Week at a glance: Essenceâ€™s journey; New MRP regime; Rainbow love

For Essence, the journey in India has always been integrated: Anand Chakravarthy
In this two-part exclusive interaction with Adgully, Anand Chakravarthy, Managing Director - India, Essence, speaks at length on the journey of Essence in India, the transition from digital-only to a full-service integrated offering, march of digital and where traditional media stands today.

“Essence is looking to drive automation of campaigns at scale for our clients in 2019”
It is rare that we take a conversation with an industry leader to a two-part series. However, Anand Chakravarthy, MD - India, Essence, has a whole lot share from the immense experience and insights amassed over a period of more than two decades. In Part 2, Chakravarthy takes an indepth look at the new age tools such as machine learning, AI, Programmatic Advertising, Voice and their intersection with brands, the ground realities of their understanding and adoption by brands, data protection as well as his vision for Essence in 2019.

India’s adex to grow 14% to reach Rs 80,678 cr in 2019: GroupM’s forecast
As per the GroupM futures report ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY) 2019, India tops the list as the fastest growing major ad market in the world. TYNY forecasts India’s advertising investment to reach an estimated Rs 80,678 crore this year. This represents strong estimated growth of 14 per cent for the calendar year 2019 (approximately 2x of the GDP growth).

Scarecrow M&C Saatchi completes 9 years; to create cultural IPs, own media
To celebrate its 9-year journey, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi decided to ride on the popular social media wave by creating its own #NineYearChallenge, providing a glimpse of what has changed – not just in Scarecrow, but also in the lives of Scarecrowites.

Channel selection deadline extended till March 31, but...
The migration to the new TRAI-mandated tariff regime has been anything but smooth. In its latest release issued, TRAI has given time up to March 31, 2019 for exercising their channel options by such subscribers who have not exercised their option yet.

BARC to release viewership data only to its subscribers until further notice
BARC India viewership data will not be made available to anyone other than its subscribers until further notice in light of the implementation of TRAI’s new tariff order which came into force from February 1, 2019 and the on-ground changes following that.

On its 1st Anniv, ZEE5 announces 72 new Originals, strengthens regional focus
Ushering in its first anniversary, ZEE5 has announced an extensive line-up of 72 new Originals on the platform till March 2020. In keeping with ZEE5’s focus on regional content, this includes shows across multiple genres and languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali and Malayalam.

The OTT space will completely work on collaboration & innovation: Kranti Gada
Kranti Gada, COO, Shemaroo Entertainment, and Zubin Dubash, COO - Digital, Shemaroo Entertainment, speak about the new OTT platform Shemaroo Me. Both elaborate on the strategy behind entering the OTT space, the strength of Shemaroo Me’s content, focus on Indian-ness and offering genre-based choices.

Shemaroo ventures into OTT space with Shemaroo Me; to woo Bollywood fans
Shemaroo Entertainment Limited has forayed into the Over the Top space with the launch of its platform, Shemaroo Me. The comprehensive app will offer diverse and exclusive content offering for an audience looking for Indian video content across Bollywood, Gujarati, Devotion, Punjabi, and Kids to cater to the needs of all age groups.

T-Series ventures into digital space; to produce web series & web films
Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series is all set to enter the digital space with web series and web films. The new venture will be headed by one of the oldest confidantes of T-Series, Vinod Bhanushali, who is currently President - Media, Marketing, Publishing (TV) and Music Acquisitions at T-Series.

ACT Fibernet refreshes brand identity; unveils partnership & expansion plans
ACT Fibernet, India’s largest fiber broadband Internet Service Provider, has undergone a brand revamp and has unveiled its new logo and tagline – ‘Feel the Advantage’. The new brand identity represents ACT Fibernet’s differentiated approach towards offering innovative customer centric solutions that will enhance user experience and provide maximum value.

SITI Networks continued its strong growth trajectory in Q3 FY19: Rajesh Sethi
SITI Networks Limited, an Essel Group company, with 55 million+ consumers and presence across 580+ locations in India, has reported a spike of 21.4 per cent YoY in its subscription revenue for the third quarter ended December 31, 2019 to Rs 2,571 million, aided by the steady growth in digital subscription.

Print News Brands Adding Literal Weight to Brand Communication
For savvy marketers, print matters for excellent consumer-connect in the real world. Mayank Shah, Senior Category Head, Parle Products, shares how Print matters in Parle’s overall brand communication strategy. According to Shah, Print advertising gives consumers ample time to understand the communication, especially in categories like Health Biscuits, Corporate ads and a few tactical ads.

Offbeat: Peshwa Acharya – medicine’s loss is marketing’s gain
Featured this week in Adgully’s special feature section, ‘Offbeat’, is Peshwa Acharya, Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Holiday Resorts Ltd (a Fairfax and Thomas Cook company). Acharya is an avid reader, writer, and guest faculty and industry speaker. He enjoys travelling the world, trying out interesting new cuisines, writing on Consumer Marketing, Digital Marketing, etc. He also founded his own entrepreneurial ventures: Think as Consumer and Leven Healthcare.

Ad land’s Young Guns: Anil Gupta, Grapes Digital
Anil Gupta, Associate Creative Director, Grapes Digital, is a passionate designer with eye candy visualisation talent. Gupta joined Grapes Digital in 2016 and has been helping the agency with design communication and brand design strategy. He now leads a team at the agency.

Zee, Star, Sony and Viacom18 to pull their channels from DD Free Dish
Amid the migration process to the TRAI-mandated new tariff regime, comes the news of four leading broadcast networks’ decision to pull out of Prasar Bharati’s free direct-to-home (DTH) platform DD Free Dish. It is learnt that Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, Star India Network, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) and Viacom18 will collectively withdraw their pay channels from DD Free Dish from March 1, 2018.

Brand conversations revolve around rainbow coloured love this Valentine’s Day
This year marked the first Valentine’s Day after the repeal of Section 377, but the battle for its social legitimacy is far from over. With our society being laced with prejudices, brands have come forward to celebrate unconventional forms of love and invoke a sense of pride and acceptance from all.