There are places I’ll remember.All my life, though some have changed. Some forever, not for better. Some have gone and some remain. All these places have their moments. With lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living. In my life, I’ve loved them all. The quaint old Beatle song strikes a consonant note as I sit down to write this. Growing up may now be far behind, but the people, places and moments it imprints in one’s mind and heart will always remain special. In the long journey of life (or at least in this case my own life),music will always remain my most consistent and special companion. I have always considered myself to be extremely fortunate to have grown up in the vibrant and multi-cultural suburb of Bandra – a beautiful slice of this crazy city of Mumbai.This once quaint and leafy milieu has been the cradle of some of the finest talent of music specifically, and the arts at large. It was Bandra’screatively fertile environmentthat personally helped me bloom, as it did so many others. It all began with impromptu weekend street jams and sing-songson terrace tops and at house parties. Constantly networked with like-minded friends, I developed an early love for music. Back in the day, the love affair launched with nostalgic vinyl. Cassettes – so passé today – were the premium of the day... prized possessions that you owned only if you were lucky enough to have a relative abroad. Then of course, technology gave us laser discs and VCDs, before cable came along and changed the entire dynamic. My passion for music was as strong as my love for theatre. My thrust into the spotlight came by way of roles in musicals such as Joseph and the Amazing TechnicolourDreamcoat, Greased Lightning and Evita, to name a few. Meanwhile, with talented friends who shared my passion for music, we formed our own band Voices – Aid Bhopal amongst our biggest gigs. Other musicians were also trying to make the scene and get some momentum going; but despite everyone’s best efforts, the independent music scene simply failed to get off the ground. There were,however, green shoots of hope of a different kind. What began with The Police’s almost incognito gig in then Bombay back in 1980 would lead to a steady trickle in later years. Bryan Adams made India his stomping ground for a bit, while JethroTull, MLTR, Deep Purple, America, Bon Jovi and Michael Jackson made fleeting, but significant, stopovers too. Fan passion was being ignited. TV helped expand our exposure to the world of music. I remember the marathon Live Aid concert being televised live (or at least some part of it) back in 1985. The arrival of satellite television in the 90skind of opened the floodgates as, for the first time, Indians could keep abreast with the latest in music, with negligible time lag in terms of releases. FM happened almost simultaneously and suddenly we never had it better – endless hours of music programming, countdown shows, live banter... RJs were becoming the new celebrities.All this increased the appetite for music. CDs, DVDs and LDs were being voraciously lapped up.New-age music stores were the hip place to hang out. And then the Internetblew everything out of proportion. Indians were now truly up-to-the-second with the latest trends in the world of music. YouTube, iTunes, Facebook, Twitter... there was no stopping us now. Concerts,as a concept, sprung from this platform. Sunburn, Mahindra Blues Festival, Johnny Walker – The Journey, NH7... they all became potent properties for their owners and focal points for the fans. All of this coalesced into an environment that opened up never before opportunities for the Indie scene. Local talent started to experience a warm acceptance and, more importantly, gained platforms to showcase their wares to music fans with now open minds. But there’s still a long way to go. The way forward is to introduce larger volumes of audiences to newer music genres and to promote local independent artistes. Infrastructure will hold the key. We need to see the immediate development of new concert venues – both small and large. Radio, which now enjoys immense traction especially with younger audiences, can play a pivotal role here. It must allow quality local music to share space with international content. Today’s youth and Gen Next will continue to consume music of their choice. They are a privileged generation with multiple mediums at their behest to explore and pick and choose from the very latest, as they please. Consumption mediums and patterns will continue to evolve and be defined by technology. The message is clear to providers of music content: Merge with evolving trends or be eased out. About the author Brian Tellis is the Chairman at Fountainhead Promotions and Events. He boasts of a multi-faceted career in the entertainment industry spread over three decades. Popular for hosting the Mahindra Blues Show on 94.3 FM he is also the man behind for organizing the Mahindra Blues Festival since 2011 in February each year. Twitter Handle: @Brian_Tellis
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The event planning industry is an old one with various chapters written in its history. Events which started out as community gatherings, festivals and pageants, balls etc, with time and technology have preceded to being full blown theme based, dramatic, larger than life social events. I still remember there was a time when social events were designed and fabricated only to celebrate happiness and frolic but overtime the definition of these celebrations have changed and now along with the intention to celebrate happiness about a particular instance, events today have also become a platform to display one’s status and how far can one go to give the most lavish and joyous experience to their guests. The evolution of social events has been as phenomenal as the evolution of our modes of communication. Much like the modes of communication, the transformations in the social events domain have also been dynamic in nature. Our clientele will notice a fashion trend, a film, or even spectacular interiors from a venue that they have visited recently and would want that to be translated into reality at their events. “The Great Gatsby”, starring Leonardo Di Caprio was released in May 2013, and was on our company’s drawing boards a week later after a client was awestruck from the movie. As a result our rendering was produced as a full décor concept later that November. In comparison to the earlier times, the clients today are much more aware of their tastes and preferences. It is really refreshing to see this change as I have been designing weddings since the time when we were just given an approximate budget for the event and the entire concept and execution of the wedding was shouldered to us. Today as the clients have the capacity to spend more and are more exposed to various cultures, norms and traditions, this has also led to them to ask for specific demands at their events. Gone are the days of the coy bride who did not even look up to say hi, today the brides and their grooms have a clear and concrete vision for their dream wedding, which we have to give shape to, and with every little detail associated with the wedding that has an emotional value to them. Experience is the key word I would use to describe the event industry today. As it is the experiences that people obtain in their travel, leisure or routine affairs that they desire to inculcate in their events. Simple fascination towards a place, sometimes leads to events which are specifically designed to depict the attachment. In our experience we have often done events where we have recreated the beauty and opulence of places such as Paris, Greece to match the client’s desire. Also the transformation in the social events domain is not limited only to the demands expressed by the clients. Over the years, the event Industry has also evolved technologically to adapt to the current trends. Computer aided tools, social Media, special design Software, and easy communication techniques make the process of Event designing a much simpler process. Client approvals for the finest of details are one photograph away. Also these technological elements have found their presence everywhere, from the invitation cards to the overall attire of the bride and groom and from the revolving stage and décor to the mobile seating arrangements, a huge change is openly evident. The clients today also wish to incorporate Social media as an element to their wedding. Not only are the social media platforms today helpful in getting more information about latest trends but they also make you accessible to an entirely different world out there. Weddings that trend on social media grab the most eyeballs and are termed the best organized. So as you see, everything has changed in the social events domain in the last decade. The only thing that is yet to change about weddings in India today is the anxiousness of a new journey in the eyes of the bride and the sense of contentment in the face of the groom as the bride joins him on the stage for all times to come.
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The countdown to EEMAX Global has truly started and with each passing day the stakeholders of experiential marketing and events industry are waiting for the convention with baited breath. With less than a week to go for EEMAX conclave, the speculation on the sessions, performers and the experiential quotient of the convention is at an all time high. To put an end to all such speculations, Mr. Sabbas Joseph, President EEMA in a recent conversation with EE, unveiled the Agenda for EEMAX Global 2015. Mr. Joseph said, “I do hope that the fraternity has completed their registrations for EEMAX Global. The Jury of Peers was busy last weekend completing their evaluation of the shortlisted entries. One must admit the work done by colleagues and the competition is world class and it makes one proud. I’m delighted to share with you the latest agenda for EEMAX Global Conclave” The agenda for EEMAX Global 2015 is as follows DAY 1: Saturday, 19 September 2015 17:00 – 19:00 Inaugral Session “Getting the World to Believe - ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”- The Fund raiser that raised more than $150 million for ALS Nancy Frates ‘What happened last summer was historic. It started the end of ALS’ Pat Quinn, ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Founder and Patient. Peter Frates condition inspired the Ice Bucket Challenge. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is the full form of ALS, which is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. The ALS Foundation has been working hard to bring awareness and donations to their efforts of fighting the disease since 1985 and has worked tirelessly to create events that spur additional awareness to their organization. The challenge was that, with so many worthy organizations raising funds via walks, runs etc. fundraising was difficult. An unexpected opportunity presented itself when the Foundation leveraged social media amplification to increase incremental funds towards the cause. In July 2014, the phenomenon known as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was born. The result created a ripple effect across social channels, driving an unprecedented increase in awareness, engagement and donations for the cause from all over the world. Watch the video here “Turn On the Lights – Showcase @ de Bijenkorf” Patrick Roubroeks, Creative Director, Partner & Founder, Xsaga Since seven years, the most premium department store chain in Holland – De Bijenkorf, celebrates the start of the festive season by lighting up hundreds and thousands of dynamically programmed sustainable lights on their historical buildings. It has expanded from a marketing idea to now; a national tradition. The Mayors of the cities officially open the event in their respective cities every year, which start with a fascinating street theatre show with larger-than-life puppets, high flying acrobats, human suspension walls - all dressed with excellent technological elements and high-quality sound & light effects followed by a finale of spectacular fireworks. The festivity is produced in the same format in five different cities of Holland – Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag, Eindhoven and Maastricht, all at the same time! Over the years they have succeeded in developing spectacular international theatrical shows around ‘Turn on the Lights’, which have made it an annual event that is marked by a broad range of international and national media in their holiday calendars. Watch the video here 19:00 – 20:00 Entertainment : The Shillong Chamber Choir Shaan LIVE 20:00 – 24:00 Cocktails & Dinner DAY 2: Sunday, 20 September 2015 10:00 – 10:45 The Shillong Chamber Choir (Vande Mataram) Session 1: BUILDING EVENTS TOURISM THE INTERNATIONAL STORY Santiago Corrada President and CEO, Tampa Bay THE MAHARASHTRA MAGNET Valsa Nair Singh Secretary - Tourism and Culture, Govt of Maharashtra 10:45 – 11:30 Session 2: CASE STUDY Amsterdam Lights Festival Rogier van der Heide Artistic Director This is the perfect example of what a city should do. The Amsterdam Light Festival is the result of a joint effort between cultural institutions, the municipality, knowledge institutions and businesses in Amsterdam. The city was complemented by light sculptures, projections and installations by contemporary (inter)national artists. The boat route, ‘Water Colors’, took visitors past artworks along Amsterdam’s canals and the Amstel. The walking route, ‘Illuminade’, wound through the city center. During the festival, light plays a central role in the city as museums and institutions organize light-related activities, introducing visitors to innovations in light art. The festival, enriches the public space in Amsterdam during the darkest time of the year, in winter. Watch the video here 11:30 – 12:00 Coffee Break 12:00 – 12:30 Session 3: CASE STUDY Holograms for Freedom Daniel Rodriguez Copywriter & Creative Director, DDB Spain In March 2015, the Spanish Government approved the ‘gag law’, which violates the right of freedom of expression, banning protests in front of the congress, the holding of assemblies in public places and the participation in a protest without previous notice. Faced with this reality, No Somos Delito (We Are Not Crime) partnered with DDB Spain and decided to protest in the only way the law allowed them to, with “The world’s first ever virtual political demonstration” (source: The Independent). The movement rallied together thousands of Spaniards, but none of them were actually there and instead used holograms to protest against the new law. The holograms worked through a website that allowed anyone, anywhere to take their image, convert themselves into an apparition and upload their own messages. The result was a virtual recreation of 17,857 people seen marching in protest on 10 April 2015 in front of the Spanish Parliament, in the only way the gag law allowed them to. Watch the video here 12:30 – 13:00 Session 4: Case Study Nike Rise House of Mamba Alistair Schoonmaker Client Partner, AKQA With the Retail Malls and Retail experiences mushrooming across India, here is an inspiring opportunity. Nike teamed up with the global design firm AKQA, to create the first full-sized LED reactive basketball training facility called ‘House of Mamba’ in Shanghai named after the NBA sports-star Kobe Bryant, with an aim to search for a national basketball team from China, to play at the Nike World Basketball Festival in September 2014, in Barcelona. The initiative was central to the Nike Rise campaign in China wherein athletes first received training from NBA Star Le Bron James in round one in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei and Kaohsiung. James drafted 30 players that moved on to the next stage that was a week-long training in Shanghai with Kobe himself at the House of Mamba. This special court used sensors for motion tracking, artificial intelligence and reactive LED technology to display a range of different graphics. Essentially, Bryant's usual workout was broken down and put into a digital format that was then displayed on the court through innovative lighting. A fan wanting to train like Bryant could see his movements on the floor through the tracker, and follow Bryant's workout, step by step. Watch the video here 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch Break 14:00 – 15:00 Session 5: Presentation on e-ticketing and e-vent technologies: Insider.in Panel Discussion Intellectual Properties: Building the Future Panelists: Viraf Sarkari, Wizcraft International, Creators of IIFA Vivek Singh, Procam International, Creators of Mumbai Marathon Vijay Nair, Only Much Louder, Creators of NH7 Martin Da Costa, 70 EMG, Creators of India Bike Week Rajesh Kejriwal, Kyoorius Group, Creators of Kyoorius Design Yatra Moderator: Suresh Venkat, Media personality Curated by: Deepak Choudhary, Director and CEO-Event Capital 15:00 – 15:30 Session 6: Licensing Made Easy: Welcome to Delhi • Kapil Mishra, Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Delhi Government • Sanjay Kumar,IAS, Commissioner- Excise, Delhi Government 15:30 – 16:00 Case study * (Awaiting confirmation) Electric Daisy carnival: Is the world’s biggest and most ticketed music festival contributing $300million to the Las Vegas economy 15:30 – 15:45 Attendees Group Photograph 17:00 – 18.00 Awards Reception (cocktails) 18:00 onwards EEMAX Global Awards 2015 Hosted by: Cyrus Sahukar and Yudi Entertainment : Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Lauren Gottlieb Stars of India’s Got Talent Interactive with AIB 22:00 onwards EEMAX Global; Celebrate with the winners Sanjay Batraa + Band Cocktails n dinner
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It is gala time for all food lovers in Delhi/NCR again as The Grub Fest is back and promises to deliver so much more than just food in its second edition which is expected to take place from the 23rd to 25th October at the Ambience Lawns which is at the border of Delhi and Gurgaon. The announcement of Grub Fest 2.0 was made by its co-directors, Chaitanya Mathur and Arjun Jain at B Bar, Select City Walk recently. Speaking on the occasion, Arjun Jain said "The response we garnered from our first edition of Grub Fest in Delhi was absolutely overwhelming. We couldn't resist waiting for the next edition, so we collectively decided to host another one within a span of 7 months. Chaitanya Mathur, further added, "Apart from more food, music and entertainment, we are introducing some remarkable new concepts that will be a first in the country. We will also be integrating the business fraternity of the F&B industry, whilst giving an opportunity to small businesses, start ups, blogs and tech savvy entrepreneurs in the food space to showcase their products. And for our foodie fans, we've planned a bunch of exciting new contests and events, before and during the festival." The first edition of The Grub Fest which took place in April showcased a variety of cuisines to the population of Delhi including Lebanese, Chinese, North Indian, Italian, Mughlai, Mexican, Coastal, Sushi, amongst others. The exhibitors included renowned names like Royal China, Fio, Townhall, Smokeys, Zizo, À Ta Maison & PCO, Khan Chacha, Punjab Grill, Zambar, Holy Smoke and many more, most of which are already on board for the upcoming edition. Adding to that, new names like B Bar, Social, Indigo, Indigo Deli, Backyard, Urban Pind, Zerzura, Room Service, amongst others, are also excited to be a part of this food carnival. Everything Experiential went behind the curtains and in a conversation with Arjun Jain, Co-Director, The Grub Fest managed to scoop out exclusive information on what can be expected from this edition of The Grub Fest. Speaking about the engaging elements scheduled for the season 2 of The Grub Fest, Arjun says, “One of the highlights for the festival this time is certainly Grub Explore wherein we will be bringing to food lovers authentic chefs and cuisines from different parts of India. Our team has spent in a lot of time identifying cult flavors from the country and we are going to serve as a platform for these. Also this time the festival will be high on entertainment quotient as well as the lineup for performing artists will include the likes of Parikrama, Astitva, Nikhil Chinapa, Hari & Sukhmani, Vir Das's and the band Alien Chutney. We also have a surprise entertainer for the event the details however will only be unveiled when details are locked in.” Additionally Cafe Epicuria is popping up at The Grub Fest, bringing along the renowned brands under its roof and a courtyard will be curated by House of Sunrydge to include brands like Indigo, Indigo Deli, Qla & others. Speaking on the surprise element of the fest Arjun says, “This time we also have a unique concept of Grub Storey's which will be the first of its kind multi storied, travelling restaurant at a food festival.” Interestingly, the second edition of the food festival also packs a punch for art lovers. Speaking in this regard the co-directors share that the festival can be expected to feature some interesting art installations which are going to be headliners of the event in their own aspect. However, all such additional elements at The Grub Fest have come at a price for foodie lovers as the entry ticket for this edition of the food carnival is expected to be somewhere around 150-200 Rs. The Grub team has also announced that the festival will be travelling to Pune, Bangalore, Mumbai & Chandigarh, and even internationally to Dubai & London.
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Current world number two tennis player, Roger Federer has joined the UAE Royals franchise in the second season of the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) 2015 that will be held from 2nd to 20th December 2015. The announcement was made today recently at an event in Dubai that was attended by Mahesh Bhupathi, Managing Director - IPTL; India’s current test cricket captain and co-owner of the UAE Royals Virat Kohli; Neelesh Bhatnagar and Sachin Gadoya, co-owners UAE Royals and Praveen Bhatnagar,CEO UAE Royals. Roger joins a formidable team of tennis superstars that include Goran Ivanisevic, 2001 Wimbledon Champion; Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open winner and current world no. 7; Daniel Nestor, winner of 88 men’s doubles titles; Kristina Mladenovic, winner of the 2014 Australian Open and 2013 Wimbledon Championships and Tomas Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon Championship finalist. The UAE leg of the league will be held from 14-16 December 2015 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium. “I have always followed tennis with great interest and today I am glad to be part of a professional tennis league team,” said Virat Kohli at the official unveiling of the UAE Royals team for the second season of IPTL 2015. “I am a huge fan of Roger Federer and with him joining the UAE Royals, my decision to be on board with the team was firm. The UAE Royals feature some of tennis’ greatest players and I am confident about the prospects of the team in the IPTL. I am also excited about the format of the IPTL, which I am sure will drive further interest in the game of tennis.” “UAE is fast getting recognized as a global sporting hub and the country has already hosted several internationally reputed events. With the participation of UAE Royals in the IPTL, we have now succeeded in bringing a unique and exciting format of tennis that will certainly add impetus to UAE being recognised as a key sports destination,” said Neelesh Bhatnagar. “With Roger Federer in our team and Virat Kohli on board, the UAE Royals have much to celebrate in the second season of IPTL.” The innovative, team-based, multi-nation tennis league has expanded to five teams for its second edition with the Japan Warriors joining last season’s champions, the Indian Aces, alongside the UAE Royals, the Philippine Mavericks and the Singapore Slammers, in a five city swing starting on 2nd December in Japan and ending at Singapore’s Indoor Stadium for the grand finale on December 20th. IPTL 2015 will see the top two teams in the league standings playoff to determine the champion for Season Two on Dec 20thin Singapore. “UAE has tremendous tennis following and we are excited to be back in the country with the second edition of the IPTL,” said Mahesh Bhupathi, IPTL’s Founder and Managing Director. “Fans in the UAE and world over have embraced the innovative and unique format of the IPTL and we have hence made the event bigger in 2015. With Roger joining the UAE Royals, we are confident that tennis fans in the UAE will come out to support their team in great numbers.”
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As the launching product of the Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2015 was Lakmé Absolute Lip Pouts, which meant play-time with the ‘pout’, Lakmé went ahead and gamified the launch to bring-in an engaging element with the on-ground visitors at the Lakmé Fashion Week. For the game, people had to strike out the pouts and if they got a high score, they won a Lakmé Absolute Lip Pout that came out automatically from the vending machine dispenser. LIVE Command Center was also installed at LFW to optimize social listening and reach out to the audience. The campaign was conceptualized by The Glitch and also managed all the digital activities around it. Speaking on the activity, Prachi Maroo and Sunetro Lahiri, Strategy and Creative Leads for Lakmé at the Glitch commented, “With every new launch at Lakmé Fashion Week we have a new frontier to cross, a new 'first' to establish and outdo the predecessor. This time around, the air was perfect to have the brand break into a more playful vibe and have some fun. Be it online through gamified content, on-ground through the wildly popular Pout Play Station or the overall strategy deployed across mediums, Lakmé redefined 'playtime' amidst fashion week, a first for the brand, indeed.” Speaking on the success, Smriti Khullar, Brand Manager Lakmé, stated, “The launch campaign for Lakmé Absolute Lip Pouts was "Playtime for your pouts". The pout play zone with the gaming console and the photo-booth was the perfect way to bring this alive- it was fun, inviting and addictive- no one at LFW could resist it!”
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The role of a customer in the fortunesand success of a brand can hardly ever be overstated. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the customer, his loyalty and continued patronage is what a brand strives for and thrives on. Building brand credibility in order to foster loyalty is, one of the most pivotal focus areas for any enterprise, regardless of its nature. And to achieve this, an organization has to offer the most superlative levels of customer experience. Only then can it aim to acquire new patrons every day and retain the existing ones to turn them into veritable brand ambassadors.While building brand advocacy amongst your audience, it is important to: Know Your Customer Nurturing a brand reputation is a particularly tricky task for a B2C business where the market is larger and harder to pin down. However, a brand that successfully manages to identify its target audience and understand it well has already won half the battle. Once the key customers have been ascertained, it is easier to gauge their preferences, propensities and desires. The foremost task of a brand or marketing manager is to comprehend the eco-system which his target client inhabits. For a premium brand, the marketer has to get a sense of what echelons of luxury the customer is exposed to and expects, and then outdo this benchmark to wow him. Building a credible brand identity involves plugging the gap in the market when it comes to the desires of patrons and also establishing new standards of excellence ensuring customersfeel proud to be associated with the brand.Brand experiences create customer affinity that leads not just to consumption but also brand advocacy through word-of-mouth advertising, one of the most powerful ways of cementing the business’s market reputation. Define Your Vision To elicit this kind of unstinted loyalty, there has to be considerable investment in intelligent marketing tools. A business today has to carefully outline the values that it is driven by as this is what differentiates it from any competition. It has to then ensure that this value proposition or brand philosophy is communicated articulately and audibly to its target demographic.According to many studies, brands tend to have a higher perception of credibility if there is uniformity in their marketing mix over a long term. Therefore, marketers must not have a myopic vision when coming up with a brand communication. If these values and communications appeal to the identified target market, they are sure to create an indelible recall in the minds of consumers when thinking of ways to meet their needs. The consistency in branding activities is especially imperative in today’s age of digital interactions. While social media creates an opportunity for a brand to have a two-way interaction with the customer, it can also lead to adverse consequences if the communication strategies are not pre-defined and well-thought through. Fulfill the Brand Promise The most definitive way of building credibility and loyalty, however, is to fulfill the brand promise made to consumers.While many a times, we find that the focus of marketing shifts from the product itself, this can be a grave trap that brand managers fall into. The only way of ensuring continued association of target customers with your brand is by offering them the experience that your communication platform, product qualities, service platform assure. For instance, if you promise a perfect amalgamation of functional superiority and visual excellence, each aspect of product must be a manifestation of these qualities.Over and above that, if the business retails through a physical store, the outlet must offer a shopping experience in perfect consonance with the brand identity. Build showrooms that give customers an experience of what it will be like to bring home your products. If your brand vision talks of quality, design and technology, then these attributes must be palpable from the moment they enter the store. If they are pampered and indulged from the word go, their perception of your brand image immediately gets enhanced. Also, they will begin to associate the company with the fulfillment of a higher, aspirational desire and are likely to come back repeatedly for the same feeling of importance and luxury. In essence, customers must always feel a sense of delight on interacting with your brand. Capitalise on your brand strengths and leverage these pro-actively to deliver a customer experience that no other player can match up to. With a good mix of smart marketing and superlative products and services, building a credible brand is only a matter of time and patience. With sustained efforts and a shot of innovation in brand building activities, customers will find it increasingly easy to identify with your brand vision and will be more likely to invest in your brand on an ongoing basis.
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Celebrations in India are a larger than life affair and have been instrumental in establishing a distinguished identity for the country as a whole on the global map. But how can events and these festivities be used to foster India’s growth? Well, the answer was given by Shri Maheish Girri, Member of Parliament, East Delhi in his keynote address at the launch of BW APPLAUSE on 5th September at Shangrila Eros. Shri Girri began his address by sharing that though he had recently joined politics and had no background in it he is a spiritual person and has looked and observed India very closely. He said, “I fervently believe that India is a country is a land of festivals and despite of being a land of festivals India has not been able to capitalize on its festivities to attract tourists.Be it Mathura or Varanasi, Karnataka or Kanyakuvari we have a lot of tourists attractions in India but we have never laid emphasis on keeping them clean.” Highlighting the recent developments made in this area Shri Girri said, “I salute the efforts of Hon. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi who on 15th of August for the first time advocated taking care of very small things in the country. These things might be small but if the entire country takes care of such small things the face of the entire country will change. As an example, “The Swaccha Bharat Campaign” is one such initiative which has been appreciated and applauded by anyone. Even all the religious places associated with Lord Rama are being connected by various transportation mediums. Such is the vision of our respected Prime Minister.” Suggesting how can events and India’s culture can be used for its growth Shri. Girri voiced his opinion by saying, “I feel that we has Indians have not promoted our culture the way it should have been promoted. When a pizza from Italy can come to India then why can’t an Indian Paratha go to Italy. We have so many cultural and religious heritages which have not been promoted at all but thanks to our prime minister such things are being taken care of now. I congratulate BW Businessworld and BW APPLAUSE for the launch and feel they will be instrumental in taking the vision of our Prime Minister ahead by showcasing the importance of India, its heritage and its events.”
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Gone are the days when brands used to sell their products through nonsensical, preachy and one directional marketing techniques. Nowadays if a brand is smart, then its target consumers are smarter and do not end up as a prey to its overhyped ATL advertising. Consumers today are not moved by what they see and hear alone, they are moved by a storytelling narrative that they can connect to. But how are brands weaving their brand communication in a narrative is a question often asked. To answer this, "Story telling through experiential marketing- How to build a narrative that speaks to your TG" was the theme of a panel discussion at the launch of BW APPLAUSE magazine. The panelists on stage were Kanika Mittal, Marketing Head, Reebok, Pallavi Singh, Marketing Director, Harley Davidson, Amit Tiwari, Country Head Media & Digital, Philips and the session was moderated by Suchetana Ray, National News Editor BW Businessworld. When asked how are brands trying to weave their narrative around story telling? Kanika Mittal shares her personal experience from Reebok by saying, “Storytelling has become an integral part of marketing today across the world and India is embracing it at a very fast pace. At Reebok, the traditional tools of ATL/BTL cost you around 50-60% of the marketing strategy but what matters is how you position yourself in the minds of consumers. There is a big difference between telling a consumer about the technological attributes of a product and telling them about how that particular product is going to impact their lives. Earlier in the year we launched a campaign called MSD for India, wherein Mahendra Singh Dhoni asked the people of the country for something and the people of the country had to answer what the captain was asking from them? We answered the question after a month that the captain asks you for one hour from your day that you should invest in some sort of a sporting activity that will positively impact the other 23 hours in a person’s lifestyle. The campaign was a huge success and we could have taken the campaign the traditional route and positioned in something around fitness but instead we went through a more engaging and innovative way to deliver the same message and this is way brands are marketing themselves today.” Voicing his opinion Amit Tiwari said, “Storytelling is not just a part of a marketing campaign for brands today instead it has become the heart of all campaigns run by a brand irrespective of them being ATL or BTL. Without storytelling your brand messages can very well end up being noticed and get lost in the already existing advertising clutter.” Pallavi Singh replies to the same question by highlighting an integral fact about storytelling. She said, “It is not just that storytelling has to be a part of your marketing plan but it has be ensured that the narrative is connected with your brand and is an important part of it. The overall communication that one is trying to send out from a brands point of view should make sense to customers and connect elements of brand, its attribute and the customers.” But since there is no process in place to determine the ROI on experiential marketing spends is that an issue why investments on experiential by brands are so low? To this Kanika Mittal responds by saying, “Unlike a Digital Campaign spend where you can track the level of engagement and number of impressions yes experiential industry is comparatively new and you actually cannot calculate the ROI on it. The reason behind why one cannot calculate the experiential marketing ROI is because one starts with experiential marketing at a very small scale. You cannot expect to engage masses through experiential marketing, it is a movement that starts at small and takes a little time to generate ROI. What marketers need to do today is maintain a balance between traditional marketing activities that help in increasing the awareness about your brand, increasing footfall in your stores etc. and some experiential activities that help elevate the cool quotient of your brand. For me the balance will be keeping the experiential initiatives at around 30% of the overall marketing plan 60% through traditional message delivery.” Pallavi Singh answers the same question by saying, “Through experiential marketing, what we have seen is that passion drives people. Of course there have to be metrics to everything however in today’s day and age a customer is much smarter than brands themselves and through experiential marketing we create events that instill such passion in people. For experiential marketing to work it is important to know what a consumer wants and then engaging them accordingly to give them that experience.” Sharing his brands philosophy on experiential Amit Tiwari says, “For us experiential industry starts from a need. A particular category may require an event where as a particular product category under the same brand name might not need any such marketing. Our marketing strategies vary from the product that we have at hand and the kind of connect we want to create with it.”
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Apsar, runs a small retail shop at his village in Faizabad district. Initially, he used to buy kerosene oil in from the grey market to meet the lighting needs in the evening hours to run his shop and tend to the customers. By way of ‘Suryodaya’ campaign, Apsar came to know about solar lighting solutions and now is a happy user of a solar Lantern. In his words, he is saving a lot of money since now he doesn’t need to buy kerosene oil form the grey market anymore. Moreover, Apsar is also now aware about the harmful effects of carbon emission and indoor air pollution caused by lighting up Kerosene lamps. Traveling through the villages of U.P. and Bihar, one will come across many Apsar’s who will have similar stories to tell, which can all be attributed to the suryodaya campaign. ‘Suryodaya’ campaign is the brainchild of International Finance Corporation (IFC), an apex financial organization funding projects addressing development challenges across developing countries globally. Dharma Life, a social enterprise founded in 2009, is a partner to IFC for the campaign and is actively involved in helping IFC create awareness about alternative and clean sources of lighting in the rural areas. The team has been aggressively promoting the adoption of cleaner source of energy such as portable solar solutions for many years now. These solutions have made a substantial impact in terms of economic well-being, improved health and cleaner environment. However, affordability, low penetration and awareness still remain as the major challenges hindering the adoption of clean energy solutions. The task at hand was to create awareness around clean energy options in terms of availability, usage and affordability. The recorded insight was that in a large part of rural India all life comes to an end post the sunset leaving no room for any social or financial interaction. The aim of the campaign was to herald a new sunrise in villages post the sunset using solar lights and hence the name of the campaign was rightly coined as “Suryodaya”. A multi-level engagement platform was created with IFC to inform, engage and showcase the world of opportunities post sunset.The theme of the campaign highlighted the benefits of extended day light so that a person could spend more hours in his shop adding to his livelihood, a child could study well during the night hours, a housewife could cook easily during the evening hours and a person could also manage outdoor work during evening hours easily. The theme was translated on ground via an audio video enabled van which communicated the benefits of quality solar lights and also displayed all the products along with live demo of the same. Schools and community gatherings were conducted to reach out to the children and women. The village level entrepreneur (DLE) network was harnessed to convert the awareness and interest generated into post campaign sales. After sales service was offered to address any repair/maintenance concerns from the consumers. The impact was impressive. 450 hub villages from two states (Uttar Pradesh & Bihar) were covered in two phases. 1,350 satellite villages were covered in this period, 90,000 plus individuals were contacted via van interventions and over 5,000children and women were reached through school and community gatherings. Moreover, substantial amount of carbon emissions were offset through the sales of solar lights during the campaign. "The Suryodaya Campaign aims to demonstrate the value of high-quality modern lighting to consumers. It was launched in November 2014 and is expected to reach 8,000 villages by December 2015 and create demand for quality solar lighting products. This will accelerate access to better lighting for low-income households." says Anjali Garg, Program Manager Lighting Asia/India program, IFC. “Behaviour change is a slow burn process and thus requires multi-level continuous intervention. We recruit people with basic education, don’t have a full-time job and then impart training to make them a Dharma Life Entrepreneur”, chime inGaurav Mehta and Abhishek Bhatia of Dharma Life. About Dhrama Life- Dharma Life was founded in 2009 by a group of graduates from the London Business School. They identified the need for alternative lighting solutions in rural India, and have set out to engage the local community to address this issue. Thus far, their distribution model has helped create sustainable livelihoods for more than 3,300 village level entrepreneurs and hasimpacted the lives of more than 90,000 families. Twitter Handle- @Dharmalifeindia
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