-

Adgully, caught up with Raakesh Paswan, producer and writer by profession, who shared his experience as a producer and gave us insights about his present show (as a producer) Afsar Bitiya.

We asked Paswan, to share his experience of the transformation from being a writer to a producer. He said, “Even when I was a writer, I used to always think of starting my own company and becoming a producer. At the age of 16, I wrote my first play and since then, I was involved with theatre. During that phase I wrote 10-12 plays. Later, I joined a radio station and wrote plays for them as well. After that I came to Mumbai and wrote sporadically but for the last 5 years, I have been writing regularly and professionally. As a writer, I have established my contacts in the industry and the broadcasters also trust me. I guess these are very important credentials to become a producer.”

On whether being a writer or a producer, which role he prefers more, Paswan replied, “Both have their own special attributes. Since I play both the roles, I can’t differentiate. Whenever I produce a new show, I conceive and develop the concept and also write down the initial episodes to give it the correct shape. As a writer when I write, my job is done. But now that I am a producer, my job does not end there. I have to ensure that it is depicted properly on screen. It may sound surprising, but because I play both the roles, once for my regional show I re-shot scenes because I did not feel it was depicted correctly. My team is always very scared of me that I am capable of taking such steps such in the future too. Both roles have creative aspects and I am happy to enact both.”

About his previous show as a producer Baba Aiso Var Dhundho, Paswan explained the idea behind such a concept. He said, “I went to a wedding in Jamshedpur, where I saw this 35-year-old lady who was a midget. I was watching her for quite some time and then I saw few of her relatives all of whom were in the 7-8 year age bracket. They had the same height as her. When this lady asked them not to play in the mud, they turned around and pushed her. She reacted very strongly to this. Witnessing that incident made me realize how someone’s height can decide someone’s strength and personality. That was the time I have conceived the idea of Baba and then later on, I gave my own style to make it apt for the daily soap format.”

He also explained the concept behind the show AfsarBitiya. He said, “My own sister, Payel, is a BDO officer in Jharkhand. I have seen her hard work and her willingness to achieve this status. I always encouraged her to pursue education. I also sent her to Delhi to get special tuitions for this. When she got selected for the BDO exams and cleared all the stages, our whole family atmosphere changed. I saw the immense joy and pride in my parents eyes. Then I thought this can be a nice subject for the television viewers, where I can play a key role to inspire people to pursue education.

We asked Paswan, what kind of concept works today in GEC, “I feel there is no certain formula on television which works. I can tell you about my forte for sure. I always have been showcasing socially relevant subjects because I feel audience can relate to that. But I always maintained that it has to be entertaining otherwise viewers will get bored after a few episodes. Hard hitting subjects with the entertainment quotient will do wonders for small screen. When I conceived shows like Bhagyavidhata, Shraddha and Baba Aisom, people were discussing how this subject will work for the audience, but I wrote it in such a way that people can enjoy the stories. It should not be preachy. One should not forget that, television is a medium of entertainment.”

According to Raakesh Paswan, to make a story successful in a daily soap format concept, back drop is very important. And, in a 30 minutes capsule we have to make sure the audience stays tuned. Nowadays, certain channels are touching upon some offbeat subjects, do you think it’s a gamble to launch a show and then keep a watch if it works? “Not a gamble. As a producer when I see shows like ShubhVivah, PunarVivah, KyaHuaTeraVaada, I feel happy. We have seen that even in music industry many changes have happened, so why not in this industry. An audience should taste all kind of flavours,” commented, Paswan.

About where the GEC space heading today, he said, “I can’t answer this properly only a channel head will be able to give you a proper picture. But content wise if you ask me then I can say writers and creators of the shows should get more creative freedom.”

“For people who think and complained that Raakesh only writes rural-based shows, will stop complaining now. I, now am writing a story on Mumbai,” concluded, Paswan.

In the past, Raakesh Pawan, has written atleast twelve shows and the most popular ones include Dulhaan, Mamta, Ek Ladki Anjaani Si, Thodi Khushi Thode Gham,Jahan Pe Basera Ho, Meri Awaz Ko Mil Gayi Roshni and Hamari Devrani which became the turning point. He grew up in Jharkhand and later came to Mumbai and assisted directors in various production houses. He got an opportunity to write episodes for few shows and realised that this is something he always wanted to do.

-

The two groups have entered into a strategic alliance wherein Chitralekha Group will take care of the space selling for Eclectic Publications, pan India. As Mitrajit Bhattacharya, Publisher and President, Chitralekha Group visited the head office of Eclectic Publications in Guwahati to complete all formalities of this association, he mentioned, “North East is a very prominent market for lot of brands and we feel that this region has tremendous potential. In the next few years, the region is only going to get bigger in terms of business and we’re very happy and excited at the same time to be joined with EP which is a premium media house from the North East with a great eye for the future.”

As Chitralekha Group is a well-established publication house with a vast array of widely read magazines like Chitralekha Gujarati, Chitralekha Marathi, Watch World and BTW to name a few, they are understood to be aware of the market, have enough experience and the necessary expertise in the publishing world. Commenting on this new joint venture, Tanushree Hazarika, Publisher and Managing Editor, Eclectic Publications quoted, “Tying up with Chitralekha Group, which is one of the oldest publication houses of the country will help us in expanding our networks and resources all over the country. Being from the North East, we understand the requirements, demands and trends of this region and with this alliance we aim to add a vast array of resources which the brands and clients can make full use of!”

Eclectic Times and Eclectic Vibes are the two premium monthly magazines published by Eclectic Publications and the magazines are circulated in all the eight states of the North East and Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata. At present, the circulation figure of Eclectic Times is over 64000 and that of Eclectic Vibes is over 35000. In the near future, the group also plans to increase its presence across India. Both the magazines are also available online and across all Android and Apple platforms so the readers have access to the magazines anytime, anywhere!

-

In 2000, Whistling Woods International – Institute for Film Communication Animation and Media Arts, Mumbai was established through a joint venture between Mukta Arts Limited and Filmcity Mumbai, under which Filmcity was supposed to bring in 20 acres of land as its share of the equity and Mukta Arts was to bring in cash resources towards setup of a Film & Media Institute.

Whistling Woods commenced operations in 2006 and over the past 6 years has built its brand as one of the best film schools in India, and has even been listed as one of the ten best film schools in the world by The Hollywood Reporter.

The court has stayed its order for a period of 8 weeks. The order requires WWI to surrender 14.5 acres currently not in use while continuing operations for two more years. Mukta Arts is aggrieved by the order and is confident that it will get due justice in the Supreme court as Mukta Arts was not responsible for any procedural lapses and Mukta Arts has delivered more than its promise under the Agreement.

Mukta Arts would respond with a detailed release after receiving the copy of the judgment.

-

MangoStreet is the first online site for shopping branded kidswear and accessories for the age group between 2-16 years. The portal brings collection from some of the biggest brands in the categories of apparels and accessories.

Started by Mohit Yadav, a dynamic young CEO of MangoStreet.com who seems to have solved the problems of many fashion savvy parents by giving them a perfect platform to shop for branded apparels and accessories online. This online site provides a unique shopping experience to its customers and offers products at highly competitive prices.

Yadav sincerely intends to add convenience in the lives of contemporary generation of parents who are over occupied with social and professional commitments. This hassle free service provided by MangoStreet.com caters to the ever growing requirements of the kids and the process of efficient delivery is what makes us distinct remarks Mohit.

The kidswear segment is often the most neglected area when it comes to branded clothes. As time is graduating, the kids market has a greater potential and is expected to grow by 200% in the next 3 years. MangoStreet.com is all set to capture this opportunity and make it a lucrative market for times ahead.

MangoStreet is all set to pave its way into the e-commerce industry with its alluring branded collection. Their tie up with renowned brands such as Ed Hardy, Disney, Barbie, United Colors of Benetton, Ben10, Lilliput, Catmoss, Tantra pronounces perfection and unmatched quality. This online portal is a magic wand solution to the parents that adds a unique range of Fancy Dresses and Superheroes costumes like Superman, Spiderman etc.

MangoStreet has also tied up Bluedart for its effective delivery and offers a 365 day return policy which makes it unique in itself. Also the company is in talks with some of the reputed schools for providing school uniforms for the children.

With so many advantages, MangoStreet is surely the one stop shop for all your kids requirement. The world of fashion is now just a click away!!!!

-

This makeover will facilitate the stores’ vision of being on par with fashion brands worldwide. Growing 100 percent Y-on-Y this scintillating change will earn shoppers’ delight and build customer loyalty. Revolutionizing the Indian online fashion industry, Cbazaar.in showcases riot inducing karigari from different parts of India. Moving up the value chain and emerging as a high-end fashion brand, this power house of fashion gives the audience an opportunity to house an exquisite collection.

Venture into array of options crafted by Cbazaar.in, apart from the regular online shopping for Indian Designer Outfit. From introducing 150 – 200 designs everyday to reaching out to its customers in 54 countries in all continents, this avant garde store offers a unique shopping experience where you can get couture Indian outfits made as per your preference. From choosing the fabrics to opting for the patterns, get the magical designer touch created exclusively for each and every client.

Commenting on the new look, Rajesh Nahar, CEO & Co-Founder, Cbazaar.in said “Draping the theme of tranquility and ‘on the go’ attitude, Green has become the perfect choice for Cbazaar, the abode of traditional and contemporary fashion.”
For people who worship shopping, your prayers have been answered-the joy of online shopping, only at Cbazaar. Experience the fashion with online shopping at Cbazaar.in

-

Come digitization, the discerning consumer would look for quality, variety and a strong value proposition and operators who have the potential to offer these will stand to gain significantly. Backed by the belief that ‘content is the cornerstone for success’ and a deep understanding of the discerning consumers’ demand for quality and variety entertainment, the Company has positioned its 7 Channel strong bouquet to cater to a wide viewer palette:

1. BIG CBS Prime, a male skewed premium entertainment Channel (male 15+, SECA,7 metros)

2. BIG CBS Love, the first ever international women’s entertainment channel (female 15+, SECA,5 metros)

3. BIG CBS Spark, the first ever International youth Channel (4-24, SECA,7 metros)

4. BIG MAGIC, a variety entertainment Channel for the Hindi heartland (CS 4+ MP,UP, Bihar)

5. Spark Punjabi, the country’s first International Punjabi Channel (CS 4+, Punjab, 1mn+)

6. BIG RTL Channel in the action space

7. BloombergUTV, India’s premier Business news channel (male 25+, SEC A, 7 metros)

With the latest freshest, hottest content from America through BIG CBS Networks, Indian homes can continue to enjoy an unparalleled viewing experience of their favorite international shows. Similarly, the first International Punjabi Channel – Spark Punjabi ensures the PHCHP region also enjoys the best international content, dubbed in their local language. BIG MAGIC is the Hindi heartland’s only variety entertainment channel offering the best home grown content, which meets local sensibilities and is already a favorite amongst consumers. BIG RTL will bring with it some of the best reality and action programming from the world renowned RTL Group, which also houses Fremantle. And finally, BloombergUTV, powered by Bloomberg, the final word in business news globally, offers Indian viewers a differentiated business news viewing experience amongst the monochromatic competitive offering. The channels come together to offer both consumers and operators an excellent offering.

The multi-media campaign will spread across television, radio, out of home and the digital platforms and will be one of the largest initiatives in this space by any broadcaster. The campaign will be further sustained over the next 26 weeks across all Reliance Group platforms, including BIG FM’s 45 station radio network, it’s out of home arm – BIG Street, its 7 Channel Television network and its digital platforms.

Speaking on the Campaign, Vishal Rally, Business Head, BIG CBS Networks said, “Digitization will usher a new era of television broadcasting and the Choose Your Set-Top-Box Wisely campaign has been conceptualised and designed to benefit multiple stake-holders across consumers, operators and the channels. We are excited to present the most distinctive and eclectic content mix to the Indian viewers through our bouquet of channels, and encourage them to make a wise decision so they can continue to enjoy experience.”

-

Rishi Darda, Editorial Director & Joint MD, Lokmat Media Ltd, says, “Lokmat Connect had just assembled over a lakh of people in the stadium, and another 40 to 50 thousand outside, on a mid-week working morning, to set a world record for singing the National Anthem. It seemed as if all of Aurangabad had surged to respond to our call to set the world record. It was a truly never-before gathering of people.

“So when we had our post-event editorial meeting to plan the next day’s issue,” says Darda, “One of our main priorities, apart from excellent editorial content, was: How do we give the readers a sense of the scale of the mammoth turnout? While a picture normally speaks a thousand words, our lead picture bespoke a lakh people, so we decided to be innovative, and you can see the result.

“To the best of my knowledge and belief,” says Darda, “It was a world-first: a 16-column colour picture with the lead story of the day, with both, the front and back pages working seamlessly together as a unified ‘front’ page.”

Getting a lakh-and –a-half people, which is around 8% of the entire population of Aurangabad, to congregate mid-week on a working day morning, is no mean feat. “Lokmat’s media innovation is not just a celebration of that success,” says Darda, “but, more importantly, our way of thanking everyone who turned up, putting their lives on hold for the hours they spent with us.”
Scale plus surprise:

Lokmat’s innovation not just communicated the scale, but also had a clever little element of surprise for the reader. When one picked up the newspaper – which obviously arrived with the front page folded vertically into half – and saw the front page only, it had a beautifully aligned 8-column banner picture. The layout of the other elements on the front page too looked like a normal, well designed front page.

Says Darda, “Only when the reader opened the front page and glanced at the back page did the front page picture of 8 columns revealed itself to be a full panoramic 16-column spread, and the editorial content beneath it on the back page too belonged, seamlessly, with the front page layout.”
Why the world record attempt

On why Lokmat Media organized the event, Darda says, “Media brands do several things to connect with their readers, users, viewers, constituents. Ours was an activation exercise driven by patriotism, and a solemn sense of our duty to the Nation. We wanted to help people gift to the Nation, a World Record around our National Anthem, on the eve of Republic Day. We were not only commemorating 100 years of Jana Gana Mana, but also celebrating 30 years of our solid presence in, and bond with, Aurangabad. That’s why we chose the National Anthem world record for this.”
Fittingly, even the massive backdrop had only Jana Gana Mana on it, with a tiny strip of ‘Lokmat’ far below it — more like its salute to the National Anthem.
Solid connect:

The media innovation was made possible by the width and depth of Lokmat’s strong, emotional and enduring connect with the people it has been partnering and serving in their day to day lives, day after day and year after year for the past 30 years.

“It was a never-before connect managed brilliantly by Lokmat Connect, our Events specialist team, which has organized many mega events,” says Darda. “As a strong brand that is loved and respected by the millions of our constituents, we are in a strong position to connect any outside brand with the lives of the people in our markets.”

“This connect with the people of the city, across barriers of caste, community, gender and age groups,” says Darda, “Is what empowers us to contribute to and make an impact on the life of every Maharashtrian in general and Aurangabadkars in particular.”

For a combined experience of Lokmat’s media innovation and connect, check out the pictures of their newspaper layouts from 26th January 2012, which show close to a lakh of people standing jam-packed in the city’s largest stadium, early in the morning on a working day in the middle of the week, having put their lives on hold for a few hours in response to Lokmat’s call.

-

The four-year-old company is said to be a pioneer in implementing mapping, tracking and monitoring technology for ad-campaigns in India and are the first ones to rollout digital wall-paintings and glow-in-the-dark ad-units amidst other path breaking accomplishments.

Talking exclusively to Adgully, Mihir Mody, founder and CEO, Adwallz, shared some key insights about the company.

Briefing us about Adwallz, Mody said, “We specialise in wall paintings all over India. We have a network of about 5000 painters in small towns and also a network in around 300 districts in India. We help from planning and designing to executing the entire budget of a brand. This is more of a rural and BTL activity.”

Officially, the team is made up of thirty-thirty five and has eight offices in eight cities with around 30,000 painters.

Wall painting is a very affluent medium, especially where promotion is concerned. This medium was hardly noticed before. There have been companies like Vodafone that spend around five to ten crore on wall painting annually on a national scale, then there are cement industries; then top FMCG companies, telecommunication companies, now even banks have started using this medium.

Sharing the clientele, Mody said, “We handle almost 35 corporate giants as per now like Unilever, HDFC, some parts of Vodafone, Godrej, Philips, Samsung, most of the FMCG companies, the cement companies such as Ambuja and have worked with almost 70 to 80 brands.”

What Adwallz does is they channelise the whole system of ad-wall-paintings and makes sure that every penny spend by a client is used in an effective way.

They have a unique online monitoring system wherein all the painters, equipped with digital cameras, upload their work from a small cyber café, then they are also connected online and the client can actually sit at one place and see how the work is being done.

It is more of a B-town and C-town phenomenon, if I may say. Towards rural side, this medium is really effective since it is cheap. If compared, one hoarding is equal to 5 or 6 wall paintings.” Giving a very significant example, Mody said, “If one has a twenty lakh budget, one can only buy few bill boards in Mumbai or in metros but one can paint the entire Maharashtra in that budget in terms of wall paintings.”

Giving a sense of how Adwallz work, Mody said, “Companies always want to execute and indulge in cheap advertising but also simultaneously want an organised form. My company is the first such firm which is really organised in this space. We work according to client’s market and distribution strategies. Firstly, we understand what the market is like and then we work upon their distribution strategies, then we see how the client’s sales are. Post that, the client gives us a list explaining the expenditure including how and where he wants to spend.”

Talking about the advertising plan, Mody explained, “We understand and identify their competition and give them the actual sense of how this budget should be used and what will be the right way to spend it. Then we go state wise and nationally, also villages to mark a sense of what will be good for them and we give them a break-up of how the money would be used.”

This of course is done only after a thorough research. Adwallz has actually visited 300 cities, met the painters, understood how they work, made them more organized and also gave them a platform to express themselves, so that they can give their work on a regular basis. The best part about it is that they are all street painters. All of them a really fine artists but they are jobless and they can’t market themselves, so in a way it is a valuable platform for them.

Speaking about how wall paintings are better than hoardings, Mody said, “Firstly, this wall painting medium is cheap, secondly it helps in reaching masses, thirdly, since it is more attractive it creates an impact on the consumers and also once a wall is painted it stays for years and expenditure is nothing.”

When asked which have been the most receptive companies in the start, Mody said, “Since I think telecommunication has just started expanding on the national scale so they have been really active and gave us a very positive response. Also for cement companies, this is a very useful medium and so they have also been very optimistic.”

When asked about marketing, Mody told us that first of all ‘word of mouth’ has been really good. Then we also at times go for email marketing and at times, I personally go myself to promote my company.” According to Mody, the company believes in working directly with the clients. They do not believe in roping in an agency.

The company seems to know its business as it has done a thorough research, has painted in villages where there is no electricity, not even transportation and where the painters have even travelled by cycles for one of their clients, Unilever.

With such an amazing network across the country, Adwallz is growing at a fast speed. You name a city and they have it in their kitty. They sure are on a path to painting more walls. | By Aanchal Kohli [aanchal(at)adgully.com]

-

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Vivek Sharma, Senior, VP, Rediff.com, shared his insights about ‘Deal Ho Jaye’. Deemed as one of the pioneers of e-commerce in India, we asked Sharma to give us an idea about the present key trends in the e-commerce space. “This industry is growing and with the penetration going up, smartphones and 3G also growing in the country. We are at the right point of crust for our next major growth. I will not be able to divide the number that we have registered last time, but yes e-commerce is one of the best industries in terms of growth potential over the next couple of decades,” Sharma revealed.

He further elaborated, “E-commerce is a big industry, if you look at Rediff, we are primarily into e-commerce. We launched Rediff.com ‘shopping’ and now, Rediff ‘Deal Ho Jaye’. So, for us the important thing is to grow, and in the years to come e-commerce will contribute a significant share to the market in the country.”

‘Deal Ho Jaye’ was launched few months back, could you explain us the concept behind it. “This is a segment which is growing rapidly, because it caters to the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This is for businesses who don’t have resources or who don’t want to explore with channels of marketing, advertising, television, other online sites and other advertising areas. For that purpose, Deal Ho Jaye has city specific pages i.e. different deals for different cities such as Mumbai and Delhi. It provides opportunity for SMEs to advertise and promote their businesses. Consumers get good offerings in terms of rate prices and for us it’s a new line of business. And I think for all stake holders like us, consumers as well as small and medium enterprises makes it unique. I see a lot of scope in the future in this business,” explained the senior VP.

Being a nascent industry, where do you see yourself and your competitors, to that Sharma replied, “This industry’s segment is the low cost entry barrier. There won’t be a natural tendency for many companies to start with this pace today. In the long run, anyone who takes care of the consumer induces as well as tackles the demand of enterprises and can sustain and grow well. Our strategy is definitely keeping this in mind and whatever we have so far accomplished. We are ensuring that we provide long term benefits to our consumers as well as to the businessmen who are associated with us.”

He added, “As I have said earlier, for SME tie-ups, this is something that businessmen can’t advertise, reason being a very expensive proposition. So, where do they go showcasing their businesses? Thus Rediff ‘Deal Ho Jaye’ becomes a good platform for them. We have received great responses not only from metros but also from SEC B and SEC C towns. Today, we are there in more than 44 different locales across the country.”

Rediff.com itself is a very strong brand and has a very large number of unique users every month. Keeping this in mind Rediff.com started campaigns last month to promote the new offerings.

Speaking about their consumer’s and target audience, Sharma said, “We would be bringing event specific deals in all the businesses and major towns, which will help the SME’s to grow their businesses and of course customers will benefit with our services such as deals in restaurants, hotels and similar set-ups. And, if we directly link TGs to the internet population in the country today, that itself help us to identify how we operate in that space. The second thing is that, as per our business role, we have deals in sectors like healthcare, FMG’s, saloons, adventure sports and car services. This provides options for customers with different needs and tips.”

Amongst all the segments and the categories, customers pick up the deal from the two most important categories i.e. restaurants and Spas, and this is followed by travel and adventure sports. These are the categories that are selling the most on Rediff ‘Deal Ho Jaye’.

Many are predicting 2012 as the year of recession. We asked Sharma, what he thinks about it, “Sites like Rediff.com would not be affected”, he commented. “Recession doesn’t impact our country to a large extent, as we are a growing economy. Nature of our business is to provide value to our consumers, and in that process we are creating a kind of interest amongst our consumers who are looking forward for deals with great services and discounts. Apart, from this we will be moving the e-commerce way very shortly.”

Rediff ‘Deal Ho Jaye’ is doing well online, but are you looking to secure deals offline? “Our concept is such that where a consumer subscribes to deals of their choice online, and goes to the respective location with the coupon and redeems the same upon arrival and asked it to be marked to the list sheet. Thus, accordingly, our service person has to go the location to get that service. And, as we are on the right track, we would like to continue dealing online,” concluded Sharma. | By Ranjana Gupta [ranjana(at)adgully.com]

-

The English entertainment space is highly competitive and populated with 8 players and the advent of Comedy Central in India marked the entry of the 9th player. According to TAM, Comedy Central just in its second week of its launch garnered 14% market share in the SEC AB, 15-34, 7 metros (barring Chennai) category in the week which ended from 29th January to 4th February. Comedy Central, now on the 3rd spot has deposed established players like Zee Cafe, BIG CBS & BBC Entertainment among others.

Ferzad Palia, Sr. Vice President and General Manager, English Entertainment, Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd. Added “We at Comedy Central are ecstatic with the way the channel has driven in viewership in its second week of launch. It’s definitely been a great start to the New Year. This surely proves that India is ready for a dedicated 24*7 comedy channel and with time Comedy Central will prove its prowess amongst its competitors.”

Comedy Central is available in approximately 20 million households across the country and is available across analog, digital cable & DTH.