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<ul><li><keyword id="600792" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bookmyshow" source="Orion">BookMyShow</keyword> has witnessed a hockey stick growth in user engagement, traffic and transactions almost nearing pre-covid levels on the platform within just the first ten days of cinemas opening up.</li><li>Within the first ten days of movies like the Rohit Shetty-helmed <keyword id="7188379" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sooryavanshi" source="Orion">Sooryavanshi</keyword>, Superstar Rajnikanth’s Annaatthe, Marvel’s Eternals and Malayali Superstar <keyword id="6358404" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dulquer-salmaan" source="Orion">Dulquer Salmaan</keyword>’s Kurup releasing pan-India, daily consumer traffic surged to reach 76% of pre-covid levels on an average while user engagement has been steadily rising the charts already surpassing 66% of pre-covid levels on BookMyShow.</li><li>The boost to consumer sentiment and its recovery has been driven by BookMyShow’s campaign #CinemaIsBack – a six-month campaign to encourage audiences to relive the magic of the big screen experience all over again.</li></ul>Setting the tone for the recovery of India’s movie &amp; cinema entertainment ecosystem, BookMyShow has witnessed a hockey stick growth in user engagement, traffic and transactions almost nearing pre-covid levels on the platform within just the first ten days of cinemas opening up with a stellar movie line-up including Rohit Shetty-helmed Sooryavanshi, Superstar Rajnikanth’s Annaatthe, Marvel’s Eternals and Malayali Superstar Dulquer Salmaan’s Kurup. Within the first ten days of movies releasing pan-India, daily consumer traffic surged to reach 76% of pre-covid levels on an average while user engagement has been steadily rising the charts already surpassing 66% of pre-covid levels on BookMyShow. Consumers from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad have been quickest to return back to the movies contributing 48% of the traffic recovery. The boost to consumer sentiment and its recovery has been driven by BookMyShow’s campaign #CinemaIsBack – a six-month campaign to encourage audiences to relive the magic of the big screen experience all over again, with all safety measures intact. The #CinemaIsBack campaign is a re-imagination of the good old days of memorable entertainment experiences with friends and family in a new avatar, as people revisit their favourite forms of out-of-home entertainment experiences in the new normal. Conceptualised and executed by BookMyShow’s in-house team, the campaign aims to target entertainment-lovers across age groups, geographic restrictions notwithstanding and social setups through various social media platforms, with the spotlight on the all-new out-of-home movie entertainment experience - different but not a shred less than earlier! The #CinemaIsBack campaign also emphasises the importance of health and safety measures, putting safety squarely at the centre of nostalgic and fun-filled entertainment experiences. The quirky and nostalgic campaign is a visual, socially engaging and meme-based series executed on digital and social media and will be amplified across BookMyShow’s loyal customer base and potential new audiences both on the platform’s mobile app and website through mailers, push notifications along with social media platforms as also digital media to engage audiences through relevant video, visual and timely content that invokes the memory of watching their favourite movies on the big screen. Additionally, as a part of the larger #CinemaIsBack campaign, BookMyShow will onboard upto 300 brand advocates to highlight the safety measures being undertaken at the cinemas and the experience of going back to theatres. The #CinemaIsBack brand advocates are actual, transacting BookMyShow users who have been long term loyalists of the brand using the platform for their movie viewing experience before the pandemic hit the industry. Lending authenticity and trust to the campaign, the initiative underscores the brand’s customer centric approach as cinephiles return to their favourite entertainment experiences. Commenting on the campaign, <keyword id="12549275" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vamsi-murthy" source="Orion">Vamsi Murthy</keyword>, Head – Marketing, BookMyShow said, “We are thrilled to launch our latest campaign #CinemaIsBack as the country gears up to witness the magic of big screens once again. With cinemas opening in India coupled with an exciting line up of big budget movies that have started to hit the screens from Diwali and for the next 6 months, we are excited to deliver and communicate an authentic, nostalgic and irreplaceable experience through the #CinemaIsBack campaign. The success of the campaign within the first 10 days itself has been phenomenal, setting the wheels of the business in motion with a tremendous surge in traffic, user engagement and ticket sales. Over the next few months, we look forward to welcoming film enthusiasts and cinephiles #BackToTheatres for a safe entertainment experience through this festive season and beyond. We are confident that the stage has been set, for a long-awaited revival of the cinema business in India with all the standard safety protocols in place.” The surge in traffic has also provided a fillip to the business with transactions for Sooryavanshi, Annaatthe, Eternals and Kurup skyrocketing towards a complete recovery. The much-awaited Sooryavanshi has been making all the right moves as it crossed 2.6 million tickets sold within the first week while Annaatthe (Tamil) crossed 1.3 million tickets sold on BookMyShow becoming the first movie to hit the million mark on the platform after the second Unlock in 2021. Malayalam superstar Dulquer Salmaan’s Kurup clocked a stellar 800,000 plus tickets sold within the first weekend itself. BookMyShow contributed over 40% of Sooryavanshi’s box office collections in India for the opening weekend with the movie hitting a peak of 21 tickets sold per second on Nov 6th becoming the highest ever peak for a Hindi movie on the platform. BookMyShow also clocked a stellar 52% contribution for Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Eternals’ box office collections in India with the movie crossing 700,000 tickets sold across languages and versions in 3D, IMAX and 4DX across cities in India on BookMyShow.

BookMyShow's meme-based campaign helps the platform drive a traffic surge of 76% of pre-Covid levels

The volume of property enquiries and transactions across the Indian market has dropped dramatically ever since <keyword id="6354814" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="prime-minister-Narendra-Modi">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</keyword> announced <keyword id="3315394" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="demonetisation">demonetisation</keyword> of the Rs 500 and 1000 notes. This accounts for roughly 87% of Indian currency. 
 Broker Ajay Baijal lamented yesterday that he did not receive a single sales call across the weekend in Gurgaon. On the other hand, Yasser Rahman, Secretary, Chennai <keyword id="6354553" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="real-estate">Real Estate</keyword> Agents Association, said that there was not much change in sales volumes in the city which was already facing a slowdown. Developers in Hyderabad maintain that its business as usual and the property prices have already fallen to an extent that they will not be impacted by the demonetisation. 
 
So, what should you do if you had intended to buy a house? The end user and serious consumer has never had it so good. After two years of slowdown, the price of property was already very close to 2012 values, indexed to inflation. The number of buyers have shrunk as those who paid in cash have been edged out of the market. The number of sellers in the secondary market may have shrunk a little but many sellers do not want to wait it out in the market. There is a vast amount of new properties available in the growth corridors along highways and expressways in every city. 
 
The Prime Minister and Finance Minister have said that prices of property would fall. Let’s examine why. At least 50% or more of transactions in markets like NCR were dealt in cash in the secondary market. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at the India Economic Conclave recently, “For the past 70 years, the parallel economy in cash was normal. However, with demonetisation, there will be a new normal in India and that will be just formal finance.” 
 
For a country and a market that is unused to this new normal, it will take time for this vacuum to be filled. No cash could result in fewer buyers which also means values dropping by about 10-15% to accommodate the new situation. This will take at least six months to happen. However, the rate of transactions is expected to drop. 
 
If you are a serious end user, turn this uncertainty to your advantage. Secondary market properties are either in well-lived in areas with adequate social and transport infrastructure or they are near completed properties in new complexes that are being sold by investors. Neither category can forget that the market has a surplus of ready-to-move-in properties. Many cities have inventory overhang of upto 36 months. That should allow serious end users to jump in and start negotiating the best prices. For sellers in the secondary market, vast volumes of property in the primary market is a big threat. With the absence of cash in the economy, their only option is a quick sell now to interested users. Sale price has to be close to guideline values to avoid the taxman’s eye. 
 
In primary properties from developers, ask for meaningful discounts like fittings and fixtures and maybe a drop on Preferred Location Charges (PLC). These help in your purchase value. 
 
If you are a seller, be rational. Guideline values can be a good way to assess your sale price. Sell to those with formal finance from banks. Bank assessments will tell you the current estimated value of the property. That should also help you along. Consumer sentiment is expected to pick up after the first fear and panic settles down. However, by that time the number of developers completing their property will also rise. Today’s consumers prefer new secure complexes packed with features and amenities and you may find it difficult to sell. 
 
So when a serious buyer comes your way, look for the best price you can extract and go for the sell. 
 
(The article is authored by Jayashree Kurup, Head, Editorial and Advice, Magicbricks. You can reach out to her at jayashree.kurup@timesgroup.com and tweet: @jkurup)

Demonetisation: It’s a buyer’s market, step in confidently and look for bargains

Various industry bodies have been making representations to the Finance Minister on Budget 2016. Magicbricks has been talking to consumers on their biggest concerns and how they should be addressed in the Budget by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Keeping these in mind, we have put together five things in Budget 2016 that can change the course of real estate in the country. 
 
1) Reduce the tax burden on real estate projects. Currently 30-35% of the cost of a residential project is because of Central, state and local taxes. Many materials are taxed as input materials and then taxed again as completed projects, which needs to be brought down significantly. The earning for the cities has to be on levying property taxes after occupancy. If value-added services are offered such as club houses, jogging tracks, parks, sites for music concerts, etc in addition to basic services like water and power, that too should be able to fetch the city government good income. 
 
2) If the developer uses pre-fabricated or pre-cast materials to speed up construction and reduce pollution, there is an additional 10% that is added to the cost of the property. This burden should go away immediately so that good quality construction using standardised components can help meet the 2022 target of Housing for All. 
 
3) Create an incentivised timeline for speedy approvals or deemed approval system for housing. While this is in the purview of city governments, this incentive can be bundled with the Smart City and AMRUT funds that states and cities can get from the Centre. There should also be penalties of poor access to development funds if the city does not have efficient approval system for projects. 
 
4) There are various sporadic orders from the National Green Tribunal as knee jerk reactions to rising pollution. Can Budget 2016 incentivise non-polluting methods of construction and waste management and also create a penalty for polluters? 
 
5) Finally, citizen’s participation in various city-level programmes have been spoken about. Can there be some means of incentivising citizen’s participation in planning for Smart Cities through an organised mechanism? Maybe create a fund for capacity building at citizen levels to be partners in creation and use of smart cities 
 
(The article is authored by Jayashree Kurup, Head, Content &amp; Research , Magicbricks) 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Experts want Jaitley to reduce tax burden on real estate projects in Budget 2016

<ul><li><keyword id="312631" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Creativeland-Asia">Creativeland Asia</keyword> has launched <keyword id="11786518" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Crossbow-Insights">Crossbow Insights</keyword>, a specialised research division.</li><li><keyword id="372889" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shalini-Sinha">Shalini Sinha</keyword>, CEO, Consumer Intelligence &amp; Director of Strategy, will spear the consumer insights division.</li><li>The aim is to bring together creativity, technology-based deep learning and science to help re-think, re-evaluate, re-design problems and get a renewed perspective.</li></ul>Creativeland Asia has launched Crossbow Insights, a specialised research division incepted with the belief that it is not ‘WHAT’ we need to ask but ‘HOW’ we need to ask. Shalini Singh, CEO, Consumer Intelligence &amp; Director of Strategy, will spear the consumer insights division. The aim is to bring together creativity, technology-based deep learning and science to help re-think, re-evaluate, re-design problems and get a renewed perspective. Crossbow Insights will help brands reach deep-seated consumer truths to unlock the next level of growth. Crossbow Insights leans closely on this philosophy of ‘Crazy Science of Insights’ - Crazy finds its genesis in the quote shared by Einstein, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking that created them". Through the process, the endeavour will be to explore different dimensions of human emotions and enter the abyss of the human mind. The team will handhold the client from insight to strategy so that nothing gets lost in translation right from understanding the client problem, approaching it, collecting data, and reporting it. <keyword id="909543" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sajan-Raj-Kurup">Sajan Raj Kurup</keyword>, Founder and Chairman, Creativeland Asia, said, “Last year and this year have had a huge impact in shaping the consumer behaviour of the future. I am excited to announce Crossbow Insights, a research and consumer insights company from Creativeland Asia. This new venture will be under the leadership of Shalini Sinha, who joined our team earlier this year to strengthen consumer insights and strategic thinking at CLA. With over two decades of experience and expertise in this field, Shalini is building a handpicked team of bright researchers and strategists at Crossbow Insights. Shalini and I share a vision to bring together creativity, technology-based deep learning and consumer research to partner marketeers to connect even more strongly with the market and consumers in the new-normal world we are all stepping into.” The research division is already in the process of building agile digital capabilities that can help understand consumers more effectively &amp; efficiently. They will be using scientific techniques like <keyword id="1360343" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Neuro-Linguistic-Programming">Neuro-Linguistic Programming</keyword>, Psychometric methods, the Art of Storytelling to understand deep-seated human emotions. Further commenting on the launch of the Crossbow Insights, Shalini Sinha, CEO, Consumer Intelligence &amp; Director of Strategy, said, “At Creativeland Asia, we endeavour to offer to our clients a holistic approach towards brand transformation. We want to focus on building products that will deliver meaningful solutions to brands, keeping their brand context at the heart of what we solve for. Using digital and agile techniques in a complimentary manner with Qualitative will help us uncover much deeper consumer behaviour that can help us solve client problems. With the launch of Crossbow Insights, I am certain we will further help brands identify and develop a robust brand strategy. With the experience and the expertise we have, we will be looking at working with brands at various stages of their development.” Shalini brings with her close to 21 years of rich industry experience. In her last assignment, she was the Commercial Lead for the Creative Division of Kantar South Asia. Previously, she held other leadership positions, including Heading the South Geography of Kantar Millward Brown and Head of Firefly (India), the specialist <keyword id="10972651" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="qualitative-research-division">Qualitative Research Division</keyword> of Kantar Millward Brown.

Creativeland Asia launches a specialized research division, Crossbow Insights

Ahead of the festival of lights, the digital platforms are brimming with fresh exciting titles, that will keep you on the edge-of-your seat. From Ishaan Khatter-starrer '<keyword id="632110" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="Pippa" source="Orion">Pippa</keyword>', to inspiring tale '<keyword id="1968022" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ghoomer" source="Orion">Ghoomer</keyword>' featuring Abhishek Bachchan, here is a list of five titles on various OTT platforms that have caught the attention of this week. <keyword id="9657892" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="valatty" source="Orion">Valatty</keyword> A tale of tails, 'Valatty' is a Malayalam adventure comedy drama written and directed by Devan Jayakumar. It stars the voices of Roshan Mathew, Raveena Ravi, Soubin Shahir, Sunny Wayne, Saiju Kurup, and Aju Varghese. The makers have used real dogs as actors without VFX in the movie. It will be streaming from November 7 on Disney+Hotstar in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Vigilante The Korean series 'Vigilante' stars Nam Joo-hyuk, Yoo Ji-tae, Lee Joon-hyuk, and Kim So-jin. Based on the Naver webtoon of the same name by Kim Gyu-sam, it follows a model student from the police academy who protects the law during the day, but at night lives as a 'vigilante' and dispenses justice to criminals who evade the law. It will release on Disney+Hotstar on November 8. Pippa Ishaan Khatter-starrer war film 'Pippa' is a thrilling narrative of a landmark moment in history, the 'Battle of Garibpur', during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, that was pivotal in Bangladesh's struggle for independence. The film features Ishaan as the real-life war hero Captain Balram Singh Mehta along with Mrunal Thakur, Priyanshu Painyuli and Soni Razdan in pivotal roles. The movie is based on the book 'The Burning Chaffees' by Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta. The film is written by Menon, Tanmay Mohan, and Ravinder Randhawa. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala under the banner of RSVP and Siddharth Roy Kapur's Roy Kapur Films, and directed by Raja Krishna Menon, it will release on Prime Video on November 10. Ghoomer With an inspiring storyline, the movie features a stellar cast of Abhishek Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Saiyami Kher, Angad Bedi and a special appearance by Amitabh Bachchan. Helmed by R Balki, Ghoomer is produced by Hope Film Makers and Saraswati Entertainment. It is an emotional story with multiple layers. In 'Ghoomer,' Saiyami plays Anina Dixit, a talented cricketer whose dreams are shattered by a tragic accident leading to the loss of her right arm. Paddy (played by Abhishek), a former test cricketer, becomes her coach and helps her become the first-ever one-armed spinner, propelling her to play for the Indian National Team. The coach gives her new hope, trains her with unconventional techniques and invents a Ghoomer bowling style to turn her fate around. 'Ghoomer' shows how people can win over tough times and get another shot at success beating all odds. It will release on Zee5 on November 10. Wynonna season 1 It follows the story of Wyatt Earp's great-great-granddaughter as she battles demons and other creatures. With her unique abilities and a posse of dysfunctional allies, she's the only one who can bring the paranormal to justice. The first season centres on Wynonna fighting the revenants who kidnapped her older sister Willa from their homestead when they were girls and the threat posed by Bobo Del Rey, the leader of the local revenants. It will be released in Hindi on MX Player on November 15.

Diwali delights: 'Pippa', 'Ghoomer', 'Valatty' to sparkle on OTT

<ul><li>The last 19 months have been difficult for the movie and events industry. However, with <keyword id="6584707" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cinema-halls" source="Orion">cinema halls</keyword> opening up across the country and live events also slowly starting, things are finally looking up.</li><li><keyword id="277892" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ashish-saksena" source="Orion">Ashish Saksena</keyword>, COO - Cinemas and <keyword id="5147613" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anil-makhija" source="Orion">Anil Makhija</keyword>, COO – Live <keyword id="4578" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="entertainment" source="Orion">Entertainment</keyword> &amp; Venues, <keyword id="600792" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bookmyshow" source="Orion">BookMyShow</keyword> talk to us about the kind of revival they have been witnessing on the platform and tell us why they are hopeful for a healthy revival in 2022.</li></ul>The year has almost come to an end and what a year of ups and downs it has been. However, things are slowly moving towards normalcy and we couldn’t be more thankful. One thing that is making things feel normal or somewhat close to normal again is the opening up of cinema halls. There has been a lot of pent up demand with people just tired of being stuck at their homes so this has been a welcome change. More and more people want to get back to watching movies on the big screen and the numbers are showing. Recent big-ticket releases like Akshay Kumar-starrer <keyword id="7188379" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sooryavanshi" source="Orion">Sooryavanshi</keyword>, Rajnikanth’s Annaatthe, Marvel’s Eternals, Dulquer Salmaan’s <keyword id="268517" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kurup" source="Orion">Kurup</keyword> and most recently the latest Spiderman movie, <keyword id="10823072" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="spider-man-no-way-home" source="Orion">Spider-Man No Way Home</keyword> have led to a surge of people wanting to book tickets on online ticketing platforms. So we wanted to know what kind of revival online booking platforms like BookMyShow (BMS) are witnessing. And we got some answers from Ashish Saksena, COO - Cinemas, BMS and Anil Makhija, COO – Live Entertainment &amp; Venues, BMS and what both painted a picture of hope for cinemas, events as well as online platforms in 2022. Bringing people back to cinemas and events With cinemas across all states in India finally opening, there is a lot of optimism about this quarter kick-starting the recovery cycle for cinemas, audiences and the industry as a whole. BookMyShow witnessed a hockey stick growth in user engagement, traffic and transactions nearing pre-covid levels on the platform within just the first ten days of cinemas opening up. “Within the first 10 days of the movies releasing pan-India, daily consumer traffic surged to 76% of pre-Covid levels on an average while user engagement has been steadily rising the charts, already surpassing 66% of pre-covid levels on BookMyShow,” shared Saksena. Consumers from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad have been quickest to return back to the movies contributing, 48% of the traffic recovery. To encourage people to come back to the big screen, BMS has been running a six-month-long campaign #CinemaIsBack that it has conceptualised and executed in-house team. “The campaign aims at targeting entertainment-lovers across age groups, geographic restrictions notwithstanding and social setups through various social media platforms, with the spotlight on the all-new out-of-home movie entertainment experience - different but not a shred less than earlier! It is a visual, socially engaging and meme-based series executed on digital and social media and will be amplified across BMS’s customer base and potential new audiences both on the platform’s mobile app and website through mailers, push notifications along with social media platforms as also digital media to engage audiences through relevant video, visual and timely content,” added Saksena. <div type="image" title="#CinemaIsBack_BookMyShow" msid="88342145" hostid="261"></div> BMS is also going to onboard brand advocates to highlight the safety measures being undertaken at the cinemas. It is also working with partners across industries including Amazon, ixigo and MyGlamm to curate special offers and discounts for its transactors through the festive season. Apart from movie tickets, BMS also sells tickets for other experiences and events too. So is the enthusiasm to those offerings encouraging too? “There is a definitive rise in demand across cities. However, the format of events (stand-up comedy, music concerts, festivals &amp; performances) will gravitate towards smaller-capacity ones (bars, restaurants, clubs) where Covid safety protocols can be implemented seamlessly. The pent-up demand for these events led to an average occupancy of 70% for an event with the 50% capacity guidelines, as permitted by the government. The capacity of these events typically ranges between 200-3000 attendees depending on the venue. We believe that audiences are elated to be back enjoying their favourite entertainment experiences thus providing some semblance of the pre-Covid live entertainment scenario. Currently, comedy, live music concerts and artist performances as well as regional theatre are amongst the most preferred and transacted events on BookMyShow,” explained Makhija. The response from smaller cities has been encouraging too and if the situation improves from where they stand today, both Makhija and Saksena are hopeful that the Tier II and III cities will contribute to the platform’s growth next year. Marketing during the pandemic While live events and cinemas were completely shut during the lockdown months, it was important for the platform to maintain its connect with its consumers. Apart from the #CinemaIsBack campaign, the strategy was also to keep talking to its audience. Speaking about its marketing strategy, Saksena said, “With an all-new integrated booking flow, keeping in mind the SOPs mandated by the government, and our #CinemaIsBack campaign across digital and social media, our focus has been on educating the consumers about the safety precautions undertaken by various partners across the industry while rekindling the memory and magic of the movie experience on the big screen with popcorns and beverages in tow. On social media, we have been engaging with our consumers through quirky, fun, nostalgic contextual posts and contests, providing an exhaustive collection of information, which in turn has been enabling consumers to make a well-informed decision even before they step out of their homes. As newer and newer content kicks in, we will expand our social media outreach, making it an all-encompassing programme with offers, contests and influencer marketing kicking in our brand ambassador initiative outlined earlier.” The way forward With cinemas opening in India and production houses announcing a line ups of big budget movies across languages and genres since the festive season this year, BMS anticipates the road to recovery to be smooth in 2022. “Over the next few months, we look forward to welcoming film enthusiasts and cinephiles #BackToTheatres for a safe entertainment experience through the festive season and beyond. Buoyed by the initial response to cinemas over the last month and given the staggering number of film titles set for release in December through Christmas and New Year, we believe we can expect strong growth from cinemas in the short-term itself. As far as live events go, globally countries like USA and UK have gone back to pre-covid levels and we are expecting a similar compelling return for live entertainment through 2022-23. The pace at which the country’s vaccination drive is progressing reposes confidence that the stage has been set for a long-impending revival of the entertainment business in India with all the standard safety protocols in place,” concluded Saksena.

Why BookMyShow is hopeful for a healthy revival in 2022

<ul><li>Our weekly virtual chat features some of the most loved creative heads and directors who take us on a walk down memory lane, talking about some of the most talked-about and well-appreciated ads they have worked on.</li><li>In the latest episode, <keyword id="271660" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ram-Madhvani">Ram Madhvani</keyword>, Founder and Director, Equinox Films spoke to us about Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite film, <keyword id="2510610" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel-Wynk">Airtel Wynk</keyword>’s ad and Happydent’s well-known Palace campaign.</li></ul>For Ram Madhvani, Founder and Director, Equinox Films, the world of advertising has been a great teacher. While the ad world helped people meet people who have all become a very important part of his life, including his wife, Madhvani, during a recent conversation said that advertising had also taught him work ethic. “I get a sense of responsibility from the world of advertising. Here things happen on time. Apart from that, I have also learnt a lot about communicating with the audience and the idea that its about what you say, how you say it and how you make people feel. I have learnt a lot of the craft of reaching out to the public, thanks to advertising,” said Madhvani, on the latest episode of BTS with Insiders. Madhvani who is known for his feature films including Neerja and Let’s Talk is also credited with directing some of the most loved ads in recent times that include multiple ads for Airtel including Har Ek Friend Zaruri Hota Hai, DOcomo, Coca-Cola, Asian Paints and Bisleri among many others. On BTS with Insiders, Madhvani spoke about 3 ads that he holds dear. <div type="javascript" title="Facebook" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite More than a year after Amazon launched Kindle in India, it came out with a campaign to introduce Indian consumers to the e-reader through a long-form film. The ad was a celebration of people who love stories and books and depicts the joy of reading through the journey of a young man who travels to a village to leave children spellbound with the stories he narrates to them, the same stories he reads on his Kindle device. Speaking about why the campaign was special for him, Madhvani said, “Since Kindle is all about stories and filmmaking is all about stories, the Kindle film was a demo film about stories. And that’s how we sold it to the client. It was a tremendously exciting opportunity for us too. The film had amazing music by Tajdar Junaid with lyrics and the voice of <keyword id="21050" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swanand-Kirkire">Swanand Kirkire</keyword>. The ad has been shot real, without any lights. Many of the shots have been done without permissions, even the one on the plane. I was scolded by a lady on the plane too. We wanted to make the shots real. My producers were able to set this up in a way that we were able to do this in a very small unit.” The intent was also to make the film feel real and more like a documentary. “While the ad is shot in Sri Lanka, its not meant to look like Sri Lanka. We had to shoot there because we didn’t get permission in Lakshadweep. But I have this quest for the Indian eye. I wanted to understand what an Indian aesthetic is and I realized when you’re framing stuff, apart from it being emotional, its chaotic. The West has told us about the S curve, the rule of thirds or about minimal framing. I had all these conversations with <keyword id="3945289" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="raj-deepak-das">Raj Deepak Das</keyword> who is a great motivator. He said, ‘We need a new language.’ So we decided all our frames should have foreground, mid ground and background and all the compositions are going to be chaotic,” he shared. The ad was well received and had over 5.3 million views on Amazon’s official Youtube channel in just 7 days and today Kindle is seeing a huge adoption among Indian readers. Airtel Wynk In 2014, Madhvani worked with Taproot on a campaign for Airtel’s music streaming app Wynk. The setting of the film was larger-than-life. It brought together over 700 musicians under one room and featured around 14 different genres of music. All the music featured in the ad were original compositions. The campaign also featured Sanya Malhotra. “A lot of this is thanks to Agnello Dias, Gopal Vittal and others from the marketing team of Airtel who allow us these acts of madness, believe these ideas and embrace them. That only comes due to the relationships you build with people. Great work comes from a certain creative greed and I can’t lead that. I can only smell that greed. I have realized great creative directors who want great work, people like Dias, Das, Prasoon Joshi and Sajan Raj Kurup, are all mast in their own creative zones and all I did was held on to their tail. In a way they are my co-directors,” added Madhvani. The film was shot in a day. All the musical parts were rehearsed and pre-recorded. “There were so many people, we had a lot of rushes and so many different genres of music. So it was a lot to handle. However, the entire team handled all of that really well and <keyword id="194866" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hemant-Chaturvedi">Hemant Chaturvedi</keyword>, our director of photography, gave it a rock concert feel. It was also Sanya’s first ad. She came with a completely spontaneous, unfrazzled talent and I would love to work with her again,” added Madhvani. Happydent’s ‘Palace’ In 2015, Happydent’s Palace commercial was named as one of the World's 20 best ads of the 21st century by the Gunn Report. The ad was conceptualized by Prasoon Joshi and directed by Madhvani. Speaking about how Joshi’s grand vision was executed, Madhvani said, “Its great working with Prasoon because he has a poet’s mind. It was meant to be a montage film and we had presented a commercial in Delhi which wasn’t a great commercial. And I had thought he would never give me Happydent. But it was really nice of him to trust me. I asked him if we could make a narrative film rather than a montage and he agreed. It was tough. The music was done by <keyword id="73991" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shantanu-Moitra">Shantanu Moitra</keyword> and the song was sung by Kailash Kher. Composers Vishal-Shekhar were in the next studio. When the duo came to see the commercial, they said they wanted to be a part of it. So they ended up giving the Qawwali claps in the film,” added Madhvani with a laugh. He also shared the day after the ad was released, Madhvani visited the Ogilvy office and he got a standing ovation there. “That was a really sweet moment. Also, Sameer Suneja (who is now the global CEO of Perfetti Van Melle) really supported us. We showed him an 85 as well as a 60 seconder because originally it was originally supposed to be 60 seconds long. But after watching the 85 seconder, he said he did not want to watch the other version. It took a lot of courage from the client as well as from Prasoon to back the idea and back me. So I take no credit except for just made sure that I executed it in a cussed kind of way,” explained Madhvani. While the shoot was supposed to happen in some palace in Rajasthan, it finally happened in Panvel due to lack of funds. However, that hardly affected the final outcome and the ad is still one of Happydent’s most iconic ads.

I take no credit for the Happydent Palace ad, except for making sure I executed in a cussed kind of way: Ram Madhvani

<ul><li>2020 brought a lot of hurdles in our way but the creative industry proved, time and again, that united we stand stronger and nothing can ever put a lock on creativity.</li><li>The creative industry continued social distancing in a diligent manner, thinking out of the box and launching campaigns that reminded us of things that we should be thankful for. </li><li>Keeping these nuances in mind, creative folks tell us some of the trends that they expect to see in 2021. </li></ul>When the entire country is locked down and all you can do is move from your couch to your work desk for Zoom calls or catch some fresh air on your balcony, only to exchange awkward smiles with your neighbour, does that dampen your creativity? In 2020, our Indian advertising industry proved that nothing can stop them from coming up with out of the box (or with COVID, from inside the box) ideas. They were producing ads with minimum money, trying to operate within the government guidelines of production and selling it for expensive slots on television in the second half of the lockdown period. They were also expected to create ads that stood out in a sea full of cliches. They dealt with uncertainty, brainstormed ideas over a Zoom call, pressure to overperform in a dismal atmosphere, operate with salary cuts, take care of their kids and meet deadlines. Our creative folks were there to steer through these mood swings in the market and help their clients tide over treacherous waves smoothly. The worst is behind us and now that production is back and the industry is working at its normal pace, the creative folks have a lot to talk about. They have only come out stronger and with a new perspective to offer. Experts said that the future is empathy-driven and kind. We reached out to a few creative agencies to understand how they are planning to change their process as we move forward in 2021, some of the learnings that 2020 left them with and a few trends that are going to dominate the creative output this year. Here is what they said: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Tarun Rai, Chairman and Group CEO, Wunderman Thompson, South Asia:" text="Tarun Rai, Chairman and Group CEO, Wunderman Thompson, South Asia:">Tarun Rai, Chairman and Group CEO, <keyword id="7067090" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wunderman-Thompson">Wunderman Thompson</keyword>, South Asia:</cmsannotation> Consolidation of client marketing spends: I have said that the pandemic has been more like an accelerant rather than a matchstick. I have said this since it has not necessarily lit any new fires (trends) but acted more as an accelerant, that when poured over the small fires already lit, transforms them into big raging fires. If we really look at it, this holds true for trends that were already shaping up in world economy, in politics, in global trade, reverse globalisation… Closer to us, even the use of technology, increasingly playing a role in how we work, was ‘accelerated’ by the pandemic. A case in point is Zoom that had 10 million participants a day in December 2019 and an astonishing 300 million in April 2020! One such trend, that was amply clear even before the pandemic, was the move of clients’ spends from traditional to digital media. And in this journey, clients were already finding that working with multiple partners was leading to diffused messaging because people were working in silos, and complicated coordination. The pandemic has accelerated clients’ digital transformation journey. More attention is now focussed on technology, on e-commerce, on data, on digital spends… And the pandemic has added another reason for clients to look to reduce the number of partners they work with – the need for efficiency; the need to stretch the marketing rupee. Clients will be, increasingly, looking for consolidation of their marketing spends with fewer partners – for cohesive messaging and for better efficiency. For companies like Wunderman Thompson, that have capabilities from long term brand-building and traditional advertising, to e-commerce and marketing automation, the next year will be full of opportunity. We are focussed, therefore, to work closely with our clients, partner them in their digital transformation journey and, in the process, open up many new revenue streams for ourselves. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Chairman of Creativeland Asia:" text="Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Chairman of Creativeland Asia:">Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Chairman of <keyword id="312631" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Creativeland-Asia">Creativeland Asia</keyword>:</cmsannotation> Even as business picks up and normalcy slowly returns to the new normal, the lessons of frugality and efficiency we have learned through this time beckon a refresh in thinking. From brands changing the way they communicate with their consumers to agencies who have manoeuvred to a different, tech-enabled way of working which is more contactless, yet connected, it has been a year of challenges and learning. Keeping these nuances in mind, one of the prominent trends I foresee in the industry is the advent of short-form videos and mobile advertising. With the constant evolution of technology and smartphones, easy-to-make, easy-to-watch, short-format video ads will definitely rule the roster in 2021. The ‘story’ format which is quite popular across all social media platforms, allows brands and users to ideate and do so much more than just rolling out a few second stories. Brands now have the opportunity to build meaningful and engaging content for their customers on these platforms. In addition, a stark rise in in-app advertising is expected. Since real-time streaming of videos are becoming popular by the day this will be yet another popular ad tendency businesses will explore. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Raj Kamble, Founder and CCO, Famous Innovations:" text="Raj Kamble, Founder and CCO, Famous Innovations:">Raj Kamble, Founder and CCO, Famous Innovations: </cmsannotation> I can summarise 2021 in one word: Accountability. Our business has changed dramatically in 2020 and clients will want partners who are accountable for their business. This means being personally invested in the client’s success – an art that advertising professionals have forgotten about. Asking the tangible question - will this sell my client's product - and not just the vague one - will this build my client's brand. That’s the way things used to be when agencies were owned by the same people that actually did the work. That’s why independent agencies are designed for accountability. Because our success depends on the client's success. Furthermore, this means the end of segregation of agencies and the start of the hybrid era. Lately, a chasm is forming in the A&amp;M industry where on the one side, there are the large traditional agencies that can only play the large campaign and long-term game but don't understand new media and the new consumer as well. While on the other side, there is a sprouting of digital agencies that play the digital medium well but don't have strong strategic and creative pillars in place. In 2021, clients will increasingly seek integrated solutions and a hybrid agency like ours that combines the best of both worlds is well poised to address this gap. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous Brands:" text="Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, Enormous Brands:">Ashish Khazanchi, Managing Partner, <keyword id="2949725" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Enormous-Brands">Enormous Brands</keyword>:</cmsannotation> Optimism is the one trend that I believe will be one of the most important in the industry in the coming days. With the way the world is slowly but surely coming around and the way the businesses are turning a corner, a certain bullishness is to be expected both from the makers and the buying publics. Brands should look at tapping into the emerging positivity and the new togetherness, generosity, kindness in these times. Brands looking at connecting with their audiences on an optimistic emotional level will do well in creating salience for the brand. The changes coronavirus has made across our society have been unpredictable, but for marketing and advertising, it is an opportunity now to change the course of the conversation from extreme caution of the year gone by to a gradual but imminent change. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Debashish Ghosh, National Creative Director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide:" text="Debashish Ghosh, National Creative Director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide:">Debashish Ghosh, National Creative Director, 22feet Tribal Worldwide:</cmsannotation> I feel it will be an empathy-driven flywheel. We talk about share economy a lot. One thing that’s shared the most is perhaps knowledge, opinions and views. People trust each other’s view and not a brand’s view. And that’s how they make decisions about who to engage with. The hyper-connected world is increasingly providing more avenues to amplify this behaviour. In this world, the consumer is not just the output but also the input. Delighting one person leads to attracting &amp; engaging another. That’s the flywheel. It’s not a finite CX journey but an on-going one. The idea is to open relationships and not close deals. Creativity will need to vitalize all the forces of this flywheel. Ideas with high dose of empathy and elasticity will easily wrap around it to attain sustainable growth. Being creative with content and stand-alone experiences will not be enough. As a norm, performance, automation, lead generation, on-boarding, CRM stack &amp; other consumer touchpoints will need to be creatively humanised. And existing tools will be creatively redeployed like podcasts being used as testimonials or self-service audio clips. All of it won’t happen in a year but it will be around the corner.”

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