Mr. Vijay Karunakaran, CEO, InGage Technologies was sipping coffee with his wife Mrs. Vanitha Venugopal, a former Mobile Technologist at Motorola, when she seeded the idea of an Augmented Reality (AR) mobile application for the upcoming Rajnikanth starrer Kochadaiiyaan. Immediately possessed by the idea, it took them no longer than a week to pitch it to Rajni’s team and get a go-ahead. What resulted is India’s first 4D Augmented Reality application that has been lauded for its design and detailing. ‘Superstar Rajnikanth boasts of a very strong brand value in India and abroad. In the US especially, you will find very staunch supporters. This app was our contribution to our beloved star,’ says Vijay proudly. ‘When u go watch a movie, the shot is fixed by the cameraman, whatever he has shot is what you see. But what if you wanted to see a particular angle? You can’t do so in the theatre. So what we did was capture Rajni’s photorealistic image and used it to render the superstar real-time to make him come alive in a fan’s home environment through their smartphones.’ The result was a 4D application that InGage rolled out exclusively for Karbonn phones. Fans can download the Augmented Reality app and use their camera to shoot any physical object. The camera sees and processes, and a virtual model of Rajni’s Kochaadaiiyaan avatar comes alive in that physical setting. One can make Rajni fight or even recite a dialogue just as in the film, and as bonus can also view the same scene from any and every angle thanks to the high quality render. The app wins because it’s not made to only run on high-end phones, but also smartphones that cost between INR 4000 – 8000, which approximately 80% of our population possesses, a first for its kind. It is another feather in the cap for Mr. Karunakaran, who has worked on brands such as Tropicana, Nike and Adidas in the past. We move past the app and ask him to opine on the state of AR in our country. ‘I think AR is very widely and loosely used in our country. Most of the Indian AR apps are rather gimmicky. When you think of AR, you imagine a cool object that can interact with you. Currently, only a few companies can do that.’ He asserts. On a brighter note, Mr. Karunakaran believes the technology’s potential is unbelievable. ‘So far, we have only skimmed the surface. AR can be used anywhere there a simulation required. Industries that could do with cool visualizations can benefit immensely from AR. A few industries I can think of are real estate, construction and education. Before a building is built, we can simulate models of how it will look like, to aide learning, we can make a simple drawing book experience come to life with a mobile device. Imagine if a child draws an elephant and it comes alive on your device screen, walking around and making sounds. It will help the child learn better,’ he explains. And what about marketers? Do they know what they want from AR? ‘Well, some of the guys who have approached me think that Modi’s hologram projections are AR (laughs). I think we still need to spend time showing people what AR actually is, and what it can do. In fact, I’ve done a couple of projects free of cost just to show the potential of AR. I believe it will help in educating people and convince them about the immersive nature of the technology.’ What next for InGage? ‘All the things I mentioned in the applications section. AR based medical simulations, educational tools and architecture visualisations are on the cards. And like I said, we go beyond tricks and gimmicks. We just create a beautiful, memorable experience.’ It does sound like exciting times lie ahead for technology junkies. Augmented Reality is here.
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‘From now on, we will be seasoning our dishes with excitement,’ says Paco Roncero, a double Michelin Star winning chef. Here he is talking about the most pleasurable gastronomical experience money can afford. And by ‘afford’ we mean the most expensive meal in the world – $2000 per person. What in the world warrants such a hefty sum? Well to begin with, Mr. Roncero is regarded as one of the world’s best chefs. He has two Michelin Stars, three Repsol Suns and the National Gastronomy Award (which he won in 2006) to his name. Next, Sublimotion, his creation, has to be hailed as avant-garde, even revolutionary. What is Sublimotion? Sublimotion stems from the simple concept that what you cook doesn’t end on the plate. It transcends mere taste and extends to the other senses. A mix of culinary brilliance and technological innovation helps Roncero achieve that. Guests are invited into his ‘workshop’ to participate in this experience. The workshop is an aesthetically built room featuring a projection mapped dining table. It also features light installations and fog machines. The entire area is controlled through computers configured to do the chef’s bidding. He controls the guest’s experience. What experience? Each time a guest tries one of the courses (and there are twenty of them in all) Roncero recreates an experience complimentary to its taste. Through technology, he carefully transforms the environment to create a multisensory experience. So if you feel a sensation in the mouth, it is mirrored perfectly by the ambience around you. You are a wayfaring man discovering the world through food. So is the most expensive meal in the world also the greatest? Seems like it. If you wish to know more, Paco is chef at Sublimotion, which is all set to open this May in the Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, Spain. The workshop serves only 12 people a day and frankly at $2000 a sitting, we almost think it’s a steal. The innovation is truly personalized and one of its kind. So go ahead and book a table for two.
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It is a well documented fact that there is a strong correlation between crime and darkness. The incidences of crimes like rape, muggings, carjackings etc are higher post sunset. Given this, Halonix – a leading lighting brand – hit upon an ingenious idea of converting advertising billboards (Hoardings) and bus shelters into street lights post sunset. The hoarding would carry an advertising message by day. By night, the lights of the hoarding would be turned outwards, pointed towards the street rather than just on the advertising message. So a dark, potentially dangerous street could be turned into a bright, well-lit one. To kickstart the effort, Halonix invited the citizens of Delhi to name streets or area in their neighbourhood that needed better lighting. The facebook page of Halonix registered many such suggestions. The top suggestion was identified by a poll. As a test run, a Halonix hoarding was put up in VasantKunj. Encouraged by the response, the company installed hoardings at more locations in Delhi. Given the encouraging feedback from Delhi, Halonix has co-opted outdoor companies to take this idea across cities. Currently Halonix has made some streets in Delhi, Mohali, Jalandhar, Kanpur, Mathura, Allahbad, Lucknow, Trivandrum and Chennai feel safer through this initiative. More cities are in the offing. Speaking about the initiative, Mr Rakesh Zutshi – Managing Director, Halonix Technologies Ltd said “We at Halonix believe that brands need to have a conscience and should continuously attempt to make the world a better place. Our brand idea – The Right Light – is not limited to the fact that we pursue excellence in our products and their quality. It represents a broader view of impacting life and society positively through the use of light.” Nima Namchu – Chief Creative Officer of Cheil, Halonix’s advertising agency, who came up with the idea added “This is a great example of the medium becoming the message. The power of the idea lies in the fact that, without spending a penny extra, every brand that takes a front lit or back lit hoarding, can implement this idea and make our cities feel safer. We hope more brands and outdoor agencies take this idea forward.”
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Are you overwhelmed by the sheer complications of finalising options of venue, catering, lodging, decoration and transportation when you are planning a family wedding, functions like sangeet, cocktails, etc, or a themed birthday celebration for your kid or family member? And you are stressed out with where to begin? Party Cruisers Pvt Ltd., India’s leading hospitality and events agency, has announced its foray into the ever expanding e-Commerce sphere with the launch of their website www.ideasdesignandproduction.com. Ideas Design Production is a unique offering which helps planning & executing events related to corporates, weddings, parties and other occasions easily and completely in just a few clicks! Launched by the vastly experienced husband wife duo – Mr. Zuzer Lucknowala and Ms. Rachna Lucknowala, the website allows consumers to get a virtual ‘touch and feel’ experience. It showcases the various themes that a consumer can pick & choose to plan an event at their own convenience. Apart from planning weddings and parties, the website also enables its users to plan corporate events and exhibition stalls in a few mouse clicks. “While there are no accurate estimates of the size of the event industry, it has been variously estimated at between Rs. 2000 crores to Rs. 5000 crores with an immense scope to grow. When we started Party Cruisers Pvt Ltd. about 20 years ago we had never heard about e-Commerce. But with the change in consumer buying pattern, it became imperative for us to take cognizance of the same. Our aim while launching a never-seen-before concept of www.ideasdesignandproduction.com was to bring the products/services closer to the customer and give the power right back to them. Through our numerous vendor tie-ups, we ensure successful completion of multiple events at the same time. From customizing minutest details like choosing a theme to selecting a floral centerpiece, catering, booking a make-up person and stylist, to finalizing the backdrop design www.ideasdesignproduction.com facilitates at various stages of event planning. The website will be especially useful for salaried consumers who have the resources but are always short at time”,explains Ms. Rachna Lucknowala, Director, Party Cruisers Pvt Ltd. Mr. Zuzer Lucknowala, Managing Director, Party Cruisers Pvt Ltd adds, “We are currently operational in Mumbai as we have roots here and can help order fulfillment within 24 working hours. We will be venturing into the markets of Pune, Goa and Surat by this year’s end. We are targeting a more evolved set of internet savvy shoppers who are heavy users of e-Commerce portals and largely access them to save on time along with enjoying the ease of product delivery. At the moment, our focus is on utilizing our impeccable supply chain for on-time service fulfillment which will ensure positive customer response and an obviously good word of mouth.” The website which is currently in the first phase of its launch, aims to create a more user-friendly, reliable experience for its consumers. As we go along, we will adapt to millions of customers’ needs and wishes. The company aims to further develop a loyal base of regular consumers and then amplify growth through both word of mouth and extensive reach of social media elements. The website, in its next phase, will offer consumers personalization, recommended products for a particular occasion and social networking integration.
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It’s a nippy winter night but you can feel the slight warmth in the air because of all the twinkling lights strung to announce the celebrations. Everywhere you look, festivities are in order. You have to go to your far off relative’s daughter’s wedding, while your son has bought tickets to a rock concert and your daughter has plans to go to the diwali mela. Yes, it’s that time of the year again. But what do the newspapers next day read? The stage at a wedding broke, riots broke out in a concert, and someone got caught in a naked wire at the diwali mela, but we barely even raise an eyebrow. So much for big party celebrations. Why do big scale events in India always turn out to be even bigger failures? Is it because event management companies don’t care about the security of their attendees or do they just become careless and adopt the Great Indian Jugaad when it comes to maintaining security? Or should we blame it on the fact that we don’t value lives in our country? We got in talks with Avishkar Tendle, Managing Director at Natura Adventure Crew, to understand the current situation of large scale events in India. Are we really safe? EE finds out. EE: Is India ready for staging adventure themed events? How do you see this industry in next five years? I think India is at the cusp of getting big on adventure themed events, these sorts of events are already growing. Since customer engagement is the holy grail for all the BTL activities, adventure themed events are bound to be on the rise because of the ability of adventure activities to engage the audience. The next few years are very critical in ensuring that Adventure stays on a safe and an upwardly progressing path, considering there are more number of events which have adventure fused into them from making the bride groom fly on to stage to doing bungee jumping at malls, it is equally important to make sure the number of accidents don’t increase just because the total number of events have increased. EE: As communication is witnessing a shift towards events and creating experiences through them, what is the most important component of an event? Customer engagement. As I said earlier customer engagement is the key and essential component of an event, ability to engage or the lack of it can make or break a brand, it’s about creating a high impact through an experiential medium, this trend is being seen in multiple places from experiential education to experiential marketing. EE: How does the safety quotient vary with the nature of an event? I don’t think safety quotient varies with the nature of events, what changes are the number of parameters to create a safe environment, if it’s a simple MICE event on the lawns of an resort, then the parameters will be highly limited. For example, considering if there is any possibility of injury to the client due to open electrical wires, slippery pathways etc. At the same time if it’s a massive event with 10,000 people then you have those many parameters to deal with to make an event safe. Based on an event you cannot say I can only strive for 60% of the safety level, it is critical to achieve 100% on all the parameters irrespective of how many parameters are present. EE: How is safety in indoor shows different from safety in outdoor adventure events? It varies a lot, whenever we talk outdoor’s we have to take into account weather conditions, and any other factors which might disrupt the event. Is it going to be raining? Is it going to be windy? What wind zone does my venue come into? Is my structure prepared to handle those wind and rain conditions if it were to occur? How am I protecting the audience in case of any calamity? Am I equipped to handle stampede? Is my emergency evacuation plan ready? Is there a person who is going to take that call of evacuation? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves when we are into the midst of organizing an event. At the same time Indoor safety is completely different. Are we prepared in case of a fire emergency? Can we handle crowd properly? Are there more people inside the venue than there are supposed to be? etc. EE: How critical is safety addresal? Are we equipped to handle the safety needs of events? Does anyone want bad press because some participant got injured while taking part in their brand’s activity? By default safety is the most critical aspect of an event, whether it is an adventure themed event or not. Even a music concert should have safety as a critical aspect. Is the truss erected safely? Is there proper crowd management? What happens in case of fire? etc. When it comes to adventure events, safety becomes a non-negotiable aspect. Is the adventure operator qualified? What experience does he have? Who are the people managing that activity? Are they qualified? What is the equipment being used? Is it certified? Is there a log of usage of that equipment? All these questions are necessary and important. These questions asked at the right place at the right time are likely to avert a major incident. EE: Please share the safety drills and mandates followed by you for ads and films? How do you train your teams to meet 100% safety assurance? We at Natura are very paranoid about safety. We follow the dictate of “when in doubt don’t do it, or change it”. Every activity that we do, whether it is an adventure activity or an aerial performance, we will only go ahead if we are convinced that it is safe. There is always a site Manager on our events. That person is single handedly responsible for the safety of that activity. He has a checklist in his hand, every time before our system is engaged, he goes through it one by one and checks if everything is in place and ready to go. During rigging we change the systems constantly if we think there is a small possibility of risk. We change it till the time we are convinced at the risk of delaying the setup and eating into the rehearsal time. It is always better to be slightly delayed than being sorry. We only use certified equipment and keep an extensive usage logs of that equipment. So that we know if we need to replace something and when to do it. We always have a backup independent system to our main system, incase our main system fails, our backup swings into an action and avoids the accident. We always have a person certified as an internationally trained First Aider on all our programmes and we make sure all the in-house team is re-certified every two years (check out Wilderness Advance First Aid course curriculums that we attend – http://www.nols.edu/wmi/. EE: What does it take to have a good adventure infrastructure? Does it currently exist in India? Adventure Infrastructure is almost nonexistent in India, we do not have paramedic or rescue teams to jump into action in case of a calamity, even our urban ambulances are not very well equipped, our disaster management teams are a national joke, we don’t have a set of protocols and procedures in place for adventure nor do we have an audit team that can govern these policies. Currently the adventure tour operators of Maharashtra Association and adventure tour operators of India are working on such principles to be put into place but on the flip side we have innumerable destination alternatives when it comes to adventures venues. At the end of the day we have the mighty Himalayas which attract thousands of foreigners, and there are few operators who specifically cater to them and adhere to stringent international standards but those constitute about 1% of the total adventure operators. EE: What are the challenges in delivering adventure content in India? Cost is the major challenge, since people right now do not realize the sort of effort that goes into making adventure systems safe. Right now, everyone wants to involve adventure content into their event, but when it comes to paying for it, everyone wants it at lower costs, and costs are always reduced at the expense of safety.Safety is treated as an add on to an event and only taken into consideration under few circumstances e.g. when the client has larger budgets or when the client has asked for it specifically or the event manager has had a past incident and does not want that to happen again. If being safe is treated as a non-compromisable aspect of an event then the costs should be built into the budget. EE: At Natura, what is your approach to execute, conceptualize and manage adventure theme events? It depends on what service is requested from us by the event management companies. We usually sit down with the event management company to understand the client’s brief and the intention behind the event. Based on the intention we come up with an entire concept of the event, and infuse different adventure activities which align with the event. At times we even create new activities to achieve the engagement. Our operations team then gets into action and starts the preparation for the event, recon trips are done, rigging plans are created, team is finalized, and show flow is created all leading up to the setup day. Based on our experience of managing adventure themed events, we have devised another approach in which we deploy our proprietary design of the Adventure Challenge tower, which houses 6-8 adventure activities in a mere space of 50ft X 50ft, This tower has turned out to be a perfect product for the event managers wherein they can provide engagement of 6-8 adventure activities in the smallest space possible thus bringing Adventure to your doorstep in the urban environment. (www.adventurechallengetower.co.in) EE: How do you manage the regular pressures of conventional event management and blend in a high degree of safety control in it? It’s a constant tightrope walk for us, traditionally we are always taught to take as much time as possible when you are executing adventure activities. This is where Natura is very unique, since we understand the time pressures in conventional events; we have optimized our operations in a way where we achieve efficiency during setup and execution and at the same avoiding any compromise on the safety. There is a strong documentation culture and a log which everyone needs to compulsorily adhere to during an event, these internal checklists and systems enable us to a achieve high degree of safety at our events.
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Ankurit Foundation and Dell India are co-organizing Escape Velocity- Innovation, Science and Technology Fair in Bangalore from June 13th-15th 2014, for children aged 6-17. The fair brings together several private and public science and technology organizations under one roof for the first time in Bangalore. On 13th June Friday the fair is open exclusive for school students through field trips. On14th and 15th June the fair is open to all parents and kids of Bangalore. 800+ government school kids will visit this fair free of cost. Escape Velocity is going to teach the magic of science and technology to Bangalore kids and youngsters in a manner never experienced before. This inaugural fair is going to amaze everyone with top-notch technologists conversing with children, state-of-the-art technology booths from the best technology companies in the world, science experiments mixed with fun and learning, hands-on workshops for immense learning and live shows that will make kids imagine the impossible. Dell, Microsoft Research, eKavach, Xerox Research Labs, Cisco, HP, IBM, Tata Steel, Strands Life Sciences, Agastya Foundation, Taralaya, Science InBox, Science Adda, Novatech Robo, Litmus & Bubbles, IAMaths, SkyFi Labs, KQA, EduCAT will be participating in various categories that encourage children to innovate. Dell India is the title sponsor for the event, Microsoft Research is Silver sponsor and IBM , eKavach & Tata Structura are Bronze sponsors. Demo Booths from these organizations will include state-of-art technologies in the fields of medical advancements, internet of things, technology in retail industry, genome, astronomy, etc. A spokesperson from Dell commented, “Dell is proud to have partnered in this initiative as it helps promote progressive learning. As a brand we have always believed in enabling education through the power of technology and this platform is a step in that direction.” A spokesperson from IBM stated, “IBM has continued to champion innovative approaches to teaching and learning math and science. IBM’s support to Escape Velocity is a step to encourage children and make them excited about pursuing STEM careers.” To facilitate exploratory science learning there will be science pavilions, stalls, hands-on workshops and science games. The idea would be to make science concepts fun and easy to learn. There will be exclusive Live Shows in the areas of Chemistry, Magic of Science, Electrical Appliances, Magnetism, etc. Mini Sumo Robotics competition would be organized for robotics lovers. Karnataka Quiz Association will be holding a science quiz for quizzers. There are several prizes to be won by University of West Florida and Science InBox. Innovators, doctors, authors, scientists will talk to kids about innovation, science fiction, and exploration etc. in a series of Tech Talks that will run throughout the event. A very cool technology called World Wide Telescope by Microsoft Research will be demonstrated in a mobile planetarium dome. There will be lot more attractions for the kids including science quizzes, wherein kids will have loads of fun while experimenting and learning. Venue of the fair is Oakridge International School, Sarjapur, Bengaluru. The fair is a ticketed event and tickets can be purchased online at mycity4kids.com and bookmyshow.com. Tickets are also available at Crossword and Justbooks stores.
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Godrej has collaborated with Subhash Ghai’s institute Whistling Woods International to create a series of innovative videos. The institute will be conceptualizing videos for Godrej, which will redefine the concept “Ideas that make us smile”. The brainchild Abhishek Chandra, a WWI student says, “it is always great coming back to Whistling Woods, and it feels even better when you actually are working in collaboration with the school for a brand like Godrej.” Godrej, which have previously featured bollywood star Aamir Khan in their campaigns are quite optimistic with this unique academia-industry tie-up. Shireen Joshi, Chief Operating Officer, Strategic Marketing Group of Godrej says, “The success of this activity can be seen in terms of the quality, diversity of interpretations, popularity as well as the beautiful way that the brand and its products have been showcased by the students of Whistling Woods.” Meghna Ghai Puri, President, WWI is elated and said, “we believe are the next generation of filmmakers and media professionals, with the ability to create in-depth, aesthetic videos. This campaign showcased Godrej’s spirit.” The videos created by WWI will be the heart of digital marketing campaigns for Godrej and display a variety of innovative campaigns by consumers of the brand.
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With the entire nation cheering their favourite international football teams during the ongoing World Cup, Viber India gives every Viber user an opportunity to support a unique football team. Founded in 2009, Yuwa is one of the largest girls’ football programs in India, with 250 players. The Yuwa Foundation uses football as a platform to combat child marriage and human trafficking in the poorest of communities in Jharkhand. With over 19 million users of the internet messaging and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calling service application, every conversation made through Viber India contributes to the ‘Vibe The Goal’ initiative conceptualized and executed by digital marketing agency, FoxyMoron. The more you converse, the closer we get to the goal of empowering the girl’s football team. Through the power of the ‘Vibernation’ on Viber’s digital platforms, everyone can empower these Tribal girls to face the challenges of the callous systems against them. Through chatting with friends & family, sharing stickers, creating groups on Viber various monetary levels of contributions will be displayed on a meter on the campaign Microsite – ww.VibeTheGoal.in which is also an aggregator of the support the girls are receiving. Users, fans and supporters can also directly contribute to the Yuwa Foundation via the microsite. The funds raised will be used to empower the talented girls with world-class football equipment, a learning and excellence center, and their education as well. Yuwa’s girls have inspired tens of millions of people throughout India and around the world with their achievements. Their inspiring story is encapsulated in a short digital film – http://bit.ly/VibeTheGoalYT which has so far received over 2.9 Lakh views. The ‘Vibe The Goal’ campaign has garnered 18.6 million impressions on Twitter with 24,300 tweets generated in support of the #VibeTheGoal initiative and close to 9.5 Lakh fans have engaged in the #VibeTheGoal conversation on Facebook. Commenting on the initiative, Anubhav Nayyar, Country Head, Viber India, said: ‘VIBER is proud to partner with YUWA team. Through our association with YUWA we are aiming to generate maximum awareness about the NGO which has championed the social cause of combating issues such as child marriage and human trafficking in India. Everyone can be a part of the conversation on Viber to support the team. Every message exchanged on Viber will go a long way in contributing towards uplifting the social and economic conditions for these girls who have earned great reputation for India at national and international levels.’ Franz Gastler, Founder YUWA India, said: ‘Society teaches girls to fit in. Yuwa coaches girls to stand out. In Jharkhand, 6 in 10 girls drop out of school and become child brides. Yuwa is using football and education to combat child marriage, illiteracy and human trafficking. We are thrilled to join hands with Viber India to build support for Yuwa’s programs and a center of excellence to educate, nourish and sustain the girls of Yuwa. Join the cause, make some noise!’ Akshay Gurnani, Business Head – North, FoxyMoron, said: ‘It is refreshing to see the potential of the digital medium to create funding for talented young athletes who struggle with basic infrastructure and issues with the system they function in. Football has empowered these Jharkand girls to succeed and thrive despite all the hardships they have faced. The ‘Vibe The Goal’ initiative is a small step towards sharing their story and ensuring their talent makes successful appearances at various Football tournaments in India and abroad.’ As a football club, Yuwa is one of the few teaching life skills, with a focus on positive coaching. Yuwa is the only sports for development organization in India with daily practices for all teams. Each Yuwa girl spends an average of 3 hours daily with Yuwa programs, 6 days a week, year round—nearly 1,000 hours each year. On July 13 2013, the 18 tribal girls representing Yuwa India under-14 all-girls team were placed third among 10 teams playing for the Gasteiz Cup in Victoria Gasteiz in Spain. The girls, a majority of whom played outside their village in Ormanjhi for the first time were placed third after two wins, two losses, and one draw against international teams. Earlier during the Donosti Cup, Spain’s biggest football tournament, the girls made it to quarter finals from among 36 international teams.
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After handling Femina Miss India and the Gold Awards in Dubai, Sound.com engineered the Star Parivaar Awards held at NSCI Sardar Vallabhai Patel Studium, Worli on 22 June 2014. The gear rented was: The Soundcraft Vi6 Console Vertec VT 4889 Speakers 12 Tops Vertec 4880A 12nos of Subs VRX 932 14nos for fills 16nos Of Shure Microphone TX & RX containing 8nos of handheld and 8nos Of headset mics All speakers were powered by the Crown ITech HD Series amplifier. The team comprising of backstage hands included Ranjeet Singh (system and mix engineer), Giridhar Maharana (asst engineer) Prasad Dhoke (asst engineer) and Sanoj Chacko (asst engineer). Pleased with the delivery, Mohomed Morani, Director, Cineyug Entertainment said, “Sound.com has been one of the few and most professional sound companies Cineyug Worldwide Entertainment chooses to work with because they are special and so are our events-be it major Bollywood events to critical award functions right to our smallest press conferences. Their team ensures no stone is unturned to deliver a good show and that’s what matters.” Ranjeet Singh, the Systems and Mix Engineer who headed the show says, “I am glad that our client is satisfied by the services we provided and though it was an easy show for us, we learn a lot with every job we do.”
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Collaborative consumption. What’s that? Simply put, it’s a concept that involves sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting and swapping goods instead of purchasing them. And with the advancement in data and technology it can be done much more easily and effectively. One great example of a company built on the model of collaborative consumption is Uber. An on-demand, app-based car service, Uber entered the Indian market in September 2013, starting with Bangalore. It began operations in Delhi 6 weeks later and subsequently moved into Chennai, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad. Uber’s business model manifested from the idea of creating a simple mobile app that allowed idle limo cars to be put to better use. With bidding options and location based cab finders, Uber eliminatedthe typical wait involved and gave consumers a bit of luxury. ButUber isn’t a cab company. They simply offer companies and individuals who own ‘luxury’ cabs the ability to allocate those resources to Uber to take advantage of idle time. So Uber is dealing strictly operates in the space of collaborative consumption, taking resources that would otherwise sit idle and putting them to work. Although most cab companies could be examples of collaborative consumption, mamplifying the service. Not only does the app reflect real-time location and availability of cabs,estimated time of arrival and eliminate security issues but also relaysdata back to the company about high-traffic locations, demographic, trends etc. With access to such big data, Uber soon attracted other companies that wanted in on the perks of collaborative development. During the months since its arrival into India, Uber has extended this philosophy to partnerships with several other brands. Here’s a fewworth interesting ones worth noting- Uber partnership with Amattra Spa, Yum Yum Tree and The Manor Hotel for Father’s Day and Mother’s Day Using Twitter and Instagram as platforms, Uber launched exclusive campaigns for Father’s Day and Mother’s Day where participants stood a chance to win spa treatments, meals, cocktails, free rides and hotel stays at Amattra Spa, Yum Yum Tree or The Manor Hotel. Uber Partnership with Citibank Restaurant Week India Every reservation at a partner restaurant during Restaurant Week India was eligible for a to-and-fro ride with Uber. Uber partnership with NDTV On voting day, Uberpartnered with NDTV to offer free rides to get to the polling booth and back during polling hours. Uber Partnership with CricHQ Using the Uber app to enter a contest, fans stood a chance to have cricket superstars Brendon McCullum&FafDuPlessis pick the up in an Uber ride and take them to the CricHQ India launch party at the New Zealand High Commission. Uber Partnership with Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Deccan & High Ultra Lounge Uber teamed up with Johnnie Walker Blue Label to deliver a rare experience of a helicopter ride that could be booked using the Uber app for Rs 4999 (including door-to-door car service, chopper ride and brunch). Customers could snatch the experience of an aerial tour of Bangalore’s iconic places and then a sumptuous brunch at the High Ultra Lounge. Uber has so far been offering its premium service UberBLACK in India but Just last week it has announced the arrival of its lower-cost service, UberX. This move will put the cab-rental service in direct competition with other cab companies such as Meru and Ola cabs. I think its safe to say more affordable partnerships will soon be underway. So, will your brand ride with Uber?
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