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<ul><li>Today is the 15th edition of Auto Expo and many experts think that the show has lost its charm as the big brands have backed out.</li><li>Sukrit Singh, Former CEO and Co-founder of Encompass and current owner of The Platform, shares a few reasons to visit the event. </li></ul> Today marks the 15th edition of the auto-expo. However, even before the opening a large number of people have written the epitaph of the bi-annual event. Yes, it’s true that several players like Hero Motor Corp, BMW, Fiat, Nissan and Ford will be conspicuous by their absence. Blame it on an industry in the throes of an existential crisis where marketers are unable to fathom returns. Yes, it’s true that the Chinese have dealt a double whammy – first by saving the auto show by their land grab, where 20% of the space is now rented to Chinese brands such as Great Wall, BYD and MG. However, the second whammy is the more sinister Coronavirus that has spread trepidation amongst the millions planning to visit. Whatever the threats - the big boys are in, and pretenders are waiting in the wings. Maruti, Mahindra, Tata, Hyundai and the successful new challenger Kia have their battle lines drawn. Each with space the size of a football field and an ammunition of connected cars, green engines, electric mobility and platforms for the sharing economy. Mercedes Benz loves their India story and there is no better place to flaunt it. The Chinese invasion is led by MG and we will see the debut of Great Wall Motors and BYD. The brave new world where Japan, China and Korea are preening in a war dance before fighting what is perhaps the last battle of Panipat. Looking at the rear-view mirror it will be interesting to note that the first auto show was held at Madison Square Garden, New York in the year 1900. For 120 years, auto-shows have been a combination of debutant ball coupled with a victory parade. Wining and pampering the press, glamorous hostesses showing off automobile models and a fantasy land of futuristic clay models, enough to draw vast hordes of the gullible public. It’s interesting to note that the last auto-show in Delhi had an attendance of 0.6 million people. Travelling to first world auto shows like Frankfurt and Los Angeles, one can’t help but notice the paradigm shift. Crowds are thinning, exhibition stalls are shrinking, and expenses are being questioned. Auto brands are now moving to 'sexier' platforms like Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and CES in Las Vegas. So, there you go – blame everything on the dirty 'D' word - Digital is the new reality! In today’s connected world the lines blur between physical and digital, where click-throughs are more valuable than visitors. Virtual reality lets you customize and create, and artificial intelligence engines are replacing horsepower. The Auto Show is now a daily event, on-demand on our phones and tablets; but is there a future for the good old event? Come to the 15th Delhi Auto Expo and judge for yourself. Don’t come for the glamorous girls - come to get a glimpse of smart devices that will drive mobility and change your world. Don’t come for the brands that have messed up (and are missing out) – come for the 60+ launches that repose faith and drive India’s future. Come to see petrol heads turn electric, come to see traditionalists go green and come to see yourself driven by the internet of things (IOT). Come to see mobile phone manufacturers – synergize with transport and internet providers explore new e-ways. There is no better place to see how rapidly the old order is changing and yielding place to new. Take the seat, shift gears and drive into the future at the 15th Auto Expo in Greater Noida. Don’t come to just see the future – come to be the future! Sukrit Singh is the former CEO and co-founder of Encompass and presently runs THE PLATFORM, an agency built for the sharing economy.

Auto Expo 2020: The show must go on

<ul><li>As we enter a brand new year, our Trends series will help us crystal gaze into what the year holds for us.</li><li>In today’s feature, experts from the <keyword id="1784761" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="experiential">experiential</keyword> and live events industry tell us what lies ahead in 2021.</li></ul>The year 2020 was difficult for most mediums but mediums that operate on the frontlines of human engagement and connections were perhaps hit the hardest. Take for instance the experiential and live events industry which came to a complete standstill. The lockdown period saw the events industry innovate, giving way to a large number of webinars, online discussions and live chats and shows, just to make sure that the industry stays active. However, the effects were felt more adversely by the thousands of people who work in the industry as daily wage workers. The smaller agencies and businesses in the domain also struggled through the year. Currently, the organized experiential sector is pegged to be around Rs 7,000 crore in size. However, according to most experts from the industry, its actual size is substantially larger, if one would take into account the unorganized side of it. Therefore, it is imperative for the industry to not just innovation but to come up with disruptive ideas to future-proof itself and to make sure that more such pandemics in the future don’t cripple it. We reached out to some experts from the industry to understand their areas of focus for 2021 and the trends they think we should watch out for. Here’s what they had to say: <keyword id="52304" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Roshan-Abbas">Roshan Abbas</keyword>, MD, Geometry Encompass <div type="image" title="Roshan Abbas, President, EEMA" msid="80136966" hostid="261"></div> Brands will follow a live and virtual strategy to reach a bigger audience. Events will be produced as TV specials are with a live experience and a broadcast experience for the internet. The line between televised events and live events will blur even further. An incremental 30% revenue will be added to the space with these experiences. Brands will stitch social commerce into all experiences. Those who do it with the least amount of friction and the maximum engagement will emerge victorious. E commerce stores will become experience commerce stores using every trick in the event playbook to attract consumers. <keyword id="279820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanjoy-Roy">Sanjoy Roy</keyword>, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts <div type="image" title="Sanjoy K Roy - MD Teamwork Arts (1)" msid="80137240" hostid="261"></div> Even as the global economy contracts, artists and artisans try and break down the virtual ceiling, looking for innovations and possibilities to survive and sustain their livelihood. Perhaps, it is time to step back, reflect and view the world in crises and find, equitable and sustainable opportunities for all. ‘Intimate and focused’ could well be the new mantra to replace ‘bigger and brighter’. Solo performances could bring talent and excellence back to the spotlight. Innovation in social and cultural celebrations focusing on the arts to provide a sense of place, identity and tradition, are the need of hour. AI and virtual reality could help traverse the world instead of the flatbed or the cramped seat. As we look to 2021 with hope of a vaccine to solve our immediate predicament, the fact is that the road to recovery will be long and arduous. Those who have access to capital and have the agility to innovate will emerge stronger from the experience, the rest will need to reinvent their world. <keyword id="1586079" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dalveer-Singh">Dalveer Singh</keyword>, Head of Experiential Marketing – APAC, Dialogue Factory <div type="image" title="Dalveer Singh, , Head of Experiential Marketing- APAC, Dialogue Factory" msid="80137187" hostid="261"></div> The year 2021 will be about sale, sale and more sale! We should ensure that nothing is able to distract us from the sole aim of advertising, which is sale. And this will start with brands, if they are able to sell more, they will be able to afford different partners. We, as agencies, publishers or people who create brand solutions have to create solutions single-mindedly keeping in mind strategies that will drive sales. And it is sales that will enable us to keep going in a big way and it will give us that boost we need to do what we want to do. This will help us come up with innovative ways of reaching out and doing things at scale. Everything will come back to the objective of whether I am able to create solutions that are saleable, sustainable and cost-effective, because in the end, whatever we do, it has to drive sales. And that is what will work for all of us. <keyword id="7410855" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swaroop-Banerjee">Swaroop Banerjee</keyword>, COO, <keyword id="7281920" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zee-Live">Zee Live</keyword> <div type="image" title="Mr. Swaroop Banerjee, COO, Zee Live" msid="80137204" hostid="261"></div> The pandemic of 2020 disrupted the way we live, work, and socialize. It gave way to a new normal, which every industry whether big or small adopted to maintain business continuity. The entertainment industry was no different too. Fighting against the tide, we too at Zee Live had to find new and innovative ways to keep our viewers entertained while meeting our business goals. Now looking ahead to 2021, adopting a virtual route will continue to be imperative. Maintaining a strong digital presence, including live/online streaming, pay per view in one’s business portfolio will be the way forward. With the pandemic still raging across the country, it is essential that we as the leaders in the entertainment industry should be able to provide our viewers top class entertainment while keeping their health and safety a priority. Keeping in line with this thought, we are bringing in our A-game as we continue to collaborate with the largest music icons and create live original content for Zee Live. 2021 worldwide is going to be about digital live entertainment and we will see a gigantic shift in this direction and we shall also see a trend where we will have a sizable arrest of audiences who would consume live entertainment,while audience will flock in large gatherings when safe. Therefore, we are investing heavily in this direction.” <keyword id="2289911" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sukrit-Singh">Sukrit Singh</keyword>, Founder, The Platform <div type="image" title="Sukrit Singh" msid="80137226" hostid="261"></div> The trend today in the experiential industry is to announce that WE ARE BACK (or will be). Noble and preachy, to say the least, from an industry that has ruthlessly culled its workforce. Global networks shutting down companies, entrepreneurs abandoning teams overnight –and I believe the worst is yet to come. The lesson of the past and the trend of the future isn’t technology or virtual – but the human story. I salute those who never hibernated, retrenched or bitched and moaned. I urge the industry leadership to ask themselves… Did we stand up for our teams? Is there anyone in our team who suddenly felt forsaken and abandoned? Did we hoard – at the expense of others? Or did we share whatever little we had? Doctors saved lives. Did we save livelihoods? 2021 is here! The date has moved; the year has changed but challenges remain. Let’s not hide behind the pandemic and rebuild our human capital – it’s the only asset we have had. Our crazy work culture and ethos is fueled by the passionate misfits who unconditionally stood by us as we built the industry. The big trend for 2021 is the change of guard and the emergence of a stronger, more committed experiential leader and organization. So goodbye – fly by night operator, good riddance ad-networks(neither of you were here for the people or the work anyway). In 2021 my generation (you know who you are) passes the baton to the next. Godspeed to them - build with your people - an experiential industry that can withstand the next pandemic.

Experiential: The trends to watch out for in 2021

<ul><li><keyword id="6833681" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Geometry-Encompass">Geometry Encompass</keyword>, the <keyword id="168456" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WPP">WPP</keyword> group-owned experiential marketing agency is on a transformation journey, to become a data-driven, digitally charged, creative commerce agency.</li><li>The agency is enhancing its capabilities and service offerings across commerce touch-points to help serve brands better.</li><li>Geometry Encompass's Founder and MD, <keyword id="52304" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Roshan-Abbas">Roshan Abbas</keyword> and CEO <keyword id="7975998" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ranjit-Raina">Ranjit Raina</keyword> tell us about the agency's efforts towards transforming itself and all that we can look forward to from the agency in 2020. </li></ul> It’s been a little more than 90 days that the WPP group-owned experiential marketing agency, Geometry Encompass (GE) brought Ranjit Raina on board as its CEO. The move came about three months after <keyword id="2289911" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sukrit-Singh">Sukrit Singh</keyword> moved on from the agency. The aim of bringing Raina on board, Roshan Abbas, Founder and MD, GE, had shared was to make the agency more agile and bring in the new-age way of thinking. Three months down the line, we caught up with Abbas and Raina who told us about all that has happened at the agency since Raina joined, its performance this year and all that they are doing to become the agency of the future. Geometry Encompass in 2019 Roshan Abbas and Sukrit Singh had started Encompass in 1998 as an event management company. However, in the last 21 years, the agency has gone beyond that. Acquired by WPP in 2008, Encompass was merged with Geometry Global in 2015 and today offers services across events, BTL and content creation. However, with Raina at the helm now, there have been some changes. For him, the key focus has been to transform the agency’s structure, by bringing in some strong talent. He says, “The main area of focus has been the talent and looking at how we transform as an agency. We are actively engaged in enhancing our capabilities and service offering across commerce touchpoints to enable us to serve brands. As a group, we are very conscious of the need to fast track this transformation and address a huge need gap that exists as more and more brands look at commerce with an omnichannel lens.” While the agency is undergoing these changes, we ask Abbas how the year has been for the agency, considering it’s been a slow year for the entire industry. He responds that the year has been one of transformation, from the way they have worked and the things they have worked on. “Most significantly we saw a complete restructuring of the business practices and the consolidation of Rural and Shopper services. Across every practice we have seen wins – Experiential saw Amazon as a new client with the prestigious Prime Days, Rural saw an expansion of new projects with Hindustan Unilever and Shopper is seeing some very interesting projects that we will be unveiling really soon. Another major change has been the collaboration with WPP on some key clients and projects. Alignment with Geometry in the region is helping us expand our relationship with clients like Shell,” shares Abbas. Building a more agile agency While GE has been in business for more than 20 years, the agency has aimed at doing things differently now. Lately, the agency has been working on shifting its gears in terms of how they approach work and execution. On what is being done to make the agency future-ready, Raina says, “Agility is the key today, agile in thought and in action. The agency is now more than ever focused on creating solutions that offer the clients the best of not just GE but the Geometry Network across the world and going beyond to the WPP network. The only way to adapt to change in our business is to ensure that the solutions remain relevant. We have discovered that staying relevant requires one to constantly learn and then put in practice the learning.” Adding to that, Abbas says that the agency has been on a journey to convert itself into a data-driven creative commerce agency. He explains, “We already have a very robust experiential practice and a retail practice that focuses on rural and shopper – we are now enhancing the capability to cover on-line commerce touch-points as well. This is where the network gives us a huge advantage, Geometry in China has a very interesting Social Commerce offering which we are adapting for the India market – similarly, there are multiple tools from across the network that will be made available to our brand partners very soon.” What to expect from GE in 2020 With the industry changing at a rapid pace, we asked Raina what would be some trends that the experiential industry will witness in 2020. For him, it will be all about omni-channel experiences. He elaborates, “We will see more and more engagements and experiences that are crafted to be omni-channel and not just channel platform-specific.” He further said that the ecosystem will become more collaborative. “Close to one-third of WPP’s global revenues come from collaborations and we believe India will be no different. We are seeing a lot of interesting opportunities that are collaborative in nature. We are also very excited about voice, which we believe is a tool that can help us re-imagine commerce in India.” Speaking about his ‘Vision 2020’ for the agency, Abbas says, “2019 marks the beginning of our journey of transformation. Vision 2020 is when we complete the transformation into a data-driven, digitally charged, creative commerce agency, where we build on the legacy and success of our experiential practice and enhance it to a Retail practice that is truly omni-channel.”

How Geometry Encompass is transforming its model, to become future-ready

New Delhi, Apr 9 () Some of the biggest names from Indian music including Asha Bhonsle, S P Balasubramaniam and K J Yesudas are joining hands for a series of virtual concerts to express their solidarity with the people working at the forefront of the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.The Indian Singers Rights Association (ISRA) announced that it will hold a three-day concert 'Sangeet Setu', starting from April 10 between 8 pm and 9 pm, with the aim to entertain the public and help them deal with the stress in these unprecedented times of lockdown. "The feed for the concert, dedicated to PM CARES, will be available on OTT platforms, Television, Digital and Social channels," the ISRA said in a release. The concert, blessed by nightingale of bollywood Lata Mangeshkar, has an impressive line-up of veterans Asha Bhonsle, S P Balasubramaniam, K J Yesudas, Udit Narayan, Anoop Jalota, Pankaj Udhas, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sudesh Bhosale, Suresh Wadkar, Talat Aziz, Alka Yagnik, Kumar Shanu, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Salim Merchant, Shaan and Kailash Kher, the ISRA said."ISRA decided that leading singers of the country will entertain the masses and try to lighten their stress, strain and depression in these tough times. I thank all the artists who have made themselves available for this national service," Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sanjay Tandon said.Moving Pixels Company, XP&amp;D and Be.live have partnered with the ISRA in this effort.MPC Creative Director, Manish Baradia said, "This is not just a concert series, it is a national movement. We want to take this concert to one billion screens."Speaking on behalf XP&amp;D and Be.Live, Sukrit Singh said "the O2O (Offline to Online) concert belongs to the nation - our feed is free for anyone who can get it to a screen. "We appeal to every OTT, TV or digital channel to stream the content for free and show solidarity with the current battle. The feed of the virtual concerts will be available on several OTT platforms including MX Player, Hotstar, Vodafone Play, Flipkart, Jio Tv and Sony Liv," Singh said. Singer Sonu Nigam said said the concert was their tribute to every Indian fighting against the coronavirus. "Every Indian be it an official, a health worker, an essential services provider or citizen at home - is contributing in this battle. Especially the mothers, home makers and sisters at home are bearing the burden and as artists we salute you through our music." Shaan urged people to tune in and donate in the times of crisis."We urge everyone to stay at home. With this initiative, we will be able to come to your homes and sing for the country. I urge everyone to donate generously to the PM Cares fund, as every single rupee counts," Shaan said."On behalf of ISRA we come together as a family to sing for you all to spread positivity amongst all of us in this dark phase bringing entertainment for enlightenment and cheer," Kher added. SKL BKBK

COVID-19: ISRA brings together top musicians for virtual concert 'Sangeet Setu'

New Delhi, May 1 () In one of the biggest collaborations by artistes for a noble cause, a group of 100 singers, including the legendary Asha Bhosle, Kumar Sanu and Sonu Nigam have come together to record an anthem for the frontline warriors fighting the coronavirus pandemic and in the aid of PM Cares fund.The anthem 'One Nation One Voice', recorded in 14 different languages, will be dedicated to the nation by Lata Mangeshkar on behalf of Indian Singers Rights Association (ISRA) on May 3.It will be released across over 100 digital platforms such as TV, Radio and on social media.Commenting on the initiative, Bhosle said that singers are the artists who have always expressed the feelings of the public."On this occasion when all of us are fighting against the coronavirus pandemic as 'One Nation' ably led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we 100 singers of the country under ISRA decided to express our love for the nation and dedicate this song as 'One Voice'," she said.The artists, who are a part of the anthem include Asha Bhosle, Anup Jalota, Alka Yagnik, Hariharan, Kailash Kher, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Kumar Sanu, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Mano, Pankaj Udhas, S P Balasubramanian, Shaan, Sonu Nigam, Talat Aziz, Udit Narayan, Shankar Mahadevan, Jasbir Jassi among others.Sanjay Tandon, CEO of ISRA said, "One Nation One Voice in aid of PM Cares is a dedication from ISRA where 100 artists pay tribute to all the people in the forefront of the battle against the coronavirus and all the people at home who have supported the lockdown.""One Nation One voice is not just an anthem but it is a national movement - we have over 100 broadcast, social, amplification and tech platforms supporting the launch," said Sukrit Singh of XP&amp;D BeLive digital platform.The anthem is the brainchild of Nigam, singer Srinivas and Tandon.Nigham said, "It is our collective tribute to the mammoth struggle and effort our government and the entire medical and health workers are putting together in these times of global crisis. Hundred singers are coming together from different corners of India, is an unprecedented show of solidarity and love."Srinivas said as artiste they wanted to contribute to the fight in their own way. "ISRA being the treasure house of singers in this country, we embark on a song with 100 voices and nothing else, to stir the nation's heart and reaffirm our solidarity. A hundred voices sing in unison for the nation," he said.Every artist has recorded the song from home.Manish Baradia, Creative Director of Moving Pixels said: "Working with home recording of audio and video is a beautiful challenge. There is a certain sincerity and effort that comes through that no packaging can match. The end result is inspiring. The anthem is composed for the digital age and can be enjoyed on TV, Radio, Devices and Caller Ring Tones."The song is available in 14 languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujrati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bhojpuri, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Rajasthani and Odiya. CPS BKBK

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Auto Expo 2020: The show must go on

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COVID-19: 100 singers unite for anthem dedicated to frontline warriors

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