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EE News Desk
South Korean Marketing & Communications house Cheil has been investing heavily in its capabilities in India and is assembling a formidable presence in Digital.Recently, they appointed SanjeevJasani, one of the most accomplished Digital Marketingprofessionals in the country, as the agency’s Head of Digital. Closely following that announcement, Cheil India is making a number of key appointments to further strengthen itsdigital team, already one of the largest in the country.In Digital Strategy, the agency is appointing Sidharth Shukla as Deputy General Manager and to bolster its Digital Media team, Cheil is also appointing Mohd. Rehan Ali, BaniKalra and Smita Khandelwal. Commenting on these appointments, SanjeevJasani said:-“Cheil India is already one of the biggest Digital teams in the country and we are preparing to grow substantially over the coming months.The core of a great Digital Marketing agency is its people. We are hungry and keen to attract the best in the industry to do cutting edge work.With these talented additions to our team, we are certain to achieve our ambition of becoming the foremost Digital Marketing agency in the country.We are excited to have them join our organization and Cheil India can only get richer by their experience and knowledge.” Sidharth joins Cheil from MRM, McCann Worldgroup where he was National Head- Digital Strategy & Planning. He was with MRMfor over 6 years and has previously worked at Tyroo Media, The Indian Express, TimesJobs.com, MacMillan India and KSA Technopak. With a total work experience around 11 years and an MBA from Amity Business School, Sidharth received a Bachelor’s in English Literature from Delhi University. Rehan, who is joining as Media Director, was working previously with Reprise Media.He helped take one of Microsoft’s key accounts to the global No. 2 position in terms of search performance.Prior to Reprise, he worked with agencies Solutions Digitas, Madison Media and Webchutney and has over 9 years of work experience.He has a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and an MBA (specializing in IT). Bani, who is joining Cheil as Associate Media Director, has over 7 years’ experience in Digital Marketing and her work has spanned Web, Mobile, Social, SEM and Content. Prior to Cheil, she was working with Omnicom Group as Media Director. She has also worked with Starcom Worldwide and FCB Ulka with experience on brands like HP, McDonalds, GSK (Horlicks), Danone, Monster, Aircel, Bausch & Lomb, Whirlpool, SC Johnson etc. Smita, who is joining as Deputy General Manager of Digital Media, is a Chartered Accountant and a CPA by qualification. She has extensive work-experience in India and the US and was previously with Exponential Interactive, a provider of advertising intelligence and digital media solutions to brands across the world. She has also worked with AIG in New York and with South Korean Auto giant Solutec in Michigan.
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Whether you have just launched a startup or are looking to explore new opportunities, networking events are known to significantly contribute to the success of any business venture. In fact the corporate world today can be seen emphasizing heavily on not just attending such events but also organizing the same for their employees and business. Beneficial as they may sound but most networking events today, have a formal tone to them and thus most of the times these orchestrated events prove to be total drag and full of awkward moments. Hence, the onus of creatively organizing networking events lies on the event organizing industry itself. By experimenting with new themes and concepts networking events can truly serve their purpose and still be a lot of fun. We caught up with industry experts who shared their opinions on emerging themes and concepts of networking events. “I think that the new themes of such networking events must be based on current news and happenings around our ecosystem, frequently the most preferred among new concepts are digital and technological in nature”-says Sanjeev Kataria, Business Head, Go live. He further states that since there are a lot of networking events taking place today, it has become a necessity to be unique and still be relevant to the audience. New concepts such as crowd sourcing ideas, unconferencing, user-generated content etc have been talked about a lot but are yet to be implemented. Also other concepts of adopting unique locations, providing a completely different environment and seating is expected to create a lot of interest amongst delegates. Rajesh Varma, Director of CRI Events Pvt. Ltd comments “For me speed dating is a new concept for networking events, making people with different skill sets meet by setting them on communicative interactions, making junior subordinates mingle with seniors and by making people who have never worked together spend time with each other through communicative dates.” Sandeep Soi of EMC Events Pvt Ltd however has a different view. He feels in our country particularly the clients are hesitant to experiment with new themes for networking events. “Huge expenditure is involved in this genre of event too and hence most of the times clients prefer to stick with monotonous themes rather than venturing out. We as event agencies are the catalyst of change but at the end of the day you need to deliver on the exact brief delivered by the client. For now the themes are pretty much the same but how we proceed with the event ensures its success” comments Sandeep Soi. When asked upon how do you comfort and engage the attendees at networking events Rajesh Varma adds-“Pre event socializing on mobile applications and other social platforms takes away the discomfort and collaboration is the buzzword which on its own takes away the discomfort.” “For me team building and ice breaking activities within smaller groups, case studies, getting to know each other games are the most successful concepts that have been tested and proven to deliver magnificent results”-completes Sanjeev Kataria.
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Genesis Foundation’s Kasauli Rhythm & Blues Festival today revealed itsline-up for the 4th edition to be held on from 3-5 April, 2015 (Easter Weekend) at Baikunth Resorts in Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh). Ten bands and musicians will come together with a mix genre of music – Western Pop and Rock & Roll, Sufi, Fusion and Bollywood! Friday, April 3, 2015 (4 to 10:30 pm): Barefaced Liar (Rock & Roll) Do Dost (Special acoustic set) Sufi Collectives by Sonam Kalra & Kutle Khan(Fusion of Rajasthani folk and Sufi music) Whirling Kalapas (Pop band set up by Uday Benegal) Swarathma (Folk fusion) Saturday, April 4, 2015 (3:30 – 10:30pm): Akshay Deodhar (Singer, song writer) The Supersonics (Rock & Roll) The Disparrows (Rock & Roll band led by Daniel Weber) Paree Forever – Suneeta Rao (Pop artist of Bollywood fame) Rabbi Shergill Live music in the magical hills of Himachal, outdoor barbecue, splendid bar, great weather and an enthusiastic audience of more than 550 people from across the country and overseas is what theGenesis Foundation’s Kasauli Rhythm and Blues Festivalhas in store this year. In the past 3 editions, this festival has seen riveting performances byPapon & The East India Company, Ankur Tewari, Big Bang Blues, Peter Cat Recording Company, Mrigya, Sridhar/Thayil, Desert Funk and, in their second appearance, The Raghu Dixit Project, Valentine Shipley, Kaya, Ministry of Blues, Susmit Sen Chronicles, Indus Creed, Mrigya, Whirling Kalapas, Parikrama, Advaita, Adi & Suhail, Caralisa Monteiro, Lagori and Soulmate. Genesis Foundation’s Kasauli Rhythm & Blues 2015 is supported by- Rolling Stones magazine, Baikunth Resorts, Kasauli, Quik Relations, ACTFAQs and IndiGo Airlines.
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The first edition of music & arts festival ‘Nariyal Paani’ was held at Mora Pada, Rewas Road in Alibaug on Saturday February 21, 2015. The opening act was Dharavi Rocks who belted out rhythmic percussions and infused energy in the crowd. Stella By Starlight, ChandBibi And The Waste Candidates and Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café followed next. With the afternoon setting in and the crowd pouring in, The Vivienne Pocha Ensemble comprising Vivienne Pocha (vocals), Sanjay Divecha (guitars), Bertie Dsilva (bass) and Cassius Fernandes (drums) took stage. The band belted out covers of some Bob Dylan classics as also the evergreen ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon. As the sun started to set, it was time for the tempo to be upped with Madfingers featuring Rodney Branigan, Andrew Kanga and Rohan Mazumdar. The performance got an encore with Branigan going solo with two guitars at the same time. Kefaya was up next and was appreciated much for their improvisational techniques and rhythmic textures. The Jass B’Stards followed with their onstage quirks and energy. The curtains came down with Bombay Bassment & The Funk Fraternity’s performance. The festival also saw the attendees enjoying boat painting, star gazing and bangle making as also treating themselves to local food served by Sanman Thali, Bohemyan Blue and continental cuisine dished out by Woodside Inn. Beer from Gateway Brewing Co added to the merriment of the event hosted against the backdrop of the sea.
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T.I.C recently organized a lavish wedding of a business tycoon from Delhi, through its division called T.I.C Panorama. Different themes were incorporated for the wedding, reception and other ceremonial events. Marriage ceremonies started with holy Satsang which was a grand function for the family. T.I.C. came up with decor theme of peach crystals along with gold shades. Orchids, carnations were used to light the authenticity of the event. Special giveaways were customized for the guests in form of homemade besan barfi, an Indian sweet kept in beautifully decorated golden ribbons baskets. Next function was fun filled cocktail function, where theme was more driven by the fun and fervor of the nature of the event. Post that there was Mehendi ceremony that marked a distinctive memory especially for the bride so T.I.C. kept it more ethnic by using colorful drapes, traditional umbrellas, bangles and kaliras, which were hung for the décor. It was a poolside affair where company used a cart of colorful stoles for the guests with a karaoke jockey. Weddings in India are usually themed in red and gold color scheme but here also T.I.C. moved out of the box and selected a more elegant palette of Yellow and white. The ceremony was simple and touched every aspect of Indian traditions from both the sides of bride and groom which was followed by a modest interlude on terrace. T.I.C managed to keep the zest of the wedding intact by creating a unique dome filled with yellow and white flowers that was the highlight of the event. Finally there was the Reception which was hosted at a farmhouse in Chattarpur .The event was a day affair so T.I.C. maintained the ruggedness of the farm by keeping the décor in golden and white and given a twist in the décor with a huge stage with an inverted dome filled with flowers with amoeba shaped bar with flowers on top. For entertainment of guests, Suryaveer from Nasha fame was invited who made people groove by their soulful performance. An exquisite walkthrough was made out of glass panels and chandeliers through which the newlyweds made their grand entry to the main arena. - See more at: http://everythingexperiential.com/t-i-c-organizes-lavish-theme-based-wedding-through-its-division-t-i-c-panorama/#sthash.i2VymNbU.dpuf
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Havas Media Group India today announced a slew of senior level promotions across the group in India. Mohit Joshi currently Managing Director, Havas Media India, has been named Managing Director, Havas Media Group India.Uday Mohan, Executive Director,Havas Media-North is being promoted to Managing Partner, Havas Media-North &East.Soumya Sarkar, General Manageris being given additional charge as General Manager &Branch Head, Havas Media-West. Included in the promotions roster are – Abhishek Jain as Executive VP Investments, earlier VP Investments. Mitesh Desai,Head-Creative, UX & UI is now National Creative Directorand Gregory Phillip has been named Associate VP-Operations for Arena Media. Speaking on the appointments, Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group India& South Asia, said - “Havas Media Group in India has been growing at a rapid pace, last year we grew 42%. It has been a straight line graph going upwards since we started operations in 2006 and we have aggressive plans ahead. Companies don’t grow on their own, they need – people. As we scale, we would like to elevatethe passionate people who helped us reach where we are today and we count on them going forward.” The team has also been further strengthened with the joining of TarranumAlam as Executive VP Investments and Chandana Chakravartti VP at the Delhi office and Saurabh Jain who is currently handling the Bangalore operations. “It gives me a lot of pleasure to make this announcement and I’m confident that this team will over deliver and take Havas Media Group to greater heights”, concluded Nayyar.
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Atif Aslam and Mohit Chauhan performed at ‘Asli Rockstars’ together on the Indian soil for the first time. The concert was organised under RED LiVE, the live entertainment vertical of RED FM, at Leisure Valley. Both the artists gave a high-energy stage performance with their well-known and loved songs that kept the fans hooked. Atif Aslam, the singer-cum-actor, rocked the audiences with his mix of rock and pop music songs like Jeene Laga Hoon, Kuch is Tarah, Tera hone laga hoon, among others. Mohit Chauhan too had his fan following crooning along as he performed super hits like Dooba Dooba, Pee Loon, Masakali. Commenting on the concert, Ms. Nisha Narayanan, COO, 93.5 RED FM said, “RED LiVE is a platform which offers the fans, an opportunity to witness the high-octane musical performances. With more than 15,000 fans in one arena, both Atif and Mohit ensured that they take the audience in their stride and give a power-packed performance with their popular songs. The huge success that we have achieved from the show truly reveals RED FM’s attempt to play only Superhits on the station. We look forward to many such successful gigs in the years to come and promise more and more entertainment to our listeners.” Speaking about his performance at the concert, the most-awarded Bollywood singer, Mohit Chauhan, said, “I am overwhelmed with the audience’s response. Atif and I have a good chemistry singing together for the first time on Indian soil. We went beyond and extended the show as the energized fans encouraged us to perform. Thanks to RED LiVE for inviting us to sing on such a grand scale.” The versatile Pakistani singer, Atif Aslam commented, “The enthusiasm that the audience displayed built the momentum and made the show more exciting. I would like to thank RED LiVE for inviting me to be a part of this concert. I look forward to many such visits to continue entertaining my fans in India.”
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As the demand for interesting and engaging experiences is increasing with every passing day people are simultaneously coming up with new and innovative concepts to meet the demand. The most recent addition to the list of such experiences is Ctrl.Shift.Esc, which is an escape-gaming center in HauzKhas Village Delhi. The game promises to bring out the detective in you as it involves multiple participants being locked in a room and their quest for escaping the same in limited time. Within a years’ time from its launch the experience and the concept of the game has gained massive popularity with brands like Google and Accenture using it for team building activities for their employees. EE caught up with Sanwari Gupta and AkshatGoel, owners of Ctrl.Shift.Esc in an exclusive conversation where the latter share their experiences of coming up with the game, their inspiration and the roadmap ahead. Q- How was the idea of coming up with an escape-gaming center like Ctrl.Shift.Esc conceived? Sanwari- Well, me and Akshatboth had heard about online games and also had the privilege of playing escape games in New York and then when we came back to Delhi we thought about bringing the similar kind of experiences for the people here. However in order to make it fit for India we had to make a few changes here and there but overall the idea was to bring the fun and frolic of an escape game in the country. Q- It is considered easy having a gaming center built but the hard fact is marketing it and making it popular. How did you market Ctrl.Shift.Esc? Sanwari- Since this was my first venture and debut experience I completely relied on the Askshat’s opinions on how to market the gaming center as he has had a substantial experience in business enterprises. Interesting fact about the popularity of Ctrl.Shift.Esc is that we did not spend any amount on marketing the game as it was mainly word of mouth which was our biggest asset and brought in the crowd. Akshat- Exactly, we did not do any PR for it as well. Since it was a new concept we basically used social media platforms like facebook and book my show featured us too. Thus we also started getting attention from a few media houses which gave us good coverage so even without spending anything on the marketing of the game we became popular in no time. Q- What are the different corporates that come to Ctrl.Shift.Esc for unique and innovative experiences? Akshat- There are many corporates that have come to our gaming center as they feel the game itself is a unique team building activity for their employees. So far we have served over 50 corporate houses and the most prominent names among them are Google. Accenture, Microsoft, American Express, Adobe etc. Q- What were the initial responses that you received for the game? Sanwari- The response has really been good as most people who try our game have been really positive and happy about it. However there are times when one or two people feel grumpy about it when they do not win. But overall the response has benefitted us as it is the word of mouth publicity that has worked in our favor. Q-How have you priced the game and what do the winners get? Sanwari- The price per person for now is 600 INR but we do offer discounts on group bookings for more than 20 people. The winners who are successful in unlocking their way out of the game get bragging rights only as the game is really challenging. However they do get a photo opportunity wherein they get to hold placards that state they won the game. The photos are uploaded on our official facebook page too so the winners also get their moment in the spotlight Q- Is there a roadmap for Ctrl.Shift.Esc that you have planned for the year ahead? Sanwari- We are consistently getting requests if we can have the game offsite as well so we are currently working on that and we are also coming up with another gaming center in Gurgaon this year itself. Akshat- Also, we hope to make sure that the game becomes a rage all over the country and are seriously considering a few franchise association requests that we have received.
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Besides actual layers of clothing, one of India’s commended offerings to stand up comedy, Papa CJ, strips down on several levels for his audience in his latest act- Naked. However the term ‘Naked’ has a different meaning all together for Papa CJ. The show is actually an attempt by the performer to bare himself to the audience, literally, and symbolically by stripping his apprehensiveness and displaying his vulnerabilities, and in such way introducing his fans to a new dimension of his personality.So to answer the question- Whats common between Papa CJ Naked and an onion? Well, lots of layers. And you are likely to cry. To start from the beginning of his performance, Papa CJ has to be credited for the fact that he gets his audience on the hook the minute he takes to the stage. The first half of the show is loosely devoted to jokes based on the comparison between generations. A word of caution to the young audiences-you may want to be seated somewhere towards the back. I learnt that lesson the hard way. Unlike most stand up comedy acts that have been performed lately this one is not just a mix bag of jokes one after another. It is instead, different elements of CJ’s life woven together in a compelling story that will evoke not just humor but a whole new set off unexpected emotions. The audiences are left to wonder at the beginning,the ‘Family appropriate quotient’ of the show as CJ begins to take off layer after layer as he shares his personal intimate experiences. However it is towards the second half of the show when Papa CJ makes you realize that he has truly enveloped you in his life journey and the audience is now a part of it too. It is not easy to walk down the miseries of a break-up in front of thousands but Papa CJ does it with an unconventional ease and comfort. CJ appeared unabashedly unrestrained on the stage often taking the high road to ensure the audience is getting its moneys worth. Surprisingly,it is the not the jokes that stay with you after 60 minutes of solid comedy, it is CJ and his life journey that makes you stand up and applaud as the comedian begins to leave the stage after a tear jerking narrative. Is Papa CJ Naked the best comedy act to be presented in the country? Well maybe not. But since it straddles the genres of theater, storytelling and stand-up comedy, its unique and memorable concept sure does make for a refreshing experience.
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In times when people are becoming savvy to book their homes online, Square Yards, leading real estate advisory with its ‘RE – Commerce’ platform sold 350 flats worth USD 40mn for Antriksh Group’s project Urban Greek through augmented reality platform ‘Scapes’ and online booking engine in less than 19 hours. In one of the most innovative campaigns seen in real estate industry, christening 5th July as the No Loan Day (#NoLoanDay), Antriksh Group offered prospective home buyers a unique chance to own a home by paying just 0.9% of the property value per month. Commenting on the innovative campaign, TanujShori, CEO of Square Yards said that “We were always confident of our unique hybrid model of on ground fulfilment coupled with online convenience to serve home buyers, but today with the resounding success of our RE-COMMERCE (Real Estate Commerce) engine, our hunger to bring ’never before ways to experience under construction homes before buying them’ has been stoked even more.” In a full-blown media campaign covering outdoor, print, radio and the internet, pre-registrations for this offer by inviting prospective home buyers with a clear cut communication that the booking window will open at 00:01 hours on the 5th of July. Both, Antriksh and Square Yards received an overwhelming response from property buyers even before the launch of the #NoLoanDay campaign. About ~7000+ pre-registrations were received on the website. Square Yards and Antriksh group together organized an event on the 5th of July where all pre-registered guests were invited to experience Urban Greek in virtual 3D reality before buying the home of their choice. The concept was a huge hit with home buyers thronging the experience zone by the thousands and resulting in a total sellout of the project in a little less than 19 hours. “I have never witnessed anything like this before in my life” said a jubilant Abhishek Singh Goyat, MD of Antriksh Developers. “We knew we were backing a competent team at Square Yards when it came to develop the online booking engine for Antriksh Urban Greek, but I guess the overwhelming response that we got from all over the world with people lapping up full floors of towers online from Dubai, Muscat & Singapore etc. is a testimony to this concept. It will set to become the need of the hour in today’s real estate market” added Mr.Goyat. This event marks the entry of Square Yards as only the third company in India to sell homes online after Housing.com and Snapdeal. But with this debut, Square Yards makes a thundering entry into uber competitive domain of real estate e-commerce by clocking in astounding sales figures of 350 transactions, with market value close to USD40mn in lesser than 19 hours.
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