Tag: India

Noida, India – With digital publishers impacted by the global pandemic, marketing platform iZooto joins forces with publishing platform Quintype to come up with long-term solutions to help digital publishers create audience traction and revenue.

iZooto will aid in the existing partnership by providing targeted push notifications to readers, while Quintype is focused more on building reader revenue, such as content paywalls.

“At Quintype, we have been constantly looking for ways to help publishers grow audiences and monetize content better. We have been actively pursuing strategic partnerships that will benefit digital publishers. Accompanied by iZooto, the market leader in push notifications, Quintype aims to deliver an enhanced digital experience to all our clients,” said Chirdeep Shetty, CEO of Quintype.

Neel Kothari, CEO of iZooto added, “We a t iZooto have known Quintype for the last three years and have always been impressed by their laser-focused efforts in building a world-class digital publishing platform, joining hands will further strengthen iZooto’s positioning as the leading owned audience marketing platform.”

Mumbai, India – As the country nears its annual festival of lights, Indian consumer brand Godrej HIT recently uploaded a Diwali-themed advertisement, with focus on the brand’s LAL HIT insecticide product.

The video is centered on the aspect of Diwali Safai or the general cleaning of the house before the actual Diwali festival. In the video, a lady’s perspective narrates how family members have high hopes and anticipation for this year’s festivities. Starting from her father-in-law changing into a more festive attire, the video then shifts to the lady’s brother-in-law, using the featured insecticide brand to spray into the kitchen sink and other house corners as a sign of focus on hygiene and cleanliness. Lastly, the video pans to the mother-in-law laying down with a treat of face mask. With the subtle brand hit within the last minutes of the advertisement, the ad concludes that this year’s Diwali is going to be a #SuperHITdiwali.

With the upcoming festival hampered by the country’s restrictions on festivities and large gatherings, Sunil Kataria, CEO of  Godrej Consumer Products for India & SAARC (GCPL) comments that the said advertisement is a way of showing that despite hindrances, this year’s Diwali will capture the same anticipation and festive fervor like past festivities.

“2020 will witness an inherently ‘indoor’ festive season, but that will in no way dampen the festive spirits. We want to remind everyone how even though this year’s festivities will be on a smaller-scale with our immediate family, we will enjoy it in our own unique yet endearing way,” Kataria stated.

Meanwhile, Amar Singh, regional creative officer for Lowe Lintas, the Indian wing of marketing communications company MullenLowe commented, “”Diwali 2020 is unlike any that we have experienced or are likely to experience in our lifetimes. And after everything we have been through in this trying period, each one of us deserves to celebrate it. Conceived by Rajat Dawar and Vishal Bagade, this film aims to capture this sentiment. And is a wish for all of us to have a Super HIT Diwali from a brand that ensures we are always safe and protected in our homes.”

India – With the festive season already kicking off, shoppers are getting geared up for their holiday spend. In India, consumers have revealed that during this time, they are more likely to buy a product online when it is discounted and have an easy return policy, according to a study by global marketing company OMG and international research group YouGov.

The two came out as the top priorities for online shoppers in India, coming after good quality of products, which inevitably reigns their purchase specifications. On-time delivery is also a top priority for majority, or 32%, of consumers. Meanwhile, about the same percentage, 20%, is reflected across those who stated the following factors in their holiday purchases: products being in a single place, authenticity of products, brands that are homegrown, flexible payment options, and e-commerce that have varied brands. About 9% of consumers, on the other hand, stated ease of navigation among e-commerce as a priority. 

The study also probed into the kind of products Indian consumers are buying the most online. Food essentials came out with the highest percentage of consumer intent. Groceries and health food drinks for children led the list. Indian shoppers were also shown to depend on e-commerce when looking for household entertainment products.

India – India-based software development company XcelTec recently announced Ample, the company’s answer to sales automation in businesses using personalized bots.

Ample, which can be personalized by every user, is powered by artificial intelligence. This feature ensures the removal of any complexity that may arise in showing product demonstrations online. With the latest video bot release, XcelTec expects that business users will move towards online media for their business’ sales team, ensuring them to engage with customers online, with aid of the sales automation bots.

The recent software release is part of the company’s goal to simplify website chatbots, which has seen a 50% increase in sales activities online. 

India – The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has released on Tuesday an official advisory for brands and companies in releasing COVID-19-related advertisements.

The authority said the guidelines are in response to a proliferation of ads with misleading claims around coronavirus cures and preventions.

In the statement, ASCI cautions ads that claim destruction or removal of any virus other than COVID-19, a violation of the authority’s clauses 1.4, and 1.5, pertaining to the distortion of facts and the misframing of information for consumers. 

In cases that an advertiser opts to include such claims, ASCI reminded that the disclaimer “claim not applicable to coronavirus (COVID-19),” or a similar message, must be displayed, and shown in the size and position aligned with ASCI’s specifications. 

Advertisers are also likewise warned to be extra conscientious in making, whether direct or indirect, claims in reducing the chances of becoming infected with the virus, or gaining immunity against it. In such cases, advertisers should be able to substantiate such claims with technical support by recognized or approved health authorities such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), or any health organizations of similar stature. Support may also come from well-recognized medical and technical literature or by regulatory-approved clinical research conducted by a recognized medical institute and laboratory.

Similarly, the authority made mention that brands offering products that are not internally consumed or applied to bodies hence, those not requiring a license under the Drug & Cosmetic Act, must be particularly careful in making claims regarding the prevention, immunity, and treatment for the virus unless supported with sufficient data. 

In April 2020, the Ministry of AYUSH has released an order for regulatory authorities in the states and union territories on AYUSH, drugs that have been launched without any rigorous pharmacological studies and clinical trial, to stop and prevent publicity and advertisement of AYUSH-related claims for COVID-19. In the guidelines, ASCI emphasized the order which restricts communications on print, TV, and electronic media. 

ASCI said the released directions are only the first of many steps to safeguard consumers from the plethora of misleading pandemic-related claims

Since the Ministry of AYUSH’s memo in April, ASCI has processed 250 violating advertisements and reported 233 from the healthcare sector to the ministry. 

General Secretary of ASCI Manisha Kapoor said that although the pandemic is a difficult time for everyone, even for brands, it isn’t a reason to resort to negligence.

“Manufacturers and brands have responded to consumer needs arising out of the pandemic. However, we want these products and advertisements to stick to claims and promises that are well backed by adequate substantiation,” said Kapoor.

Kapoor added, “We want advertisers to be more mindful in creating advertisements and making claims related to Covid-19. Given the pandemic and the extended lockdowns, people are obviously concerned.”

ASCI has already rolled out digital banners of the guidelines on its social media pages.

Before joining rewards and discounts platform ShopBack in the Philippines, Prashant was with the Philippine arm of India-grown restaurant aggregator Zomato for five years. 

What made him do the big shift? In Prashant’s words, he said he wanted to do something “different than what he was used to working on.” Having always been on the B2B side of things, he was looking for a project that will make him work on both B2B and B2C and stumbling upon Shopback, the opportunity on the platform gave him the challenge of not just building its partners but growing its users as well. 

Now the country manager of ShopBack, we sat down with Prashant to know more about his humble beginnings and the journey he took before becoming the head of one of the leading shopping platforms in the region.

First foray into marketing

Fresh out of a master’s degree, Prashant didn’t veer away too far from roots, and in fact, had his very first job right in the university he graduated in, as an assistant manager for sales and marketing in the Institute for Integrated Learning in Management (IILM) – Institute for Higher Education in Delhi, India.

Working with students as a target segment, he shared that the type of marketing the role had him doing was not in the likes of big advertising projects, but rather, more personalized.

“I was handling marketing for the college across North India and a couple of international markets. The whole focus was to attract a huge student pool to apply for our courses and finally assisting them with their admissions and courses,” he said in the #MARKETECHMondays interview.

“It was more about talking to people, [more about] community building; It was a lot about knowing exactly what people are looking at, [and more] of career development.”

On Mentorship: “Everybody has taught me something.”

When asked about his role models, Prashant struggled to name one particular person and said that he’s the type who seeks inspiration from every person he meets.

“Professionally, I have had a chance to work with some amazing people over the years and I would say everyone that I meet has been able to make me learn something new. I don’t really have one mentor for all aspects of my professional development but I seek advice and guidance from multiple role models in my life.”

That is at least, professionally. But when it comes to his personal values, he didn’t have to think hard and said he owed his good ethics to his parents and uncles.

“In terms of personal growth, I think my parents and my uncles have always been the biggest source of inspiration in my life. I have learned the value of hard work and most importantly, I have learned the value of how to be true to people who expect your feedback and suggestions in life no matter how harsh the truth is from my father and my uncles.”

“I’m still waiting for the greatest career success.”

It would be naive to say that with Prashant’s experience, he still hasn’t claimed success, but for him, there is still a greatness ahead that’s yet to be tapped.

“I really hope I find it later in life and not very soon as I really want to keep getting that rush of trying to get smaller successes, and I want to keep dreaming of [greater success]. I think that thought drives me every morning so I wouldn’t want to achieve it that fast.”

Of course with successes also come the failures. And still within the context of “great,” he believes there is no such thing.

“I won’t call any failure a great failure [as] every failure comes in with disappointments, and I don’t think we can categorize something [as great].”

“Instead of failures, I would say I had many challenges where I was unable to find a solution quicker which would have been ideal.”

Making that more specific, he said that the most critical setbacks were when good people leave your team.

“I have lost a few teammates in the past and that always sets your plan a few feet back but I think every situation teaches you something new, but one takeaway that one such setback gave me was to have a plan B but not to rely on it and give plan A 100%.”

He added, “Also plan B cannot be a totally different plan from A and they both have to be interconnected, else you are going to start from scratch which will push you to take a lot of reverse steps.”

Prashant’s words to live by: “Be a best friend to yourself.”

For Prashant, the secret to success need not be too far away from oneself, and the key is to be your own best friend, an honest and frank one at that.

“Keep it real, no matter how difficult it is, and be your best friend so you can talk real with yourself.”

“Best friends don’t shy away from telling you harsh truths. As a team lead, I try to be as real as possible with my teammates, clients and even [the] people around me. I don’t shy away in giving or taking feedback and I try to keep it timely, as well as even [to] myself.”

How about for those who are eyeing to enter the world of marketing?

Prashant said, “Read a lot, follow great brands and their campaigns, [and] take risks but always calculate what you want to achieve out of it. Always have the eye on the goal and do backward mapping, or back designing to achieve it.”

Watch the full video of this interview on our YouTube channel, going live today at 5:30 pm PST.

If you’re a marketing leader and you want to share your career experience to inspire the marketing industry, please reach out, we want to hear your story.

Mumbai, India – India’s short video platform Chingari and entertainment brand The Q India has formed a joint programming and marketing agreement that will enable content from the brand to be featured in the platform.

The partnership comes as Chingari expands its delivery of content to include short-form video on demand (VOD) together with games and news.

The Q India is a Hindi language channel and VOD provider delivering digital programming from social media stars and leading digital video creators with young Indian consumers as its target, mirroring that of Chingari’s main audience.

The content on the Chingari platform will be offered on an ad-supported basis.

Deepak Salvi, co-founder, and COO of the Chingari app said that India has evolved from being a consumer of traditional TV content to a creator of digital content.

“We share the ambitions of Q India to create a new and dynamic brand delivering the content that the young Indian audience is looking for on platforms that they can engage with all day every day. As we build our content offering across both [user generated content] and professionally produced content to our fast-growing audience, we are excited to add programming from Q India to the mix,” Salvi said.

Meanwhile, The Q India’s Chief Revenue Officer Krishna Menon commented, “Chingari has proven to be one of the fastest-growing apps in India driving millions of views daily across their platform. We look forward to co-marketing our brands to our respective users and continuing to deliver together great content for [young Indians]. We expect that offering Q India content across yet another major and fast-growing platform will increase our value to the brands and advertisers who we align with”

The Chingari app, which means “spark” in Hindi, was launched in 2018 and saw its user base surge when TikTok was banned in the country earlier in June.

This month, MARKETECH APAC truly lived up to its name. For the top 5 stories this September, we saw a diverse set of newsmakers hailing from around the APAC region.

The top stories were identified based on Google Analytics from August 17 to September 15. In the list, two great brands from Southeast Asia and East Asia flexed their creative prowess to showcase novel brand marketing moves. Marketing leaders also continue to dominate the list; a marketing executive from South Asia recounted her almost two-decade marketing journey, another one, an APAC business director filled us in on a growing buying trend that no one saw coming amid the pandemic, while a significant appointment from ANZ also grabbed people’s attention this month. 

Top 5: Shopee gets fictional character Phua Chu Kang as new face of the brand

Ever since eCommerce platform Shopee was launched, it has only been putting its trust to big, international names to represent its brand – that would be Kpop girl band Blackpink and professional footballer Cristian Ronaldo. During its 9.9 super sale, the brand decided to show what hyper localization really means by getting not just any local personality, but a deeply rooted cultural icon – sitcom character Phua Chu Kang.

Phua Chu Kang, played by actor Gurmit Singh, is the title character of the longest-running sitcom by network Mediacorp, which revolves around the misadventures of the Phu family.

The show ran from 1996-2007, and within that time, Singaporeans grew to love the eccentric, overly confident, and yellow-boots wearing contractor. So what has truly made the Shopee team go for this rather unconventional stint?

Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Head of Marketing Tiger Wang said, “The [appointment] marks another milestone for us as we continue to build on the hyper-localized approach and deepen our engagement with the local audiences. Phua Chu Kang is a household name and a celebrity, [and] local icon. His ability to resonate with and unite local communities aligns with Shopee’s vision, making him the best choice for us.”

Top 4: Hong Kong-based Towngas cooking academy extends its expertise to YouTube 

Amid in-person limitations during the ongoing pandemic, many brands and businesses alike have turned to the virtual side of things. Take Hong Kong-based cooking school Towngas Cooking Centre as an example. The culinary academy which has flame cooking at the core of its program, has gotten things rolling this September as it forayed to YouTube this month, and it doesn’t stop at that. It has a bunch of high-caliber celebrity chefs to boot, tapped to showcase the school’s virtual sessions.

Healthy Monday, French Wednesday, Culinary Tips4U, and Star Chef Weekend and Sunday Mom & Dad are just some of the quirky-titled lessons that are slated for its YouTube viewers.

General Manager for Retail Marketing & Sales Catherine Wong said that the occurrence of COVID has definitely pushed Hong Kongers to prefer home-cooked meals to dining out, and this is what ultimately brought the brand to make the most out of the situation. 

Top 3: Healthcare marketing maven Jasrita Dhir

Last month, the #MARKETECHMondays episode of Philippines’ Mark De Joya entered the top five list, and this time, another one of the webisode’s guests – India-based marketing leader Jasrita Dhir has been one of the stories that garnered the most views.

Jasrita’s marketing expertise expands almost two decades, where she’s worked with a list of well-known brands such as consumer product giant Procter & Gamble, hospitality brand Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, and television media company NDTV before having focused entirely on brand and marketing for healthcare services. 

Currently, she is the assistant vice president for healthcare provider Fortis Healthcare in India. When we sat down with Jasrita during her #MARKETECHMondays episode, she shared some very helpful advice that could be very well treated as a guiding light to budding marketers. 

“I just have two things to say to [marketers]; the first is, please never forget why you decided to become a marketer. There would be times in your journey when you’re feeling low, but constantly remind yourself [your why], [which is] because you want to be your consumer’s voice inside your organization,” said Jasrita. 

‘The second is keep upgrading; it’s nobody else’s responsibility to upgrade your skills. Because your consumer is going to keep changing; there are new avenues, [mediums], [and] new platforms. You have to have their pulse,” added Jasrita.  

Top 2: Stella Berry’s take on a new phenomenon in shopping amid the pandemic

Have you heard of revenge shopping? We bet not, but we too are sure that it would be a term soon to ring bells. In a nutshell, revenge shopping goes hand in hand with luxury shopping. It is a phenomenon that sees luxury stores opening their doors to shopping-starved consumers looking to avenge their months spent holed up at home during the lockdown.

This month, Regional Business Director of mobile advertising solutions Adludio, Stella Berry dedicated a full thought leadership article on the buying trend.

Stella said that it is a testament to the unique relationship consumers have with luxury. 

“No one could have predicted that after months of lockdown, the need for luxury goods has resulted in long queues outside of boutiques. This phenomenon is the result of brands, really making the effort in continuing to engage with people even during the lockdown,’ shared Stella.

All looking positive for brands and consumers, but Stella also puts out a caution.

“Returning to business as usual at this [rapidly] accelerated pace could bring about a negative impact [on] the environment, and consequences on sustainability. So luxury marketers need to find their balance to ensure the brand continues to remain sustainable, but also well-loved,” said Stella.

Top 1: Cognizant ANZ ropes in former PwC executive Jane Livesey

Our top story for the month comes from Australia and New Zealand, and from global IT firm Cognizant at that. In August, former PwC managing partner Jane Livesey was roped in by the firm to become CEO. 

Livesey breathes and lives IT. At PwC, she led over 800 IT professionals for the company’s technology consulting practice team in Australia; while for 12 years, she served as tech managing director for Accenture. With a seasoned IT experience under her belt, Livesey has also become an active advocate for women in the field of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, or STEAM. 

It hasn’t been very long since Jane settled into the role, and as we checked up on her, she shared with us, “It’s been great to join Cognizant and hit the ground running in Australia and New Zealand. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had conversations with both our clients and our teams. At Cognizant, we are focused on how to enable organizations in ANZ to keep on top of era-defining innovations and drive growth in the face of continuous technological and market changes. As CEO of ANZ, my priority is to provide local enterprises and governments with high-quality, market-leading digital transformation capabilities that enhance the lives of people and support digital-first.”

Watch the MARKETECH APAC REPORTS of these top five stories, with exclusive appearance and commentary from the newsmakers themselves.

If you have interesting stories, thought-leadership pieces, and case studies in the area of marketing, technology, media platforms, and SME, please send us an email at [email protected]. Who knows your story could be part of our top 5 next month.

Mumbai, India – Apple will launch the Apple store online in India on September 23, offering Apple’s full range of products and support directly to customers across the country for the first time. 

The new online store will provide customers with the same experience found in Apple store locations around the world.

“We’re proud to be expanding in India and want to do all we can to support our customers and their communities,” said Deirdre O’Brien, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail + People.

 “We know our users are relying on technology to stay connected, engage in learning, and tap into their creativity, and by bringing the Apple Store online to India, we are offering our customers the very best of Apple at this important time,” added O’Brien.

Apple Specialists will be available on the online store to assist customers from custom-configuring any Mac to setting up new devices. Customers will also be able to get advice, receive guidance, and learn about new products directly from Apple, both in English and Hindi.

With financing options and an available trade-in program, the online store online offers a range of affordability options. Students can shop for a Mac or iPad with special pricing, and receive discounts on accessories and AppleCare+, Apple’s warranty and technical support.

In October, customers can expect free online “Today at Apple” sessions led by local creative professionals, focused on photography and music. Sessions on signature gift wrapping and personalized engraving will also be available for select products. Engraving of emoji or text will be available for iPad and Apple pencil in English, Bengali, Gujarati, and Hindi as well as in Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Apple has been operating in India for more than 20 years. In 2016, Apple launched an iOS app design and development accelerator in Bengaluru in support of the country’s engineering talent and iOS developer community.

Mumbai, India – Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has extended its regulatory coverage to monitor digital platforms, and it will be procuring media intel TAM Media Research’s services to run the said function.

The regulation will cover search engines, video sites, news portals and websites for interests like astrology and automobiles. 

Initially, ASCI will track the food and beverage as well as the healthcare and education sectors on digital media as they accounted for 79% of the complaints processed by ASCI last year. 

According to ASCI, digital advertising made up for 30% of the total media spends in India. 

The extended function will be added to the already established print and TV tracking under the council’s National Advertising Monitoring Service (NAMS) for potentially misleading advertisements, which is similarly in collaboration with TAM.

ASCI Chairman Rohit Gupta said, “We live in a world that’s becoming more digital by the day, so a lot of marketing is shifting to such platforms. For a self-regulatory body, it makes sense to expand our monitoring of the offline space to include the online space as well.”