracing new frontiers and thriving in this whirlpool of change. If we can all ride the crest of the new wave, we’d have the most spectacular view of our lives”, said Raj Nayak, Ex-Chief Operating Officer Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd and PromaxBDA India 2019 Conference Chair.

To catch the dynamic digital wave, PromaxBDA has added cutting-edge digital categories to its schedule. These include “Best Social Media Campaign for A Channel” and “Best Content for Digital”. Additional categories added to this year’s robust roster are “Set Design (Physical or Digital)” and an upgrade to the preexisting special category, “Best Promo Not in Hindi Or English”.

Rajika Mittra, Country Head (India, Hong Kong, and the Philippines), PromaxBDA said. “Creativity has always been at the core of PromaxBDA. The rapid increase of smartphones users and the sudden growth in media consumption in India is creating a technological shift at a fast pace. This has unleashed a new wave of energy and productivity, as content creators, promo makers, advertisers, and marketers are focusing on higher, cognitive thinking. At PromaxBDA, this time we want to stay focused on the big question - what all can you do to set sail the new wave”.

PromaxBDA evaluates the competition each year to ensure that the awards are relevant and responds to latest trends in short format content and creative advancements within the television and broadcast industry. With a spectacular line-up of distinguished speakers including Carl Addy, Creative Director at Mill+ and Richard Holman, Creative Thinker, Writer & Speaker already in their kitty, PromaxBDA 2019 promises multifaceted creativity and a rich experience.

PromaxBDA is accepting entries for all categories for 2019. The deadline to enter the PromaxBDA India awards is 11th March’19. Entry details, information on the bootcamps & masterclasses, and award rules & regulations can be found on the PromaxBDA India website promaxindia.tv

BENGALURU: The Sunil Mittal-headed Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Ltd (Airtel) has informed the bourses that its board of directors (the board) in its meeting held on. Thursday, February 28, 2019, has considered the recommendations of 'Special Committee of Directors for Fund Raising' and thereby approved the fund raising of up to Rs 32,000 crore through rights issuance of upto Rs 25,000 crore; and Perpetual Bond with equity credit up to Rs 7000 crore.

The Perpetual bond of will be up to USD 1 billion (approximately Rs 7000 crore) denominated in foreign currency subject to price, market conditions and other terms and conditions as acceptable, and with conditions allowing for full accounting equity credit and subject to all applicable laws including under ECB Regulations.

Further, the Board approved the following terms of the Rights Issue:

a) Rights Issue Price: Rs 220 per fully paid equity share (including a premium of Rs 215 per fully paid equity share over face value of Rs 5 per share); and

b) Rights entitlement ratio: 19 shares for every 67 shares held by eligible shareholders as on the record date.

Airtel has not been very effective in countering what it termed in one of its media releases Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm’s ‘predatory pricing’. The company has lost subscribers, wireless as well as wireless broad subscribers in the month of December 2018 as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) latest monthly Telecom Reports. The company has not fared as well as in the past as per its quarterly report for the third quarter (Quarter ended December 31, 2018, Q3 2019).

MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company wants to have a grip on the US streaming service Hulu. According to reports, Disney is in active discussions with AT&T to acquire the 10 per cent stake that WarnerMedia owns in the streaming platform.

Disney holds 30 per cent stake in the WarnerMedia Company, combined with another 30 per cent deal with Fox which is finalied and if it succeeds in convincing AT&T, Disney will own 70 per cent of Hulu.

According to the reports that originated in Variety, Disney’s intentions are to keep Hulu as an adult-oriented, general entertainment hub, while its forthcoming Disney+ SVoD service will complement it as a family-friendly platform. Disney would also likely seek to expand Hulu into international markets.

NBCUniversal's CEO Steve Burke revealed back in January that Disney also wanted to buy the 30 percent stake the media conglomerate owns, but the company wasn't looking to sell. Disney's offer for AT&T's portion won't fall on deaf ears, though: AT&T has been thinking of selling WarnerMedia's portion to prepare for its own streaming service's launch later this year. 

MUMBAI: While social media giant Facebook promised to prioritise user data privacy amid widespread controversy, the company is going to launch its much-awaited privacy tool titled 'Clear History' later this year. This new feature would enable users to delete their information collected by Facebook through third-party apps and websites.

The step has been taken at a time when Facebook is under scrutiny by regulators as well as facing backlash worldwide for lack of data security. Following Cambridge Analytica scandal, the feature was announced in May 2018.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the tool as a "simple control to clear your browsing history on Facebook—what a user has clicked on, what websites they visited etc". Facebook's chief financial officer David Wehner revealed that the Clear History tool was in development and could be expected to launch later this at the Morgan Stanley, Media and Telecom Conference in Barcelona.

Wehner said the new feature would give Facebook headwinds affecting its ability to target users with adverts. "We want to make sure this works the way it should for everyone on Facebook, which is taking longer than expected," the social media giant said according to media reports.

"In your web browser, you have a simple way to clear your cookies and history. The idea is a lot of sites need cookies to work, but you should still be able to flush your history whenever you want. We're building a version of this for Facebook too," Zuckerberg wrote earlier in a personal post on Facebook after the announcement.