Electrolux is in the process of shortlisting advertising agencies for its Rs 30-40-crore advertising business, which is currently handled by O&M. The development was confirmed by Sanjeev Wadhwa, general manager marketing, Electrolux Kelvinator. Interestingly, the reason why Electrolux is reviewing agencies is LG Electronics India (LGEIL). "O&M is now aligned to a competitive account, which is LG. So we have to take necessary steps," said Wadhwa.

On the other hand, Anil Arora, head, marketing, LGEIL, said, "LG is in the process of evaluating four agencies, besides the roster agencies (its roster agencies include Lowe, Capital, Rediffusion and RMG David is the latest addition to this list, which has been awarded the GSM mobile business recently) for the entire product portfolio. This evaluation is part of the annual review process of the company." Arora also mentioned that LG is undecided on whether to split the business among various agencies, as has been the arrangement so far, or consolidate it with one agency. Whatever be the status of the business, the stakes are definitely high for the roster agencies, given the total size of the LG business - which, according to industry estimates, stands at Rs 75 crore. "This year the company hopes to achieve a turnover of Rs 4,500 crore and the target set for the next calendar year is Rs 5,500 crore. In that context, advertising is of critical importance," explained Arora.
Source: Agencyfaqs.com, Oct.29

Ogilvy & Mather Advertising is expected to announce that it is resigning the Onida account at the end of this month, as it takes on the LG Electronics account, currently handled by Lowe. The Onida account includes televisions - which O&M has been handling since 1998 - DVD and home theatre systems, and is valued at more than Rs 25 crore. The account has been temporarily assigned to Lemon Communications, which currently handles Onida washing machines, and a formal pitch will be called for soon, said Mr V. Chandramouli, vice- President - Sales, Marketing & Service.
Source: Business Line, Oct.30

Directors at Carlton, the UK ITV broadcaster, warned that shareholder pressure to oust Michael Green as chairman could undermine its $7.5bn merger with rival Granada. Sir Sydney Lipworth, a senior Carlton board member, urged institutional investors led by Fidelity, the US fund manager, to reconsider calls for Mr. Green's removal. His intervention followed an unprecedented shareholder campaign, underlining their growing assertiveness. It came less than two weeks after the government granted conditional approval for the group's long awaited merger.
Source: Financial Times, Oct.21

 

After his triumph in acquiring a 74% equity stake in Rupert Murdoch's Star News channel, ABP (Ananda Bazar Patrika) group's editor in chief, Aveek Sarkar is now trying to upset Bennett Coleman and Company's applecart. Interestingly, Bennet Coleman, whose executives recently met a senior Dow Jones executive in the capital, have been trying to persuade Dow Jones (publisher of The Wall Street Journal) to take an equity stake in the group's financial daily, 'The Economic Times'. However, Sarkar has now thrown in his hat into the ring. He too has had a round of preliminary discussions with a Dow Jones executive in Delhi and last week he was believed to be in New York talking to Dow Jones Brass.
Source: Business Standard, Oct.22

 

This year for the first time thousands of Norwegians wintering in Spain will have the latest news from home in their native language by breakfast time. The Norwegian journals are being printed in Valencia in the latest expansion of Océ's Digital Newspaper Network (DNN), a technology that brings the concept of newspapers printed on demand- the so called "Daily Me" - a step closer to reality. The network already prints about a dozen international newspapers including the Financial Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, etc. What distinguishes DNN from conventional news press operations is the print run - typically a few hundred to a few thousand copies - a number that would be hopelessly uneconomical using conventional web offset technology. Océ is a Netherlands based maker of digital printing equipment, which has achieved market leadership in digitally printed newspapers. As the process it employs has lower overheads, it appeals to publishers as a cheaper route into new markets. Richard Boulton, FT head of print services who used DNN to expand the newspaper's circulation in South Africa, said, "Océ was the only game in town" when he was seeking a lower-cost, lower-risk alternative to a local print site.
Source: Financial Times, Oct.21

The BBC has revealed in a programme that Britain's police force is riddled with racism. In a sting operation, several policemen from the Greater Manchester Constabulary were caught on 'candid camera' making racist remarks against non-whites. Shot by a reporter, Mark Daly, the programme showed 'institutional racism' at its most ugly street level. Recruiting himself as a police officer, Daly went undercover and his exposé has led to the resignation of five police officers and suspension of three. The incident has shocked the public in multi-cultural Britain. It is almost hard not to compare it to our very own Tehelka exposé (March, 2001). Apart from raising eyebrows regarding the methods used to undercover the filth in the police, the British government has not shot the messenger of bad tidings. One must also remember that BBC is a government funded body, and yet the programme was aired, the culprits punished, and their superiors held themselves accountable. The Tehelka, however, on the other hand was hounded to near-extinction, not only charged with using underhand methods, but also of having an agenda.
Source: Hindustan Times, Oct.25

There could be some respite with television entertainment software companies looking at radio as a good business opportunity. There are talks of introducing radio soap operas and serials for the listener's pleasure. According to industry buzz, Neena Gupta's extremely popular soap on Star Plus, Saans is being reworked for a run on Radio City. Sources said that old serials too could be reworked to suit the radio format. Mr Ajay Patadia, President, Corporate Affairs and Company Secretary, Balaji Telefilms, said, "We are open to all options and there could be an opportunity in radio. However, we have not started work on this front yet." Meanwhile, Ms Anurradha Prasad, Managing Director, B.A.G. Films, said that her company is talking to radio companies. It is looking at providing all kinds of programmes in both news and fiction genres. "If somebody wants us to make radio soaps or other fictional programmes, we are ready to do so," she added.
Source: Business Line, Oct.27

 

Times Internet Ltd. (TIL), the Rs 120 crore online venture of Bennett Coleman & Co., after struggling since its inception in April 2000 and accumulating losses of nearly Rs 11 crore is finally set to make money. It is expected to declare a net profit of Rs 6.6 crore in the financial year ending March 2004. The company's KPMG audit figures also projected a turnover of Rs 120 crore, up from Rs 75 crore last year. The Times group managing director and also the chairman of Times Internet, Vineet Jain claimed that it is the biggest net company in the country in terms of revenues, although Rediff.com has more registered users on its website. 'Alexa' the search engine that ranks traffic on the worldwide web, places Rediff.com at 185 and Indiatimes at 315. But Rediff is certainly not making money. According to its filings with US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Rediff.com has made a loss of $19m in March 2003. Times Internet CEO, Mahendra Swarup says that according to Alexa, 65% of traffic on Rediff is e-mail traffic, which is free, but for us e-mail constitutes only 25% of total traffic, as we focus more on monetising the traffic. Over the years the company has shifted from content to creating new revenue streams, kicking off with mobile internet services (launching 8888, a number offering services to mobile users). Among the value added services it offered jokes, astrology, dating and shopping. Nonetheless, e-commerce contributes the most to Times Internet's bottom line. Indiatimes Shopping rakes in sales of Rs 30-40 lakh a day (60% of it from air ticket auctions and the remaining accrues from sale of products and services).
Source: Business Standard, Oct.22

India

In the wake of the ban on hard liquor advertising in media, lateral brand associations have taken over the task of mainline communication. Ground events are one such mode of communication. Allied Domecq, a major player in the Indian scotch segment with brands like Teacher's, Teacher's 50, Old Smuggler and Long John, has chosen to strengthen its association with its core brand values in a slightly different fashion - through Teacher's Achievement Awards (TAA) propped up by an interesting line of events. Allied Domecq officials call it 'through-the-line' approach. Explaining the concept, Neeraj Kumar, general manager, marketing says, "We link the ground promotions to connect better with our consumers. The Teacher's Achievement Awards process is a successful example.
Source: Agencyfaqs.com, Oct.24

In the unimaginative hands of the information and broadcasting ministry, the International Film Festival of India has become irrelevant. This was most apparent at the Delhi Film Festival (DFF). Iranian filmmaker Samira Makhmalbaf didn't show up to collect her Golden Peacock Award. Maqbool, the Vishal Bhardwaj's Macbeth inspired second film, was premiered at the Discovery Section in Toronto. The top draws (Om Puri and Naseruddin Shah) of the film's cast, barring the sensational Tabu, didn't bother to show up for the festival. Many observers were also surprised at the absence of the usual caravan from Kerela this festival. The Mumbai Film Festival is opening on November 21 with Columbia TriStar's lavish Chinese-language production, Warriors Of Heaven And Earth, featuring the music of A.R. Rehman. Its other big attraction is the film Khamosh Pani, by the Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar, which also earned Kiron Kher the Golden Leopard Award at Locarno. These are the talking point films that create a buzz about a film festival, and not films like Chandra Prakash Dwivedi's Pinjar, which was a 3-hour 45-minute celebration of the saffron view of partition. With a budget of 1.5 crore, of which half is meant to be provided by the state government concerned, the DFF can't be expected to do much. Sometimes you can make up for lack of money with a slight amount of imagination and awareness, but this is not to be expected from an organization whose redundancy was made official when the late Geethakrishnan Committee recommended its disbandment. The committee said that the festival would be better run if the film industry took charge of it.
Source: Hindustan Times, Oct. 27

The Times of India, the country's largest media house, has signed a memorandum of understanding with UK-based media conglomerate, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), for exploring ways to forge a long term and meaningful partnership in the magazine publishing business. Peter Phippen, managing director of BBC Magazines (the London based division of BBC Worldwide) said it was an enormously exciting time to enter the Indian market because all indications were that the magazine industry in India was capable of significant expansion in the coming years. BBC Worldwide - the commercial c.
onsumer arm and a 100 per cent subsidiary of the BBC, is among the first major international media firms to strike a significant deal in India following the recent relaxation in media ownership laws here.  
Source: Times Of India, Oct.25

 

Compiled by

Saurabh Marya, BA Mass Comm (1st year)

Assisted by- Kumar Gandharva Mishra, BA Mass Comm (1st year)

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