Author
Shantanu writes for Everything Experiential
Max is a considerable brand name in the world of retail fashion across the world. Often known to have brought the concept of affordable fashion into the lives of middle class and upper middle class, the brand boasts of mainly using on ground campaigns and the experiential route to market itself. Very recently the brand has associated with Elite, a renowned modeling agency and launched Max Elite Model Look in India. MEML is a competition that aspires to create a strong foothold for the modeling industry in the country, one that stands beyond the conventional bollywood dream. In an exclusive interview with Everything Experiential Vasanth Kumar, Executive Director Max fashion talks about the marketing strategy of the brand and the plans down the road. Q-What drove you to associate with Elite and start Max Elite Model Look India? A-As a brand, Max represents fashion which is very closely associated with Modeling and Bollywood. Now, bollywood has its own fashion style and trends existing however, there is not a strong platform existing for anyone who wants to become a model. It is preconceived notion that if someone is a model today then they will become a actor which is not true. We wanted to create a strong foothold for modeling in India. Elite is a modeling agency that is always scouting for the best talent in this field and they used to do that in India too every year. But, 10 years back as they were not getting strong support from anyone in India they went back. This is how we came into the picture and this is our second association with Elite Model Look. Q- What is the marketing strategy for Max retail? A- We follow a different marketing strategy all together as we have never used ATL mediums to promote ourselves. We have used outdoor but that is it. For us experiential and on ground campaigns are embedded in philosophy as shopping is an experiential concept in its own self. Hence, a major focus of our is to engage consumers through contests and competitions in cinemas, colleges, movie screens etc. Q- What has been your spent in Max Elite Model Look 2015 and what is the overall marketing budget for Max? A- On this particular competition we have invested 6 cr which is apart from the barter deals made. 1500 cr is the overall valuation of our brand today and 4% of that is allocated for our marketing initiatives. Out of the same, we make sure that at least 50% is spent on experiential initiatives. Q-Most international fashion brands have also went on to create their intellectual properties in the genre of fashion and modeling. Is that somewhere down the line for Max too? A-Well no, simply because that is something we are not good at. However, we would certainly like to associate if something interesting comes up. Q-What is the current market share of Max retail in the market today and how do you plan to increase it? A-The retail market in the country is valued somewhere around 50000 cr and 1/3 of that which amounts to 20000 is organized retail. Since we fall in the organized retail category our market share is somewhere around 7% and to increase we will continue to associate with such events and come out with more engaging initiatives for our customers.
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‘Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!’ ~ goes the adage and it couldn’t have been truer. The Beer Café is set to delight its customers with the largest collection of authentic German brews under one roof for the much-awaited annual Oktoberfest! Those who will not be able to make it to Munich, need not worry as the bar has prepared to bring festivities from the Schottenhamel tent, right here to your neighbourhood. Through the initiative The Beer Cafe aims to create an entertaining month with great offers on buckets of authentic German beers, beer flight (sliders), special food menu, cheerful Bavarian tunes and props for fun photo ops, so that people can capture the beery moments! What’s more? Well, as a customer places an order when the special tunes are playing they are in for a cool surprise! Additionally the bar has shared with us a list of beers the customers must try- All Delhi and NCR Outlets: Erdinger- Weissbier Erdinger- Dunkel, Schneider Weiss Valentins Delhi Only Kaiserdom Weizenberg Paulaner- Original, Hefe Weissbier, Salvator Krombacher Pils The festival is scheduled to be held from Date: 19th September, 2015- 31st October, 2015 Venue: The Beer Café outlets across Delhi NCR
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It is an unabashedly open fact, that the events industry in India is a disorganized business. The consequences of which sometimes have to faced by the artists who come on board with such planners as performers for their event. From changes waiting to be made at the last minute for an event planned months in advance, to the agenda of a corporate event being whispered to an emcee as he is about to start to the show and from waiting for their payments to be cleared after months of performance to haggling over who would pay the hotel bills. There are a lot of things that artists in India do not like about the event agencies today and we at EE met with established event artists Vipin Aneja, Singer and performer, Rupali Suri, anchor, actor and model and Kubra Sait, anchor, actor and model, to ask for the same. 1-Experience not valued- Vipin Aneja begins his opinions by establishing the fact that experience today is not valued most of the times by event planners. He says, “Even newbie performers who have no experience are sometimes paid and put in the same category as established performers who have a considerable amount of experience. Not only is this practice unfair and unjustified but at the same time this brings down the level of the event for everyone.” 2-Tax Issues- Vipin further says, “There have also been times when I have been paid my fees after the deduction of TDS but the certificate of TDS deduction has never been given to me. This I feel is a wrong practice and needs to be changed.” 3-Equipment issues- "Just like guns and ammunitions are the weapons of a soldier, light and sound are the weapons of a good performer, however most event agencies today start of by negotiating over every simple thing. They get cheap equipments for your performance at times to save money and when the performances are not up to the mark the onus of that falls on us”-completes Vipin, 4-No budget hoax- Kubra Sait begins her list by saying that 'hate' is a very strong word to use and she does not hate anything about even planners or organizers. However she feels. there are a few things that event planners need to change in themselves. She says, “Agencies call you today and they start the conversation with fact that the event is going to be a larger than life one, with all top stars coming in however we have no budget for same. It is actually funny at times when they expect us to believe this.” 5-No hospitality- Kubra continues her stance, “Also, there are times when you are booked for an event months in advance however when you reach at the venue on the day you will be told that there is no room available at the hotel.” “As a result we sometimes have to stay at a different location which is so far from the event venue. Also some event organizers disappear immediately after the event has been executed and we sometimes have to sit and wait for our hotel bills to be cleared. I just hope the event organizing industry gets a little more organized in that sense.” 6-Call Timings- Nothing ever starts in India on time, however the call timings for invitees are much in advance. Speaking about the same phenomenon, Kubra says, “We as emcees are sometimes called 4 hours before the show has been started. Many a times even the stage has not been constructed but we are called way in advance and we have to sit and wait for things to get into place which hinders our performance.” 7-The script issues- Rupali Suri says, “As artists there are a lot of issues we face as far as the script of the emcee is concerned. In spite of asking for it much in advance there are times it is only on the last minute where you are handed over that precious piece of paper. There are also times when you literally have to beg them for it.” 8-Payments- “Getting your payments out of some event planners is a bigger challenge than anchoring an event with no script at times. I am not talking about all event planners but yes there are a few who haggle over the budgets from the get go and even after we have settled down for a low fees we are at times not even paid that after the event”-says Rupali. 9-Unreasonable requests- Pointing out the unreasonable requests made by event planners at times, Rupali says,“There are times when event planners ask you to wear a certain type of dress for an event which at times costs more than what you are paid for the event itself. And when you ask them to pay for the same they expect it to be a part of our fees, This kind of experience is certainly the worst for any performer and agencies should restrain from following such practices.” 10-No to greenroom- "There are also times when some event planners do not understand the importance of greenrooms for artists. There is a certain kind of mental preparation that needs to be done before an event and a greenroom helps you to do that. However, most event organizers feel that it is a waste of space and hence no such services are provided. I hope this culture changes soon”-says Rupali Suri as she completes her stance on things she does not like in event planners.
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Bacardi Enchanted Valley Carnival, India’s camping music festival has announced the sale of its Phase I tickets recently. Bacardi EVC 2015 is back this year on the 18th, 19th and 20th of December at Aamby Valley City, Pune with global stars Tiësto and Fatboy Slim confirmed as headliners in what festival. Bacardi Enchanted Valley Carnival is a multi-genre music festival that combines performances, adventure sports and the best camping experience.This year Bacardi Enchanted Valley Carnival begins the next chapter in its story with the unique experience of a mystical world where ancient meets modern with a new call-out – “#JoinTheTribe” - to build a community and belonging for like-minded and passionate people. At Bacardi Enchanted Valley Carnival 2015, music and adventure enthusiasts will witness first hand, futuristic themed production, design and stages that have been specially created to deliver the most dynamic music and experiences for thrill-seeking music fans. The slew of big talent at Bacardi Enchanted Valley Carnival 2015 also includes a stage programmed by Ferry Corsten - producer, DJ, pioneer, innovator, and visionary. Ferry Corsten will be debuting his unique format – FULL ON, in India, at the festival, featuring back-to-back sets by artists handpicked by the man himself. Given below are the Phase I pricing details for Bacardi EVC 2015: Type Price with Taxes (INR) GA – 3 Day Access 6200 VIP – 3 Day Access 11160 Regular (2 Man) - 3 Nights (18-21 Dec) 15390 Regular (2 Man) - 4 Nights (17-21 Dec) 17955 Regular (3 Man) - 3 Nights (18-21 Dec) 23085 Regular (3 Man) - 4 Nights (17-21 Dec) 26933 Regular (4 Man) - 3 Nights (18-21 Dec) 30780 Regular (4 Man) - 4 Nights (17-21 Dec) 35910 Luxury (2 Man) - 3 Nights (18-21 Dec) 54720 Luxury (2 Man) - 4 Nights (17-21 Dec) 63840 Luxury (4 Man) - 3 Nights (18-21 Dec) 82080 Luxury (4 Man) - 4 Nights (17-21 Dec) 95760 BYOT - 3 Nights (18-21 Dec) 5,130 BYOT - 4 Nights (17-21 Dec) 5,985 The Festival is scheduled to take place on 18, 19 & 20 December 2015 at Aamby Valley City, Pune.
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Fevicol walked away with yet another unique and quirky activity that had the participants and the attendees laugh uproar. The company’s sticky stunt at the pandal of Lalbaugcha Raja, that draws lakhs of devotees, took visitors by surprise. The Fevicol Room was set up right next to the mannat line with the activity aimed at bringing out the strength of the brand. The visitors were required to get themselves clicked in a whacky pose. At the Fevicol Room, consumers were seen posing and taking pictures of 'walking on walls' and 'hanging by ceiling' to shock their friends on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. The stunt, titled as the Fevicol Room, will continue till 26th Sept 2015. The same is amplified on social media through #TheFevicolRoom. Salil Dalal, President - Sales & Marketing, Fevicol, Pidilite Industries Ltd said, “We at Fevicol firmly believe in out of box ideas that grab eyeballs of the onlookers. The activity not only reiterated the brand’s identity of being the ultimate adhesive but also engaged people in some fun. This act helped us clearly reach our message to the consumers making them smile.”
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Mumbai City FC has teamed up with Navi Mumbai Area Schools Association (NMASA) to launch the first-ever Mumbai City FC - NMASA Grassroots Football League, to begin on 22nd September 2015. The tournament will see over 150 teams from schools associated with the NMASA compete in the U-8, U-10, U-12 and U-14 age categories at the Fr. Agnel Sports Complex,Vashi. The league will feature matches that make the children play in age specific formats, i.e. 5v5 for the U-8 age group, 7v7 for U-10 and so on, giving them a chance to play more and more matches. In the league phase, each team will play a minimum of seven matches, with the top teams from each group going on to play in the knockout stage. Over 700 matches will be played in total across all age categories. These are in accordance with the guidelines set by FIFA. The league offers teams a chance to play competitively and focus on the game and win the league trophy. All teams will receive a certificate of participation. Commenting on the new initiative, Indranil Das Blah, CEO, Mumbai City FC said, “At Mumbai City FC we take our football very seriously. We firmly believe this high level of competition is a stepping stone to bring the best out of the city’s youngsters. With an eye on the future, as we build the franchise at one level, we need to ensure that there is a strong feeder pipeline in place to take the legacy of Mumbai City FC forward.” Speaking about the association, Fr. Almeida, President, NMASA said, “We are happy to announce the initiation of the Grassroots Football League and are glad to have partnered with Mumbai City FC. We believe that this is a great initiative by them. I strongly believe that making kids play in the age-specific format around which the league is structured will help them improve and will be better for the game in the long run.” Apart from the Grassroots Development program that was undertaken, this is an effort by the team to give exposure and training to budding footballers. Not only do the players benefit, but the coaches trained are better equipped to guide the future of Indian football. The coaches trained in the Grassroots Development Program will get to practice their newly acquired skills and will be mentoring the teams playing in the league.
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Gone are the days when merely the announcement of brand name by emcee and logos being present on marketing collateral was enough to make event sponsors happy. Today not only do sponsors want the value for money they invested into the event but also they are looking for a higher level of engagement with their target audiences through it. Those event managers who do not deliver on the above guidelines end up with an unhappy sponsor, who next time opts to go with another event agency, for all its further event requirements. So if you are thinking what you can do to make your event sponsor happy? Well, we have the answer decoded for you as we share 5 incredible ways to make sponsors happy, before and after the event. 1-Establish personal relationships and understand their requirement It is always better to work with a friend than with an unhappy boss. Similarly, making event sponsor your friends can help you a lot in understanding his requirements from the event and deliver on it. Know your event sponsor on a personal level and get down on the basics of the event, streamline and discuss each and every aspect beforehand. Try to make these meetings as informal as possible so that an event sponsors opens up to discussing his ideas with you rather than ordering you to execute them. Even if there are a few glitches during the event execution, there is always the friendship that will be developed which will make your sponsor stick around. 2-Engage the audiences by integrating sponsors brand Even a sponsor has to meet his targets at the end of the day and hence to make sure that your event sponsor is happy with the event, engagement with the audiences for his brand has to be an integral quotient while you design the event. Interestingly, this engagement has to be more evolved and should not seem thrust upon the event attendees. Trying to use the sponsors brand to elevate the fun element of your overall event is the best strategy to adopt here. Through this not only will the sponsor have a big smile on his face but with a happy and engaged audience event managers too can have a sign of relief. 3-Deliver more than promised It is fairly obvious that event sponsors are money minded people and expect you to deliver in more ways than one. However, a guaranteed way to make sure they are happy is to deliver a positive surprise to them on the day of the event. You can perhaps give your event sponsor perks like better seating arrangements to his special guests, or special gift vouchers, or anything that lifts up their spirits even before the event has started. This initiative is a sure shot way to make execution of your event smoother as there will be no grumpy sponsor to obstruct you with complains. 4-Facilitate networking Another way to integrate sponsors into events is by making them network with a lot of people which facilitates them to grow their business. This is an added element into your event which will make sure your organizer sticks with you for a long time for all his event needs. Networking opportunities also add up to the engagement quotient of your event. 5-Provide post-event analysis metrics Most event managers think that there work ends with the event being over but not all of them realize that providing a post-event analysis to your sponsors of what transpired during the event will help them immensely in the long run. This little move on a planner’s part can help them in showing their dedication to an event sponsor and also help them improve with each and every event they execute. These are hardcore numbers such as engagement quotient of the event, savings made throughout the event, what could be elevated the event, the negatives of the event and others.
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Jeff Thomson, the noted Aussie pacer is in Mumbai to coach the young bowlers at MCA - IDBI Federal Life Insurance Bowling Foundation. To bring him closer to his fans from the cricket and corporate world, IDBI Federal Life Insurance organised a warm evening at Taj Lands End Bandra, recently. It was an evening of back-slapping and bonhomie as Aussie legend took centre-stage while Gautam Bhimani anchored the event. Thomson kept the audience gripped with his stories, anecdotes and views both as a player and as a coach before moving on to the question and answer session. The event also saw an act from stand-up comedian and the cricket world’s, Vikram Sathaye who engaged the audience with his entertaining performance. The evening saw participation from MCA members; cricketers like Ajinkya Rahane, Abey Kuruvila, Nilesh Kulkarni, Amol Majumdar, Sameer Dighe, Aditya Tare, Abhishek Nayar, Shreyas Iyer, Milind Rege – Chairman, Selection Committee, MCA, Lalchand Rajput, Former Indian Cricketer, Sanjay Banger- Batting Coach, Indian Cricket team, Raju Kulkarni – Former Indian cricketer among others were also seen at the event. The corporate attendance included Sadeep Bakshi, CEO, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Ajay Srinivasan, Chief Executive, Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group; Arijit Basu, CEO, SBI Life Insurance; Sudhin Roy Chowdhary, Member, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Alpesh Shah, Senior Partner & Director, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to name a few. Other corporate attendees included Abhay Laxman Bongirwar, Managing Director, IDBI Capital Market Services Limited; RK Bansal, Executive Director, IDBI Bank; S.K.V. Srinivasan, Executive Director, IDBI Bank. Senior management members from Federal Bank like Varinder Gulati, Viney Kumar and Sampath D were also present at the event.
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The event industry of the country today is basking in the glory of intellectual properties. With multiple successful examples such as NH7 weekender, India Bike Week, T1 Truck Racing Championship, IIFA and others leading the way, every event company today aspires to successfully give birth to an IP that will stand the test of time. However, creating an intellectual property event is not an easy feat. From the early challenges of deciphering the magnitude to powering through negative feedbacks is all part of it. But what really are the advantages and perils of Intellectual properties today? Well, this was the subject of an insightful panel discussion at EEMAX Global 2015. On the panel were successful IP creators Viraf Sarkari (IIFA), Vivek Singh (Mumbai Marathon), Vijay Nair (NH7 Weekender) Rajesh Kejriwal (Kyoorius Design Yatra) and Devraj Sanyal (Enchanted Valley Carnival). The session was moderated by Suresh Venkat, Consulting Editor Forbes India. The session began with Suresh Venkat asking the panelists on why did they decide to create IP’s and what drove them? Vijay Nair responded to the question by saying, “IP’s are basically the best part of events. It is different from all the other events you organize and is something that you build for yourself. Reacting to the same question Devraj Sanyal stated, “The crux of an IP is basically an idea that matters to you. Through curating it you add life to something and create something for the fans. It is only an idea that lasts in our industry and this is what drives me.” Adding to him, “Viraf Sarkari said, “We created an IP because we wanted to break the clutter and take the Indian cinema to a different space altogether. We were passionate about Indian cinema and popularizing it was something that drove us.” An interesting fact about intellectual properties in India is that majority of them end up as disasters that are not sustained over the years. Hence, when asked to share their IP debacles Vivek Singh said, “20 years ago, we brought WWF to 4 cities in India and thought that it will be great success however we were completely wiped out from the commercial perspectives and this particular incident became a learning experience for us.” Sharing his side of the story Rajesh Kejriwal said, In 2006 the Kyoorius Design Yatra was successful and hence we were inspired by others to make it bigger and better. But we ended up messing the entire property through launching design awards along with it in the next year. It was a big setback for us and we came back with the Design Yatra only after we sorted ourselves completely.” Highlighting the subject of creating sustainable relationship with sponsors of the events Rajesh added that, “It is a sole destroying job to run after sponsors year after year. It is always better to make them long term partners by giving the value of engagement with customers to them. We have rejected sponsorships from FMCG brands as they demanded speaker slots at our event. Thus, it is always important to stay true to your core idea and money will follow.” When asked if any of the IP’s of the panelists of the stage would have existed had they not created it? Vivek Singh responded to the question by saying, “Without me it would not have happened the way it did but it would have happened anyways as there was always a demand for a property like Mumbai Marathon. Adding to him Vijay Nair said, “Succession is the way to go for IPs today as the process is consuming. After handing over one IP one can start working on another one.”
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Delhi has many a times been considered an unfriendly city for events. Despite having some of the most experiential venues and state of the art infrastructural facilities, the issues of license clearance and openly evident corruption made organizing events in Delhi an excruciatingly painful experience for planners. However with current AAP government delivering on its promise with approval of single window licensing process for events, hopes for smoothly organizing events in the city have been rekindled. So what is the future of events in Delhi was the subject of an interesting panel discussion at EEMAX global 2015. The panelists for the session were Kapil Mishra, Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Delhi Government, Sanjay Kumar, IAS, Commissioner- Excise, Delhi Government, Vijay Nair, Director, OML and Rajesh Balpande, Founder, Book My show. The session was moderated by Rajeev Jain, Treasurer EEMA. The session began with Kapil Mishra, Minister, sharing the perspective of the Delhi government on the subject. He said, “We promise ensuring zero corruption for the events industry in the city and the onus of delivering the same lies completely on us. I request all members of the fraternity to create dream events in the capital and we as part of government are ready to provide all the support needed for it.” Highlighting his side of why OML had not organized an edition of its Intellectual porperty NH7 in Delhi? Vijay Nair said, “I have not had pleasant experiences in organizing events in Delhi. When we organize events here either we have to face corruption or succumb to unreasonable demands of free passes.” Interestingly, revenues from event taxes amount to 73 billion pounds in London and 13 billion dollars in the US. However, revenues in Delhi for the same amounted to a meager 2 crore INR. “The prevalent corruption event organizers faced in Delhi forced them to shift to Noida or Gurgaon. However, things are about to change now with stricter administration and these figures are expected to grow now”-said, Sanjay Kumar. During his address Kapil Mishra, Minsiter of Tourism, Art and Culture also made a promising request from the stakeholders of the events fraternity. He said, “We have the pious river Yamuna in Delhi and we are making efforts to clean it in the next 36 months. However it is the responsibility of the event planners now to weave events around its backdrop. We are here to help build events in the capital and we will only consider ourselves and our government successful when the best event of the country is organized in Delhi.”
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