An integral factor that drives the marketing strategies for any brand today is the sole purpose of churning out the maximum profits as soon as possible. In popular culture today, even if big brands are investing into experiential initiatives, they somehow desperately seek out a measure to sell their products in the market with the initiative. In such money minded times, the Schwarzkopf Shaping Futures initiative is a guiding force to brands on how can they truly establish themselves right there in the hearts of not just their TG but across all age groups and markets. The Shaping Future philanthropy project undertaken by Schwarzkopf Professional mirrors the Indian PM’s agenda for the next 5 years of Skill India movement. As our Honourable PM Narendra Modi rightly says that our youth doesn’t want to live a life of pity, they want to live with self-respect and dignity. And for this we need to create structures and mechanisms to nurture youngsters, enabling them to find employment, to be empowered with skills that will aide them to support themselves and their families. Through this social initiative, Schwarzkopf every year gives unprivileged young adults the opportunity to learn a valuable vocation, for free, instead of a life of unfair working conditions and low wages. This philanthropy project has also been instrumental in creating numerous success stories where the young professionals post their training have gone on to run successful business units and supporting their families in different parts of the country. The way in how this initiative runs is that the candidates for this training program are pre-selected by a non-profit organisation, Plan India. Post the pre-selection, the most deserving and motivated candidates who wish to make a living as a hairdresser are finalized to be trained under the Schwarzkopf Professional team. The training classes usually last six weeks and consists of five modules: consultation, cutting, dressing, colour and form. During the course of training, students regularly meet with local salon owners that enable them to pursue careers in a near-by salon. This year Shaping Futures Initiative India, 2015 is in the 5th consecutive year and 22 young candidates who have the passion for hairdressing are participating in the training program. Interesting is to see how an international brand like Schwarzkopf has through this initiative struck the right cord with enabling development while creating experiences at the same while a majority of Indian and local brands are failing to do so. What marketers need to understand is that customers today are more smart and aware of what is happening around them. By merely launching a flashy ATL campaign with gimmicky messages or fun filled BTL activity alone the brand is not going to benefit today. In the dynamic and rapidly evolving market today brands need to earn the respect from their TG first and form a bond that goes beyond the traditional relationship of hard and sell. Through an initiative like Shaping Futures, Schwarzkopf has weaved stories around its brand ethos. Stories that are going to stay in their customers mind every time they will see the brand, stories that they will share with their friends and foes feeling proud of their association with it and isn't this an identity all brands across the world are trying to establish for themselves. Initiatives like these are the only way brands can hope to have a loyal customer base over the years.
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EMF ACE 2015, in its second year this year, concluded on 11 October in Ahmedabad. The event was hosted by the Event Management Federation, an association of event planners in Gujarat, in the form of a conference, awards and exhibition. It saw in attendance several notable names from the industry including Director Ramesh Sippy, Mohammed Morani from Cineyug, Sabbas Joseph of Wizcraft, Prince Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur, Pujya Brahmavihari Swami, Jaideep Singh of Live Viacom18, Actress Amisha Patel, Singer Neha kakkar, among others. Heres a look at the two day extravaganza in pictures: [gallery link="file" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" ids="24497,24496,24495,24493,24488,24494,24489,24490,24491,24492,24487,24486,24485,24484,24483"]
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One of the most prominent reasons of why events fail even after investing in a lot of money is that it sees no participation from its attendees. Most events that are being organized today are no different than the election rallies where a host comes on stage, explains the occasion of the event and the curtains are rolled out again. What event planners do not understand is that most event attendees are hesitant in nature and will not become a part of your event or even thoroughly engage themselves into it, if their participation is not weaved into the overall design of the event. But what are the ways one can convert event attendees into participants? Well, we at EE reached out to event agencies and curators to ask them the same. Pradyumn Tandon, Founder and Director, The Brand Brewery says, “It is indeed very important to actually engage the audience at your events today rather than restricting their presence to that of passive listeners but how can one do that completely depends on the nature of the event one is executing.” Adding further he says, “You need to understand your TG better and give them what they want if you want them to be more involved at your event and customization is the key here. To cite an example for a high end property launch which saw attendees of different age groups ranging from kids to the elderly we had created family photobooths for families, hobby class for kids, golf sessions for men and spas for women. So it is boils down to designing the correct experience for your attendees which is dependent upon better understanding them.” Speaking on the same subject Jatin Dua, Director, Event Jockey said, “For us the process to facilitate more involvement from event attendees goes back to the initial phase of planning for the event. The buzzword here is to surprise your attendees by serving them something unseen and unheard. As an example for a ticketed event recently we had used social media to create buzz before the event by asking people to show their excitement about the event by posting selfies. Later we used the same photographs as an integral part of the event décor with some lighting effects. The audience was positively surprised with the idea and loved it.” Rishabh Panchhi, Director, Panchhi Events responds to the same question by saying, “You have to weave the element of participation by attendees within the concept of an event. As an example as a biker I was a part of this initiative of the Saheli Trust where participants had to come in pay some money and then they get a chance to enjoy a bike ride and also understand the nuances of it. Additionally there were choirs singing customized songs and the overall approach of the event was very focused on the attendees which resulted in its success.”
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KidZania India is set to launch its second facility in Delhi NCR, come early 2016. India’s first centre, KidZania Mumbai recently completed 24 months of operations, hosting 850,000+ visitors and 36 brand partnerships to date. KidZania Delhi NCR will be located at the Entertainment City in Noida which is a 147 acre development housing the largest retail and entertainment destination in the region. KidZania Delhi NCR will be a standalone structure across 3 levels and 97,000sq.ft. The KidZania India franchise rights are owned by ImagiNation Edutainment Pvt. Ltd. Actor, Shah Rukh Khan owns a 26% stake in the company in his personal capacity. The remaining 74% of ImagiNation Edutainment India Pvt. Ltd. is owned by Singapore-based KidZ Inc. whose shareholders are Comcraft Group, Xander Group and Maxfield Management Ltd. Built like a city for children, KidZania, the world-over is an indoor edutainment theme park that makes learning fun. Across its 20 facilities globally, KidZania emulates the workings of a real city but built to scale for children with paved roads, battery-operated vehicles, buildings, a functioning economy and its own currency. Based on the philosophy of providing real–life experiences, KidZania empowers, inspires, motivates and educates children through the 90+ role-playing activities based on replicas of real-world industries and services including, entertainment, airline, automobile, retail, restaurants, factories and other private and public services. Here, children can take on various roles, including that of a pilot, surgeon, detective, chef, candy-maker, fireman, television producer, radio jockey, mechanic and other diverse professions. Sanjeev Kumar, CEO, KidZania India says, “Coming to the capital city has always been on the cards for us, and working with a diverse group of industry professionals and partners will bring a truly genuine experience to the children. We believe that KidZania Delhi NCR will be home to myriad avenues for the coming generations, opening doors for talent to grow through the path of education and entertainment in an environment that fosters leadership and development.” KidZania provides brands with a sustainable consumer engagement platform. It is a game-changer with the perfect mix of education, entertainment, CSR, and marketing. Brands build realism and add authenticity to the experience that children have in KidZania. With a few months to launch-date, the Delhi NCR facility has already signed up 18 brands. Key brands from Mumbai that have extended their partnerships for the Delhi NCR facility are Parle (Biscuit Factory), Yes! Bank (ATM and Bank), Toonz Animation (Animation Studio), DHL (Express delivery service), Bajaj Electricals Ltd. (Culinary school and Energy Conservation Hub), Pepperfry (Furniture studio and Lounge), Zespri Kiwifruit (quality control and inspection hub), Shiamak (Dance studio), Big Bazaar (Supermarket), E-Zone (Electronics store), Amity University (University), Kellogg’s Chocos (Cereal factory) and Furtados School of Music (Music School). Brands that have forged new ties with KidZania Delhi NCR include Frooti (Mango drink factory), Kinder Joy (Chocolate factory) and Amiown (Pre-school). Viraj Jit Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, KidZania India says, “We’ve built great experiences for children and families through KidZania Mumbai and we want to extend the same to people in the capital region. With KidZania Delhi NCR, we hope to reach out to as many children with powerful experiences that help them develop educationally, psychologically and motivationally. Our brand partnerships will aid in providing authentic experiences which will pave the way for responsible future leaders.” KidZania promotes real-life, hands-on experiences that simulates the routine of various occupations in their myriad establishments. Kids are allowed to partake in activities as professionals, as well as customers in establishments like the bank, departmental store and supermarket, allowing them to learn, earn or spend their own currency, KidZos. The KidZania concept has been a proven success in 20 cities internationally including London, Dubai, Jeddah, Lisbon, Cairo, Manila, Tokyo and its start-point, Santa Fe. Currently functional in Mumbai, India's first facility, KidZania has seen a footfall of over 8.5 lakh visitors with over 500 schools having visited in the last 24 months.
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With a supposed funding of $10 Million into his newly formed agency, The Social Street, Ex-DDB Mudra COO Pratap Bose has over two decades of experience in advertising up his sleeve. The new agency has already bagged some serious clients, one of which is Britannia Good Day that is rolling out a rather ‘exciting’ campaign later this month, assured Bose as he addressed the convention of event managers in Ahmedabad on 10 October at EMF ACE 2015. Speaking about what he knows best, Bose delivered a presentation on how brand activation has evolved over the years,moving into a series of examples that he thought were simply brilliant, and those that, well, sucked! Here’s a look at the winning cut first: Launch of TV Channel TNT in Belgium Budweiser Buddy Cup Nike Chalkbot at Tour De France Dominoes Pizza Emoji Carlsberg Cinema experience And the losers are… Brooke Bond Red Label activation Bose explains that the sheer number of Indian’s residing in Dubai took away from the novelty factor of the Brooke Bond Red Label campaign. He calls it a very ‘desperate’ communication to convince the consumer to feel a certain way about the brand. Coke Ind-Pak vendingmachine campaign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts_4vOUDImE To our surprise the Coke Ind-Pak Small World Machine was also on the loser’s board! Bose explains that even though the entry won multiple Golds at Cannes Lions, the sheer fact that no one ever saw this campaign happen, in either India or Pakistan, proves that it was only filmed. And filmed very well. Sure the video went viral since it was high on emotional content but the activation doesn’t qualify as a brand ‘experience’. Therefore as a jury member at Spikes Bose knocked it right out ensuring it doesn’t win a single Gold.
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The mobile internet ban in Gujarat last month resulted in many a businesses taking a hit. One case specific to the Gujarat event industry is that of the 2nd edition of ACE 2015, organized by Event Management Federation, which was rescheduled due to this development. ACE that stands for Awards, Convention and Exhibit was eventually held across 10 and 11 October at YMCA Convention Centre in Ahmedabad. ACE 2015 was inaugurated by film Director Ramesh Sippy, Event & Entertainment Management Association President Sabbas Joseph and Prince Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of HRH Group Udaipur. Smile&Soul was the title sponsor of the event. Day 1 featured speakers like Mohammed Morani, MD, Cineyug, Vijay Subramaniam, Director, CAA Kwan, Jaideep Singh of Live Viacom18, Shaju Ignatius from The Times Group and Pratap Bose, Co-founder, The Social Street. Singer Neha Kakkar entertained the audience right into the afterhours. Day 2 kicked off with a compelling motivational speech by PujyaBrahmavihari Swami targeted specifically at the event fraternity and on the topic ‘Performing under Pressure’. Weddings and Social events was the focus of the subsequent two panel discussions that featured Hemant Kale of Swaha WMC, Keyur Patel of Prasang Events, Swati Pandya Sood of Ferns and Petals and Nitin Arora of Katalyst Entertainment. Tarsamme Mittal of TM Talent Management and Vijay Subramaniam of CAA Kwan were part of the concluding panel focused atthinking global when managing talent, after which the house was set on fire with electrifying performances byLauren Gotlieb, Raftaar, Manj Music and NindyKaur. The two-day event ended with an awards ceremony hosted by Emcee Gitikka Ganju and Nitin Arora recognizing the best work by the event’s community in Gujarat. [caption id="attachment_21174" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Raftaar, Music Manj, Nindy Kaur[/caption] The list of winners across 13 categories is as follows: Best use of Technology Gold- Zion Unlimited Gold- RSP Events Silver- Go Bananas Bronze- Invasion Best BTL Activation Gold- Awoke Events Silver- All About Ads Bronze- Mascot Events Best Corporate Event Gold- Markcom Silver- Perfect Planners Bronze- Go Bananas Best CSR Event Gold- Seven Inks Gold- U&I Resources Silver- All About Ads Bronze- All About Ads Best Exhibition & Trade Fair Gold- RC Events Silver- Mudra Events Bronze- Brahmani Events Best Festival Event Gold- Go Bananas Silver- Krish Events Bronze- Shilpagaya Events Best Government Event Gold- Go Bananas Silver- Markcom Bronze- Prowess Productions Best Innovation at an Event Gold- Go Bananas Silver- Main Hoon Na Bronze- U&I Resources Best Religious Social Event Gold- Laksh Events Silver- Innovative Events Bronze- Prasol Events Bronze- Shilpagaya Events Best Special Event Gold- Gypsy Events Silver- Prayog Silver- A3 Cube Events Bronze- Blue Events Bronze- Shilpagaya Events
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PK Online the provider of digital media solutions has recently developed a one stop destination for all entertainment needs providing LiveTV streaming as well as large library of videos ranging from news, viral, movies, music, comedy and Bollywood etc. HelloTV updates the video library everyday with fresh and trending videos to deliver daily dose of entertainment to its loyal set of users. HelloTV was launched with the intent of making entertainment accessible to Indians browsing the internet on Mobile. Its vision is to provide curated, wholesome and relevant content to the Indian audience. It has over 100 live TV channels, 1000 blockbuster movies and over 10000 entertaining videos across popular languages and multiple genres. With over 1 million Android App installs, it has a significant active user base. To make sure that its users always get the best library of entertainment, PK Online works with over 150 content partners -broadcasters, movie studios and digital video partners alike. To increase audience participation, HelloTV has enabled its user to contribute videos by simply sharing their clips on 8822288222 through WhatsApp. This option was promoted through HelloTV videos and social media. HelloTV team has received a very encouraging and overwhelming response with over 1 Lakh users contributing to around 3 lakh videos till date! The editorial team of HelloTV thoroughly surfs through the submitted videos and curates them based on quality and relevance. To acknowledge users’ contribution, HelloTV has created a separate section on the portal called “Viewer’s Choice” where all the user submitted videos are showcased. In addition to the above, HelloTV has many digital content producers who reach out to them to showcase their content. In the near future, HelloTV will soon be creating specific sections to publish professional contributions and help producers distribute and monetize their content. Roadmap includes multi-lingual support for 7 plus native Indian languages. Unlimited entertainment is what HelloTV strives for and hence there are no limitations on users’ browsing and accessing of content. Although most of the content on HelloTV is absolutely free, one can also subscribe to the premium content at a very affordable price. Commenting on this development, Cauvery Adiga, COO, PK Online said,” In the age where digital audience is keen to participate and voice their opinions, HelloTV strives to become the destination of choice. We want to cater to diverse content needs of Indian audience and also avoid clutter. We are the only video destination which caters to service both the needs of a typical user during the day- daily curated videos, as well as a more leisurely LiveTV experience anytime during the day. With cheaper smart phones and higher data penetration, HelloTV aspires to become the preferred destination for the emerging digital audience in India.
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Over the last decade, the world is observed to be more aware about charitable causes and issues that affect society as a whole. As a result, one can see a large number of charitable events and fundraising galas being organized on a regular basis. However, most charities, especially the ones that are just starting out, don’t have the budget to hire a party planning expert or have really smaller budgets even if they do. As a result, a charitable event which should ideally inspire and motivate people to help others ends up becoming a dud which over a period of time people start avoiding with the fear of it being too boring. But, there are always some interesting and innovative ways how you can turn things around. This time at EE, we share with you 5 innovative ideas to add color to a charity event. 1-Give it a theme Just because it is charity does not mean it has to be sad. One can do so much to spice up boring events even with smaller budgets but one needs to start that process by giving a proper theme to the event overall. With a theme in place an invitee is stimulated to put some effort into preparing himself before the event which is so much better than non-excitement to show up. As far as ideas for themes are concerned, through the theme of the charitable event one can give its attendees an idea of the cause that they are supporting. As an example- Belfast ByteNight which raises money for homeless kids in UK provides to its guests warm food, a cardboard box and plastic sheet to lie on to give them an idea of what homeless kids feel as a result, their annual event raises a bundle every year for the cause. 2-Add adventure Everyone loves adventure and in fact people sometimes are also willing to pay extravagant sums of money to just get that adrenaline rush. So why not do an adventurous event for your next fund raiser rather than just organizing a simple dinner gala. One can take all its invitee on an outdoor adventure experience and charge for high on action activities rather than asking people to actually donate the money in the name of charity. This is a charity event which can double up as a holiday for everyone and also raise money for a good cause. 3-Incorporate music and dance into it isn’t it the most fun filled way to raise money for the needy? Music and Dance are two elements that are of everyone’s interest and helps people unwind from their routine schedules. The same can be used to liven up a charity event as well. Ever imagined hosting a dance marathon for charity? It is an interesting twist to the usual marathons that one sees or participates in. Organizing a dance marathon is easy and its success is almost guaranteed. And if done correctly, this kickass idea is a sure shot to be a crowd pleaser. 4-Ask people to sell their skills One of the main reasons why people eschew charity events is that if they want to do charity they can also support a cause online or by mailing a cheque. They feel it is unnecessary to go out for an event that talks about the same thing that they already know. However you can make a charity event interesting by asking invitees to sell their services or skills on a particular day for free of cost and not pay a single penny. An organizer can get in touch with reputed doctors, serviceman, bakeries etc for a day. Give them stalls and organize a soiree where people can come in avail the services of specialists and the payments that they make against it goes to charity. Through this the money for a cause is rather earned in an engaging manner and not just given away out of petty. 5- Reverse Raffle The concept of a reverse raffle is swiftly spreading across the globe but is yet to make its mark in India yet. In a reverse raffle all potential invitees and guests get a raffle ticket and sell it back for an amount of money to avoid getting their name drawn to do something embarrassing such as dancing to an old bollywood song, or doing a chicken dance etc. This concept of a reverse raffle is a simpler and easier way to add unintentional humor and entertainment to a serious charity event. Always remember, the happier people are the more they will be willing to donate.
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