Tag: mumbai

Categories
Uncategorized

‘Cutting edge technology made election advertising stand out’

How are outdoor advertising campaigns for political parties planned? And how was this election season different from the previous editions?
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

As the election campaigning draws to a close in Mumbai, advertising across political parties is reaching a fever pitch. Lok Sabha 2014 has seen some of the most aggressive advertising campaigns from the country’s two principal parties – the Congress and the BJP. It seems that every available space, whether on print or online or on the air, has been taken up by election advertising.

Sanjeev GuptaThe Metrognome spoke to Global Advertisers’ Managing Director, Sanjeev Gupta (in pic on left), to find out more about the business of election advertising in the outdoor space.

Excerpts from the interview:

How does the election season benefit a business such as yours?
Outdoor media is the most important channel of communication for political campaigns, which mainly rely on political marches, rallies, morchas, dharnas, and door-to-door campaigns to get the message across. All forms of political campaigning happen outdoors. Moreover, 2014 is particularly special because the campaigns are managed with unprecedented professionalism and there is a marked corporate flavour in the way the campaigns are being conceptualised, planned and executed.

These factors are translating into good business. Our media properties played a prominent part in campaigns of nearly all major political parties. 

What are some of the requirements from clients?

All requirements from clients ultimately seek to accomplish one task – of scoring with the voters. They want advertising to be visible to voters. They want the media to work its magic at the right time.

Typically, an election campaign follows four stages: One, the introduction. Two, meeting the voters. Three, spreading information about the candidate/party’s USP. While the fourth stage is getting voters to choose the candidate on the big day.

At every stage, companies like ours offer our clients outdoor sites/ hoardings and other media to help them achieve their goals. We must hand-hold the client through the campaign, at every step, from printing to mounting of flex, and ultimately, to providing post-campaign feedback.   

What kinds of strategies are required to stand out among hundreds of other outdoor campaigns? 

Our strategy has been to coordinate very closely with clients, offer competitive rates, select media carefully and dish up the right media mix. Above all, we have been on our feet for 11 hours for the last three months to accommodate changes in plan, content and sites.

That said, the secrets of standing out in a crowded marketplace are not really new.

Be clear about what you set out to achieve. Be better at service, and with the quality of billboards and other media. Be different from everyone in the way you frame your message, offer tailor-made solutions that work within the budget and out-innovate the competition.

What are some of the new types of outdoor advertising seen this election season?

More mobile vans with mounted hoardings were used in this season than ever before. Parties used concepts like ‘chai pe charcha’ and ‘e-chaupal’ and successfully harnessed cutting edge technology and offered it to voters in different parts of the country, which created quite a buzz.

Even with traditional outdoor advertising, the complimentary role of online and mobile media has increased several-fold. These changes hint at the shape of things to come. 

This time, special creative content was designed for specific locations for better impact. There were cut-outs, LED, back-lit, 3-D and digital displays. The power of outdoor advertising was displayed like never before in this election. You can see this from the unusually high voter turnout this time.  

In monetary terms, what is the kind of boost that your business gets in election season? 

All things remaining same, this election season, we expect business to grow by 50 per cent compared to the same period in a non-election year. This is, of course, a rough estimate.

On an average, how much do political parties spend on outdoor advertising?

I cannot discuss figures without explicit permission of a client but if you know the campaign expenses that are made public, you can safely conclude that outdoors gets anywhere between 40 to 50 per cent of the total outlay in a political campaign.

How does outdoor score over other media when it comes to election campaigns? 

People who step out regularly either to commute, shop, visit friends or places of worship are more likely to step out to vote on the big day, too. It therefore makes more sense to invest in outdoor advertising than any other medium because the target demographic (voters) and the medium (billboards and other outdoor media) and the desired outcome (influencing voter behaviour in favour of a particular candidate/party on the day of voting) are 1) in the same geographical area, 2) are likely to be the same people (people who are outdoors on other days are also likely to vote on election day), and 3) the campaign, message, brand positioning can be tailored to address the specific demographic in that particular area.

Traditional election campaigns focussed on communicating achievements. This has changed as this time the efforts were on convincing voters and not merely communicating. The entire outdoor media fraternity – vendors, creative minds, agencies, mounters – have taken up this new challenge and have gone ahead to do an excellent job of it. 

‘Your Vote’ is a column capturing the Lok Sabha 2014 fervour in Mumbai. If you have an interesting insight or trend to be featured here, write to editor@themetrognome.in with the subject line ‘Your vote’.

(Pictures courtesy www.indiaprwire.com, globaladvertisers-outdooradvertisers.blogspot.com)

Categories
Kharcha paani

Mangoes to cost more this season?

Fall in mango production by about 20 per cent owing to crop damage and rising exports will cause higher costs.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Mango lovers may have to cough up more money this year due to short supply of mangoes for domestic consumption owing to significant crop damage and rising export orders pouring in from the UAE, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bangladesh and others.

This is as per an analysis by ASSOCHAM. “Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, which together account for about 2/3rd share in India’s total mango production, have recently witnessed nature’s wrath owing to unseasonal rains coupled with hailstorm. This has damaged over 50 per cent crop which is likely to hold up mango arrivals, resulting in upward spiraling of prices,” noted the analysis conducted by the Agri-business council of ASSOCHAM.

“Mango production across India in all likelihood will remain about 15-20 per cent lower than last year’s level of 18 million tonnes (MT) and even the exports are likely to remain muted this year,” said DS Rawat, secretary general of ASSOCHAM while releasing the analysis. Clocking a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over five per cent, the production of mangoes across India has increased from 13.9 MT in 2007-08 to 18 MT in 2012-13. Besides, the cultivated area and productivity have also grown at a CAGR of 2.6 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively during the aforesaid period.

Of over 1,300 varieties of mangoes grown across the world and India alone cultivates over 1,000 varieties of the fruit.

Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh together account for about half of the total mangoes being produced in India, with both the States accounting for almost similar share of over 24 per cent. Karnataka (10 per cent), Bihar (7.6 per cent) and Gujarat are amid top five states with high share in mangoes’ production across India.

The UAE is the top most export destination for India’s mangoes accounting for over 61 per cent share followed by the UK (12 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (five per cent). Qatar, Kuwait and Bangladesh are other leading export destinations for Indian mangoes.

Categories
Uncategorized

If they can vote, what stops you?

Girish and Eesha Gogia are paralysed, but have not once missed voting. What’s your excuse for not casting your vote?
by Vrushali Lad | @vrushalil on Twitter

Part 1 of the ‘Your Vote’ election series

A 1999 holiday in Goa, meant to usher in the Millenium with friends and with each other, turned into a nightmare for Girish and Eesha Gogia, residents of Lokhandwala Complex, Mumbai. “Just three months prior to our vacation, Eesha had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis,” Girish remembers. “I decided to bring in the New Year with her in Goa, along with a few friends.”

It was a perfect holiday, and Girish indulged his adventurous side with deep sea diving. “I was always a diving enthusiast. One morning, as usual, I decided to dive from a cliff. I had done it several times before,” Girish says, before proceeding to explain in a matter-of-fact way, the incident that was to change his life forever. “But I miscalculated my dive that day. I landed wrongly, on my back. I was instantly paralysed.”

He could not even flail his limbs in the water, and he nearly drowned before he lost consciousness. “When I came to, I was lying down on a beach, and there were people around me. Somebody said a foreign tourist saved my life. I was immediately shifted to a local hospital,” Girish says. Two days later, on December 31, he was shifted to Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital, which informed his hapless parents that their 29-year-old son was now a quadriplegic, and that he would live like a vegetable from then on. “For two weeks, I was shattered by the news. Imagine living a life where you can’t do a thing for yourself…then I said, “Enough!” and decided to fight back,” he smiles.

Cut to today…

Girish is now 44 years old, and a renowned motivational speaker, much in demand all over the country. “But the initial years were very tough,” he remembers. “Till my wife became totally immobile herself, she would attend to me. Then she was also confined to a wheelchair. However, despite everything, I kept my thriving interior design business going – I even executed 15 major projects after my accident,” he says.

“The doctors had given me just a year to live, because quadriplegics don’t live long. However, I fought back by dint of willpower. When my body refused to work, my mind took over. Today, I can say that not only did I learn to unleash the power of my mind, but I am glad that I am teaching others to do the same,” Girish explains. Four years ago, he wrapped up his business. “I realised that it was not enough for me to stay alive and continue working – I wanted to help others realise how much potential they had, what they could achieve if they just let their will power take over…and so I became a motivational speaker full time.”

His election campaign

Girish’s remarkable fightback against all odds – all he can do is speak and slightly move his right arm – is, he hopes, inspirational enough for able-bodied persons and more importantly, others like him, to take hope and stop making excuses for themselves. “My wife is 70 per cent paralysed, I am 90 per cent paralysed. We are confined to wheelchairs, and we can’t do a thing without our caregivers. But we have never missed voting. I cannot understand the attitude of people who refuse to step out of their homes to cast their vote.

“They say things like ‘I am just one drop in the ocean, my one vote doesn’t make a difference,’ or ‘So what if I don’t vote? All politicians are chors‘. The voting percentage in Mumbai in the last election was a little over 40 per cent. This is shameful for such a big city like ours. People have to understand that voting is their duty. If my wife and I, against all odds, can still make it to the polling station, what is the justification for able-bodied people to skip voting?” he asks.

To raise awareness about the issue, Girish is going all out on social media – he types on a touchpad using a knuckle on his right hand – and contacting members of the press and prominent citizens to raise a call against voter apathy. “All it takes is the knowledge that each of us owes it to the nation to elect a Government that will work for its betterment. Do your research, select the best candidate, vote for him or her. But most importantly, participate in this great process of change for our country,” he exhorts.

Girish can be contacted on his Facebook page and on Twitter @girishpositive.

‘Your Vote’ is a column capturing the Lok Sabha 2014 fervour in Mumbai. If you want to be featured here, write to editor@themetrognome.in with the subject line ‘Your vote’.

(Pictures courtesy Girish Gogia)

Categories
Do

Attend: A storytelling festival for children

Enroll your child in this 10-day storytelling workshop that ends with a finale performance in front of a live audience.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

We ply our children with a variety of ‘activities’ to keep them ‘busy’ during the long summer vacations. How about keeping them occupied in an activity that will help them explore their innate creativity and become imaginative storytellers?

‘Story Nest’ is back with the second edition of its storytelling summer festival for young children from Apri 14 to 24. Conceptualised by professional storyteller Sherin Mathews, who has been grooming children for the last 11 years, Story Nest will, through a 10-day camp, present the Big Fat Indian Wedding adaptation of the classic story, ‘The beauty and the beast’. The workshop will also work towards staging the inspired version of the Blue Umbrella.

“Through Story Nest, we help children aged four to 16 years use the tools of storytelling in performing arts, storytelling techniques, public speaking, drama, music and dance. As a culmination of the unique storytelling festival, Story nest will stage a public performance of its young storytellers,” explains Sherin (in pic on left, during one of her performances with the children).

She adds, “Stories engage, enchant, touch, delight, inspire, motivate, challenge, entertain and transform the listener into a new way of being. Stories go right into the heart and soul of people. The power of storytelling on our lives can only be experienced. Listening to a storyteller can create lasting personal connections, promote innovative problem solving, and foster a shared understanding regarding future ambitions. The listener can then activate knowledge and imagine new possibilities. Together a storyteller and listener can seek best practices and invent new solutions because stories often have multiple layers of meanings.”

A few details about the workshop:

– The ‘Story Nest’ workshop will take place from April 14 to 24, 2014. These will be practice sessions, and will take place between 9 to 11 am and 6 pm to 8 pm.

– The finale will take place on April 26, 2014 at Prabodhankar Thackeray Auditorium, Borivali, from 10 am to 1 pm.

– The registration fees per child will be Rs 5,000. Each participant will be trained to narrate a story in one or more narrative forms.

– Call Sherin Mathews for more details on +91-9004748616.

(Pictures courtesy Sherin Mathews)

Categories
Hum log

Mumbai photographer wins Wisden MCC Cricket Photograph of the Year 2013 award

Atul Kamble, noted photojournalist with Mid Day, was adjudged the winner for his stunning picture of Sachin Tendulkar’s last match at Wankhede.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Atul KambleMumbai-based photographer Atul Kamble, a noted name in news journalism, was declared the winner of the Wisden MCC Cricket Photograph of the Year 2013 Award yesterday. Atul’s picture of legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar emerging from the dressing room to take the pitch for his last match, beat out stiff competition in 500 overall entries from around the world to be declared the winner.

With the win, Atul also pocketed a cool £1,000 cash prize. Other winners included Shaun Roy, professional photographer from South Africa, and Khalid Rayhan Shawon, an amateur photographer from Bangladesh. The judging panel comprised Chris Smith, Patrick Eagar, Nigel Davies, Eileen Langsley and Hugh Routledge.

Atul’s picture was shortlisted with 10 others, and ultimately chosen for its “sheer sense of occasion”, as Chris Smith put it.

We spoke to Atul after his big win. Excerpts from the interview:

How did you choose this spot for the picture?

I was positioned at the boundary line on the opposite side of the players dressing room. Thanks to my tele-photo lens (zoom lens), I managed to shoot this picture from the opposite side of the ground.

When you took the shot, what was running through your mind?

I was excited. I knew I had a good off-beat (off-action) picture. But I was a little emotional myself too, because I knew that this would be Sachin Tendulkar’s last innings and as a Mumbai player, I had followed his career throughout.

Would you say this is your best picture? What are some of the other great shots you have taken?

I think I’d say that this is one of my best pictures till date. I have a few favourites, both in sport as well as in general photography, and this will surely be among the best I have shot.

How long have you been a photojournalist? Can you describe a memorable incident in your photography career?

I’ve been a photograhper for almost two decades now, 18 years to be precise. One of the biggest and most emotionally stirring moments for me as a photographer was during the Azad Maidan riots in Mumbai on August 11, 2012. Some miscreants took down the Amar Jawan Memorial outside CST Station and I shot that image. The images incensed many and created a furore, both on the virtual and social media, as well as in the real world. Some political parties even termed these miscreants to be traitors.

So what does this recognition from Wisden mean to you? 

Being a sports photographer primarily, there can be no bigger award than one that comes from the Mecca of Cricket — Lord’s. MCC’s recognition has to be my biggest award as a sports photographer.

(Pictures courtesy Atul Kamble)

Categories
Trends

Mumbai school students are heading overseas

Exchange programmes are slowly becoming popular with school students and parents alike, widening their horizons and enhancing their cultural experience.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Students these days have several things going for them – unconventional work options while they study, a multitude of courses to choose from, and most importantly, the opportunity to travel to foreign countries on short stints as exchange students.

Shubhra BharadwajIt is this last that is slowly picking up pace in our country – and Mumbai is particularly responsive to the trend of students travelling to distant shores to gain life experience and a chance to study other cultures up close. The Metrognome spoke to Ferriswheel’s founder Shubhra Bharadwaj (in pic on left) to gain more insights into the trend.

Excerpts from the interview:

What is the response from Mumbai students like, to the CEPs (Cultural Exchange Programmes)that you plan?

The response is phenomenal. We have used word of mouth as our marketing tool and it has offered extremely satisfying success on all fronts. Schools have supported us whole-heartedly and even the feedback from the people has been great.

Currently, students in Mumbai or any other part of India are not completely aware of such student exchange programes except the ones who have already gone on such programmes. We hope to create more awareness among kids, schools and parents about the benefits of our CEPs for children.

Can you describe the first CEP you planned? Which was the country the students visited?

This first International Children’s Festival was organised in 1996 where the children’s group was taken to Turkey to celebrate the National Children’s Day on April 23. It is the Ferriswheel Youth Ensemble presents- Ticket To Bollywood (5)world’s largest children’s festival that has seen participation from over 30,000 children from 116 different countries since its inception by Kamal Ataturk. Each year close to 50 countries participate in this festival. The gala performance is and was telecast live on all Turkish channels.

The prestigious event bestowed the honour and privilege on individually selected Indian children representing the team, to meet the Prime Minister and President of Turkey, the Honourable Mayor and Governor of Gaziantep, as well the Head of Turkish Parliament, a moment of pride for India.

So children also get to meet heads of State in the countries they visit?

Every time we travel under our CEPs, the children are taken to meet various dignitaries like the Governor and the Mayor of the host city and other heads of States. Every year one child from each participating country is chosen to meet the Prime Minister and President of the host state and is flown in a chartered aircraft. The event gets covered by the local press and media followed by a special dinner for the children.

A few of the heads that we have met earlier through our CEPs are the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, the Mayor of Izmir city, Aziz Kocaoðlu and Governor of Izmir city, M Cahit KIRAÇ.

What do students and their parents look for in a programme of this sort?

They are looking for education through travel, friends, carnivals, different cultures, sports, fun and international exposure. These exchange programmes are short dream lives that children and youth experience towards a future that is wholesome, open-minded and confident. Children get the unique experience of living with the host families and experience their culture on a first-hand basis. More importantly, they get an opportunity to exhibit their culture and represent their country on an extremely prestigious platform.

The objective of every parent and every school is to provide a child with the experiences and tools to develop holistically and learn to be a ‘global citizen’. While parents look for learning and their child becoming more responsible, students look for it as an opportunity to meet children of different countries, broaden their horizons, learn to adapt to new cultures and having fun.

Ferriswheel Youth Ensemble presents- Ticket To Bollywood (2)Thus, such programmes help children develop holistically and learn to be ‘global citizens’. The child learns to be independent and confident, becomes responsible, overcomes prejudices and pre-conceived notions about people of different cultures, gets to intermingle and make friends with children from all across the world. Also, the cultural exchange programme certificate is a great addition to their resume as it helps them in admissions abroad.

Of all the States and cities in India, from where do you see maximum participation? 

We have a strong base in Gujarat and Mumbai for years and now we will be looking at operations pan India. We have a tie up with Italy, Turkey, USA, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic and France for the programme.

How are foreign students able to adjust to life in India?

We only take a group of children from India to International festivals across the globe. We do not invite their children over to our country. The reason why this programme is called Exchange Programme is that the children live with the host families and interact with many children from other countries.

Please describe an interesting incident from the CEPs, which has remained with you till date.

Ferriswheel Youth Ensemble was awarded the best performing group trophy at a prestigious International Youth Festival in Canada through public voting. Our Executive Producer, CEP, Sabeena Kapur fondly remembers her CEP trip to Taiwan. During that trip, the children were sharing their memorable moments with us and one of them went up to her with a handmade card that said, “I don’t miss home because of you and whenever I will celebrate Mother’s Day, I shall think of you.” We were truly touched.

Exit mobile version