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EE News Desk
OnePlus, the global technology start-up, is launching its third flagship smartphone –in virtual space. Behind this creative and break-through use of virtual reality technology is the combined efforts of creative and technology professionals from DigitasLBi. “The Loop” is the name of the VR experience that creates a mélange of animations in a virtual space station high above the Earth’s surface. While inside The Loop, users can explore many of the key features of the new OnePlus 3, and even order the smartphone in the virtual world – and then have it delivered to the real one. “To create the most realistic and immersive experience possible, we’ve employed a number of innovative, never-before-seen, usages of CGI and 4D technologies, as well as 360° films,” explains Rasmus Frandsen, Creative Director at DigitasLBi Nordics. “Together, these create an experience designed to excite the global community of OnePlus fans, as well as tech enthusiasts.” “Last year OnePlus held the first-ever product launch in VR. This time with The Loop, we’re taking things a step forward by pushing accessible VR technology to its outer limits,” said Carl Pei, Co-founder and Head of Global at OnePlus. “It’s going to go down in history as the first global shopping experience in VR!” The OnePlus 3 launched on June 14, 2016, and The Loop can be downloaded from Google Play and the App Store. For the first 2.5 hours OnePlus 3 could only be ordered from inside The Loop. About the campaign: The campaign delivers the world’s first VR looping animation. Using a VR headset, potential customers are welcomed on board the OnePlus office of the future – a spacecraft called The Loop. While on board, visitors receive a tour of the spacecraft and an introduction to the OnePlus 3, as well as the opportunity to purchase the OnePlus 3 directly in the VR experience. The solution sets a new standard for VR experiences on smartphones. The campaign creates an interactive and engaging experience through ingenious use of seamlessly looped Hollywood quality CGI 3D stereoscopic visuals. The custom VR playback engine is optimized for low latency, high resolution, high frame-rate mobile VR immersion, making it possible for viewers to enjoy a rich VR experience on a normal smartphone. The campaign will run in the US, Europe, India and China.
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Macau has a unique historical and archaeological Macanese culture that exists in harmony with the youthful and diversified experiences the destination has to offer. To present the multiple and stylish facets of Macau to the Indian audience, Macau Government Tourism Office has collaborated with Jean-Claude Biguine Salon and Spa to attract new and aspiring patrons. The French luxe salon will be promoting Macau as the ideal holiday destination through souvenirs and props placed in select outlets. Also, all esteemed customers who avail services over Rs. 15000 will be gifted special Macao souvenirs that perfectly complement the beautiful marvels of Macau. Simultaneously, a 4-week contest has been activated on Facebook for the residents of Mumbai to win Jean Claude Biguine Salon voucher worth Rs. 2500 every week by choosing the ‘Most Beautiful Selfie Spot’ in Macao. Patrons can log on and fill-up the form to be among the few lucky winners. Speaking about this association, Mr. Arzan Khambtta, Head, India Representative Office, Macau Government Tourism Office said, “We are very pleased to be associated with one of the best brands in the salon industry- Jean Claude Biguine. Like Macau, Jean-Claude Biguine Salon & Spa redefines indulgence so we are looking forward to present Macau to the Indian audience in an all new style. We also have an exciting contest running on the social media handles of Macao Tourism where all Mumbaikars can sign-in and pick their favorite from the wide-array of stunning destinations in Macau that is perfect to be titled as the ‘Most Beautiful Selfie Spot’ and win a special prize.” Macau has an affluent history reflecting the best of Portuguese as well as Chinese influence. The city has lively streets, vibrant gardens and picturesque hilly landscapes with several temples, churches, fortresses and colonial buildings. Some of the famous attractions in Macau include The Ruins of St. Paul's, The Guia Fortress, Senado Square, Macau Tower, The Science Center, The Giant Panda Pavilion along with the 15th century A-Ma Temple. Beyond the history lies an ostentatious spectacle of sky scrapping buildings with glitzy exterior and charming enclave. Apart from the glitterati, the Macau Tower offers the perfect chance for an adrenaline boost with its adventure sports, like bungee jumping and sky walking. Macao also houses some of the world’s most splendid museums like the Wine and Grand Prix Museum, the Art and Exhibition Museum of Macao and the world’s first 3D Museum with 4D paintings at Pier 16. The city also witnesses the highest number of tourist footfalls during the festive seasons, especially the Chinese New Year and Feast of the God Toutei.
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Vh1 All Stars is a strategic program for the benefit of advertisers and brands across the country. It aims to provide customized solutions to clients and brand campaigns taking their message to the relevant TG across on-ground outlets spanning 60 cities. Speaking more about this initiative, Sabrina D’Souza, Head Marketing, English Entertainment Cluster, Viacom18 said, “Vh1 has been a consistent frontrunner in providing innovative solutions to clients and now we are taking things forward with Vh1 All Stars. Vh1 All Stars is a unique strategic program designed to help brands reach out to their audience in an effective and impactful manner. With a program reach of over 3 million people each week via our unique set of more than 870 on ground partners, we are certain that advertisers will find merit in this pioneering initiative providing added width & depth to their marketing efforts” Through Vh1 All Stars, the channels have established associations with 878 on-ground partners in 60 cities across India. Besides partnerships in tier I cities and metros the program has a 191 partner outlets in Mumbai and 118 in Delhi NCR alone. The program also reaches out to smaller cities such as Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Agra, Indore, Surat etc., thereby engaging with the relevant TG’s Pan India. Vh1 All Stars has established partnerships with brands such as Costa Coffee, Ginger Hotels, Truefitt & Hill, Haagen Dazs, Gold’s Gym, Jean-Claude Biguine and Hoppipola, as well as associations with locally admired venues such as The Humming Tree, Bootlegger, High Spirits, Johnny Rockets, Thalassa, Summer House, to name a few. The on-ground partnership stretches out through diverse categories such as adventure surf schools, sports hubs, book clubs, tattoo parlours, robotics, dance studios, language clubs, gyms, spas, salons, restaurants, pubs, bars, dessert chains as well as hotels. With multiple brands on board, Vh1 All Stars aims at providing brand solutions to advertisers through an all-encompassing approach.
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The Akshaya Patra Foundation has embarked on a pilot project ‘Giving Every Dream a Chance’ in the year 2015-2016. Akshaya Patra believes that every child has a dream and each dream is valid and hence intends to provide the right path to the child. The project aims to initiate a sponsorship programme to ensure continued support to 100 children, conduct mentorship programmes to nurture talents and to identify more children with unique dreams across the country. This unique programme was launched on June 11, 2016 at the Vivanta by Taj by Chief Guest, Mrs. Sudha Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation, a benevolent supporter of Akshaya Patra. The event was presided by Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of The Akshaya Patra Foundation, in the presence of Mohandas Pai who also serves as an independent trustee of the foundation. Sushruthi Krishna, Femina Miss India Supranational 2016, graced the event in support of the initiative. Celebrated Bollywood musician duo of Sona Mohapatra and Ram Sampath presented the theme song which was exclusively composed for the initiative. Akshaya Patra launched the dreams of its three mid-day meal beneficiaries: Manjula, the debuting actress; Shivu, an aspiring astronomer and Shekar, a chef in the making. Akshaya Patra facilitated them with a two month mentorship programme wherein the children were tutored, groomed and guided by the experts in their respective fields. Manjula was mentored by Dr. Zulfia Shaikh, Founder-Director of Bangalore School of Speech & Drama. Shivu was tutored by Mrs. Preethi Krishnamurthy, a senior research fellow in astrophysics. Shekar’s passion for cooking was nurtured by renowned celebrity Chef Ramasamy Selvaraju, Executive Chef at the Vivanta by Taj. Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa said, “This initiative is to highlight the link between food and education. Once we provide the nutrition requisite for a child to grow healthy and smart― the vast universe of dreams, ignited by education, opens up new avenues for the child to explore; and nothing becomes out of reach for a well-nourished child. Let’s end classroom hunger- meal by meal and give every dream a chance - child by child.” Vivanta by Taj, MG Road, supported the initiative as hospitality partner while pledging to continue supporting Shekar till he achieves his dream. The all new Akshaya Patra App was also launched at the event. Big FM 92.7 joined hands with Akshaya Patra as official radio partner and Bfirst.com participated as online partner. The event was organised by Eventsource and was also supported by webcast partner, 24 Frames Digital.
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India is the second fastest growing nation in gross numbers of outbound travelers after China. Corporate MICE buyers from the country are traveling far and wide in search of MICE friendly destinations and unique experiences. According to Bill Keffer - General Manager at JW Marriott Marquis Dubai, “India has witnessed exponential growth over the last few years and continues to be one of the top performing source markets. Our success and frequent interaction with Indian buyers has resulted in several large groups, with sizes up to 1800 delegates.” The country is witnessing a surge in outbound corporate travel as more and more corporates recognize the importance of MICE activities as a key driver to engage their internal as well as external customers. Kristian Nicholls, General Manager Bidding at Business Events Sydney indicated that over the last three years Sydney and New South Wales (NSW) have hosted 95 business events from Asia, especially recent events from India. Resonating a similar line of thought, Mary Souli Kafkios - Managing Director at Cel Tours in Greece who has had the opportunity to successfully work with some of the biggest corporate names from multiple industry verticals believes that the Indian MICE sector to Greece is on the rise. Taking advantage of the tremendous potential from this ever growing market, the MILT congress, recognized as the strongest B2B platform for MICE in India, is set to welcome over 60 Hotels, DMCs, Tourism Boards, EMCs, Convention Bureaus, Sport Tourism Partners, Team Building Agencies, Adventure Tourism Partners, Cruise Liners and other travel suppliers from across the world to meet with key decision makers from the Luxury & Corporate Travel segment as well as with premium Destination Wedding Planners and leading Film Production Houses. The biggest spenders from this outbound MICE and luxury travel segment from India will congregate at the 4th Annual MICE India & Luxury Travel Congress at the St. Regis Mumbai on July 28th & 29th, 2016. Expressing his views on the reasons for investing in the 4th MILT Congress, Mr. Francis Dharmai, Head of Tourism & Regional General Manager- GCC, Al Tayyar Travel Group said, “Participating in MILT will provide us a stepping stone to gain access to corporates, film production houses and destination wedding planners. Events like these give us an opportunity to introduce our services to one of the largest outbound travel markets.” The MILT Congress provides a platform with exclusive business opportunities for global suppliers to meet with signing authorities for corporate MICE & luxury travel during pre-scheduled one-to-one appointments. Speaking of the benefits of this format of face to face interactions, Alexandra Mallosi, Regional Sales Director at Grecotel, who has been one of the longest standing partners of the MILT Congress for two consecutive years, believes that the pre-scheduled appointments are more beneficial rather than having an open style meeting day. She added, “Taking into consideration that we are able to select who we would like to meet definitely makes it more productive.” Sheetal Munshaw- Director at Atout France maintained that a one-on-one interaction creates more opportunities for better synergies and establishing professional relationships. “One to one meetings give you time with your partner for discussions to reach meaningful conclusions rather than open style meetings that leave you with collecting business cards.” Adds Toshak Chokhani, Director – Business Development at the Abatera Group. “It is very important to understand the Indian market changing preferences and benchmark from the success stories. The need to source the right destination for the MICE activities is very prominent, it is about finding it all under one roof. This is where the MILT Congress comes in.” According to Ackash Jain, Director at QnA International, the organizers of the MILT Congress. “Our objective has always been to bring the best destinations and suppliers from all over the world to meet C-level executives from the region, who can make decisions on all aspects related to procurement in the MICE, business and luxury travel activities. We have been successful in surpassing participants’ expectations over the past three years and we are all geared up for the 4th edition with some of the biggest names in the travel and hospitality business already on board”, he further adds. Gold Partner: Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau Silver Partners: Grecotel Hotels and Resorts, JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai, Singapore Tourism board, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, Travel Point - Tour Oman Bronze Partners: Abatera Tourism, Atout France, Atzaró, Akuqa Sun Group, Beachcomber Hotels, Business Events Sydney, Cel Tours, Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi, Dusit Thani Dubai, Tourism Fiji, Fiji Airways, Figur Tourism, Five Direction Group, Geneva Tourism & Conventions Foundation, IMT Travel Services, Israel Ministry of Tourism, Lausanne Tourisme, Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli, Tourism New Zealand, Nimbus Travel, RAK Tourism, Rixos Sungate, Rodos Palace Hotel, Rosewood Hotel Group, Tourism Office of Spain, Spice Hotel & Spa, Sun International, Sun Siyam Resorts, Al Tayyar Travel Group, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, Tourism Toronto, Zurich Tourism.
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Book between 10 and 19 June 2016 and receive a 50% discount (on weekends) and 35% (on weekdays) on the Hyatt Daily Rate for stays between 10 June and 8 September 2016 at Hyatt hotels in India and Nepal. Explore Mumbai in the company of old friends and enjoy the eclectic and cosmopolitan vibes of this great city. Visit Goa with your family and be charmed by its balmy palm-fringed beaches, the architectural beauty of its old churches and houses and fascinating home-style cuisine. Go on a culinary adventure in Chandigarh and Ludhiana and savour the authentic flavours and fragrances of the region, or marvel at the splendour of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. If you are a history enthusiast, a visit to Hampi will awaken your curiosity. Head further south to colourful Chennai - a city steeped in music, art and culture - or enjoy a romantic interlude in the beautiful old palaces of Hyderabad. Wherever your travels take you, a stay at Hyatt hotels, with such great fares, is a must-not-miss this season.
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Today as we enter the era of the fourth industrial revolution wherein the lines between physical, digital and biological spheres are narrowing, it is imperative for large companies to avoid the 'Kodak moment'. Publicis Groupe feels the need for its clients to brace for this change by helping them innovate and stay ahead of disruption. It intends to do this by bringing together some of the sharpest minds from within the tech startup ecosystem in India and the Publicis Groupe brand builders to ‘hack’ solutions on the various brands that it works with across the group. In the late 50s Publicis Groupe founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet started the Drugstore near Arc de Triomphe in Paris to bring multiple brands physically under one roof, with the express idea of getting 'consumers to experience brands and for brands to get to experiment with them in return'. Today, it invokes its founder’s vision to bring this concept of disruptive innovation thinking and prototyping to clients and help them 'thrive at scale'. Drugstore India is an innovation facility that fosters relationships between large companies and early stage startups for mutual benefit. This innovation thinking will be mentored by minds across Publicis Groupe companies such as L&K | Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis India, Leo-Burnett, MSLGROUP and Razorfish. The idea of the Drugstore is fundamentally based on the spirit of identifying and harnessing these innovations and innovators and bridging the gap between needs and resources. Drugstore India will collaborate with leading players in the Indian startup ecosystem like Zone Startups amongst others to bring some of the proven and agile innovation programs such as Minibar, Meet the Makers, Demo Days, Supper Club, Rapid Prototyping & Incubator Accelerator to capitalize on inventions and have radical outcomes in the process, products and services. Besides helping client brands stay successful, Drugstore will add strategic marketing value to the emerging startup fraternity through both physical and cloud based access to brand building resources across the Publicis Groupe and by collaborating with them to help them acquire scale expertise and by mentoring and immersing them on turning any business into a successful brand. Publicis Groupe has launched the Drugstore in London, Sydney, Johannesburg and Zurich and the first Drugstore edition in Asia is now officially starting in India and will be based in Mumbai. The Drugstore India team will be led by Anil K. Nair (CEO, Digital L&K | Saatchi & Saatchi) along with a core team comprising of Sreeraman Thiagarajan (Publicis), Parth Nagar & Aarti Samant (L&K Saatchi & Saatchi), Sanju Menon (Leo-Burnett), Suryasen Kundu (MSL Group), & Swapnil Puranik (Razorfish) and under the overall mentorship of Praveen Kenneth, Chairman & Managing Director, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi.
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As a small token of appreciation for their persistent services and saluting the true spirit of Mumbai traffic police, Dr. Fixit, waterproofing experts from the house of Pidilite Industries, presented 5000 raincoats to the Commissioner of Police, Shri Dattatray Padsalgikar. Dr. Sanjay Bahadur, Global CEO, Construction Chemicals, Pidilite Industries Ltd., while presenting the raincoats said, “We salute the spirit of the Mumbai Traffic Police for being the guardians of the city. Being the waterproofing expert, we would like to acknowledge their work and show gratitude through a special gift – Raincoat. We offer our appreciation to the police personnel who relentlessly work day in and out to ensure safety. We wish them all the best.” The purpose behind giving away these raincoats is to shield police personnel from the upcoming monsoons so that they can perform their duties with ease and continue to protect citizens. The vast majority of us can't wait to get back indoors after braving the haze of soot and smoke hanging over Mumbai every day. However, no one bears the brunt of this city's pollution crisis more than the traffic police who spend hours doing their duty right in the middle of all the dust and din on the roads. Moreover, heavy rainfall causes water logging on the roads which in turn leads to traffic congestion. But this does not dampen the high spirits of the traffic police personnel. They stand rock steady even during heavy downpours and work day in and day out for our safety. Be it the sweltering heat of summer or the heavy rains and floods of monsoons, the Mumbai Police is always present to protect this great city and its citizens. To add further, while, we the citizens enjoy occasions like Diwali and Eid at homes with our families, the men in uniform sacrifice their own priceless moments to ensure our safety. Dr Fixit claims that the raincoats are a small gesture of gratitude towards the unstinted handwork of the traffic police.
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HUL’s CSR initiative Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) is aimed at operating and growing its business in a socially responsible way. Vibgyor Brand Services associated with Unilever for the 5th consecutive year for managing USLP conference at Taj Mansingh, Delhi on 7 June, 2016. The conference addressed the issues of a sustainable growth faced by companies and how Unilever plans to deal with these issues in the coming years in order to continue walking on the path of success. Some of the attendees of conference were the people from Geometry Global, Water Aid, UNICEF, World Bank, Netherland Embassy, etc. Approximately 100 people attended the conference discussing where the collective action is required to find common solutions of the challenges faced by the business community and as members of the society. Commenting on the association with Vibgyor, Yashmi Yadav – USLP, Communications Manager said “Our association with them has been over 5 years now. The conference was a great success and it was well appreciated by the internal and external guests.” Having successfully organized and executed the conference, Ankur Kalra, CEO Vibgyor Brand Services, said “Our association with HUL goes back at the time when they had started the USLP initiative and the relationship have grown since then. We have organized the 5th consecutive conference for HUL and each time
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Around 100 celebrities from the world of literature, cinema, media and politics will assemble in the temple city of Odisha to deliberate on the theme of ‘Literature and Democracy’ at the Kalinga Literature Festival. Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) has emerged as the biggest literary platform in the Eastern part of India attracting both experienced and young litterateurs. Bigger than ever before the third edition of the festival will bring nationally and internationally acclaimed names to one platform to discuss, debate and explore commonalities in the diverse voices in literature and democracy. The festival will be inaugurated by Union Ministers led by Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Dr. Mahesh Sharma and Shri Babul Supriyo and Odisha Government Minister Shri Debi Prasad Mishra. Dr. Subramanian Swamy, Rajya Sabha MP will be the Key Note Speaker. The two-day festival will cover several dimensions of the interconnections between literature and democracy. The key sessions will be on topics like dialogue, development and democratic spirit in literature, a literary journey of Kalinga, governance in Odia language, youth, women, media, sports, folk and regional literature etc. 15 new books will be launched during the two days festival. Leading names like Amiya Bhusan Tripathi, Amrendra Khatua, Anil Dey, Anustup Nayak, Arif Mohd. Khan, Arun Rath, Arundhati Subramaniam, Asit Mohanty, Baishnab Parida, Bhabani Mohanty, Bibhuti Pattnaik, Bijaya Kumar Rath, Charudutta Panigrahi, Chittaranjan Jena, Deba Prasad Dash, Debasis Panigrahi, Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Debajani Mohanty Rastogi, Dinanath Pathy, Durga Panda, Gourhari Das, Haldhar Nag, Haraprasad Dash, Jayanta Mohapatra, JP Dash, Kedar Mishra, Mahesh Sahoo, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Mridula Garg , Mrinal Chaterjee, Nandini Sahoo, Paramita Satapathy, Piyush Mishra, Pooja Bhatt, Praduymna Satpathy, Pratibha Ray, Purushottam Agrawal, Rahul Pandita, Rajendra P Gupta , Ramakanta Rath, Sachidananda Mohanty, Sameer, Sangram Lahiry, Sankar Parida, Santosh Mohanty, Saroj Mishra, Satyabrata Rout, Satyanand Nirupam, Seema Biswas, Sitakanta Mohapatra, Subhransu Panda, SujitMohapatra, T.K Chand, Uma Basudev, Vineet Kumar and YashPattnaik etc. For Schedule and Online Registration please visit: http://www.kalingaliteraryfest.com/ Mr. Kamala Kanta Dash, Convener of KLF, believes that “Indian literature is rich in diversity of colour and human experiences. KLF has also been a platform to explore Odisha’s rich variety of literature and human experience”. Announcing the festival, Founder Rashmi Ranjan Parida said “KLF 2016 promises to be the biggest platform and will be a best blend of Odia literature and its interconnection with national and global literature.” Chief Convener Shri Sangram Dhar said “We are happy that in three years KLF has gone global. We have been able to attract diverse voices from all over India.”
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