The job of an emcee is very crucial for any event. Be it a smart and elite corporate event or an out and out mass entertainment night, the onus of making sure that everything feels seamless to the audiences is completely on the person anchoring the event. But there are times when an event managers planning takes a blow and an event is heading straight towards disaster. How does an emcee react in this situation? Well this time at EE, we have two notable emcees in the event fraternity sharing their tales on how they made even disastrous events sparkle. Recalling her experience, Sheena Chohan (left in photo) says, “Once I was anchoring a corporate event for sales professionals for a brand. In the audience were thousands of people and country’s top ministers. The event flow had reached to a point where the top minister was going to present an international CEO with an award and a famous singer was meant to come on the stage and sing. Contrary to everyone’s imagination, as soon as the singer started, out of sheer excitement he jumped on one of the ministers table and stood there singing and dancing. Everyone had been looking forward to the musical performance but this put the minister at the table in a very bad mood and the performance was stopped. It was an incident which transpired very rapidly and came as a shock to the audiences as well the organizers. I however, took charge and decided to do small interactive act to handle the situation. I got them to play a game, where the important guests got on the stage and started dancing. In the end, I got the Minister and the top CEOs on stage with the singer and the singer performed 5 of his top hits with the videos in the background, and the audience enjoyed it more than ever. And the next day the Minister was so happy with the event that he could be easily spotted sharing his photos with the clients and CEOs.” Narrating her most profound experience of handling an event disaster Shefali Saxena (right in photo) says, “Thankfully for me nothing huge has happened as of yet and most events that I have anchored have went fine however there is one particular incident that still haunts me. It was during a product launch for a leading automobile brand where the main product had to be launched through the slider curtains. The moment of the launch was highly anticipated with media and audiences from all over the country gathered to witness the event. But as soon as the Chairman of the brand pushed the button for the product to be unveiled, a technological failure erupted and the slider curtains would simply not move. The situation was about to become worse as the music for the launch had started and the fog machines were also into action however the product was still not unveiled. I sensed the panic in the situation and had to step in as an emcee. Since this was the time when the Jan Lokpal Protest at Jantar Mantar was at its full force, I used the same topic to ask for more applause from the audiences. And while I was busy engaging the audiences, the event planners managed to fix the problem and the product was launched without any further delay.” When asked what prompted you to take such sudden charge of the situation Sheena says, “It all depends on quick thinking on your part and you have to take control of such situations as that is what you are hired for. Because of the way I controlled the situation the client today insists that I emcee all his events now. So it is the happiness of the clients that matters to you more than anything else.” Shefali responds to the same question and says, “Experience is the key here. You know it from your experience that when is an event falling apart and when are you required to chime in. Luckily I have been anchoring events for quite some time now so the decision on when to step in comes instinctively to me.”
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Experiential marketing is set to be a major growth area in the next few years, as an increased proportion of marketing budgets is being shifted to this emerging form. Even though it is often perceived to be an independent channel, rather than a methodology; marketing communications budgets traditionally have not allocated specific portions to experiential marketing. Experiential marketing initiatives by Indian firms hasalso grown tremendously over the last few years. There are two factors that this can be attributed to: First, due to the overuse of traditional media and the need to do something different from the competition; brands which are largely functionally undifferentiated are trying to build an emotional attachment with consumers’ desires for novelty, individuality, and added value. Second, there has been a proliferation of event marketing specialist agencies growing out of a number of related areas such as field marketing, event planning, brand management, public relations and advertising. Experiential marketing has also expanded into experiential commerce now, which tries to replicate the complete shopping experience of a brick-and-mortar store. Technology has hitherto not transformed commerce as drastically as other industries. Commerce has enjoyed some innovation till now, but there is much more in store owing to the potential of experiential commerce, which will alter the way retailers sell and consumer buy, and blend online and offline experiences. As experiential marketing continues to catch the fancy of marketers across sectors, and expand on various ways to use experiential marketing; the focus is to establish and standardize metrics for experiential ROI – which till now has been measured using similar metrics to traditional marketing and advertising – which are not suitable for measuring the success of a campaign. The challenge in experiential marketing is twofold: 1. Experiential ROI cuts across other marketing channels and therefore isolating the experiential bit is difficult for a marketer. 2. Experiential ROI is a Catch 22 situation. There is not much effort being put to standardize metrics and research for ROI because it is still an emerging field with a growing but albeit limited ad spend; and it is not getting enough confidence by marketers since there is a lack of proven ROI. Common experiential marketing jargon Experiential marketing – Experiential marketing is the process of identifying and satisfying customer needs and aspirations, profitably, engaging them through two-way communications that bring brand personalities to life and add value to the target audience. Amplification – Live brand experiences do not typically reach as many target consumers as advertising does. The reach of the complete experiential marketing campaign however can exceed the reach of many adverts by incorporating amplification channels into the experiential marketing campaign. This can be achieved by integrating any of the marketing communications channels into the campaign to amplify the big idea, which is focused on two-way interaction in real-time: the live brand experience. Sometimes with a live brand experience that is exciting and newsworthy, free PR and media coverage can be generated, making it a cost-effective solution with broader reach. Brand Loyalty – The ultimate goal of marketing, where there is the consumer’s commitment to consistent repurchasing of the brand. Brand personality – A brand’s personality is characterized by human personalities. A company will establish a brand as having certain personality traits in order to market the brand to a specified target audience. Examples of a brand’s personality could be, for example, bold, youthful, funny and rebellious etc. Brand-relevant experience – Creating an experience that is appropriate to the brand’s personality, values and target audience that will make it memorable to the consumer, facilitating brand loyalty and brand advocacy. Face to face – Face to face means engaging the consumer in the same physical location that they are in via face-to-face communication. During a face-to-face live brand experience, the consumer can interact with the brand, its brand ambassadors, and the product, in order to physically participate in the live brand experience. Interactive – A means of engagement between the target audience member and the brand, via a two-way interaction. Need for defining best practices Live marketing experiences are rarely done alone, and are typically integrated with rest of the marketing efforts utilizing a broad array of channels. Marketers go to several channels such as advertising, sales promotion, sponsorship, public relations, digital etc., where every channel has different goals and objectives. This multi – channel nature to experiential campaigns leads to complexity - therefore warranting a need to establish Best Practices that will help marketers and agencies highlight: 1. Customers they want to target 2. Various methods of interacting with these customers 3. Identification of location and environment 4. Integration with other marketing programmes For this, we have devised a 6C’s index that will act as a checklist to all brands and agencies at the outset of an experiential programme: 1. Collaborative – opportunities with brand ambassadors and other attendees 2. Creativity – creative element, USP, breaking the clutter 3. Concentration – level of immersion of all senses 4. Concerted – memorability and high impact engagement 5. Customization – individuality and one-to-one opportunities 6. Constancy – genuine benefits and message provided to consumer Summary The beauty of experiential marketing lies in the fact that the creative process will lead to different results. Experiential marketing can be implemented across sectors, from technology to music, from BFSI to FMCG. There is no one sector (whether product or service) which is more or less appropriate for experiential marketing, since the inspiration for experiential marketing ideas comes from the brand personalities and the target audiences. The emotional connection that can be reached through brand-relevant experiences transcends the selling points of the product, its features and benefits. To ensure the process is smooth right from identification of target audience to connecting with them, we propose a TRUE model: Target Audience X Reach X Ubiquity X Emotional Connect The total audience to which the firm wishes to communicate with Number of people to whom the campaign reaches Ability of firm to ensure the correct message goes to consumer with the right brand positioning Measures how many consumers connect with the campaign The debate also exists between outsourcing or using in-house resources. Our viewpoint is that it is advisable to employ people in-house for the customer experience management programme and to employ an experiential marketing agency for the live brand experiences. The intent of defining best practices is not to curtail the creativity, but to act as a yardstick that guides marketers and agencies to stay true to the core objective of experiential marketing – to engage with customers and create customer delight. By identifying and mapping these “moments of truth,” marketers can guarantee a positive action from consumers. As organizations move from a service orientation to a customer experience orientation and eventually to a customer experience orientation, we will continue to see a growth in experiential marketing, and establishing best practices will help expedite the process and ensure it is a smooth transition. (The story has been extracted from BW APPLAUSE)
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Ogle, India’s on-demand streaming platform for events, successfully teams up with India’s online marketplace Snapdeal. The online portal will be the exclusive marketing partner for Ogle till the end of 2015. In addition, Snapdeal customers will get three months of free Ogle subscription when they buy smart TVs, tablets and mobiles from the website. Earlier this year, Ogle gained a lot of traction for its latest live streaming stint at the Lakme Fashion Week W/F '2015. Following the overwhelming response to Ogle’s pre-booking of subscription on its own website, this service will be now available to potential subscribers only via Snapdeal. Ogle streaming service comes with remarkable features such as buffer-less and ad-free streaming, Ogle enables online streaming across various connected devices and also caters to low bandwidth issues. Providing an array of cult online content across genres, Ogle streams buffer-Free even at bandwidths as low as 0.5 mbps. The subscription offerings come at INR 49/day, INR 249/month and INR 2400/annum. Speaking about the latest association, Pritish Nandy, Chairperson, Ogle Technology Group said, “Ogle’s one-of-its- kind association with an e-commerce giant like Snapdeal will be a great innovation for this field. This new venture will create a larger audience reach for Ogle from the subscription point of view as well as from a market leader point of view. This association will also be a favourable deal for Snapdeal. Free access to Ogle on their newly bought devices will definitely be a unique experience for the buyers. With our user friendly features, and our commitment to the association, we aim to strengthen our expertise.” Throwing light on similar sentiments, Karan Khara, Vice President, Strategic Alliances, Snapdeal said, “Ogle is a great addition to our digital entertainment offerings. With increasing consumption of online videos and growing preference for International content among the young consumers in India, we are confident that this streaming service being offered at an affordable price point will find great traction. Opening its doors across international boundaries very soon, the Ogle will enable the premium online streaming service to reach out to a larger audience and significantly change the way content is consumed online.
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Beer is an ingenious formula- affordable, great for moderate drinking and goes exceptionally well with the perennially hot Indian summer. Over the last decade, acceptability of alcohol has opened the market to new consumers like women and youth who earlier comprised only a small proportion of alcohol consumers in the country. Moreover, relaxation of rules on foreign direct investment in the last decade has opened the floodgates to international players in the sector. With beer cafes and microbreweries mushrooming with a steady pace around Bangalore, Gurgaon and Pune since 2008, the beer scenario has changed drastically in the country. Rapid urbanization, growing disposable incomes and a large youth population contributes towards making the beer segment the fastest growing alcoholic beverage segment in India by consumption and revenue share. Interestingly, owing to a ban on direct advertising of alcoholic beverages in India, companies are forced to be more innovative in their approach to engage the consumers, branching out into concepts such as non-alcoholic brand extensions and surrogate advertising. And one brand that is milking this cash cow well is Kingfisher - from Bangalore’s United Breweries - by consistently representing a 50% to 55% market share in the beer segment. Second to follow is SABMiller, closely tailed by Copenhagen–headquartered Carlsberg. Between 2009 and 2013, Kingfisher saw its market share slide from 54% to 50.4%, while Carlsberg increased its share from 2% to 7% during this period, according to Euromonitor International. In conversation with Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior VP Marketing, United Breweries Limited and Mahesh Kanchan, Director Marketing, Carlsberg, we survey the experiential roadmap of two of the most dominant players in the Indian beer market- Kingfisher and Carlsberg. Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior VP Marketing, United Breweries Limited Q-What drives Kingfisher’s experiential philosophy? A-At Kingfisher, we as a brand look at current trends after distinguishing it from a Fad. A Fad is something which is here today but gone tomorrow however a trend lasts for a while and has a large number of consumers participating. We look at trends and try to dissect it to understand a strong consumer insight coming out of that, for us that insight becomes the basis of our experiential campaigns. We at Kingfisher believe that we are a fun brand and our philosophy is extending the same fun to our consumers via such experiential campaigns Q-Is there anything particular you keep in mind when conceptualizing an experience? A- One thing that we really keep in mind while designing an experiential campaign is that the experience activity has to be fun because the product ‘beer’ is a fun product. If we design a serious experiential concept for it then the entire ethos of the product is lost therein. Second thing that we keep in mind is that the campaign should be easy to participate in and it has to be immersive. It is also of equal importance for us to make sure that the campaign is not be preachy and if there are any technological elements embedded in the activity then they have to be there to enhance the consumer experience and not just for the heck of technology in experiential being the ‘in-thing’. Q- How important is experiential for Kingfisher? A- It is really important for us as alcohol brands cannot really do a lot of ATL activities. Also we at Kingfisher take great pride in these experiential innovations as it is through these initiatives that our consumers actually get a chance to play and interact with the brand. Q-Most of Kingfisher’s customer engagement programs have been very unconventional. What is your logic? A- It is all embedded in our brands philosophy. The conventional logic of marketing is us telling the consumers what our brand is but for us our brand is what consumers tell each other it is. There is so much hype about how to ensure consumers are loyal to our brands but at Kingfisher our philosophy is to ensure that the brand is loyal to its customers. Our prime aim with the brand is to become a part of the consumer’s conversations. You have to continuously surprise and engage consumers and it is only these unconventional experiences that help you achieve that. Q- Is there a specific event company that you work closely with? A- There are multiple agencies and service providers that help us execute our experiential campaigns. DNA, Showhouse, Encompass and Phase1.are some of the agencies we’ve worked with in the past. However the requirement is determined by what the campaign is. We alsohave an internal digital agency that helps us and on top of that we have a great marketing team that helps us in executing all our campaigns. Q-What does Kingfisher look for in an event agency ? A-For us it is crucial that the experience quotient is maintained till the last touch point and the last mille. An event agency should not ease off before the finish line as that is Indian mentality. Quality of execution, transparency approach, good attitude are some of things that we love. Q-So far your experiential initiatives have been limited to the urban metros. Is rural anywhere on the cards? A- That is an interesting question actually because Kingfisher is indeed a mass brand which is consumed throughout the country, across all regions. Currently we are working closely with a lot of insights from rural regions such as in Bihar. We have learnt that people listen to music in their mobile phones because radio connectivity is so poor and ATL touch points are restricted. In the light of this situation we will definitely expand our experiential footprint in rural very soon. Mahesh Kanchan, Director Marketing, Carlsberg Q- What are your expectations from marketing spends this year? A- Carlsberg India is the fastest growing beer company in India and as a growing company, expectations from all functions are high, with marketing playing a key role. The return on investment behind each marketing spend is critical. To ensure the spends work efficiently and effectively, focus on select markets is our priority. The marketing efforts are focused towards creating awareness and strengthening the brand position by creating avenues for the consumers to have the Carlsberg experience in India. Q- What are some of the challenges and opportunities you foresee in the near future? A- The market as well as consumer engagement has seen a significant shift in the last few decade or so. Today, marketers work hard to ensure that a brand remains connected with the consumer. With exposure to different mediums, the consumer has many avenues to get brand exposure, thus, the challenge for any brand to cut through the clutter and establish a strong brand connect and recall exists. The one thing I believe is critical in the long run is the product and the experience with that itself. Being a challenger in the industry with brands Tuborg& Carlsberg, driving trials for the brand at point of consumption is essential as that is the one thing that finally gives the touch, feel and experience through packaging and product. There is immense opportunity to engage with consumers through ingenuity and out of the box thinking at point of consumption. Q- Do you see experiential gaining popularity as a medium for marketing and do you see budgets shifting in that direction? A- Definitely, experiential marketing has seen growing popularity in recent years. In a consumer segment where the larger share is increasingly being occupied by the young adult consumer; it is no more about just delivering a great product. The usual bores them and they seek newer things and experiences. The key word with this highly agile consumer segment is to offer subtle positive experiences to ensure brand recall. This can be most effectively done through experiential. Experiential is definitely garnering more share in the marketing spends nowadays, however, the roles of each medium is different. They work in tandem and Experiential works differently from the traditional towards creating greater experiential platforms for their consumers. It will only grow. Q- How are you viewing experiential as a medium given newer kinds of ad formats, creative solutions, and content integration it is allowing? A- Experiential marketing is definitely in all marketers agenda. While the traditional advertising whether its print, radio or television communicate verbally and visually; experiential engages the consumers beyond just the visual and auditory senses. At the point of consumption, especially on-trade, experiential not only offers to integrate a number of medium and avenues together but offers a greater degree of personal connect. A consumer is more likely to have a greater sense of brand recall and loyalty, once they have experienced a product in a favorable environment. In a progressively growing market such as India, it is imperative to create a personal connect and we continuously engage with our consumers to ensure that. Today, it is not only about traditional modes of conversation but to create avenues for a two way conversation with your consumers. Q- The year 2015 has the promises of a landmark year in many ways for media as a marketer, what are your expectations from your partners in achieving your objectives? A- India is an important market for us and we take immense pride in the success our products have seen across the country. Our partners are an essential aspect of our framework. They have been very supportive and on board with the growth strategies adopted by Carlsberg India. We are looking at touch points, especially at the point of consumption for our brands Carlsberg & Tuborg where we can connect with the consumers one-on-one as this is important from our category perspective. It is about micro marketing, instead of one size fits all. And, our partners understanding our need and delivering the desired experience to the consumers is all what we aspire for. Trivia! • Beer is globally the third most popular drink, after water and tea, making it the most widely consumed alcohol beverage in the world. • The world's strongest beer is 'Samuel Adams' Triple Bock with 17% alcohol content. • India consumes 1.9litres beer per person, while China & USA consume 38.4 litres and 78.3litres respectively. • Howzatt and Rockman's Beer Island were the 1st two microbreweries in India. • Moderate consumption of beer is actually good for health. • Beer is made by fermentation caused by bacteria feeding on the yeast cells. The bacterial excrement is called alcohol. • A beer lover or enthusiast is called a cerevisaphile. (The story has been extracted from BW APPLAUSE)
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For the past 6 years EEMAX has represented the pinnacle of achievement in the events and experiential marketing space. Each year, more than 200 agencies battle it out for the honours. This year, the EEMAX awards go Global. And with this came the opportunity to look at the Awards afresh. President Sabbas Joseph was of the view that a new Global Honour should have for itself a new look and feel, an aspirational value that would enthuse Indian and global agencies alike. One element of the same was the trophy design. The task of implementing this vision was given to Encompass. A set of designs were presented, but they weren’t capturing the imagination. At this time, Sabbas stepped in and gave the team an insight into what EEMAX GLOBAL was to deliver. The Jury sounded fabulous, the international case studies were a class apart, the trophy had to live up to the same. This new trophy was to be called the E. The brief was revisited and re-interpreted and the team started work anew on the design. SubhashKashyap who designed the trophy said the inspiration was three-fold. EEMA represents the pillars of the event community. Most of our work deals with building structures. These could be for social events, activations or concert arenas. So the trophy took this structural form of a modern day pillar. The "E" as we call it has a clear rendition of the E in its facia. It almost seems to be laser- cut out of a solid piece of metal. At the meeting point of technology and engagement emerges the E. We felt that each event leaves its own mark on the world. The trophy also renders the E all the way to the bottom and almost could be a modern rendition of a "seal" from medieval times. This is how the E was born. A trophy that will hold its own on any mantelpiece where there maybe a Cannes Lion or a One Pencil already. "The joy of working as an association is that the best creative brains that normally compete for client briefs collaborate to bring out the best for the industry", says Roshan Abbas, MD Encompass.
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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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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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