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.”
Read More
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?
Read More
Welcome to today’s nuptials at a great indian big fat wedding. From whatsapp wedding invites, twitter ‘jhoota chupai’ contests to facebook bride side vs groom side gupshup. Digital trends and tradition intertwine seamlessly to make the social extravaganza called ‘the wedding’ more fun and experiential. The wedding scenario has revolutionized in several ways. A special #hashtag is created so guests can upload all the candid moments and cool selfies, some instant post-able proof that they are right-now-this-very-minute witnessing the wedding. Although a large-scale event, there are few loved ones who miss out especially destination weddings. Today’s new age couples prefer a live feed of the whole event on their wedding page, So no matter where guests that can’t attend are, they can feel like they are there! Wedding websites have given way to webapps. Along with larger than life showcase value, they are also functional in nature. They help in event micro management where the guests can directly upload their passport details, browse the wedding itinerary and enjoy sangeet tutorials right at their fingertips. “We did a wedding in Abu Dhabi where we placed live instagram walls at the venue to encourage all guests to upload their memories with the unique hashtag created for the couple. In this way, we captured all the candid moments that the photographer might have missed and eventually made all guests potential photographers. Team Social Shehnai also presented the couple with a bless book that had been secretly made constituting of all the blessings bestowed upon the couple by their guests who weren’t that tech savvy, which was later also uploaded on their wedding page. The idea is to integrate social media with real life conversations to capture the buzz around a wedding and build a unique ‘experience’. It should be a right mix of fun content both digitally and on ground,” says Diksha Haria, Executive Director at Social Shehnai. Social media is undeniably a great tool for communicating, participating and sharing. And isn’t that what weddings are about? – Families getting to know each other, sharing and participating from a distance, slowly developing a certain level of comfort. We might very well be staring at a new trend. It should only be a matter of time before we see some wedding specific social media apps. Ever wondered how Hum Apke Hai Kaun would be in today’s social age?
Read More
Leveraging Castrol’s global sponsorship of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Castrol launched the Castrol Activ Cling on to Football campaign to enhance the football fan’s experience of the ongoing tournament. The campaign kicked off with a football Google Hangout in India the panel of which included Abhishek Bachchan, Bhaichung Bhutia, Paul Masefield and Gaurav Kapoor. The campaign conceptualized and executed by digital marketing agency FoxyMoron will now introduce an innovative ‘LIVE Talk Show’ with an expert panel coming to an Indian audience for the first time via digital platforms during the World Cup. Castrol Activ is the first brand in Asia to use the Lightbox Technology. The Lightbox Technique allows for the ‘Cling on to Football’ LIVE digital talk show streamed on a Google+ Hangout, to be showcased across Google Display Networks. Users browsing numerous websites can observe these sporting experts in real-time in a ‘king-size canvas’ by simply rolling their mouse over a ‘Cling on to Football’ banner. The Lightbox Technique provides every browser and fan an effortless experience with the campaign like never before. Commenting on the initiative, Harshil Karia, Co-founder, FoxyMoron said, ‘This is a unique opportunity for Castrol Activ to reach out to and engage with new audiences through a rich and interactive format. Over the years, the brand on digital has delivered fan-friendly exciting experiences to all, using their expertise in technology and unique consumer and market insights.’ Soma Ghosh, Vice President – Marketing, Castrol India said, “The Google Lightbox technology is an important part of our digital strategy during the ‘Castrol Activ Cling on to Football’ campaign. It will enable us to deliver the most fan-friendly exciting football experience. This technology will take the hangout directly to fans, rather than have the fans go and view the hangout.”
Read More
Music and movie channel, B4U, has launched seasonal online digital properties for its audience this monsoon. The digital campaigns are being leveraged on Facebook and have resulted in a humongous jump in the number of followers and fans. The first of the campaigns is B4U Monsoon Mania and is an initiative to engage music lovers. Viewers can participate by uploading a photo from their mobile phones of any rain song being played on the channel B4U Music, on to the Facebook page www.facebook.com/b4umusic , while using the hashtag #MonsoonMania. The person who uploads maximum monsoon songs would be crowned as the Monsoon Queen/King and would be gifted exclusive branded merchandise. The other initiative is B4U Predictor where fans can expect to see a Facebook post every Thursday on www.facebook.com/B4UMoviesTV giving them a chance to guess the box office opening of the film. The person who predicts an amount closest to the actual box office amount will win exclusive merchandise.
Read More
From old school usage of graffiti as floor and wall tiles, the trend has eventually moved to hi-tech applicability of the art form. Brands these days have adopted riveting experiential marketing strategies to connect with their buyers as they have reason to believe that besides drawing attention to it, the art form can act as a great medium of engagement. Here are some interesting consumer-engagement examples that used graffiti as inspiration: Digital Graffiti Wall by Coca Cola In the festive spirit of Fifa World Cup, the official sponsor Coca Cola and Fifa World Cup Trophy Tour 2014 managed to make an impact and stand out with the help of a Digital Graffiti Wall in London, Glasgow, Cardiff and Manchester. Visitors present at the event had the opportunity to improve their expertise in the game with the help of professional ‘football tricksters’ and use the Digital Graffiti Wall to create customized Coke bottles and win coke merchandise. The company behind the activity, Spray Paint Wall, managed to engage audience with their software that enabled guests to use a ‘digital graffiti can’ to colour and create extravagant designs using coke stamps and stencils. The next move helped the brand to directly connect with the guests as they printed the customized designed bottles for them to take home. This digital initiative invited audience of all age, to participate in a football shootout contest and compete in the dribble time trials and self-examine how fast they could kick a football in the speed trap. Reebok Cross Fit- 3D street art The Reebok Cross Fit created the largest 3D street art that holds the Guinness World Record. The painting by 3D Joe and Marx, measured an impressive 1,160.4m² and was disclosed at London’s Canary Wharf. An experiential marketing activity was carried out by inviting public to take part in the Reebok Cross fit –‘Workout of the day’ on the remarkable artwork made on a street in London. Officially declared as the largest piece of street art, it attracted people to be an active part of this magnificent piece and its celebration. The House of Vans evening at Bluefrog showcased ‘live Graffiti’ The House of Vans was hosted at Bluefrog, Mumbai in February. The evening featured bands playing different genres of music, engaging in street art, photography and extreme sports. What appealed most to the crowd was the live graffiti by the multi-media designer Jas Charanjiva on the backdrop of the stage while the musicians performed their show. Another engaging move on the part of the organisers was to let the guests create their own graffiti on a graffiti wall outside the club. Style your Drive at Auto Expo At the Auto Expo 2014 held at New Delhi, Maruti Suzuki conducted “Style your Drive”, wherein the audience was able to virtually graffiti a car via Infrared devices acting as painting guns. Flare 3D software proved to be an engaging initiative at the event. This modern form of graffiti attracted several customers at the Auto Expo. People present at the event designed cars to the best of their imagination. Nike AirMax, on its 27th anniversary showcased Graffiti artist Zeke’s art on one of its store walls in Mumbai. This unusual celebration of sneakers by Nike caught the attention of many in the suburbs of Mumbai. This eye catching art embellished the walls of the store and a reality projection captioned as ’27 Years of AirMax’ escalated the beauty a little further. Sameer Kulavoor designed the official poster for the event. Certain elements from the poster were printed on the button badges and given away. Graffiti has certain edginess to it. But it must be noted that only a few brands can connect with the art form and efficiently use it in their marketing strategies. However, one thing is clearly established, old school style or with-a-twist, the art of Graffiti will continue to exist and brands will continue to leverage it in a range of different ways.
Read More
Smart brands have realized the edge experiential has over traditional marketing techniques. Another known fact is that the impact of an experiential activity has the capability of increasing manifold the moment it’s spiked with digital innovation. Brands have indefinite opportunities to innovate in the experiential space and many are trying their hands on revolutionizing old marketing tactics. EE picks some examples of brands who have beautifully married digital with experiential in these notable campaigns: 5. Virtual rail by M&S In the Marks & Spencer store in Amsterdam the brand placed a floor-to-head height screen that was enabled with a touch censor. One could swipe through the catalogue looking for various outfits. Shopping became an easy and fun affair for the buyers with the help of videos being played on the rail. This virtual rail also recommended matches to items that people selected or scanned in the store. 4. Virtual mannequins: We are the future A hi-tech system was installed in a retail store where once a piece of clothing had been taken off the rack, a virtual mannequin appeared on the screen wearing the corresponding piece of garment. This digital system made shopping a less tedious affair for the buyers. Once they removed a hanger from the rail, they could see models in their chosen garments to provide them with an idea of how the apparel would look worn. 3. Adidas Digital Media Campaign: Crash & Collide Crash and Collide digital media campaign with JD sports brought together many interesting opportunities for the consumers to engage with the brand. This experiential campaign integrated with digital media engaged several people to be a part of the activity. Youngsters crowded the store to get clicked and be seen on the live digital window placed in the store. It also gave consumers the chance to win £1000 of merchandise. Launched at 10 places in the United Kingdom, the activity managed to connect directly with the target audience promoting brand messages at the same time. Guests at the event were then motivated to connect with a Facebook app which generated a unique cover photo for them allowing amplification of the activity. 2. HomeShop 18: Scan and Shop live TV shopping channel- HomeShop 18 started India’s first virtual mobile aided shopping experience at Terminal 3 of New Delhi’s IGI Airport. This cutting edge technology of creating a virtual wall ‘Scan and Shop’ offered premium merchandise to its customers. Once introduced by Tesco, it is interesting to watch an Indian brand participating in the same league. The digital wall displayed a large range of products, clothing, fashion jewellery, electronics, mobiles, tablets, accessories, perfumes etc. Scan N Shop helped users to order merchandise by scanning the QR code displayed against each item. HomeShop18 also enabled the easy cash on delivery payment method followed with mobile payments subsequently. This had let the tech savvy and smart phone users experience an innovative method of shopping. 1. Coca Cola’s ‘Small World Machine’ Coca Cola has always been a trailblazing experiential marketer and they continue to do so. Through its online video campaign called “Small World Machine”, it managed to connect people across borders. This initiative helped in linking India and Pakistan through a live communication portal. Two camera equipped coke vending machines were set up in Lahore and Delhi each. The brand used 3D touchscreen technology to project a video on the screen of the vending machine, simultaneously filming a live emotional exchange through the unit. This move enabled people in India and Pakistan to exchange gestures like shake hands, draw peace and happiness symbols etc. This marketing strategy helped people to improve the already strained ties between the two nations. It helped people emotionally connect with each other and experience the cutting-edge technology and enjoy the drink at the same time.
Read More
www.LIVSports.in, the official Mobile and Internet broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup registered a record number of downloads and Live match views between 13th June and 13th July 2014. The Sports Entertainment digital destination attracted over 20 Mn page views in the last month. Viewers spent on an average of 28 min watching the Live streaming of the matches across online, mobile and the tablet LIV Sports application. Nitesh Kripalani, Executive Vice-President – New Media, Business Development and Digital/Syndication at Sony Entertainment Network, said, “The 2014 FIFA World Cup digital viewership is a gratifying proof of LIV Sports’ success since its launch a little over a month ago. Our goal was to redefine the way sports content is viewed and consumed in India via a new category – “Sportainment”. We are glad to see that Sports fans have engaged with LIV Sports.” The top 3 matches, by time spent were – FINALS – Argentina vs. Germany – 48 mins Semi-finals – Netherlands vs. Argentina – 42 mins Quarter finals – Netherlands vs. Costa Rica – 41 mins Of the total traction observed on LIV Sports, the maximum percentage of unique views came from the six metros (53%) with Mumbai and Delhi in the lead (13% each), followed by Bengaluru (10%). 83% of the total viewers in the country were within the age bracket of 18-34 years. The 2014 FIFA World Cup on LIV Sports also attracted 25% female viewers; engagements like the Predictor, “Mohit Bana Messi – Jerseyfy Me” and “Pehchaan Kaun” helped achieve this. LIV Sports also registered phenomenal numbers in terms of Social presence. The Blogger outreach programme enabled a reach of over 2.85 Mn.
Read More
As humans, we all look for categorizations. They make our lives easier and more manageable.Therefore, it’s only natural that we at EE, after careful scrutiny, bring to you the list of Top 10 Experiential agencies in India today. For marketers and newbies in the experiential world, this list provides the top 10 agencies in India that have made their mark and given an excellent show as far as experiential is concerned. Keeping in mind the scalability factor, the brilliance in innovation, and the management of the audience, we have compiled a list of top 10 agencies. And the winners are – 1. Wizcraft Established in 1988, this agency is responsible for all the magic behind the IIFA Weekend and Awards, Green Globe Foundation Awards, Global Indian Music Academy Awards and the Film & TV Producers. Some of the prestigious projects led by Wizcraft most recently include the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the ICC World Cup’s Opening ceremony in Dhaka, the Oman Tattoo and the celebration of 150 years of India-South Africa friendship. 2. Percept Founded in 1984, Percept Limited, they are responsible for some of the biggest shows such as Sunburn (with over 1,00,000 attendees), Bollyboom, Filmfare, Ad Films, Feature films, Fight Night, GOD, Champions of the world, Windsong, and the list goes on. Celebrating 30 years of excellence, they provide creative services, media services, digital and mobile services and and also have a vertical that handles sports and entertainment for their clients. 3. LIVE Viacom 18 LIVE Viacom18 is a subdivision under Integrated Network Solutions (INS) whose mandate is to create LIVE IP’s in the Music & Entertainment space. They are the ones responsible for creating MTV Xtreme, the Comedy Central Chuckle festival, Supersonic, MTV Bollyland, Nickelodeon KCA India, etc. 4. Only Much Louder The guys behind the multi-city, multi-day Bacardi NH7, A Summer’s Day, The Scene, NH7 Smash Up, and NH7 Shake Down, MTV Bring On The Night, and producing the Cannes Lion-winning show – The Dewarists, OML has made their mark in the events industry. 5. Fountainhead Having commenced operations in 1995, Fountainhead has worked with top global brands like MTV, Philips, Hutchison Max Telecom, Procter & Gamble, Pepsi and solid domestic brands like Tata, Blue Star, Aditya Birla Group and Bennett Coleman. They have also handled international acts such as Akon, 50 Cent, INXS, Spyrogyra, Buddy Guy and have created very successful music festivals like The One Tree Music Festival and The Mahindra Blues Festival. 6. DNA Networks A name synonymous with Entertainment in Sports, DNA Networks are the big guys behind events such as IPL, ICC Cricket World Cup Tour, ICC World Twenty20, Champions League, Athens Olympic Torch Relay. Besides sports they have also a number of music festivals such as Sound Awake, Rock’N India (an international annual music festival) and it prides itself on being the only events company in India to have produced live concerts with Music Greats such as Sting, Roger Waters, Lionel Richie, Iron Maiden, Katy Perry, Bryan Adams, Shakira, Aerosmith, etc. 7. 70 EMG Established over a decade ago, 70EMG, they are the curators behind festivals like the India Bike Week – a first of its kind biking festival in India, and the The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai since 2002 with over 6,50,000 visitors each year, the AAAI Goa Festival, South Asia’s answer to the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival – since 2007, the Nokia IndiaFest with over 12,000 visitors and the GJEPC India International Jewelry Week (over 800 exhibitors & 50,000 business visitors) amongst many others. 8. Encompass Events Having been in the industry for over 15 years and having more than 10000 projects in their pockets, Encompass events are the brains behind the award winning campaigns such as the P&G Thank You Mom mall activation, Gillette Shave For The Soldier campaign and the world launch of Toyota, Etios, People’s Gateway Movement, Mercedes Benz-Star Drive, etc. 9. DDB Mudra Max Founded in 1980, DDB Mudra Max has dabbled in experiential in a way that it successfully executed the 46 day long Grand Kerala Shopping Festival with the Government of Kerala, grabbed the South African Tourism OOH duties, IAA Olive Crown, and many more such properties along with handling experiential campaigns for a number of corporates such as Volkswagen. 10. Showtime Group Having been in the industry for over 30 years now, the Showtime Group has successfully executed events such as the BMW 3 Series launch, BMW Xperience, BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe Launch, DLF Mall of India launch, Swiss Unlimited launch, the Finacle Conclave, Hero Insolito, Jodhpur One World Retreat, MINI Countryman launch, Starbucks launch, etc.
Read More
From a basic ‘tent wala’ till about a decade ago, the event industry has since witnessed a paradigm shift in customers’ minds and brands’ minds as well. Over a period of time it has transformed into a large and innovative platform. Feeding this demand for innovation are some great ideas let afloat ever so frequently. Here’s a closer look at five remarkable event start-ups of this year. Ola Cabs: Available in five cities at the moment, Ola cabs promises to expand to at least 10 more by the end of next year. It is always a delight to have a fleet of cars available at one’s ease after and before an event. An initiative by Bhavish Agrawal was born with the idea that it would be asset-lite and tech-intensive for its users. Only a free downloadable app or a phone call is what connected the customers to the service. They could also monitor their cabs via GPS. Another added feature, Heat maps enabled the company to track where their cabs are. Eat in my Seat: A simple yet great start up ‘Eat In My Seat’ provides a mobile application that enables users to browse the menu at the venue and order directly from their smartphones. It allows its users to pay within the app and choose to either collect the order or get it delivered. As soon as the order gets ready push notifications let users know that they can come and collect. This initiative is a fantastic way to save time as it rescues you from waiting in long queues. Crowd Mics: Crowd Mics has created a buzz in the event industry. The idea behind the start-up is quite simple yet engaging. It allows the attendees to download an app which turns their smartphones into a mic. The speaker can then plug his/her smart phone to the audio system and enjoy the technology. It came across as a powerful concept and a crowd engaging one. Floh.in: Finding the right match has always been a challenging deed and for young professionals its all the more tough. Floh is a platform that brings single people together at events with the objective of meeting like-minded people to build healthy connections. It enables members to have real, in person interactions at events and is mainly focused towards urban, educated and independent singles. More recently Floh has started allowing a selected number of people who apply for the service, an entrance fee of Rs. 7,500 for three months or Rs 15,000 for the whole year. This gives its users a chance to attend events in the company of compatible singles. CrowdCan.do: A U.K. based platform called CrowdCan.do utilizes crowd funding technology to eliminate the financial risk of conducting an event by allowing organisers to sell tickets in advance in order to raise funds. It makes work even simpler by allowing the organisers to download a free Android or iOS app that enables them to manage, scan and authorize tickets.This is a great opportunity for those starting out in the event industry as it enables them to test the idea before exposing themselves to the financial risks involved.
Read More
