MARCH - APRIL 2016 by EVENTFAQS Media

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING MAGAZINE

MARCH / APRIL 2016 VOLUME 7, ISSUE 2 PRICE RS. 100

MARCH / APRIL 2016 VOLUME 7 ISSUE 2

RNI registration MAHENG / 2010 / 35733

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CONTENTS

M.I.C.E

BRAND ACTIVATION

BRIEFS 8 IN FOCUS –– Eventz Unlimited Manages Amway Leadership Summit 2015 in Paris 10 –– MICE in Kashmir: How the Valley is Attracting Corporates for Conferences and Events 16 ALSO FEATURED –– 5 Offbeat Berlin Venues To Elevate Your Next MICE, Considerably! 12

BRIEFS 48 ALSO FEATURED –– 12 Door Stage and Double Ramp For Benetton A/W ‘16 Show; Managed By Marketing Solutions 50 IN FOCUS –– GAP Says #helloMumbai; Ropes in Toast & ‘Dabbawalas’ 52 –– Cream Events Curates Immersive Experience For Suzlon Tech Vision 2020 54

CONVENTION & EXHIBITION BRIEFS 20 ALSO FEATURED –– AUTO EXPO 2016: The Experiential Marketing Roundup 22 –– The Makings Of Make In India Week 32 IN FOCUS –– TC/3: A Festival of Creativity, Ideas and Innovations 38

SPORTS MARKETING

INDUSTRY WATCH BRIEFS 58 ALSO FEATURED –– EEMA Updates 60 IN FOCUS –– A Tool for Real-Time Product Experiences: ‘Virtual Gekko’ 62 MARKET PULSE –– Nevada: A Year Long And Diverse Destination For Corporate MICE Travellers 64

BRIEFS 44 IN FOCUS –– SAG Opening Ceremony Flawlessly executed by Team Encompass 46

Disclaimer: i. Experiential Marketing magazine is published by EVENTFAQS Media. Pvt. Ltd. with RNI Registration MAHENG/2010/35733. ii. Every effort is made to ensure that the magazine’s content is correct. However, the publisher accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions. iii. All material published in this magazine is copyright protected. Unauthorised reproduction in part or full is forbidden. iv. The publisher takes no responsibility for content used in advertisements and advertorials. It is assumed the advertiser has rights to use the content. v. The publisher takes no responsibility for photographs and information published in features which comes from external sources such as PR agencies, direct sources, etc. It is assumed that the parties involved have the right to provide the information for publishing purposes. vi. Any dispute/error liable vis-a-vis this magazine is strictly restricted to local jurisdiction in Mumbai only.

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FROM THE

EDITOR

94 SPONSORSHIP MARKETING BRIEFS 66 IN FOCUS –– IDBI Federal Partners Sports & Fitness 68

ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS 70 ALSO FEATURED –– Pilcrow concludes another Fun and Healthy edition of Kids Culinaire 72 IN FOCUS –– Festa de Diu: Carving a Presence for Isle of Calma in the Destination Events map 74 –– A Concerted Effort: A R Rahman’s Nenje Ezhu Tour 80 –– The Mahindra Blues Festival '16: Produced by Oranjuice Entertainment & Headlined by Joss Stone 84 –– Brands Rev Up The Experience At India Bike Week 2016 88 MARKET PULSE –– Then & Now: 10 Years of Sunburn with Karan Singh, CEO 78 PHOTO FEATURE –– Star-Studded India Debut For Diesel+Art 86 COVER STORY –– Sensation debuts in India with International Standards 94

HE WORLD CULTURAL FEST; THE MAKE in India Week; The Auto Expo; Sensation India; Positive Amendments in Police NOC requirements in Mumbai. These are just some of the industry-redefining occurrences of the past two months. One characteristic common to all these developments, and also true for any event that has the potential of going down in history, is its ability to aggregate efforts. No one party is fully responsible for any of these events, but still more than one agency proudly takes onus for their part in the overall equation. Events/ engagements like these, foster partnerships and combine strengths from across agencies. It's also amazing that events of such stature, are most vulnerable to mishaps, most speculated about succeeding and most doubted on authenticity. But they wouldn't be this great, and make for such apt case studies unless they overcame obstacles with greatness. This issue we salute the industry-defining events of the past 2 months. Here’s to the game-changers!! karishma@eventfaqs.com

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AWARDS AND

CONVENTION ASIA CULTIVATING WOW EVENTS & EXPERIENCES

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MARCH-APRIL 2016 VOLUME 7 ISSUE 2 EDITOR & HEAD - BRAND & CONTENT KARISHMA HUNDALANI karishma@eventfaqs.com

PUBLISHER & BUSINESS HEAD VISHAL NAGDEV vishal@eventfaqs.com

EDITORIAL TEAM RACHAEL RAJAN rrajan@eventfaqs.com +91 9766 071741 KANIKA MEHTA kanika@eventfaqs.com +91 98100 18658 ISHA GAKHAR edit@eventfaqs.com +91 97111 99 697 RAKHI JERLY rakhi@eventfaqs.com +91 87506 54945 SHANTANU JAIN shantanu@eventfaqs.com +91 99908 81440

CFO & DIRECTOR JIMMY CHOUDHARY jimmy@eventfaqs.com +91 9821428197

CIRCULATION RAMESH PATIL ramesh@eventfaqs.com +91 22 26300673 ADMIN & ACCOUNTS PURVESH BHATT accounts@eventfaqs.com +91 22 26330674 SAMEET ELKAR admin.mumbai@eventfaqs.com +91 9769 306799 AKASH GUPTA admin.delhi@eventfaqs.com +91 9911755871 GRAPHIC DESIGN VINAYA PRASHANTH vinayaprashanth@gmail.com PRASAD KARAMBAT

GENERAL MANAGER LIZANN PINTO lizann@eventfaqs.com +91 98339 96461 MARKETING SERVICES TEAM SONAL GUPTA sonal@eventfaqs.com +91 98338 85521 YOGESH KHUBCHANDANI yogesh@eventfaqs.com +91 9920 661129 ANUP SHARMA anup@eventfaqs.com +91 99300 89557 MANAGER − MARKETING & EVENTS LAVINA S. LAUNGANI lavina@eventfaqs.com +91 9833470622 MARKETING OPERATIONS TEAM KRITI JAIN kriti@eventfaqs.com +91 9911696980 SONAL PATEL patel@eventfaqs.com +91 9833993226 REBECCA FERNANDES rebecca@eventfaqs.com +91 9833993885 CHARMI JANANI charmi@eventfaqs.com +91 9920574595 ZAFAR KHAN zafar@eventfaqs.com +91 9004839027

Experiential Marketing is a bi-monthly magazine published by EVENTFAQS Media A multi-channelbusiness platform focussed on the MICE, Entertainment & LIVE Marketing industry. Visit www.eventfaqs.com for more details. For subscription enquiry: info@eventfaqs.com

Printed & published by: Vishal Vashulal Nagdev on behalf of (or owned by) EVENTFAQS Media Pvt. Ltd. and printed at VSSU Graphics, Unit # 36, Ideal Industrial Estate Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel-West, Mumbai 400013, Maharashtra, India, and published at EVENTFAQS Media Pvt. Ltd. 112, 1st Floor, Embassy Centre 207, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021, Maharashtra, India.

Editor: Karishma Jamnu Hundalani. This issue contains 100 pages including covers.

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BIRJU C GARIBA CEO & Exec. Director Platinum World Group

the high-profile guests of the bank, including clients and partners. Bollywood playback singers Shalmali Kholgade & Nakash Aziz were roped into do the job.

Platinum World Events Execute An Exclusive Engagement Event For A French Bank

latinum World Events recently planned and managed an exclusive stakeholder engagement event at the St. Regis Mumbai for a renowned French multi-national bank. The agency has been associated with the bank for a few years now. Previous events for the same client has seen top entertainers from Bollywood like Sunidhi Chauhan and Benny Dayal among others, performing for exclusive gatherings.

As per the client’s requirement, the event venue was decked in their corporate colours - both in decor as well as lighting. The highlight of the evening was the interactive performance by both the talented singers. The gathering of around 300 guests were entertained by the engaging performances. Commenting on the successful execution of the event Birju C Gariba, CEO & Exec. Director, Platinum World Group said, “In the ever evolving space of newer artists, it's indeed a challenge to suggest the right mix keeping in mind brief received from the clients, and to hit a hatrick - 3 years in a row of delighting the clients with more than desired outcome is an achievement that makes it worth all the efforts we put into it.”

This year, Platinum recommended two performers to entertain

Network 8 Delivers BEATS Themed UltraTech Dealers Felicitation & Cultural Extravaganza

he UltraTech Dealers Felicitation & Cultural Extravaganza for 600 dealers and their families was managed and executed by Network 8 Promotions and Events. With the theme ‘Business Excellence and Talented Stars’ (BEATS), it creatively asserted the sound of beats in the cultural fiesta as well as the synchronization of the brand’s heartbeat with the Dealers passion. The objective of the event was to emphasize UltraTech’s value and appreciation of the dealers for their past years achievements along with providing a unique platform for the dealers to showcase their talent in visual arts. UltraTech’s campaign ‘Build Beautiful’ was to be brought out in all the collaterals and execution of the event. On January 10, the dealers and their families were brought together at St. Johns Auditorium Bengaluru for the grand finale performance. Sharing his overall experience while working with Network 8, Royston Fernandes, GM Marketing Services at Aditya Birla

MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

Group said, "We chose Network 8 through a multi-agency pitch purely on their deep understanding of our dealer community and their suggestions on the right mentoring required to develop the community for this talent competition. The auditions and training were very well-conducted with defined schedules and timeframes. Dealers and their families were selected and shortlisted purely on existing talent thereby making the platform all the more competitive. The event was seamlessly executed with Network 8’s attention to minute details. The audience were glued to their seats, even though the duration of the event was more than 4 hours. We sincerely thank each and every member of Network 8 for their wholehearted dedication and professionalism in enabling us to etch a memory in the minds of each of our dealers and their families. We hope for BEATS to grow bigger and louder in the years to come."

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LAILA FATHIMA Creative Director CS Direkt

executed according to plan in a different country. The agency was responsible for planning, strategy, design and content, all of which was done before a team of 4 actually went to Bahrain for the event.

CS Direkt ‘Dares to Dive’ Into Bahrain for Novo Nordisk Management Meet

SDirekt managed the Novo Nordisk Management Meet in Bahrain on Feb 2 and 3. With the theme ‘Dare to Dive”, the focus of the meet was on Diabetes and Obesity. Around 100 people comprising the management of the company from India, the Gulf, Egypt and UAE attended. The main venue used was the Four Seasons Hotel.

Laila Fathima, Creative Director, CS Direkt commented, “Our Creative team had to put all their resources together to overcome the challenges of collateral deadlines. Design teams worked hard to put together a stage which was technically awesome and visually beautiful and of course keeping in mind the logistics of such large format shows. We conquered every single challenge because we had planned everything in detail.” Other aspects of the meet included a visit to Japanese restaurant Bushido and a Gala Night at the ballroom of the hotel. The theme for this evening was ‘the world is yours’, and featured a bazaar, mehendi artists and more.

The biggest challenge faced by the agency was ensuring that a project that was largely planned on home turf would be

ASHISH BHASIN Chairman and CEO Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia

Dentsu Aegis Networks Organises One-DAN India Conference In Hong Kong

entsu Aegis Network (DAN) recently held its annual One-DAN India conference in Hong Kong, with more than 650 managers participating in the programme. The conference is an overseas training conference organised in order to enhance an integrated collaboration between DAN’s units. The programme was woven around the group’s One P&L approach, which fosters collaboration. The 3-day conference saw the exchange of ideas from the different units, including creative units led by the Dentsu branded creative agencies (including Taproot Dentsu and Dentsu

Webchutney), the media units including Carat, Dentsu Media and Vizeum, the digital agencies including Isobar, iProspect and WATConsult, the out of home agencies including Posterscope and Milestone Brandcom, and the events & activation units including Fountainhead. Also, the first One-DAN Awards for Excellence were awarded to the most outstanding talent from across DAN India. The second evening was rounded off with a party celebrating the achievements of the present and the possibilities of the future. Ashish Bhasin, Chairman and CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia said, “Our goal of making Dentsu Aegis Network India the #2 communications group in India by end-2017 will only be made possible when every one of our 2000 plus people across DAN India make it their mission to collaborate and relentlessly help their clients win in the market. That is what One-DAN is all about, and that is what we emphasized upon the most in Hong Kong.”

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HE ANNUAL AMWAY LEADERSHIP SUMMIT FOR the year 2015 was held in Paris, with around 2200 ABOs (Amway Business Owners) from across India participating in the week long event managed by Eventz Unlimited and Corporate Flyers Pvt. Ltd. (a part of the Corporate Allianz Group).

IN FOCUS

AMWAY LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

Eventz Unlimited Manages Amway Leadership Summit 2015 in Paris The week long summit presented the finest Parisian experience to 2200 Amway Business Owners. Three big events and many engaging activities were also hosted at various venues.

By Rakhi Jerly

The Amway group experienced the finest of Paris, with accommodation being arranged at Le Meridian and Hotel Pullman Montparnasse, a visit to The Eiffel tower and Disney World, enjoying the city tour and Seine Cruise, plus a trip to the Versailles Palace. The Palace, which is closed on Mondays, was exclusively opened for Amway’s guests. The seven day affair also hosted three big events - Oscar night, the business session, and the finale night and various engagement activities. A Buzz Zone was also set up at the hotels accommodating the visiting distributor. The Oscar night was a welcome dinner at Palais des Congres Convention Centre. A raw space was converted into a grand Oscar setup for the thematic evening. The unique aspect of this night was that there was no traditional stage setup; rather floor entertainment was arranged to engage the audience at their tables. The entertainment included bar jugglers, traditional magicians, iPad magicians, and jugglers. The Les Pyramids Sports Club served as the venue for the business session, where the first-ever Indian Crown qualification achievement was awarded. Artist Jean Micheal painted the picture of the crown achievers, Mr and Mrs. Braich, with glitter on canvas. Later, the distribution leaders were rewarded for their conscientious effort in developing the Amway Business. The farewell dinner was held at Dock Pullman Conference Centre. Again, a raw space was converted into a stunning Moulin Rouge setup for the finale night. The performances for the evening also matched the theme, giving the audience a flavour of Paris. An outstanding stand up act by Sunil Grover, performing as his popular television character ‘Guthi’ from Comedy Nights With Kapil, followed. Bollywood playback singer Kanika Kapoor and Stereo Nation had the audience dance away the night to their pop songs. Speaking about the major challenges in putting together a large scale off-site event, Kapil Kumaria - MD, Corporate Alliance Group said, “The major challenge faced by the sister concern of Eventz Unlimited, Corporate Flyers Pvt. Ltd., was to fly 2500 people to Paris in two days; which was dealt with and done with great work put together by the team. Apart from the above and a language barrier, there were no such challenges faced as the event was very well planned and executed by the team.” About logistical support and representation from the tourism boards, Kumaria explains, “Eventz Unlimited used service aggregators for the needs of the event. We used suppliers for technicals & fabrication aspects of the event, however the whole concept was created and executed by the Eventz Unlimited team only. We also got in touch with the tourism board and did manage to have delegates from French Tourism as well as the Ambassador of India to France, H.E. Dr. Mohan Kumar, at the farewell dinner.

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Magazin in der Heeresbäckerei: MICE in a Former Bakery © Helmchen Event + Location

5 OFFBEAT BERLIN VENUES TO ELEVATE YOUR NEXT MICE, CONSIDERABLY! Bored of the traditional hotels, expo centres and convention centres? Looking at a fresh perspective for your next MICE activity? With an increasing number of extraordinary event locations, Berlin never disappoints. How about surprising your group and hosting your next event in a former army bakery or a water pump station? Here’s our pick of 5 unconventional event venues in the German capital that are bound to strike a chord for your next MICE programme!

By: Aanchal Dhawan

1. Magazin in der Heeresbäckerei: MICE in a Former Bakery Head to this former army bakery with your group and elevate the ambience of your next MICE considerably. Located 7 km from the central station, The former Heeresbäckerei (army bakery), serves as an impressive example of the industrial architecture that the 19th century represented. Post a fire in 1980, the buildings underwent a renovation and construction phase. Under consideration of its history, the magazine/ warehouse was redeveloped and its equipment was upgraded. MICE Proposition: The venue boasts of 4 conference rooms to host your next MICE seamlessly. The Magazin is the largest conference room with an area of 640 sqm and can host up to 550 pax in varied arrangements. The Loft, at 280 sqm, can host up to 150 pax, The Galerie up to 80 pax and The Workshop up 12

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to 50 pax in varied arrangements. If your group comprises food afficionados, they will surely be thrilled knowing the history of this unique event location.

2. Wasserwerk: MICE in a Water Pump station Ever imagined having a meeting or event in the midst of enormous water pumping machines? Located in BerlinWilmersdorf, Hohenzollerndamm 208, on the property of the Berlin water business, the Water pump station Wilmersdorf is an event location that promises to be different. MICE Proposition: Since 2001, the machine reverberations with a total area of 1.015 sqm and a light height of 10 m as well as several rooms for technical equipment, wardrobe, office, kitchen and restrooms can be used as an event location. Its

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The Heeresbäckerei offers a trendy backdrop for your next MICE © Helmchen Event + Location

Elevate your next MICE at Wasserwerk, Berlin

Wasserwerk - MICE in a Water Pump station

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The Royal Porcelain Factory is the perfect backdrop for your next MICE in Berlin

Royal Porcelain Factory - A shard of historical MICE

single conference room spans an area of 1000 sqm that can be used to host your next conference or exhibition seamlessly. It can cater to 450 people in a seating banquet arrangement and upto 600 people in a seating reception arrangement.

3. The Bolle Festsäle: MICE in a Dairy Factory The Bolle Festsäle was once home to a dairy factory, but now it serves as a location for exclusive meetings and conventions along the Spree, just to the north of the government quarter in Berlin. The spacious rooms cover 3,000 sqm and feature eight metre high ceilings. The venue boasts of industrial charm of the 1920s, and is equipped with the latest event technology, to host events smoothly. A special highlight of the venue is the new roof terrace on the historic dairy building. It also offers spacious parking in the basement garage. MICE Proposition: The BOLLE ballrooms embody the typical industrial charm of the roaring 20s in Berlin. The installed lighting and media technology binds discreetly in the historic room ambience and for wide data roaming is an internal wireless network. Both rooms can be used to host galas, award ceremonies, fashion shows, conferences, conventions and exhibitions for up to 800 people.

4. Royal Porcelain Factory: A shard of historical MICE The historic premises of the Royal Porcelain Factory will surely be ‘unlike anything you’ve ever seen before’. Staying true

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The beautiful interiors of the Royal Porcelain Factory

to their architectural origins, bearing the brunt of war and showcasing various modifications and extensions, for 250 years, the Royal Porcelain Factory manufactured cups, plates and figures. Meanwhile, the doors of the historical building complex in Berlin-Tiergarten have been opened for events and guided tours through the factory are also offered as a side programme. MICE Proposition: The courtyard, kiln hall and Schlämmerei (historic porcelain paste preparation facility) can be used for events of all sizes. While the historic kiln hall can host up to 300 people, The Berlin room in the former KPM porcelain paste preparation facility can host up to 228 people. The AMOR Room situated in the Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur’s former Schlämmerei – can host up to 90 people and the magnificent Boccherini dining room can host up to 22 people. The staff are also happy to put together an individually tailored activity and entertainment programme for you during your event.

5. RADIALSYSTEM V: Innovative MICE beckons you A future lab with exemplary character, RADIALSYSTEM V, is a space for innovation and experimental and top notch dialogue. The name of the historical building, formerly a pumping station, indicates the direction the house seeks to follow as a cultural platform where ideas ‘radiate’ out in all directions and across boundaries. The flexible and multifaceted building with generously sized rooms, intimate studios, a large sun deck and terrace along the river is ideal for creative events, upscale conferences, symposiums and media productions.

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The striking Main Hall at RADIALSYSTEM V © Reinhard Gîrner

MICE Proposition: Spread over 6 stories, an event space of approximately 2500 sqm is available and can accommodate up to 800 people. Host your next MICE at The Foyer or the Main Hall with capacity up to 330 pax or head to the Hall that can seat up to 300 people and the Outdoor areas which can host 400 people for standing receptions. Other areas to host conferences and more intimate events include the Cube and Ateliers.

Don't wait too long, planners! Go ahead and book these out-of-the-box locations for a memorable MICE that your group never forgets! RADIALSYSTEM V: Innovative MICE beckons you! © Sebastian Bolesch

To Find the perfect Berlin venue in just a few steps, refer to Meeting Guide Berlin (meetingguide.visitBerlin.com). Its streamlined design helps customers sort through the wide range of venues, hotels, and service providers in the German capital. If you're planning your next MICE activity in Berlin, please reach out to: Ms. Katharina Waschke visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office E: Katharina.waschke@visitBerlin.de

The Cube at RADIALSYSTEM V, is a great area to host intimate events © AUN-Photography

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ITH THE HELP OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT, which is pushing the picturesque Kashmir Valley as a MICE destination, corporates are now increasingly finding it easier to organise events here. Following the setback faced in 2014 after the calamitous floods, Kashmir has now emerged stronger and is determined to succeed as a destination for MICE and social events alike. Today, the state boasts of having hosted conferences and congresses of big business names, as well as incentives and smaller meets. In this story, ExM engages Leisure Corp, an agency that has done a lot of work in the region in recent months, going over what exactly sets Kashmir apart as a MICE destination.

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MICE IN KASHMIR

MICE in Kashmir: How the Valley is Attracting Corporates for Conferences and Events Leisure Corp has recently conducted three conferences in Kashmir, a destination set to grow as a MICE destination, with excellent event capabilities and tourism options.

By Rachael Rajan

Infrastructure for Events Leisure Corp is an agency with a strong focus on MICE that has recently experienced considerable success in organising corporate events and weddings in Kashmir. Naveen Kundu, Founder & MD, Leisure Corp believes that Kashmir offers the unique advantage of having excellent infrastructure vis-à-vis competing destinations including hill stations that are simply not equipped to manage large events and conferences attended by several thousand delegates. He notes, “Kashmir offers excellent infrastructure for tourism, and allows for 3000 passengers to arrive on a single day, not something a lot of hill stations can boast of. This is the only hill station in India where almost all domestic airlines operate flights.” While Kashmir is already a reputed tourism destination, it a relatively new development that it is also hosting MICE. Kundu points out, “Kashmir needs no introduction in the world of tourism. However, MICE tourism is a new thing, and making Kashmir a destination will help to revive the economy of the state.”

Venues and Event Capabilities Srinagar, Pahalgam and Gulmarg all have convention centres equipped with facilities to ensure that meetings, conferences and events can run smoothly. The Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), Clubs at Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonamarg are some of the venues that have the capacity to host national and international conferences and events. And with helicopters now in the state, Kashmir is very quickly becoming a Luxury travel destination. MICE events looking to incorporate novel travel experiences will find that Kashmir has plenty to offer. For instance, the Royal Spring Golf Club of Srinagar has the capability to host large golf events.

Sights, Sounds and Experiences The department of tourism in the state is strongly motivated to ensure that visitors have access to the wide range of 16

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experiences Kashmir has to offer, whether it be Gondola rides, visits to botanical gardens, boat rides, and so on. Much like with tourism, MICE events benefit the local economy, as even congresses and conferences by corporates either have a leisure element to the trip or downtime for delegates to go around and experience the place. Kundu adds, “Everyone around the destination benefits, be it hotels, shikara walas, houseboats, small apple and walnut selling vendors, or local transporters - every one grows when MICE business increases in a particular destination, as this brings in volume.”

A Case Study: HDFC Life’s Incentive Trip HDFC Life recently organised an incentive trip for HDFC bank, attended by around 150 senior management and branch heads from across the country. Leisure Corp managed both aspects of the 3 nights and 4 days’ trip - event and travel. The group landed in Srinagar on Feb 4 and headed to Gulmarg, where they stayed at the exquisite Khyber Hotel which was fully blocked for the group. A welcome dinner was organised, followed by Karaoke and a DJ act. Activities including a gondola ride were organised around Gulmarg over the next 2 days. The group then went on to Srinagar and checked in at The Lalit Palace Srinagar. An evening event was organised here to promote in-house talent. This included a performance by HDFC’s own Archita Battacharya and an in-house band. In addition to activities in Srinagar including a Shikara ride and a tour of the city, a business session was organised on Feb 6 at SKICC Auditorium, followed by an Awards ceremony in the Ballroom. The night concluded with a 2-hour Sufi act by Daler Mehendi. After breakfast on Feb 8, the group checked out, refreshed by the many experiences infused through the three days.

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A big challenge successfully overcome by the agency was airport transfers at the high security Srinagar Airport.

Steps by the Kashmir Government The state government is without a doubt focussed on attracting corporates and associations to Kashmir for their MICE events, and is going the extra mile to assist agencies overcome the typical challenges faced when planning events in the state. Appreciating the role the Tourism department played in helping with the HDFC Life incentive trip, Kundu said, “Secretary of Tourism, Farooq Ahmad Shah and the management of SKICC, including the Director Yasmeen Khan, and Manager of Marketing Shahnawaz Shah, have played a key role in organizing the MICE conference on Saturday.” Encouragement from these quarters has enabled Leisure Corps to hold three conferences in the state in the last three months, while the next one is scheduled for March.

What to Expect While recent events by Leisure Corp have been relatively limited in scale, Kashmir does have the potential to host far larger conferences with national and international delegates. Kundu is optimistic about what the future holds. He observes, “Besides conferences, holding congresses here can change the dynamics of tourism and the economy. Conferences witness 200 to 300 high-end tourists arrive, but Congresses see 2000 to 3000 people come in. Support from the government and cooperation from tour operators are essential for boosting this sector, and I believe the department is ensuring this happens.”

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CONVENTIONS & EXHIBITIONS | BRIEFS and execute this two-day long premier business summit. Global Business Summit witnessed a keynote address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he laid down his development design for India's future. The PM's address kicked off a weekend that saw ministers, chief executives and thought leaders participating in intellectual discussions about India’s successful contribution to the world’s business development.

Fountainhead MKTG Manages ET Global Business Summit 2016

ollowing the remarkable success of its debut, Airtel and The Economic Times brought together who’s who of the business world to script economic change at the 2nd edition of ‘Global Business Summit’ held in Delhi on January 29-30. Reflecting the global nature of GBS, the Hotel Taj Palace was thronged by over 1500 business and political leaders, policymakers, economists and thinkers from more than 10 countries. Been associated with The Times Group for a long time, Fountainhead MKTG was roped in once again to conceptualise

On the first day, the global business leaders like Andrew Witty (CEO, GlaxoSmithKline), Dominic Barton (MD, McKinsey & Co), John Rice (Vice-Chairman, GE) and Dennis Nally (Chairman, PWC) exchanged views on the opportunities and obstacles for India with, among others, tycoons of India Inc. such as Kumar Mangalam Birla, Uday Kotak and Sunil Mittal. Union Ministers and bureaucrats shared space with Tom Albanese (CEO, Vedanta Resources), Michael Thiemann (CEO, ThyssenKrupp) and Hans-Pal Burkner (Chairman, BCG) on the panel of Make in India to discuss what it will take to unleash the country’s manufacturing potential. To take this year’s edition on newer heights, Fountainhead introduced the concept of Quote-Unquote; as each word spoken by these eminent personalities became a quote to be remembered. Aptly fitting to the occasion, this innovative concept was impeccably brought to life through all the event collaterals and set designs. The agency also seamlessly handled the branding needs of different sponsors, especially the main sponsor Airtel. The entire look and feel of set designs were elegantly coloured with only red (representing Airtel) and black (colour of ink, representing the power of pen).

SAMEER SETHI Vice President Percept Sports and Entertainment

Percept Conceptualizes 19th UITIC International Technical Footwear Congress

ercept Sports and Entertainment, the Strategic Business Unit of Percept One, was given the mandate to manage and execute the 19th International Technical Footwear Congress of UITIC (International Union of Shoe Industry Technicians) in India. The event took place from February 3 to 5 at ITC Grand Chola, Chennai. The 3-day congress was attended by over 550 delegates from around the globe including France, Mexico, Germany, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Madagascar, Tanzania, Hong Kong, Spain, ‘Ethiopia, Iran, Colombia, Portugal, Srilanka, Romania, UK, Austria, Hungary, Taiwan, India. The UITIC has been a pioneer in the dissemination of technical developments and knowledge in the footwear industry by facilitating information exchanges between its

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members. The PSE team seamlessly handled the massive task of conceptualizing, designing, and implementing the entire congress. This also included planning, branding, logistics, hospitality of the delegates, executing and technical production of the entire congress. Sameer Sethi, Associate Vice President, Percept Sports and Entertainment said, “It’s been an honour to work on this event which has been gigantic in stature and incredible in repute. It was a great opportunity to mandate the account of this massive event, as it was the first time since 1972 that the congress was held in India. It took us almost 8 months to plan and execute this colossal event. It’s great to see that the Percept team has pulled off this event successfully and ensured superb hospitality that vowed the delegates from all over the world.”

CONVENTIONS & EXHIBITIONS | BRIEFS

Eventex Awards '16: 15 Countries Make It To The Final; Victor Tango & Kruti Parekh Nominated

ntries from 15 countries have made it to the final nominations for the 6th edition of Eventex global event awards. 19 categories were left after the evaluation of the judges who represented 34 global event experts. Half of all 57 entries are from the Netherlands, USA, UK and Russia. The other half is shared between Europe, India, Australia and UAE. 3 entries from India have also made it to the finale. Victor Tango has grabbed nominations in two categories for separate projects executed for Classmate. In the Best Experiential Event, the agency has been nominated with the Classmate Spell Bee project – a creative shop, providing holistic engagement through branded content, events and activations with specialization in integrated media campaigns for kids and family audiences.

Classmate Art Academy has gained the other nomination for Victor Tango in the category - Best Brand Engagement Event. Professional magician, motivational speaker for corporates and Asia’s only female mentalist, Kruti Parekh stands a chance to win the Best Speaker title. Some of the most popular companies that await prizes are Microsoft, Adobe, Audi, Lidl, DoubleDutch, and Cinemax. The Awards night that will honour all finalists will take place on March 17 at Rainbow Plaza, Sofia. The global event elite will visit the city not only for the black-tie gala event but for the overall Eventex experience that comprises of 6 full-day masterclasses and a conference on March 16.

Kolkata Jewellery & Gem Fair (KJGF) will be held on April 8 – 10 at Millan Mela Exhibition Complex, Kolkata, where admission is limited to trade professionals. Manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, importers, exporters and designers from all sectors of the jewellery industry. Considered south India’s largest B2B International Jewellery exhibition, the GJIIE was conceived in 2005, by the Madras Jewellers & Diamond Merchants Association (MJDMA), to promote the jewellery industry and trade in South India. MJDMA partnered UBM in 2009 to host the 5th edition of the expo and reached new heights in terms of exhibition participation and visitor attendance.

UBM Jewellery Expos In Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata & Chennai

he exhibition organiser, UBM, will present four major annual jewellery and gem fairs in the country from March to Sept, 2016 - starting with the Gem & Jewellery India International Exhibition in Chennai. UBM India hosts over 25 large scale exhibitions and 40 conferences every year, and thus enables trade across multiple industry verticals. The 12thGem & Jewellery India International Exhibition (GJIIE) is scheduled on March 18 – 20 at Chennai Trade Centre, Chennai. The exhibition is expected to capture the attention of both local and international jewellers, as it had last year.

Exhibitors include gem, pearl, and fine jewellery manufacturers to software, packaging, and publications. Hyderabad Jewellery, Pearl & Gem Fair (HJF) will be held on June 4 – 5 at HICC Novotel, Hyderabad. Another B2B International Jewellery Fair in South India, the HJF will present a wide spectrum of fine jewellery, diamonds, gemstones, pearls, and related products & services. Whereas, Delhi Jewellery & Gem Fair (DJGF) is lined up on Sept 24 - 26, 2016 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The 5th edition of DJGF will be held towards the end of this year at the capital’s popular exhibition venue, Pragati Maidan. Last year’s expo was a huge success with the presence of India’s most eminent jewellery manufacturers like Jindal Jewellers, N.D Diamonds, P.C jewellers, to name a few. MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

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AUTO EXPO 2016:

The Experiential Marketing Roundup With its grand product unveilings, activations and massive display pavilions, the Motor Show meant brisk business for event and experiential marketing agencies. Here’s a roundup of who did what at this year’s show. By: Rakhi Jerly

HE 13TH EDITION OF INDIA’S BI-ANNUAL Motor Show, Auto Expo 2016, opened its doors to visitors on Feb 3, 2016 at India Expo Mart - Greater Noida, Delhi NCR. Expected to be the largest edition since its inception, the event kept up to that promise on many levels. Over 65 auto manufacturers from across the globe exhibiting their products and 108 launches, the seven day show saw close to 6.7 lakh footfalls. Jointly organised by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), Confederation of India Industry (CII), and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the Motor Show attracted prime worldwide attention owing to India’s growing auto industry.

Technology was on top of the agenda for most brands. RFID check-ins, simulator games, 360 degree selfies etc were common attractions. Among the agencies, Wizcraft stood out with their focus character building than technology. Showtime impresses with a LIVE green wall. Ford’s invisible car display was quite the eye-catcher too. As for engagements and LIVE interactions, celebrity presence was ensured by brand ambassadors from filmdom as well as the sports arena. Sachin Tendulkar’s presence at the BMW 7 Series launch, Akshay Kumar at the stylish Honda NAVI launch and John Abraham for Nissan are just a few highlights.

The grand product unveilings, activations and massive display pavilions meant brisk business for event and experiential marketing agencies. While big and small experiential agencies made their presence felt with the pavilion executions and engagement activations for top brands, Meroform, Modern Stage, Dream Factory and others enjoyed the major share of fabrications and technicals.

Wizcraft for TATA, Volkswagen, Renault, DSK and Toyota

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Here’s a roundup of who did what at the Auto Expo 2016:

TATA Motors, Volkswagen, Renault, DSK, and Toyota entrusted their Auto Expo stalls to Wizcraft. And true to their reputation, the agency executed seamlessly and won the Best 4-wheeler pavilion at NDTV's CNB Auto Expo Excellence Award for the TATA. Showcasing the brand’s synergy between

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Smart Technology and Smart Product, the largest stall at this year’s Expo was a modern and contemporary space designed to bring TATA’s futuristic vision to life. Wizcraft focused on building a Character for the brand and the innovative pavilion was titled TATA Motors Smart Hub.

For Toyota, Volkswagen, Renault and DSK Benelli, Wizcraft did the entire management, including entertainment, crowd management, back office management, etc.

Under TATA’s passenger vehicles segment, 3 different stories were identified to exhibit the soul of the brand: ‘Made of Great Plinth’ - a stadium set up with the spotlight on the brand’s next generation products, a vibrant merchandise section, and a gaming/experience area representing the association with Lionel Messi - the global brand ambassador; the Personalization Studio - a great crowd puller showcasing products with design and performance customizations; the HEXA Plinth - dedicated to present the two personalities of HEXA – the stylish off-roader.

With the tagline - ‘Empowering Today. Preserving Tomorrow’, the ‘Greenovation’ theme was extended into the overall design of the Hero 2-wheeler Pavilion. The LIVE Green wall showcasing the green initiative was the main element within the stall. Innovation and technology were brought out through a new age all-fabric ceiling, a Digital Heart, and a Kinetic Piston Installation developed in partnership with students from IIT using Hero Karizma motorcycle pistons. The Indoor Pavilion also featured a Design Studio where Hero MotoCorp’s R&D team and designers showed off their design process on cintiq tablets – an interactive pen-based tab that offers the immersive experience of creating directly on a high-definition display.

Commenting on the grandeur of the pavilion, Delna Avari, Head - Marketing Communications & Services, Passenger Vehicle Business Unit, TATA Motors, said, “We are delighted to have won this award. The Tata Motors Pavilion does look extravagant, stylish and truly world-class. We are delighted to have a great team in Wizcraft to execute a Fantastico! show.” Commenting on the award win for the TATA pavilion, Sandeep Mehta, Vice President, Wizcraft International Entertainment, said; “It is a joy to win an award like this - especially, when you are trying to do something different from the usual. We chose not to completely depend on technology. A conscious decision was made to bring alive the brand and give the stand a whole lot of character. And that paid off for us.”

Showtime for Hero Greenovation

The Hero MotorCorp stall was a paperless pavilion, with Showtime ensuring that all information imparted and engagements experienced were digital, whether it was the product pods or the unique digital interface for registration. The Indoor Pavilion and the Outdoor Pavilion saw 15,000 digital registrations and an average of 35,000 digital interactions at the product pods over a period of 7 days. Both indoor and outdoor Pavilions als had stunt zones, wheelie machines, RFID integrations, Instagram anti-gravity booth, parties every evening, and 360° immersive video experiences with GoPro cameras, along with emcee-driven engagements by Pooja Kanwal and Siddharth Kannan. Coimbatore based MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

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Throttlerz – India’s top stunt bike team – performed at the Outdoor Arena. The brand’s celebrity was Ranbir Kapoor, who was present at the Pavilion and during the press conference.

visitors engaged. Encompass was contracted for the stall management of Chevrolet India, while Action Impact from Dubai was contracted for the stall fabrication.

Showtime’s primary partners were Deepali Designs, Modern Stage, and Dream Factory, while the agency activated its international network of light designers and programmers who came together to build on the in-house expertise. An official statement from Showtime Group Corp. Comm states; “Showtime & Hero’s association goes back to before Showtime was born – when it was just an idea. Hero & Showtime last worked together at Auto Expo in 2008 – during that outing we won the Best Pavilion Award. This year, 2016, marked the return of Showtime as Hero’s Auto Expo partner and to win the Best Pavilion Award again shows the strength of this partnership.”

BMW: The highlights at the BMW stall was headlined by the presence of Sachin Tendulkar. The master blaster was roped in to unveil the the new-generation BMW 7 Series. RFID checkins were another highlight of this Pavilion. Encompass was assisted by its production partners, Audio Design, Dynamix media, Silverline, and Lines & Scales.

Encompass for Chevrolet, BMW, Hyundai, Nissan, Datsun, Mercedes, Fiat and Jeep Encompass being pros at Auto Expo booth concepts and design, through research at international auto-expos of grander stature, enjoyed a major share of the pie with a total of eight stalls. Chevrolet India: Chevrolet India had conducted a pre Auto Expo “#SelfieWithLegend” contest on Facebook. As a culmination to the context and to promote Chevrolet’s association with Manchester United, Louis Saha visited the stall on Feb 6 and engaged in a virtual football game and signing of Chevrolet-branded shirts. The activity was hosted by Emcee Archana Vijaya. Two exciting games at the Chevrolet Pavilion - ‘Passabilities’ and ‘Colorado Co-driver’, also kept 24

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Hyundai: The swanky Hyundai Pavilion featured eight zones featuring various car displays thematic to the zone. At an additional Kids Zone, over 10,000 children were issued certificates based on their learning of Road Traffic Safety. The Road Traffic safety has been one of the key pillars of Hyundai’s CSR initiative – ‘Safe Move’. Additionally, several Digital Engagements were also organised at the Hyundai stall. The Mindrace and Racing Motor Simulator offered visitors a realistic experience of being at a race track. The Time Freeze Selfie was a favourite, allowing visitor to capture a panoramic video shot. The ‘Unlock a Surprise’ machine comprised of an interactive smart interface immersing visitors into the world of Hyundai that unlocks a surprise when taking an easy brand quiz. Innocean and Heehoon Design Global, along with fabricators Sconce India Pvt Ltd. were the other agencies involved in executing Hyundai’s presence at Auto Expo 2016. Nissan: The idea was to bring alive ‘Ignite the Excitement’, as part of Nissan and ICC’S first time collaboration. The entertainment at the Stall was customised and choreographed by the Big Dance Crew - a power packed act bringing alive the theme and supported by visuals played on the 40ft curved LED

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backdrop. The key engagement was a special zone dedicated to the Nissan-ICC tie-up, featuring a batting cage with the Pitchvision software – a batting simulator recently launched in India that gave the audience a real time cricket experience at the booth. John Abraham and Karun Chandok were present at the press conference to promote the GT-R and X-trail, Datsun: Encompass brought alive the brand’s new communication - #ISayYes through an entertainment act that was choreographed by the Big Dance Crew, recreating Snippets from the #ISayYes TVC. For the press conference, the three key actors from the TVC did a live act. Three agencies partnered with Encompass in executing the Nissan and Datsun stalls. TBWA was roped in for the Nissan booth design and overall Nissan booth supervision, while PICO came in for the booth construction. Encompass was responsible for the AVL management and the overall booth management. For Datsun, while Encompass had charge of the overall booth management, Expomobilia was responsible for booth construction and AVL management. For the Mercedes and FIAT-Jeep stalls, Encompass partnered with George P Johnson. Mercedes: The overall conceptualisation and theme for the stall was designed by GPJ’s sister concern Raumtechnik Germany office. The entire set-up with a state of the art architecture was shipped in. A special evening for the customers, curated by Mercedes-Benz, had the Maestro AR Rahman along with Ranjit Barot, Shubha Mudgal, Salim Merchant, and Amit Trivedi inaugurate a music based web series - Project X, along with the launch of its first song. 26

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Fiat-Jeep: GPJ and Raumtechnik worked on the design, fabrication, and technicals of the FCA (Fiat-Jeep) stall. Technicals and materials used were similar to the very successful work that the agency had delivered in Sao Paulo and Shanghai for Fiat and Jeep. Both Fiat and Jeep had their own separate press events. Jeep’s was on a much larger scale, featuring two concealed vehicles with separate drive on reveals. This was accented with a large LED presence. The much smaller Fiat event had silk-covered reveals. Offices and functional areas available on the lower level of the central deck structure were branded for Jeep and FIAT during their respective press events, while the upstairs area had separate branded lounges. This area also provided additional viewing for the events. The booth management for Fiat-Jeep was done by Encompass, with MC led engagements at the Fiat side of the stall aimed at creating brand recall and promoting key product features. Speaking about their role in executing the FIAT-Jeep pavilion at Auto Expo 2016 and their association with GPJ- Raumtechnik, an official statement form Encompass states; “Encompass has had a long stint with FCA and the Auto Expo was yet another partnership for the two. The best part about working with a client like FCA is the autonomy given to the agency in terms of bringing the best ideas to the table. This was the first time that Encompass partnered with GPJ, Raumtechnik and O2 for the Motor Show. It was a very different and intriguing experience for us as it gave us platform to exchange and evaluate different functionality patterns and collectively work towards achieving deadlines with perfection.”

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Communique for Maruti Suzuki Maruti Suzuki’s vision and strategy of ‘Transformotion’ was translated by Communique into an innovative, multi-layered, and technologically superlative presence at the Auto Expo 2016. The ‘Transformation in Motion’ for Maruti Suzuki products was brought forth by the global unveiling of the new Vitara Brezza. A dynamic Transformotion Arena, swathed in blue, was designed for the launch event held on Feb 3, hosted by Kubra Sait and Danish Sait. For the first time in India, a 1000 sq.ft kinetic installation was used for the customised launch production. The stunning launch event bagged two NDTV CNB Awards of Excellence - the Best Global Debut and Best of Show. The social media buzz continued the next day with ‘Transformotion in Design’ brought out by the Nexa Ignis and Baleno Concept Launches. A grand launch symphony was the highlight of the show. The engagement activities and events for the public days (Feb 5 - 9) was headlined by a LIVE Celebrity appearance & Media Event by S Cross in association with 24 (Colors). Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor engaged with the visitors and posed for photo ops. Coming to the technicals, 2000 Sq. ft of LED Screens and Media Servers were used; along with Booth Sound Experience with Main PA & Line Arrays. About 500 light fixtures were employed for the events, product displays, and interactive zones. Commenting on the association with Maruti, Tarun Aggarwal, Business Head, Comminique, said, “Working with

Maruti Suzuki is always an amazing experience and the client pushes us to set new benchmarks with every project. The Auto Expo 2016 presence generated tremendous online and offline buzz; the client is delighted and so are we. Now, we are looking forward to furthering our boundaries of excellence.” C S Direkt worked on the stall design for Honda cars and Maruti Suzuki. Anjali Pasricha, Director, C S Direkt shared, “Auto Expo 2016 gave us opportunities to showcase C S Direkt’s talent across the board on innovative and advanced design. Our focus was to bring out essential details of the vehicles displayed with exciting new launches. While finalizing design elements, we wanted to bring out the brand presence; such as Honda had their focus on innovation, technology and an advanced youthful look and feel, while the Maruti design had a mixed professional layout with tones of grey, black and white. Nexa had their Lifestyle Areas which was designed to appeal to the audience. We faced challenges when the team had many elements in structural design that were heavy weights. CSD has always focused on team strength with heavy design elements, which had to be installed at venue. CSD loves challenges and came through as winners.” 70 EMG for Honda Two-Wheelers Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), the country’s second largest 2-wheeler maker, launched five motorcycles, new colour options for two products, and four concept models at this year’s Auto Expo. The NAVI launch, along with Honda’s Indoor product display and outdoor Safety Initiatives were impeccably put together by the Seventy Event Media Group (70 EMG); with a brief to design, plan, execute, and manage the two pavilions, keeping Honda’s vision for India 2016 in mind. MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

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Across the five days of the Expo, visitors were engaged with spot games including dance, singing, beat boxing, rapping and mimicry. A 360 degree selfie video with the RC213V (HRC Moto GP bike ridden by Marc Marquez) was the technological highlight for the visitors. Other engagement highlights included the Tweet Café – tweet and win merchandise; Honda Riding Trainer (RT) - an integral part of HMSI’s safety approach that simulates risky situations in traffic and gives real time input to the rider, thereby training him/her on safe riding; and a live demo of the CBS (Combi Braking System available in all the scooters and most bikes, that reduces the braking distance and offers better stability on road). Adding to the glam quotient was the presence of Brand ambassadors – Akshay Kumar and Taapsee Pannu, who were joined by Chhota Bheem at the indoor and outdoor pavilions. Thanush Joseph, Director – Marketing at 70EMG, said, “It’s our first event with HMSI and we won this at a multi agency pitch purely on credentials and our design. We are thrilled to have been chosen for one of HMSI’s most significant projects and the new category launch - the NAVI. We consider it an honor for entrusting 70EMG with this milestone event.” Aura Integrated for Ashok Leyland Aura Integrated Private Solutions’ task was to rid the company of its stodgy image and in its place unveil a sleeker, sharper contender. The theme ‘Into the Future’ reflected in every aspect of Ashok Leyland’s stall. The creatively designed stand with its minimalistic structural elements simultaneously combined the grandeur of the company’s pedigree and its futuristic philosophy.

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The highlight of the Ashok Leyland stall was a single 47.25 meter piece of fascia, encasing the entire space in a swathe of silver. Its high visibility from any angle and distance was made possible by suspending this 2500kg band from strategically placed trusses. The company name was flanked by in-lit design elements, showcasing its new mandate. On the engagements front, the exhibition was kicked-off by a spectacular show by Shiamak Davar’s troupe. Keeping up with the theme, children were chosen to launch the high tech school bus – The Sunshine Bus, in a dual bid to project both the futuristic theme and as the actual users of the new vehicle. Working alongside the Aura team was the agency’s production partner, Dream Factory and technical partner, Modern Stage Service. Orange Events and Productions Pvt Ltd. also Assisted Aura in executing the commercial vehicles pavilion. Aura has had a long standing relationship with Ashok Leyland and have partnered with them for a wide range of events right from product launches to dealers meets and awards nights. Siddharth Ganeriwala, CEO, Aura Integrated says, “This year was however special with us being chosen to showcase Ashok Gen Next range at the Auto Expo. It was indeed a privilege, an amazing learning experience and truly a great honour for the entire team.” GPJ and Raumtechnik For FADA Auto Summit 2016 Conference FADA (Federation of Automobile dealers association) organises the Auto summit every year.

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The 9th Auto Summit at Auto Expo 2016 was given to George P Johnson to conceptualise, design, create and execute the event. The production and fabrication was done by Lalit Arts Delhi. Since the focus of this year’s Auto Summit was Digitisation, a fresh concept and theme - Digital Dealer – Accelerating Opportunities - was designed by GPJ India in partnership with CarDekho.com and FADA. The main set involved a LED Wall of 30’ x 10’ and sponsor panels with AV screen stretching from one end of the hall to another, making an impact of an elaborate set. The subjects during the event included Oculus technology, Virtual showrooms etc. The Main Sponsors CarDekho had a demo area which showcased their range of services and had a specially designed oculus stall. An area was Designated for associate sponsors which included Google, Ashok leyland, Eicher, L&T, E&Y, Shell, Honda bikes, Yes Bank, TATA Motors, Mahindra Finance etc.

While keeping in mind the visual identity of both the brands, a central story was conceived to connect the two. The two brands met at the pinnacle of the road, which ran across the stall and curved up vertically to reach the sky. Juxtaposed between the the two roads, meeting vertically creating a mountain in the middle, was the conference room and pantry - strategically tucked between the meeting point of the two brands. The vertically ascending road became the focal point of the stall, while the star bikes and ATVs were mounted on it, as if moving towards the pinnacle. The display and retail branding had to be strategically done on limited floor space. Hence, 4 vertical panels were created at the four corners which doubled up as lighting pillars and provided maximum visibility for branding. For this particular stall, the entire fabrication was completed in Marketing Solutions (MS) own retail factory. TNBT for JK Tyres

Narain Karthikeyan graced the occasion and awarded the winners along with Amit Jain - CEO and Co-founder of GirnarSoft and CarDekho. The evening also had a band performance to entertain the guests and an extravagant dinner for its attendees. Marketing Solutions for Polaris India The Indian brand, Polaris India Pvt Ltd, carries with it an age old legacy of biking culture. Its iconic curves and robust elegance had to be translated into a simple story for its Auto Expo stall design. The brief for Marketing Solutions was to create a space that would host their two brands, Indian and Polaris in the same exhibit and the split had to be 80/20 respectively. 30

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Slated to be JK Tyre’s biggest launch for this year, the Ranger Tyre series was unveiled at the Auto Expo 2016. TNBT Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd. was given the task to conceptualize and execute this project. With a space of 400 sq.mts., team TNBT suggested and developed an elaborate experience zone with rocks, logs, inclines and ramps for visitors to actually feel how the tyre performs on various terrains. The décor and the ambience gave one the feeling of a fair, with a promise of plenty of fun and frolic in store for the guests. To add to the grandeur, a huge LED backdrop was also set up to cover the entire show LIVE.

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Modified vehicles such as the Mahindra Thar, Maruti Gypsy, Mitsubishi Pajero and the Toyota Fortuner, fitted with the new Ranger Tyres, were displayed. Professional rally drivers gave each guest a ride over these mock terrains. For many, the most exciting moment was the steep ascent and the descent over the mammoth ramp that was erected just for this show.

the auto industry. SIAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Anti Counterfeiting Group (ACG) has teamed up with all major auto players in India, for the same. A series of on-ground activities like graffiti walls, college competitions, and skits were used to engage the visitors at the Auto Expo.

Social Street for Triumph Motorcycles The overall concept and theme for the Triumph stall was done keeping in mind the brand identity and positioning in global market, as well as the intent to launch their new Bonneville Variants and showcase them to the Indian consumers at the Auto Expo.Social Street, who have been working very closely with the brand for last 3-4 years, was tasked with the engagement activities for the stall. Based on Triumphâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand positioning in India and the types of bike that are on display, the agency managed multiple activities at the stall including B-boying, Soccer art (football juggling), and Bike Art. DJ Louis performed on all 7 days of the expo, while professional models accompanied the products on display. Apart from these, several other big and small agencies brought alive brand philosophies and product characteristics through unique booth designs and innovative activations.The Scania booth was fabricated and managed by Propshop. An activation for the global launch of their Citywide Bus was also planned and managed by the agency. Star Dimensions worked with Ford and Audi, while Kettle Communications associated with Isuzu for the Swift Yokohama activation. The Expo also saw the launch of SIAM Fighting Fake campaign, spreading awareness about counterfeit products infiltrating MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

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THE MAKINGS OF MAKE IN INDIA WEEK

While Make in India Week sought to highlight India’s manufacturing sector, the agencies representing governments, brands and companies at the exhibition and events, also took up innovative and challenging tasks to keep up with what this initiative stands for.

HE MAKE IN INDIA 2016 EXHIBITION TOOK PLACE from February 13 to 18 at MMRDA Grounds, Mumbai with the goal of showcasing India’s manufacturing sector, attracting investors and engaging other stakeholders. With 55 events, the exhibition witnessed participation from 49 nations, 17 States, business delegations from over 60 countries, over 200 exhibitors, and close to 40 seminars and parallel discussions. Make in India week showcased exhibitions of the most innovative products and manufacturing processes across 11 sectors and states. The event’s theme was innovation, design and sustainability, and the space itself made an avant-garde statement in design, merging the aesthetics of traditional craft with a futuristic vision. The venue featured twelve air-conditioned pavilions-cumexhibition halls constructed over 100,000 sq mt land as sector and state pavilions. Amongst these, one of the most prominent pavilions was that

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of Maharashtra State. Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Haryana will also display their strengths as investment destinations in the States Pavilion at the MII Centre. The sector pavilions featured top brands, institutions and industry divisions showcase their future-ready capabilities and innovations in the most creative manner. Here’s a low-down of which agency reported back managing what Pavilions @ MII Week:

Wizcraft for Maharashtra State Pavilion: The Maharashtra State Pavilion, undertaken by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, exhibited the model of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. Other agencies including MMRDA and the City & Industrial Development Corporation also displayed models of ongoing and proposed infrastructure projects in the state. This Pavilion was conceptualised and managed by Wizcraft.

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Showtime Events for StartUp India, IIT, Infosys and Nestle: Showtime Events managed a StartUp India display (on the lines of the StartUp India event that took place in New Delhi a week before MII Week), an IIT display showcasing capabilities of the 8 IITs in the country, an Infosys, and a Nestle Display, under relevant sector pavilions. DynaMix Media partnered Showtime for the A/V solutions at the StartUp India and IIT showcases, while Splat Studio assisted with the A/V content, and Star Dimensions took care of trussing and lighting solutions, together with UK-base Lighting Designer, Admam Power. One Films is executed a lion installation at the StartUp India stall and created AV content in the Women Entrepreneur’s lounge also as part of the StartUp India showcase.

Encompass for Skill India, Asian Paints, Volkswagen, PepsiCo and Andhra Pradesh: Encompass’ work was visible throughout the exhibition with Pepsi, Asian Paints, Volkswagen, Skill India, Hyundai, and the Andhra Pradesh State Pavilion as its clients. Skill India Geometry Global Encompass Network in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) undertook the end to end planning and management of the grand pavilion for the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship at Make in India week. A ‘skill lion’ (Make in India Logo with skill icons) was introduced, and became the centre of attraction and also a popular selfiespot. A live skill classroom was also set up at the centre of the pavilion wherein training partners were invited to make presentations. The latest innovations in this sector were demonstrated through live simulators along with a showcase of some of the actual models created by those trained under this program. The high point however was the on-spot e-Pledge kiosk - a touch screen based user experience propelling many to join this movement by simply signing the pledge (with a digital stylus) towards a skilled India. Asian Paints With exemplary creativity in terms of design and content as

well as focus on consumer experience at the stall, Encompass used its distinctive knowledge in the space of expos to the fullest, effortlessly integrating 11 different brand stories under one strategic communication. An eye grabbing design of the 'Make in India' lion, encompassed with a LED which showcased Asian Paints’ design and manufacturing story, specially created for the event. Another highlight of the stall was an installation put together using Asian Paints’ paint cans and brushes, showcasing the brand’s dominance in the décor space. The rest of the stall featured a content showcase under the headers of 'Sustainability', 'Design', and 'Innovation'. Volkswagen Encompass conceptualized, planned, facilitated and executed the Volkswagen stall at Make in India, from start to end. Siddarth Ganta, Account Director, Encompass Events remarked, “To translate the theme ‘Make in India’ into the design, we showcased the plant assembly and how VW cars are made at their plant in Pune, how they have localized production of VW cards while maintaining global standards. Creative depiction was a challenge which we took up, delivering a GLOCAL design to the client which won us the project.” PepsiCo PepsiCo’s Pavilion size was 150 square metres. The brief given to the agency was to showcase PepsiCo’s contribution and loyalty towards the Make in India movement. The plan was for consumers to return home with their myths busted and perception of PepsiCo elevated. The theme and the logo was centred on the idea of ‘PepsiCo - designing a better tomorrow’. The setup design also focussed on ‘tomorrow’, and had a futuristic and forward-looking theme. A Make in India Lion was made entirely out of PepsiCo Porfolio brand logos, 10ft wide and 6 ft tall. A 16ft wide and 9 ft high LED screen was set up, which was completely gesture controlled for consumer interactivity and engagement. The stall also saw the use of an informative and fun vending machine showcasing Pepsi’s work with farmers to source potatoes for their products like Lay’s chips. In the vending machine a visitor could input a potato, which showcased the process of it turning into a bag of chips, before a pack was dispensed. In order to create awareness for PepsiCo on its vast range, a product wall, where when any product was picked up a sensor

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EXHIBITIONS & CONVENTIONS | ALSO FEATURED

stall keeping in mind the Swedish brand’s international image. The response generated through the stall was in keeping with the brand’s goals and expectations for the event.

Up On The Stage for Cadila Pharmaceuticals: Up On The Stage won the brief to conceptualise, manage and design Cadila Pharmaceuticals’ Stall in a space with dimensions 65ft x 55ft, which was made visually appealing with technology well integrated in the background.The Cadila stall was one of the biggest stalls in that particular hangar which grabbed the attention of all visitors.

Video Waves for Sanofi, Britannia, Raymond and Gujarat: would detect the product taken and instantly flash interesting factoids about it. Chef Vikas was also present to engage visitors in interesting recipes created out of PepsiCo products. The stall is said to have had a footfall of around 8000 people every day. Andhra Pradesh Pavilion JWT and Encompass collaborated with Andhra Pradesh Industries Department for the conceptualization, planning and execution of the State Pavilion. The Pavilion was designed to highlight the multiple opportunities available at Andhra Pradesh for investors and reasons why they should invest in Andhra Pradesh. Visitors entered the pavilion with an AV on Andhra Pradesh playing in one corner, while testimonies by renowned people from different fields followed. Next, another AV played on the different steps taken by the government which have resulted in job creation and youth empowerment. The state focused on different growth pillars, and investors were imparted information regarding each focus sector with the help of industry specific presentations. Separate zones were created to highlight the art capital Amaravati and the coastline of Andhra Pradesh. The pavilion was designed in such a manner that visitors could get a holistic view of the pavilion from any corner, and also access all information easily. Interactive touchscreen panels were installed at 3 points in the pavilion that highlighted information.

Candid Marketing for Ikea: Candid Marketing managed Ikea’s stall at Make in India. The objective was to grab eyeballs and maximize footfalls at the exhibition, where the agency had to design and execute the

The MII Exhibition also featured showcases by brands including Sanofi, Britannia and Raymond. Video Waves supplied unique curved screens for each of these booths, with the screen at the Sanofi showcase being a first of its kind in India - 3.9 mm (usually 4.8mm) pitch convex (usually concave) curved screen. The company has also installed 3 curved screens at the Gujarat showcase in the States Pavilion. And now for the co-located summits and events as part of the Make In India Week:

Wizcraft manages Inaugural Ceremony, Dinner, Maharashtra Night + Seminar and CNN Forum While there were multiple co-located events planned by various public and private organisations at Make in India, Wizcraft was engaged to manage the main anchor event held at Bandra-Kurla Complex. The organiser of the event was the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), led by Amitabh Kant. Viraf Sarkari, Director, Wizcraft, elaborates, "The inauguration / opening ceremony was a brilliant fusion and showcase of Indian culture, industrialisation, and technology." PM Modi was in attendance and made a formal address. Also in attendance were Prime Ministers from other countries like Finland and Sweden and ministers, dignitaries and industrialists from India and abroad. Inaugural Dinner at Turf Club The same evening, the agency managed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ Dinner at the Turf Club. 600 - 800 MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

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top delegates and global CEOs were treated to a grand feast. The Experience India Society (EIS), an initiative of luxury hotels The Oberoi, Taj, ITC, The Leela, Hyatt and Marriott, looked after the food and beverage arrangements for the whole event. At the 101 - item dinner, EIS served Indian delicacies from six regions of the country - north, south, east, west, the Himalayan region, and the north east. Six master chefs worked on the dinner menu for the high profile guests. Maharasthra Investment Seminar Wizcraft also managed the Maharashtra Investment Seminar and the CCN Asia Business Forum, all taking place as part of the seminars and collateral events at the Make in India Week. Maharashtra Night and other Cultural Events On Feb 14, Wizcraft conceptualised and is managed the Maharashtra Night at Chowpatty Beach. This event saw a showcase of Maharashtrian culture and entertainment, with a Ganesh Vandana performance by Hema Malini, a poetry recital by Amitabh Bachchan, performances by folk dancers of Maharashtra, and a special act on the Coronation of Shivaji. Unfortunately, a fire at the event venue, led to the event seizing short of its entire programming. A Fusion Music Concert at the Bandra Fort, and a Fashion Show at the Prince of Whales Museum were other aspects managed by Wizcraft. The fashion show showcased Maharashtrian Fabrics through collections by Anju Modi, Neeta Lulla, Shaina NC, and Vikram Phadnis. CNN Asia Business Forum Leading minds from across the world came together at the MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai, to discuss the potential for growth and business in Asia. CNN anchors Fareed Zakaria, Richard Quest, and Andrew Stevens led a series of interviews and debates.

MSS for Main Conference Hall @ MII Week Modern Stage Services provided full technical solutions, including sound, light, AV, for the Main Conference Hall, which hosted the PM's inaugural address and all the important seminars as part of the MII Week. 36

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FDCI presents Weaves of Banaras @ MII As part of ‘Make in India Week’, the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, in collaboration with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) presented ‘Weaves of Banaras’, an interpretation of the splendid-ness of Banaras captured through the modern lens of the magic of crafts on Feb 14, at ITC Grand Central, Mumbai. Conceptualised by the FDCI with a collection by 12 veteran design gurus such as Sabyasachi, Rohit Bal, Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Namrata Joshipura, JJ Valaya, Ashish Soni, Arjun Saluja, Anju Modi, Anita Dongre, Abraham & Thakore and Abhishek Gupta showcased three ensembles each.

IDF @ MII Week The India Design Forum was hosted as part of the mainstream seminars of Make In India week, and showcased the potential of design, innovation, and sustainability, especially in the manufacturing sectors.

70 EMG extends Kala Ghoda for MII Week The Kala Ghoda Festival which took place in Mumbai the week before MII, was extended for an additional 3-days especially as an inclusion to the Make In India Week. 70 EMG continued to manage the festival, including this 3-day extension. Rs. 100 crore is said to be spent jointly by the Centre and the State government on media blitzkrieg and event management during the Make In India Week, and all preparations were managed in a meagre 3 month lead time to the event.

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EXHIBITIONS AND CONVENTIONS | IN FOCUS

IN FOCUS

THE COALITION

TC/3: A Festival of Creativity, Ideas and Innovations The 3rd edition of the Coalition saw more than 300 speakers present in 11 streams, while over 2500 visitors attended.

C/3, THE THIRD EDITION OF THE COALITION took place from March 4-6 in New Delhi. With over 300 speakers in 11 streams including Content Creation, Comedy, Journalism, Music and Fashion, the program was split across multiple venues including the National Museum (Janpath), British Council (Connaught Place), Akshara Theatre (Connaught Place), FLYP@MTV Cafe and Talkatora Stadium.

Background Founded by Only Much Louder and Do One Thing, The Coalition was kick-started 2 years ago with the idea of enabling young creative individuals to convert their creative ideas into sustainable business opportunities. The festival seeks to bring together India’s creative community under one roof with the aim of fuelling the next wave of creative ventures in the country. Vijay Nair, CEO, OML says, "For us, The Coalition goes beyond just a platform showcasing creativity, it serves as a hub for inspiration, one that generates ideas, innovations, new technologies, and creative visions that drive progress."

TC/3 The Coalition, this year, involved individuals who are part of a number of brands including PepsiCo, Red Bull, ESPN Cricinfo, PayTM, Hotstar, Buzzfeed, Vogue India and Saavn. Alongside these, the festival also had on board various outreach partners. On how TC3 took previous editions to the next level, Arjun S. Ravi, Co-founder, NH7 adds, “Two years ago, The Coalition started off as a boot camp for freelancers, entrepreneurs, students, professionals and other aspirants who wanted to transform their ideas into a business. TC/2 last year saw more than 350 creative entrepreneurs, professionals, mavericks and artists from all across the country come together at the Buddh International Circuit. TC/2 featured over 50 speakers, 26 workshops, 55 pitches and presentations. The festival this year has been scaled notches above the previous editions with over 300 speakers, 30 curators and 11 streams. Over the two years, we learnt that there are hundreds of ‘startups’ in the country that aren't in the fields of IT and digital, and that each of these have unique issues that aren't regularly addressed at startup conferences and workshops. The Coalition facilitated discussion and solution-finding for these till now largely ignored areas.” 38

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Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra

Shekhar Gupta of ThePrint

The Programme, Curators and Speakers

Day 1 of The Coalition featured focussed workshops and discussions. After a series of master classes with industry stalwarts across creative disciplines, the second day started on an encouraging note for all young creative entrepreneurs with some heavy-duty panels at New Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium.

The programme consisted of a series of focused sessions and panel discussions. Speakers at the festival included documentary filmmaker Fazeelat Aslam; journalist Shekhar Gupta; Scott Cohen from The Orchard; photographer Shahidul Alam; Arunabh Kumar of The Viral Fever; and actress Richa Chadha. The 11 streams featured in the festival were curated by a pool of 30 curators including Tanmay Bhat of AIB; Frieda Pinto, the Global Ambassador for Girl Rising India; and Guneet Monga who has produced films as diverse as The Lunchbox and Gangs of Wasseypur. TC/3 also hosted special business clinics to support budding creative entrepreneurs by offering advice from key mentors and funders. Finally, the festival offered plenty of opportunity to unwind with live performances by musicians, comedians and special screenings.

“The Coalition goes beyond just a platform showcasing creativity, it serves as a hub for inspiration, one that generates ideas, innovations, new technologies, and creative visions that drive progress.” VIJAY NAIR CEO, OML

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Tourism Minister Kapil Sharma came out to show their unequivocal support to the creative community in India. Discussions spanned across journeying through their own ‘start-up’ AAP, to growing career opportunities for creative entrepreneurs as well as eliminating the various challenges faced by budding entrepreneurs in starting a business. Day 2 also opened up discussions on the future of artists and entrepreneurs across creative fields in the country, scaling up in competitive environments, making a brand come alive through different art forms, saving the internet through net neutrality and also open mic sessions with Roshan Abbas (Geometry Global Encompass

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On Air with AIB - Unicorns

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

On Air with AIB - Breaking Into Bollywood

Network), comedian Abish Mathew, filmmakers Jimmy Goldblum and Adam Weber (Tomorrow We Disappear) and Deepak Ramola (Project Fuel) sharing their inspiring stories. Day 3 saw packed workshops in The Art of Negotiating and Selling, Crisis Management, Storytelling & PR for Start-Ups, How To Build a Creative Plan, and also How to Crowdfund your Idea. TC/3 ended with power-packed panels on independent films with filmmakers Guneet Monga, Fazeelat Aslam, Vivek Gomber, Jimmy Goldblum and Anadil Hossain; and managing and marketing creative artists with Indian and international talent managers by Stephen Budd, Laura Taylor, Vijay Subramaniam, Tarsame Mittal and Sumit Bothra. Anjula Acharia-Bath, best known for UN Foundation’s Girl Up Campaign and charting Priyanka Chopra’s breakthrough in Hollywood, revealed some of her management strategies in an intimate chat with audiences, while Florian Klaass, International Culture Marketing at Red Bull GmbH, delivered a keynote about

how brands can participate in culture in a meaningful way. India’s biggest comedy collective All India Bakchod brought their popular On Air with AIB interview sessions to the festival with conversations on Breaking into Bollywood with Anurag Kashyap, Richa Chadha, Neil Bhoopalam and Hussain Dalal and another session titled ‘Unicorns’ with India’s biggest start-ups including the Head of PayTM, OYO Rooms, TrulyMadly and Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels.

Nair remarks, "I can proudly say that we concluded our biggest edition of The Coalition so far. Right from our amazing stream experts who helped curate 300 of our finest speakers from India and across the globe to the fantastic audience turnout, we couldn't have asked for a bigger TC3. It wouldn't have been possible without the support and enthusiasm of our local production and security crews. We can't wait to start planning the next edition, which will be the next few months itself."

The Response With over 2,500 visitors participating, the three-day festival of creativity saw some of the most sought-after names in the fields of journalism, art & photography, publishing, food & beverage, music, comedy, design, fashion, makers, gaming and content creation come together. The festival definitely met its goal of providing participants a platform to cross-pollinate ideas and initiate a dialogue about the business of creation and creativity.

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Roshan Abbas on TC/3 Roshan Abbas, Founder and M.D of Encompass, who was one of the speakers at the event, provides ExM with an incisive review of the event. For three days, if all cities in India apart from New Delhi felt a cosmic vacuum of creativity, you can blame it on The Coalition 3. As Scott Cohen, Co-Founder of the Orchard told me, “This place blows away every preconceived notion the West has of India. This could be Berlin, New York, Amsterdam for all I know. The hip vibe, the energy, the talent is all so global” Over 2000 young creators gathered at TC3. While the big daddies of OML: Vijay Nair, Ajay Nair, Girish Raj, Arjun S Ravi, and Shreyas were all at hand; so were Laura Quinn (the cofounder of the festival) and Lynn McGuire Raj who is possibly the guardian mother of the Coalition with the entire OML crew. Kids proudly wearing Nucleya T-shirts buzzed around handling stalls, streams, entry, speakers etc. And in the midst of this were the creators who had bought a ticket or been lucky enough to get a fellowship. Everyone looking to learn, listen, collaborate and to harness their creativity. Talkatora stadium was the gateway to a creative heaven and OML was playing guardian angel to the community knocking at the pearly gates! I arrived late on Day One, but heard about the awesome panels from my friend and comedian Vikram Sathaye. It seemed that content creation, food, comedy, and music were the toast of the festival, with all sessions running to capacity. There still is some way to go before design, publishing etc. find their feet. The telling fact was that Shekhar Gupta had only 20 people for his session, while Rega Jha of Buzzfeed along with Miss Malini had a 500 strong crowd. The times they are a changing. Everyone at coalition believes in the power of now. And it seemed that many of those still holding up a flag for the institutions of yesterday are fighting a lonely battle. This is the age of reinvention. The speaker line up was stellar. Where else can you find Anurag Kashyap, Guneet Monga, Arunabh Kumar, the AIB crew, Geoff Wills of Live Nation comedy, Florian Klaass from Red bull, Vijay Shekhar from PayTM, Richard Nash from Cursor the baap of publishing, TL Taylor from MIT, Ritesh Agarwal from OYO, Anjula Acharia-Bath (for those who don’t know who… the co-founder of Desi Hits and manager of Priyanka Chopra instrumental in the actress’ international breakthrough).

Coalition is a creative melting pot. If you have the patience to meet every young startup and creator you have the most incredible conversation. Who knows what you may come across, I met guitar amp makers, table magicians, young comics and musicians, graphic designer, food entrepreneurs, some pseudo startups who are after your money and many real ones who want mentorship. The backstage speaker lounge was often the setting for a long lost reunion at a Kumbh mela. People who have been work colleagues and business associates, school friends and clients all bonded over endless coffees and cigarettes. Varun Duggirala co founder of the Glitch was in animated conversation with brethren from the content industry. I could see many new collaborations blossom. There was plenty of learning and a lot of chuckles. Abish Mathew spoke of his struggle with convincing his parents that he wanted a creative career, Neelesh Mishra admonished brands on interfering with content, creative pitches were made to fund startups and all was well in the world of creative entrepreneurship. The session with Arvind Kejriwal was illuminating. He asked for solutions and his team was at hand to note them and to work on implementation. The EEMA initiative of one window clearance for events was spoken of. It has become one of the major reasons Delhi seems so event friendly. The upcoming Delhi Festival was spoken of and everyone invited to participate! From 200 pioneers in year one to 2000 in its third edition, the festival has grown! And this time it was multi venue. From MTV Flyp hosting the food track to Akshara theatre where the gaming track was held it was a riot of ideas and a triumph for the imagineers. OML has worked hard through the year to curate not only great content but to get creative entrepreneurs from across the country to join in a revolution. My mind still boggles at the scale and what must be the monetary investment but they seem to be in this for the long haul. Vijay is keen to make this into a South by South West and knowing his vision, he shall! It's a marathon to create a festival not a sprint. And OML is off to a running start.

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SPORTS MARKETING | BRIEFS

PRATEEK NAGPAL Client Services Lead Toast Events

Toast Goes Sporty At Adidas Warehouse Launch In Pataudi

didas Group through a multi-agency pitch chose Toast Events, as their Experiential and Events partner to ideate and execute the launch of their Warehouse at Pataudi, Haryana. About 500 Warehouse employees and the Senior Management team of Adidas Group attended the event. The event started with the formal inauguration ceremony of the Warehouse, which was led by Dave Thomas, Managing Director, Adidas Group, along with a few international delegates from the brand. The inauguration of the Warehouse was tweaked a little by re-creating the façade of the entrance door in theme colours.

"Upon ribbon cutting, we had skateboarders coming up to deliver a high energy performance using various structures to celebrate the moment in a true sports and fitness brand style. Confetti blasts, mechanical opening of the main door and releasing of about 1500 customized balloons by these employees added hues and grandness to the Opening Ceremony," said Prateek Nagpal, Client Services Lead, Toast Events. Post the inaugural ceremony, whilst senior representatives were on a round to have a look at the Warehouse, the employeeshad a quick round of interactions with the Emcee who gave away brand merchandise. The formal ceremony commenced in an indoor space featuring formal presentations and warehouse related AVs showcased to the employees. Sports and fitness activities were carried out, from relay runs to a skateboarding workshop, box football to basketball shoot and Volleyball games, everyone had picked up a game or activity of their choice and were busy experiencing what the brand has been known for over the years.

TANMAY OBEROI Asst. Manager - Client Servicing Cream Events

Cream Events Launch Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Active Lifestyle Brand ‘Seven’ In Delhi

ream Events conceptualized a unique launch activity for Rhiti Sports Management’s New Active Lifestyle Brand, Seven, on Feb 19 at The Grand, Vasant Kunj, Delhi. The mandate on the brief was to design an experience that was young, vibrant and leveraged the global image of India’s Cricket Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who’s the face and Global Brand Ambassador for Seven and owner of Rhiti Sports. The launch comprised of a creative yet stylish stage design for the official launch, and a demo zone which showcased Seven’s entire product range. The two events, held back-to-back in one day, had an overwhelming response, both from the media for the press launch in the morning and with stakeholders in the evening. Captain Cool – MSD was introduced on stage

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with an opening audio visual, and ending with the brand’s official hashtag #changemaker.Seven’s apparel and fitness range was launched and displayed by models through a ramp walk on a stage with a rotating base. The demo zone with the active lifestyle range was revealed along with the launch sequence. Mahi tweeted about the event from his official handle which led to 0.8 million retweets. On putting together the launch, Tanmay Oberoi, Asst. Manager - Client Servicing, Cream Events said, “It was a wonderful experience working with the client, despite the short turn around period. From logistics, launch plan, gastronomy and special touch points, every small element in the event was conceptualized and created keeping the youthfulness and vibrancy of the brand in mind. We look forward to such creative and challenging work from our clients!”

SPORTS MARKETING | BRIEFS

POORVA JOSHIPURA CEO PETA India

Wellness Forever And TSEC Sports Committee To Organise Well-A-Thon 2016 In Partnership With PETA

harmacy chain Wellness Forever in conjunction TSEC Sports Committee is hosting Well-A-Thon 2016, an 8km marathon from Bandstand, Bandra, Mumbai on March 6. In an initiative to promote a healthy lifestyle under its CSR initiative ‘Wellness Connect’, Wellness Forever proposes the 'Eat & Delete’ drive which recommends eating whatever one likes as far as it can be balanced out with running or walking and exercising regularly. “We have collaborated with TSEC Sports Committee to provide an impetus to the relentless efforts by the youth of the institution who have been driven towards the promotion of health and wellness, which is an integral part of our brand values. Well- A- Thon is a humble attempt on our part to highlight the importance of physical activity in day-to-day life,”

said Bakhshish Singh, Sr. Management, Wellness Forever Lifestyle Chemist & Super Market, while unveiling the Well-A-Thon T-Shirt at their launch event on March 3 at Dadar, Mumbai. PETA has also partnered in this drive with the objective of promoting animal adoption through this marathon. PETA has also partnered in this drive with the objective of promoting animal adoption through this marathon. Poorva Joshipura, CEO, PETA India remarked, “PETA is delighted to be the NGO partner of Wellness Forever and are grateful towards their efforts to promote the adoption of homeless dogs. We know we can always count on Wellness to step up for the wellbeing of the animals.” Bollywood actor Harman Baweja and bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast Suhas Khamkar will be running to support the cause.

CHIRAG SHAH Director Destiny Group Entertainers

The fourth edition of Surat Night Marathon had six different race categories, and saw the participation of thousands of runners, including physically challenged and senior citizens.

Destiny Group Manages 4th Surat Night Marathon

he 2016 Surat Night Marathon kicked-off on February 13, at DRB Grounds, as a fund raiser to set up CCTV cameras across Surat, cleaning the city as well as improvising facilities in a cancer hospital.

Managed by Destiny Group Entertainers, the marathon was flagged-off by Akshay Kumar who is also the brand ambassador of the event. Actress Nimrat Kaur was also present to support the cause along with several dignitaries, including Police Commissioner IPS Ashish Bhatia, Former Police Commissioner IPS Rakesh Asthana, Event Chairman Sports & Youth Cultural Minister of Gujarat Nanubhai Vanani and many others.

According to the event management company, the route had all the required facilities including 21 water stations along, 17 energy drink stalls and 14 en-route medical stations, also there were 12 ambulances with skilled team of around 100 physiotherapists & doctors. 92 bed hospital with the staff of 150 doctors and physiotherapists was also set up with an ICU facility at the finishing point. Also, there were 17 entertainment stations, where there were LIVE performances by several artists. Chirag Shah, Director, Destiny Group Entertainers, stated, “The Surat Police and Municipal Corporation extended their support to make this event a grand success. As far as the route mapping and planning go, it was done by us along with the media company, The Solutions and the race director Arvind Bijwe." MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

SPORTS | IN FOCUS

IN FOCUS

SAG OPENING CEREMONY

SAG Opening Ceremony Flawlessly executed by Team Encompass The agency won the mandate for the opening and closing ceremonies of the South Asian Games 2016 in Guwahati, through a multi-agency pitch.

By Karishma Hundalani

HEN ENCOMPASS BAGGED THE IPL OPENING ceremony last year, it came by surprise, since sport ceremonies isn’t the usual format of event taken up by the agency. But with the cumulative creative capabilities of the team, there was no doubt that they would manage. The question really was how they’d set a mark and standout from the usual suspects that manage opening ceremonies for sport events in the country. Unfortunately the only opportunity the agency got that day was salvaging a situation that heavy rains presented before them. ExM was invited by Encompass to experience the South Asian Games Opening Ceremony, which took place at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Feb 5, 2016. Back-stage / console access to an event of such scale is an experience that many within the industry have not gained yet. The anxiety before the show was palpable, but the revision of preparations by various teams showcased nothing but complete readiness. The SAG Opening Ceremony was bagged by Encompass in a bid against agencies including Wizcraft, Cineyug, Ferriswheel and Showtime. While the first round of shortlist based on creative concepts left only Showtime and Encompass in contention, Encompass bagged the mandate through its L1 quote. Budgets of course were low, but as if using that as the ultimate challenge to overcome instead of being restricted by, Encompass delivered a show that perfectly blended technology, creativity, culture, music and entertainment. A 180-minute spectacle run by the all-girls Encompass core team, together with cue management team Blue Fish, featured PM Modi’s speech, the proud entry of teams and a kaliedoscope of music and cultural acts all unfolding seamlessly. Limited budgets leading to another big positive for team Encompass: Host Roshan Abbas. Impeccable story telling and commentary, taking audiences through the show, Abbas had fans that filled the stadium, hooked and awe-struck! A flawless show of this scale and stature is only as good as its partners. With no compromise on this front, SOUND.COM provided audio solutions, Dynamix Media provided Audio Visual Solutions and Modern Stage Services provided Lighting and other technology solutions. Natura were the rigging partners.

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BRAND ACTIVATION | BRIEFS

PANKAJ JHA Project Manager Kestone

the country- Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore over a period of 14 days.

Kestone Activates Titan’s First Smartwatch ‘Juxt’ At Delhi, Mumbai & Bangalore Airports

itan, one of world’s largest watchmaker brands recently launched their first smartwatch ‘Juxt’ in the Indian market. To drive the on-ground customer engagement, the brand roped in Kestone IMS, an Integrated Marketing Services company with the brief to conceptualize an immersive on-ground experience amongst its targeted audience. With its newly launched smartwatch JUXT, Titan in partnership with HP, has forayed into the smartwatch category for the first time. The on-ground activation conceptualized and executed by Kestone was driven across 3 busiest airports of

Talking about framework of the activity, Pankaj Jha – Project Manager, Kestone said, “We started the conceptualization process by designing our stalls and a lot of thought went behind the overall appearance and how we wanted to attract the audiences at the location. The activity was simple as we had to engage the incoming audiences with the features of the product and this was achieved by creating product demo zones, where the watches were paired with iPads to promote user-product engagement. This gave the users ample opportunities to explore all the features of Titan JUXT and become comfortable with the user-interface.” When questioned about the number of people touched through the activity and impressions created, Pankaj added, “We touched over a 100 odd people every day across all the 3 locations. The audience which came in to our stalls was impressed and some of them even asked to purchase the product immediately.”

SANJAY M LAL Director - Asset CSR Team (ACT)

Asset Takes Hyundai’s Safe Move Traffic Safety Campaign Across 88 Schools & RWAs in 5 Cities

sset CSR Team (ACT) has completed Phase 1 of the Hyundai Safe Move - Traffic Safety Campaign, covering 88 schools and Resident Welfare Associations (RWA) across five cities. The initiative by Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India aims to enhance awareness and understanding about traffic and road safety, thereby helping create a safe and happy environment. The Safe Move – Traffic Safety Campaign with ROBOCAR POLI’ conducts fun-n-learn engagement programs at schools and RWAs, focusing on Children from ages 7 – 13, with a target to create impact at an early age. Hyundai launched the campaign in Nov 2015, at the India Habitat Center, New Delhi. Shah Rukh Khan was present at the launch event, alongside dignitaries like Nitin Gadkari Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Govt of India, and others. Phase 1 of the campaign was rolled out in

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Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad covering 42 schools and 46 RWAs, with a total reach of more than 30K. Speaking about the campaign, Sanjay M Lal, Director - Asset CSR Team (ACT) said, “I must appreciate Hyundai Motor India Ltd’s and the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways’ acumen and vision to take the cause of Traffic Safety to our future generations, impacting them in their formative developing years and also making them ambassadors for the cause for faulting adults. It’s a first! A project like this has taken close to 50,000 man hours from ‘Thought – Reporting’, a core competency of ‘asset CSR team – ACT’. I must congratulate all our partners including Conexus, Candid, TimeCode, and each of our team members without whom this exercise would not been possible. We are proud to have completed Phase 1 seamlessly and are eagerly looking forward to a much more extensive Phase 2.”

BRAND ACTIVATION | BRIEFS

Work Ventures Wins MultiAgency Pitch And Executes Asian Paints Colourpro Leap

ork Ventures won the mandate for the recently held Asian Paints Colourpro Leap, over a multi-agency pitch.

Commenting on the event, Trisha Gupta, Project Head, Work Ventures, said, “This is for the second consecutive year that we have executed Leap. Last year we had created different spaces to showcase different products and services of the brand, this year we went one step ahead to appeal and educate the attendees. We created a modern 2 BHK flat comprising of a Living room, Kitchen, Bedroom, Kids room, and Bathroom, with actual props to display the residential products of Asian paints. Also a hotel lobby, garden, and a green zone were constructed to display the products as per their use. A lot of detailing went into bring out the right colours creatively and operationally. It was a challenge to

create and install this huge setup overnight, but our team really worked hard and delivered everything as per client’s expectations.” Asian Paints recently concluded Colourpro Leap 2015 - 2016 ‘Learn Everything About Paints’ is an exclusive program for Architects & Interior Designers. The multi-city event was held in Surat, Chandigarh, Kochi, and Bhubaneswar, showcasing the brand’s premium range of products and services. Speaking about the success of the event and the association with Asian Paints, Monica Rankawat, Senior Manager, Work Ventures said, “This project was a great experience for us, where we conquered every single challenge because we had planned everything in detail, kudos to the team! We look forward to more such opportunities with Asian Paints.”

XERXES ANTIA COO Seventy EMG

Seventy EMG Brings Together Art And Technology For Oppo Launch

eventy EMG managed a launch for Oppo on Jan 28 at the JW Marriott Sahar, Mumbai. The event was designed as a blend of art and technology, and witnessed a coming together of beautiful design and high quality production, amplified by the content inspired by art and technology.

The agency won the mandate to manage this event in a multi-agency pitch process. The client’s brief was to craft an experience for the audience that would establish the fact that Oppo is a premium brand that offers the world high quality products and also to extend event communication around the product tagline ‘selfie expert’. On managing this launch, Xerxes Antia, COO, Seventy EMG remarked, "70 EMG has always been partnering and working with brands that push the boundaries of Experiential Marketing – specifically in the field of Art, Design and Content; and this event was exactly that".

Photographer Rohan Shrestha partnered with the agency for this event, where his work was showcased as an ‘Art Gallery’ installed in the entire pre-function area. The event also saw Miss India 2015 welcome the OPPO partnership with ICC T20 World Cup, as David Richardson, Chief Executive, ICC signed a contract with OPPO at the event. MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

BRAND ACTIVATION | ALSO FEATURED

12 Door Stage and Double Ramp For Benetton A/W ‘16 Show; Managed By Marketing Solutions The Benetton Autumn/Winter 2016 collection was presented on Feb 22, at the Pullman Novotel New Delhi Aerocity. The unique set design also had the ramp converted into a bar, after the show. By: Rakhi Jerly

HE BENETTON AUTUMN/WINTER 2016 COLLECTION was unveiled on Feb 22 at the Pullman Novotel New Delhi Aerocity. Marketing Solutions created a unique 12 door LED-backlit stage and a double ramp for the show. After the showing, the 60 feet ramp was converted into a bar. Speaking about the conceptualisation of the space design, Poonam Lal, Marketing Director, Marketing Solutions said, “The cue for the season's set design came from the concept of focussing on each garment individually, by highlighting the mood board and influences that went into its making.” The outcome was a vast landscape of a stage, with 12 tall doors and an LED backdrop. Models were veiled behind the doors before each sequence. When the doors opened, the models stood against the LED backdrop - creating crisp silhouettes for each ensemble. The dramatic effect ensure that the garments were given individual treatment on-stage. The LED screen also served as a tool to communicate the story behind the collection. As the models walked down the ramp, the backdrop changed to reveal four different aspects of the designs - the mood board, colour palette, keywords, and influence.

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The show choreography by Ajay Bisht put the dual ramp to good use. Two models, from opposite sides of the stage, walked down to the headramp simultaneously, while the others posed along the wide stage. The ceiling also served as an eye-catching branding space with a running black ceiling cloth displaying ‘I <3 Benetton’ in bright fluorescent colours. Presentation screens were placed diagonally opposite the stage, creating a 180 degree immersive experience for the guests, along with tier seating for better viewing. The set design idea further impressed with the double ramp being converted into a spacious bar, after the show. The gap between the two ramps provided enough space for the bartenders to work with ease. Boxes inspired by the colors of the season were also put up on the ramp to serve as tables. The evening fully invested in highlighting the brand’s latest collection, ended on a high note with an internal award ceremony, followed by a band performance. Marketing Solutions have been associated with the brand for several previous events, including the recent Spring/Summer 2016 press previews held in Mumbai and Delhi.

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BRAND ACTIVATION | IN FOCUS

IN FOCUS

GAP STORE LAUNCH

GAP Says #helloMumbai; Ropes in Toast & ‘DABBAWALAS’ Toast Events devised an impactful monthlong launch plan with a combination of digital activities, PR campaigns and on-ground activations.

By Isha Gakhar

O LAUNCH ITSELF IN THE FASHION-FORWARD city of Mumbai, it was imperative for GAP to reach out to the masses albeit with a very inherent ‘Mumbai’ twist. The San Francisco-based clothing brand collaborated with Toast Events to take ‘Mumbai’ by storm and create a massive buzz prior to the launch. The agency devised an impactful month-long plan with a combination of digital activities, PR campaigns and on-ground activations. Toast Events hit a masterstroke associating with Mumbai Dabbawalas to deliver GAP goodies across the city in customized GAP dabbas with #helloMumbai mentioned on them. These exclusive dabbas were delivered across the city as special invites for the big store launch at Oberoi Mall, Goregaon and Infiniti 2, Malad. The list of invitees comprised of Ranveer Singh, Nishka Lulla, Shibani Dandekar, Karan Patel, Krystle D’Souza along with corporates like Taj Land’s End, Red Chillies Entertainment, Bling Live, Grofers, Zomato, Go Cheese and many more. Interestingly, this highly-engaging activity was also documented in a video that saw over 404K views, 5.6K likes and 1159 shares on GAP’s official Facebook page. Soon this became a sensation around the city, as people took to social media to show off their GAP dabba. The GAP store launch was a big celebration with Ranveer Singh as the celebrity guest for the opening on February 20. The campaign began with a social media post by him along with his GAP dabba. At the store launch, to keep in sync with the Dabbawala campaign, Ranveer appeared from inside the store on a white cycle with blue GAP dabbas on its sides. The lezim performance and tutari music energized the already screaming fans waiting in line for hours to catch a glimpse of their favourite superstar open the GAP store. The event was hosted by Kubra Sait. On executing the highly-anticipated Mumbai launch of GAP, Priyanka Chandrasheker, Client Servicing Lead, Toast Events said, “Although Mumbai would be the third city to launch GAP, we were very keen on making it our biggest yet. We planned a series of interesting activities and associated with the iconic Dabbawalas to create hype much before the store opened its doors. Bearing in mind the strong character of Mumbai city, our idea was to get the city excited in an innovative and impactful way.” Karan Kapoor, Operations Lead, Toast Events added, “Mumbai is a challenging city as it already has so much offer that it was essential for us to do something unique in order to make a mark and leave a lasting impression.”

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BRAND ACTIVATION | IN FOCUS

Ranveer Singh unzips the Gap store riding a dabbawala's bicycle at Oberoi Mall

Kulin Lalbhai, Oliver Kaye and J Suresh of Arvind Lifestyle Brands with Ranveer Singh at the opening of Gap's store at Oberoi Mall

GAP invite

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BRAND ACTIVATION | IN FOCUS

REAM EVENTS CONCEPTUALIZED AND CREATED a unique consumer experience for Wind Energy Solutions Provider, Suzlon, on January 8 at their headquarters, Suzlon One Earth, Pune. The brief was to create an experience for Suzlon’s most important investors and partners, which will refresh the brand’s message with them. This experience was timed well with Suzlon’s much spoken about financial recovery. From a personalized automated video invitation to the customized Kindle that was gifted to all attendees, the entire experience spoke of Suzlon’s technological supremacy through customized content. Cream Events curated an experience using content expressed over multiple technological mediums, the creation for which took over 2 months.

IN FOCUS

SUZLON TECH VISION

Cream Events Curates Immersive Experience For Suzlon Tech Vision 2020 Cream Events crafted an experience using content expressed over multiple technological mediums, the creation of which took over 2 months.

By Isha Gakhar

Cream Events transformed a conference room at Suzlon’s headquarters into an immersive theatre, where Suzlon spoke to its clients about its technology edge and future plans. The entire room was first redone as a black-box complete with swivel chairs for seating, it was also covered with LED screens on 3 walls to create a 270* immersive experience. While all the content was a combination of films, animation and archival material, the technologies used by the various presenters ranged from Holographic projection to Augmented / Virtual Reality. The challenge of using multiple technologies together was overcome by budgeting for extra days of setup and rehearsals that ensured a smooth delivery of the content to the target audience. The audience was engaged from 3:00pm to 11:00pm. The event was attended by captains of Industry and dignitaries such as Rahul Bajaj and Pramod Deo. The attendees were further delighted by a 7-course sit-down dinner accompanied by high-energy performances by some of the most talented performers know to the experiential industry - Shiamak Davar & his top dancers, Malaika Arora Khan, Shibani Dandekar, Lisa Ray, and The Kakkar Sisters & Illuminati. National Award-winning Sand Artist Nitish Bharti created a beautiful story about the emotional history of Suzlon. The experience engaged Suzlon’s top customers for one whole day and included a riveting session with internationallyacclaimed speaker and consultant Ram Charan. On the success of the event, Zarif Tapia, Director, Cream Events commented, “It is very rare to find a client as involved as Suzlon. There was no stone unturned by the client to give us all the right weapons to create the experience they desired. We look forward to creating many such customized experiences for brands.” Tulsi Tanti, Founder, Chairman & Managing Director of Suzlon Energy Limited said, "Tech Vision 2020 was one-of-a-kind event which the industry has never witnessed, a fact confirmed by some of the leading customers and investors in renewable technology from India. There was tremendous hard work that the teams put in and it was a true collaboration of the client and agency which finally came together to pull of the show." He thanked the entire team and also the supporting crew who stay in the background for pitching in and doing their best to create such an experience for our valued guests.

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INDUSTRY WATCH | BRIEFS

BRIAN TELLIS

CEO Fountainhead-MKTG

Fountainhead - psLIVE Merge To Launch FountainheadMKTG In India

he recent acquisition of Fountainhead Entertainment by the Dentsu Aegis Network signals an aggressive move for the group towards being a full service offering of marketing services in India. Within the Dentsu Aegis Network structure, Fountainhead and psLIVE India will be merged to form Fountainhead-MKTG. MKTG is a leading global lifestyle marketing agency with its headquarters in New York. With this merger, MKTG brings their vast resource of experience and knowledge into the Indian landscape. They currently operate in some of the most

mature lifestyle markets around the globe. This knowledge, combined with Fountainhead’s local expertise is poised to produce some unique and outstanding marketing innovations. Fountainhead Entertainment, is a 20-year-old experiential marketing and events agency with over 200 employees and offices in 3 major cities, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. “While officially we are a full-service marketing agency, in reality we are a creative group of people who come to work everyday to create unique, disruptive and innovative projects for our clients,” says Brian Tellis, CEO, Fountainhead-MKTG. In India, Dentsu Aegis Network is supported through its seven global network brands namely Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope, Vizeum, psLIVE, Amnet, Dentsu branded agencies - Dentsu Creative Impact, Dentsu Marcom, Dentsu Communications, Dentsu Media, Taproot Dentsu, and Dentsu Webchutney. Also, newly added to the group are the recently acquired local brands of Milestone Brandcom, WATConsult, and Fountainhead.

SANJAY SHUKLA

President DDB Mudra Group

DDB Mudra Group Appoints Sanjay Shukla As President, OOH & Experiential

he DDB Mudra Group has appointed Sanjay Shukla as the new President - OOH & Experiential, DDB MudraMax. Sanjay will be based out of the agency’s Gurgaon office and will be reporting to Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO & Managing Director, DDB Mudra Group. He will partner Aneil Deepak, Head of Ideas, DDBMudraMax in spearheading the agency’s OOH & Experiential agencies. Sanjay is a well-known industry veteran with over two decades of noteworthy experience in all aspects of experiential marketing, entertainment, sports marketing, talent & art, activation and events. He has received accolades from across the industry including the WOW Awards and EEMAX Awards. On Sanjay’s appointment, Madhukar Kamath quoted, “Sanjay’s track record and credentials are impeccable. I like his

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enthusiasm and zeal. He comes in at a time when the OOH and Experiential teams have won some marquee businesses and also delivered some outstanding work over the past two quarters. I look forward to the exciting times ahead.” Sanjay joins DDB Mudra Group after a long stint at Percept where he served as COO of Percept One. Sanjay led the restructuring of the diverse offerings and SBUs at Percept and helped create a single seamless entity, Percept One that offered greater synergy and operational efficiency. Nupur Mahajan will be taking on Sanjay’s responsibilities at Percept. On his new innings, Sanjay Shukla quoted, “I have always admired the work and the growth at DDB MudraMax. The opportunity to partner with Andee and grow the Experiential and OOH businesses exponentially, is a challenge that I am looking forward to’’.

INDUSTRY WATCH | BRIEFS

RAJ BATRA

CEO & Director Golden Vibes Events

Raj Batra And SOI Live's Event Division Merge To Form Golden Vibes Events

joint venture between Raj Batra and SOI Live Marketing's Event Division has taken place, where both agencies have come together with the purpose of business expansion, development of new products and moving into new markets, particularly overseas. Golden Vibes Events is the result of a collaboration which has instantly provided both parties with a pan-India presence. With SOI being an established player in the corporate domain and Raj Batra a known personality in the wedding planning industry, the new venture stems from a shared vision for the possibilities of event management, where this collaboration will allow both agencies to expand their capabilities and maximize their outreach.

Raj K Batra, CEO & Director, Golden Vibes Events said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This joint venture involves two businesses pooling their combined experience of almost 35 years, resources and expertise to achieve heights higher than before, sharing risks and rewards of the enterprise. The main objective is leveraging the increased bandwidth for faster growth, widening the market and exploring untapped markets.â&#x20AC;? The agency will continue to expand their portfolio of diverse specializations and make it available to a growing client base. This merger will focus on knowledge transfer and training while equipping the group for more effective service. All clients of SOI Live's events division will now be handled by Golden Vibes. SOI Live Marketing will continue with its other divisions of BTL marketing, brand activations, digital and IP. Raj Batra's former company Mosaic Events will now cease to exist, while all BTL business will be handled by SOI Live's BTL division.

HEENA MISTRY Head - Events and Experiential Business The Social Street

Social Street Appoints Heena Mistry As Its Events & Experiential Head

ocial Street (TSS) has roped in Heena Mistry to head its events and experiential business. She will be based in Mumbai. Mistry brings with her over 15 years of experience and moves in from SOI Live Marketing & Events, where she was director and lent her expertise to marketers and leading brands, pan India, across various industries. Speaking on the development, Mandeep Malhotra, founding partner and chief executive officer, The Social Street, says, "Mistry is well-known in the industry for her impeccable delivery on various brand requirements. She is renowned for her ability to exceed client expectations. She brings to our

team a sense of great commitment and prudence, which is hard to find these days." On her new role, Mistry comments, "It's a matter of pride for me to be associated with TSS. I join this team with great expectations and delight. I am confident about building on the immense learning I had at SOI Live Marketing. Malhotra and Pratap have a clear vision for The Social Street and to know that they wanted me on the team gives me loads of confidence to do well. I am certain that my partnership with the agency will add a new dimension to my career." Mistry further adds, "I feel events and experiential marketing is a lot more than just brand activations. It's all about delivering a memorable 360-degree integrated marketing solution."

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INDUSTRY WATCH | ALSO FEATURED

EEMA UPDATES Police NOC Not Required For Various Events In Mumbai

EEMAGINE 2016 Announced: Registrations Open

EEMA has been working with the Maharashtra Government over the past 6 months toward providing input and creating processes for event permissions and licenses required in Mumbai and in the state of Maharashtra. The single window set up in Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai was the first step in this direction.

With an aim to bring industry stakeholders on a common platform, the 9th edition of EEMAGINE will be hosted from May 1 to 3, 2016, at the Grand, New Delhi. The convention is an annual initiative of Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA).

In another development by EEMA for the industry, the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai has issued a notification that Police NOC is no longer required for various types of events. These include, Classical Music and Dance Programs, Ghazals, Drama/Plays in Auditoriums/Theatres, Temporary Orchestra during functions in Co-operative Societies, Receptions, Annual Functions, School/College Festivals, and Get-together/Functions/Conferences/ Meetings in Star Category Hotels. Sabbas Joseph, President, EEMA and Sushma Gaikwad, VP- West, EEMA have been leading EEMA's dialogue with the Maharashtra Government. Commenting on this positive development, Sabbas Joseph, President EEMA (Director, Wizcraft) said: "We are intentional about changing the landscape of licensing processes in the event industry and each milestone met in this endeavour is extremely exciting and encouraging. It is indeed another step toward driving ease of business in the event industry." Sushma Gaikwad, VP- West, EEMA (Director, ICE Global) added: "For me personally and as a professional in this industry, I feel privileged to work on initiatives that are reshaping the industry. We are delighted as our efforts are seeing fruition."

With a slew of new initiatives to look forward to, and a very zealous team behind the effort, EEMA President Sabbas Joseph's letter to members of EEMA and other stakeholders of the industry, urges them to gear up and get ready for a great convention. The theme for this year’s convention is ‘India Unimagined’. EEMAGINE 2016, will engage on multiple ideas, dreams, challenges and share experiences from India and the world. Creative minds, Business influencers, marketing gurus, policy makers, digital entrepreneurs and experience creators will share with dashboard for tomorrow. This year, EEMA would also launch the inaugural EEMA SPOTLIGHT Awards to honour partners across the creative and production spectrum. Last year, EEMA’s GOT TALENT was launched and received fantastic participation. Once again members and teams will be given the opportunity to perform on centre stage. Registrations for EEMAGINE 2016 are now open, with early bird offer ending on Mar 31, 2016. There are two options to register; Offline and Online. For Online registrations, EEMA has associated with insider.in. For offline registrations, the registration form can also be downloaded and couriered along with Cheque/draft of total fee. Log on to www.eemaindia.in for more details. For accommodations, the hotel booking with ‘The Grand’, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, has to be made directly by attendees, at a very special rate of 6500/- per room/night, inclusive of taxes, for up to 2 people . The details are mentioned in the registration form as well.

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INDUSTRY WATCH | IN FOCUS

M IN FOCUS

VIRTUAL GEKKO

A Tool for Real-Time Product Experiences: ‘Virtual Gekko’

IDDLE EASTERN BRAND EXPERIENCE AGENCY Action Impact has used gaming-style technology to build an interactive and versatile tool that turns a buyer’s imagination into on-screen reality. The product, Virtual Gekko, is a program based on gaming software that enables clients to experience certain products like villas and cars in real-time, with the power to control a range of options.

The Product Elaborating on how the product was conceptualised and developed, Avinash Lobo, the product’s lead developer remarked, “It’s designed for sales centres and showrooms. Customers can check out how different configurations might look in a property. It brings your imagination to life”.

Virtual Gekko for Experiential Marketing

The sales tool has been developed by Action Impact to be used to provide customers real-time experiences of products like houses and cars.

By Rachael Rajan

Talking about how the tool is great for experiential marketing, Adrian Bell, Executive Director, Action Impact said, “What Virtual Gekko does is bring reality a little closer to the client and end-user. All too often, we find that clients struggle to grasp with key aspects of the event environment that are hard to visualise unless you are really there. Comments such as ‘I had no idea it was going to be this size!’ and ‘Looking back, I would have changed that wall finish’ are typical. But, with this technology, we bring that to life with a virtual experience that allows real-time walk-throughs, instantaneous environment changes and real perspectives and points of view. So, you get closer to the real-thing and further way from mistaken identity!” When it comes to villas, clients become virtual visitors, able to enter and exit rooms, check out sightlines, see how different kitchen designs might look, or how furniture could be arranged, and check out views from windows with a 360° aspect. Simon Tapping, Executive Creative Director, Action Impact added, “Our clients in property and car sales spend a lot of time explaining to their customers how a villa might look when it’s built or how optional extras could transform their car. In the end, they have to rely on their customer’s imagination to close the sale. Our technology makes it real – and provides that vital extra sales push. It’s going to speed up the sales process and ensure that customers are enthused and always get what they want, and expect.” Action Impact is already in talks with developers in the Middle East who would be looking to optimise their sales and marketing efforts with Virtual Gekko. The next step would be to take the product to other markets.

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INDUSTRY WATCH | IN FOCUS

Avanish Lobo & Adrian Bell

“What Virtual Gekko does is bring reality a little closer to the client and end-user. All too often, we find that clients struggle to grasp with key aspects of the event environment that are hard to visualise unless you are really there”

“Our technology makes it real – and provides that vital extra sales push. It’s going to speed up the sales process and ensure that customers are enthused and always get what they want, and expect.”

ADRIAN BELL

SIMON TAPPING

Executive Director, Action Impact

Executive Creative Director, Action Impact

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INDUSTRY WATCH | MARKET PULSE

Mark Hutchison, Lieutenant Governor of Nevada and Chairman of the Nevada Division of Tourism & Larry Friedman, Deputy Director of Sales and Industry Partners, Nevada Division of Tourism

Nevada: A Year Long And Diverse Destination For Corporate MICE Travellers In an exclusive interview, Mark Hutchison, Lieutenant Governor of Nevada and Chairman of the Nevada Division of Tourism and Larry Friedman, Deputy Director of Sales and Industry Partners at the Nevada Division of Tourism, talk on creating greater awareness of Nevada as a year-long and diverse destination for Corporate MICE travellers. Q. Why should planners choose Nevada as a destination to hold an event? Hutchison: When I look at the reports and what people want in India, their number one destination is the United States. Then, when they think about entertainment and hospitality, Las Vegas is what comes to their mind. We have hotel and casino owners who are very keen on bringing many tourists, decision-makers and operators to Las Vegas and providing them a wonderful experience that’ll give them a chance to experience the full flavor of Nevada. The same holds true for other parts of Nevada, for instance in Elko, the operators are extremely motivated as well. Las Vegas is also one of the most connected destinations in the world. It offers easy travel and that is something which is very important for planners.

Q. What are the attractive incentive options across Nevada that will elevate a MICE itinerary and encourage corporate groups to host their events there? Hutchison: In terms of infrastructure for meetings and incentives, Las Vegas, is phenomenal and there are a number of unique experiences that await you across Nevada. The best part is that you don’t have to travel 3-5 hours to soak in diverse experiences as some are merely an hour away from Las Vegas. From the quintessential tourist experiences of Las Vegas to the scenic rural towns of Ely and Tonopah, from the buzzing downtown scene at Reno to the tranquil alpine beauty of Lake Tahoe, the cowboy traditions of Elko to the engineering marvel that is Hoover Dam, there are a wealth of experiences for visitors to

the state. One the most mountainous states in the USA, Nevada offers dramatic landscapes and spectacular sites. Among the many scenic drives in Nevada, Highway 50 (also known as the Loneliest Road in America) and Pyramid Lake Scenic Byway stand out as prime examples of the natural beauty of the state. Within a very short distance from Las Vegas, you can get the Western United States experience. Q. What assistance (in terms of services provided) do you offer to planners across the globe? Friedman: We can put travel professionals in contact with receptive operators, tour operators, hoteliers, etc. and with marketing and sales tools if it’s an incentive house looking for images and contacts. India is an exciting market

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INDUSTRY WATCH | MARKET PULSE

Mark Hutchison spells out Nevada's offering as a year-round destination for corporate MICE travellers

for us in view of the steady growth of visitor arrivals from India to US in the last few years. Hutchison: As mentioned earlier, we have hotel and casino owners who want to get the planners in and will go the extra mile to accommodate them. Q. Tell us about the new convention centres and hotels set to open across Nevada in the coming years? Could you also shed light on some of the popular convention centres running presently. Hutchison: We have the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority that has announced a major expansion of convention facilities. We will double or more than double the convention space in Las Vegas. We will have frontage from the convention centres on the strip itself. The Riviera Hotel & Casino was purchased by the authority and is located on the strip. Las Vegas is in competition with the world’s greatest convention locations like Orlando, Chicago, New York and we are absolutely committed as a state to be of gold standard when it comes to conventions. We host the equivalent of a superbowl audience and visitation every single weekend. We have more hotel rooms on one intersection, LV Boulevard, which is the strip and Tropicana, than most cities have in the entire city. One of our hotels The Palazzo has more square footage than the Pentagon. We do conventions and visitations like nobody else in the world. Friedman: A lot of mining expos come to Elko. The Venetian, The Palazzo and Caesars Palace have certainly made a name for themselves with their convention facilities. I would also like

to add to that the recent opening of Terminal 3 at the International airport that has added to the number of international flights coming in to Las Vegas everyday, providing greater access to planners all over the world. Q. There has been some major shift in the strategy of tourism marketing and social media plays a remarkable role. How effectively does Nevada use Social Media as a tool of communication? What is the kind of response you have recorded? Friedman: The benefit of social media to a state like Nevada is that not only can we get a word out about Las Vegas but that it gives us a platform to get a word out about towns like Elko, Ely or Winnemucca. Our social media strategy is one we will discuss with our representation (Sartha Global Marketing) this week. Hutchison: The Nevada Commission on Tourism has specifically hired companies within the United States to market the whole campaign ‘Nevada: A World Within, A State Apart’. We aim to achieve a major integration of that campaign not only through television and billboards but majorly through social media which is what we are going after with an earmarked marketing budget.

Sheema Vohra, Managing Director, Sartha Global Marketing (The official representation for Nevada Division of Tourism in India)

energy source up north in Nevada. Nevada is a leader in alternative energy. Some of the biggest solar fields are just outside Las Vegas. We also have a renewable energy portfolio requirement by the law. Nevada has to produce 25% of its energy by renewable resources. We are very progressive when it comes to green technology. Q. India is a promising market for MICE and B2B tourism. What steps are you taking to reach out to more planners across India? Friedman: We are forming partnerships with some of the top operators. The two operators we have started with are Thomas Cook and Vacations Exotica. Some of the things we are doing with them are pretty traditional. We have had a couple of familiarization trips with tour operators and are currently working on the next one with the media. The media is crucial in India to get the word out to such a large population. We are also a part of the Brand USA Mission that’ll help us gain access to more planners across India. Hutchison: One of the major reasons I’m here is that I can meet and talk to the media and underscore how important the state of Nevada believes that they are to our tourism. It is our aim to convince people how dedicated we are in exposing Nevada to Indian tourists.

Q. Green tourism or eco-tourism is a popular theme that's coming up all over the world. What’s your take on the same? Hutchison: We are one of the leaders in the United States on solar energy and green energy. Geothermo is a major MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 65

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SPONSORSHIP MARKETING | BRIEFS

MR. NARINDER SINGH DHINGRA Chairman & Managing Director Numero Uno Clothing Ltd.

Numero Uno Inks 5-Year Deal With ICC World Twenty20 India

he denim brand, Numero Uno Jeanswear has collaborated with a mega-cricketing event, the ICC World Twenty20, as official clothing supplier manufacturer and retailer of ICC-branded apparel and merchandise from February 2016 to December 2020.

the license for 5 years to create the official merchandise range for ICC, and to make and retail a range across all the participating nations. The ICC merchandise will be available exclusively at select exclusive brand stores of the company. The specific collection will be available for both men and women at all the leading outlets. Speaking about this association, Narinder Singh Dhingra, Chairman & Managing Director, Numero Uno Clothing Ltd. said,“This tie up is important as cricket is one of the most religiously followed sports in India. With a Pan India affinity and following across all age groups, it puts Numero Uno Jeanswear above other jeanswear brands by associating with such a mega sports event. Becoming one of the partners for such a prestigious event highlights the brand strength and attraction of Numero Uno product in the market."

The ICC World Twenty20 2016 kick-started from March 8in India and the final match will be played on April 3, 2016 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. This exclusive partnership gives Numero Uno Clothing Limited

SAUJANYA SHRIVASTAVA CMO

MakeMyTrip

MakeMyTrip Signs Alia & Ranveer As Brand Ambassadors

akeMyTrip, India’s online travel company recently announced that it has signed up with leading Bollywood superstars Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt to be the company’s new brand ambassadors. With its target audience getting younger, the company has signed up the duo with the aim to strengthen the brand’s appeal, stature and recall amongst its audience in Tier I towns and cities across the country, especially the youth. The move is in line with the company’s business strategy focusing on hyper aggressive growth and new user acquisition; thus driving growth for the travel industry at large.

MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

According to MakeMyTrip's CMO, Saujanya Shrivastava, Makemytrip aims to inspire and enable the restless wanderlust in every person's heart. And as the brand injects new energy into its ambitions, there is a raring-to-go spirit that it has started to spread. On that journey, taking on two key protagonists to represent this spirit of wanderlust is a key step. Like the brand, both Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt represent the new-age of Indians - confident, bold, and unafraid to try new things. In their cinematic journey too they are experimentative, have fun in whatever they do and give everything its maximum due. Like true travellers who push forth on their travel ambitions, their persona is incredibly aspirational. It’s a great fit with the brand, which we hope can inspire more of India to travel. As per MakeMyTrip's official press release, the duo will be engaged in soon to be launched high-decibel campaign that will have high visibility and impactful presence across mediums, and will be supported by digital and on-ground marketing activations.

SPONSORSHIP MARKETING | BRIEFS

KULBHUSHAN SETH VP Casio India

G-Shock Associates With 2016 Rolling Stone Awards As The Title Sponsor

atch brand G-Shock from Casio India Private Limited takes another step forward in promoting extreme art by presenting the biggest buzz in the Metal music arena of the country. The brand was the title sponsor of G-Shock Rolling Stone Metal Awards 2016, held in Mumbai, on February 28. G-Shock aims to create a brand personality and identification with metal musicians across the country. G-Shock also conducted exciting activities at the pre-gig events in Delhi, Bangalore and Guwahati, wherein a G-shock watch was thrown in Moshpit and a lucky audience who

recovered it, took the watch home. The brand also did a display of watches at the venues to connect the audience with the brand. Commenting on this partnership, Kulbhushan Seth, VP, Casio India said, “The objective of this association was to create a brand personality and identification with metal musicians and establish the brand G Shock as a part of the India’s youth culture. G-shock is a cult brand and so is the metal and with our association with Rolling Stone, we were looking forward to leverage this synergy. The Rolling Stone Awards 2016 wasa fantastic mode for the brand to reach the energetic, music freak and confident youth of the country.

of the event with the limited resources available in the area. Starting from planning to post production, every small detail was looked into, in order to enhance the experience of the event for participants. 10 checkpoints were set up and managed on the trail to handle manpower, food and water sources were provided to all participants and volunteers, comfortable bedding spaces were arranged for overnight resting, and recovery zones were managed for pain management. Maximus deployed a team of 200+ people to execute the Oxfam Trailwalker Bengaluru, which was led by a core team of eight. Post event, a thorough clean-up of the trail was organized by the Maximus team, in order to secure the ecological interests of Oxfam and to preserve the jungles, as Maximus deeply believes in conducting eco-friendly events.

Maximus Signs 3YR Contract For Oxfam Trailwalker in Mumbai And Bangalore

aximus MICE & Media Solutions Pvt Ltd organised one of the most unique Trailwalking events of the country, the Oxfam Trailwalker Bengaluru 2016 from Jan 22 to 24. More than 150 teams from corporates participated in the trail that started from the outskirts of Bengaluru and stretched over 100 kms across jungles and villages. The event was flagged off by Oxfam CEO Nisha Agrawal and Celebrity fitness enthusiast Milind Soman. The Maximus team provided a 360 degrees management

Arvind Pandey, Manager Production of Maximus commented, “We have been conducting the Oxfam since the year 2014, both Mumbai and Bengaluru events. And it has been quite a journey for us. The unique location of the event always presents us with a lot of challenges because unlike other events, the Oxfam happens in the outskirts of the city with minimal resources available at hand. A lot of preparation, planning and processing goes into executing the event as we have to be ready for all possible situations that can occur on the trail. Having said that,we have conducted 5 Trailwalks successfully year on year and we look forward to the same in the coming years.”

MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

SPONSORSHIP MARKETING | IN FOCUS

IN FOCUS

IDBI FEDERAL PARTNERS

IDBI Federal Partners Sports & Fitness From cricket to marathons, the life insurance agency has taken to sports and fitness to boost its brand building efforts.

By Rakhi Jerly

ARTNERSHIPS WITH CRICKET ASSOCIATIONS, title sponsorships for major marathons, scholarships and cash prizes for upcoming sporting talents - IDBI Federal Life Insurance has found a perfect ally to impactfully build their brand, and at the same time contribute to the development of sports in the India, from the grassroot levels. The joint-venture of IDBI Bank, Federal Bank, and Ageas a multinational insurance giant based out of Europe, most recently concluded the IDBI Federal Life Insurance Kolkata Marathon in early March, 2016, with over 15,000 runners taking part in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only full marathon. The brand has identified and partnered a series of initiatives in various sports including Cricket, Football, and distance running to promote a healthy and fit lifestyle. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a roundup of initiatives IDBI Federal has associated with, in recent times:

CRICKET IDBI Fedral has partnered with two Bowling Foundations - one with Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and the other with Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). As part of the programmes, selected fast bowlers and spinners in the age group of 19 years and above will be given the opportunity for a 2-year training stint. Australian pace legend, Jeff Thomson, has been brought on board as the international coach for both Bowling Foundations. At the launch announcement of the foundation, Karnataka under 19 pacers, Ruchir Joshi and Shashank K. were felicitated with IDBI Federal Life Insurance Frank Tyson Scholarships. In December 2015, two other bowlers, Minad Manjrekar and Dhrumil Matkar from Mumbai were also awarded the scholarship for their education and training. Recently, the the Mumbai U23 team was awarded a cash prize for winning the coveted Col. C.K. Nayudu Trophy for the 2015-16 season, while Balvinder Sandhu, Shardul Thakur, Dhawal Kulkarni and Shreyas Iyer were also awarded cash prizes for their outstanding performance in the Ranji Trophy 2015-16. Veteran journalist GK Menon was felicitated for his incredible contribution to Indian Sports journalism. IDBI Federal has also lent its support to The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), to strengthen the overall cricket landscape in Bengal through regular cricketing activities and the ambitious Vision 2020 programme. The brand also supports Dilip

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SPONSORSHIP MARKETING | IN FOCUS

Vengsarkar Foundation’s (DVF), Cricket Academy at the Oval Maidan, Churchgate and is the title sponsor for the 12th edition of D Y Patil T20 Cricket tournament.

MARATHONS The IDBI Federal Life Insurance Spice Coast Marathon is one of the most picturesque courses and is certified by USA Track & Field (USTAF). The marathon held in Kochi gives runners a chance to participate and qualify for the prestigious Boston and London Marathons. The next edition of the Spice Coast Marathon, presented by Soles of Cochin and promoted by the District Tourism Promotion Council, is slated for Nov 13, 2016. IDBI Federal Life Insurance Kolkata Marathon 2016 recently concluded in the City of Joy on March 6, 2016. Multiple Grand Slam winner and Padma Bhushan Awardee, Leander Paes was the brand ambassador for this marathon. The life insurance agency also served as the title sponsors for the inaugural edition of New Delhi Marathon. IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon took place in the capital on Feb 28, 2016, with India’s Test Cricket captain, Virat Kohli as the ‘Face of the Event’. A large number of IDBI Federal employees have also taken to long distance running to stay fit and healthy. This has helped spread a message of health awareness across the firm’s employees, as well as in the communities in which it operates.

FOOTBALL To promote discovery and nurturing football talent, IDBI Federal Life Insurance associated with ‘Young Heroes’, a 15 city inter-school football talent hunt. The aim is to identify and develop football in the country, from the grassroots level. With over 650 schools in 15 cities participating in the 7-a-side under15 talent scouting tournament in India, the programme reached out to 4,20,000 students. At the end of the tournament, 45 talented footballers will be trained by professional coaches and the top 16 will be sent for an international exposure trip to Spain. Commenting on the tie-ups, Vighnesh Shahane, CEO, IDBI Federal Life Insurance, said, “As an organisation we wish to bring about a positive change that helps us shape a better future. Sports has always empowered people to develop into disciplined, responsible and mature winners who make a real difference around them. What better opportunity for us than to partner with a wide variety of sports and fitness events – events that range from discovery and nurturing of talent to running as a community that add to the well-being of the society at large. Being a sportsman myself, I understand the pivotal that sports and fitness initiatives can play in an individual’s life. Many of our employees also participate for various long distance running events. It gives us immense pleasure to contribute to India’s sports and fitness culture.” MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 69

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ENTERTAINMENT | BRIEFS

Cineyug Executes Umang Mumbai Police Show

ineyug managed the Umang Mumbai Police Show on Jan 19 at Mahalaxmi Race Course. Organised by the Mumbai Police, the Umang Mumbai Police Show is an annual charity event where all artists and entertainers perform for free. The police typically invite their families, VVIPs, celebrities and others. It is also viewed as a day where celebrities express their gratitude to the police force for its support and protection. The evening began with host Sajid Khan making a ‘prisoner’ entry - guilty for making the movie ‘Housefull 3’. This was a humorous start to the night’s programme, which featured acts by popular celebrities of Bollywood. Arjun Kapoor performed

on his latest hits. Making her stage performance debut, Athiya Shetty mesmerized all. Others who performed include Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Huma Qureshi, Anushka Ranjan, Urvashi Rautela, Sonali Sehgal, Elli Avram, Daisy Shah and more. Katrina Kaif and Aditya Roy Kapoor along with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra were felicitated by the Police, which led to the launch of a calendar by the Mumbai police force. Shahid Kapoor performed on Shaam Shandaaar while Deepika Padukone performed on Deewani Mastani and Pinga. SRK performed on Tukur Tukur and Gerua with female cops. The finale performance for the evening was by Ranveer Singh, who performed on his hits from Bajirao Mastani, including Malhari and Gajanana.

22 Celebrities At Saifai Mahotsav Finale Managed By Touchwood

venue, which also has a permanent infrastructure. Time was the constraint, as it was a last-minute confirmation. However, the team managed to execute the project with enough time for a couple of rehearsals with the celebs.

Keeping up with the trend, the show saw two aerial entries - a suspended ring for Sonakshi Sinha and a swinging platform for Saif Ali Khan.

The five hour program that continued past midnight on Jan 12 had Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and many senior cabinet ministers in attendance. Stand up comedian Sunil Grover, singers Badshah, Javed Ali, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, and Peenaz Masani were also roped in for the cultural extravaganza.

he Annual Saifai Mahotsav held in Etawah, UP comes to a close with a star-studded Bollywood night, every year. Fondly referred to as ‘Saifai Ka Filmfare’, the finale show for the 18th edition of the fest held this year, saw 22 celebrities including Ranveer Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Parineeti Chopra, and Mika, among others, performing for the gathering at Saifai Village.

Touchwood Group, the event agency behind the fest management roped in Natura to execute the rigging for both aerial acts. The Natura team were spared technical challenges, as they had done the same setup previously at the same

MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

ENTERTAINMENT | BRIEFS

DEEKSHA SHARMA Vice President Fountainhead Entertainment

Fountainhead Takes Moto Spotlight On An 11-City Musical Road-trip

ountainhead Entertainment conceptualized and executed an Epic road trip for Motorola. The Moto Spotlight, a 63-day road trip across 11 Indian cities, brought the nation’s love for edgy, non-filmy sounds with great performances and lifetime experiences. The twin Moto Spotlight charabancs went across the country covering 18000 miles in over 2 months, in a quest to shine in the spotlight with some of the nation’s newest sounds and freshest talents. To add to this entertaining journey, Motorola also ran a contest across their social assets, inviting budding artists to share their performance videos on motonation.in and get a once in a lifetime opportunity to perform on the Moto Spotlight stage with leading headliners. Over 33 budding bands performed at the iconic NH7 Weekender Music Festival on the exclusive Moto Spotlight Stage and on the charabanc across the cities. Alongside the musical sojourn, the charabancs were also a

vassal for Motorola to shine the spotlight on their brand new range of Smartphones and wearables. With unprecedented access to Moto’s new range, the charabanc was able to bring these online-only devices to the hands of more than a lakh of customers – many of whom ended up buying the devices immediately at the retail-store-like space of the Spotlight charabanc. Deeksha Sharma, Vice President – Fountainhead Entertainment, said, “Bringing the brand closer to a TG that is young, edgy and super talented whilst trying to craft out a niche in the saturated mobile space was no easy task. But with the Moto Spotlight campaign, we achieved exactly that. Today, millions of people have seen, heard or experienced and thoroughly enjoyed the Moto Spotlight charabancs, whether it’s the devices inside, the association with rising musicians or iconic legends like Parikrama, Bandish, Shaa’ir & Func!.”

KARAN SINGH CEO Sunburn

Power-Packed Debut For Mad Decent Block Party In Mumbai & Bangalore; Delhi Gig Cancelled

he Mad Decent Block Party made a power-packed Indian debut over the weekend, with successful gigs in Mumbai on Feb 19, and Bangalore on Feb 21. The American record label, Mad Decent, helmed by Grammy nominated & AMA winning producer Diplo brought the Mad Decent Block Party (MDBP) to India in association with Percept Live’s Sunburn Arena, and Oji. The Mumbai and Bangalore pit stops of MDBP’s debut India tour saw party and dance music fans make the best of the weekend with a gamut

of soundtracks from track to tropical house. However, the Delhi gig encountered an unprecedented roadblock due to the massive Jat protests and related violence in Delhi-NCR. Last minute curfews in various parts of Haryana resulted in an official warning from the police department, forcing the organizers to cancel the show to put safety first. An official statement from Sunburn CEO Karan Singh stated; "We deeply regret the cancellation of the Mad Decent Block Party at Dhanchiri Camp due to last minute curfews imposed in various parts of Haryana. The safety and security of our fans, artistes and crew were of utmost importance to us, and in light of an official warning from the police department, the show was cancelled. We are working to reschedule the show to a later date. All existing tickets will be valid for that show. In case of no rescheduling, all ticket holders will receive a refund."

MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

ENTERTAINMENT | ALSO FEATURED

Pilcrow concludes another Fun and Healthy edition of Kids Culinaire The second edition of the weekend kids food festival was held in the capital on Feb 20-21, 2016, at PSOI, Nehru Park. . By: Rakhi Jerly

ACK IN THE CAPITAL FOR A SECOND EDITION, Pilcrow Communication’s Kids Culinaire concluded on a high note with yet another weekend of fun and food for kids. Neither the Jaat protest, nor the rain on Friday night could dampen the excitement at PSOI, Nehru Park on Feb 20 21, 2016. While children cheerfully tried their hand at different activities and games, families of all sizes joined in the fun. Kids Culinaire is India’s first and only food festival for children in the age group 3-12 years. The idea for Kids Culinaire was born out of a need felt by the founders of Pilcrow - Ratika van Noord Bhatnagar and Rohini Mathur - to revive the days when families enjoyed quality time together; outdoor activities like picnics were preferred to today’s malls, mobile games, internet, and gadgets. The event was, therefore, planned keeping parents, caregivers, and little ones in mind, with a series of workshops, interesting information, exciting activities, and cool contests. Kids Culinaire is not about discouraging fast food, sweets and other foods that appeal to children’s taste buds. Excited on the

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first day of the festival, Ratika van Noord Bhatnagar said, “We are happy that last year’s success got us to the second chapter of Kids Culinaire. Even though the overlying theme of the festival is fun, the underlying messages are all about inculcating good eating habits in children so that they are able to make healthier choices. We also hope to raise awareness about other relevant concerns around food today such as lifestyle diseases, proper hygiene, recycling, etc.” This year the event had interesting new activities and people while retaining the most popular ones from last year. At the Demo and Contest area, celebrity chef Amrita Raichand added her special blend of magic with a healthy tiffin demo and a contest called “Veggies I Love to Hate”. Chef Saransh Goila, who was also present at last year’s Kids Culinaire fest, and shared with the children a fun chocolate golgappa recipe while teaching them about Indian culture and food at the same time. Food artist, blogger and author of Fun Foods for Fussy Eaters, Smita Srivastava, was also thrilled to be a part of Kids Culinaire.

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ENTERTAINMENT | ALSO FEATURED

The story telling session got more interactive with ‘Kathashaala’ - a storytelling institute which specialises in the use of performing arts. An engaging activity called "From Garbage to Garden", conducted by Edible Routes, was also introduced with fun workshops on creating compost from kitchen waste and growing your own vegetable garden. The experience and engagement at Kids Culinaire is literally hands-on, with the various activities. In the food village, ‘Mamapaati’ stood out as a child friendly restaurant with small chef stations where children could prepare their own food. At the vendor village, you could buy personalised Nutella Jars, and at the food tours, kids could milk a mock cow at the dairy section and grind wheat at the grains section to earn a pack of McVities wholewheat Marie biscuits. In the fun zone, children got down and dirty playing in mud and water to unearth underground vegetables and catch some fish. Jatin Tyagi, Head of HR at Cairns India visited this year’s Kids Culinaire with his 8 year old daughter and ended up spending six hours at the fest. Commenting on the event, Tyagi said, “A fascinating event with a mix of fun, education, and awareness for our children about the environment and how to live healthy. And, of course, there were the engrossing storytelling sessions and the “Master Chef ” competition which my daughter didn't want to leave. Hats off to Pilcrow for organizing a well rounded event. No way we will miss this the next time. A must for every parent to take their children to.”

Entry to the event is ticketed to ensure a safer environment for families with children, but participation in the fun activities is free. Bhatnagar added, “Last year, in our first edition, we were India's first ever festival of its kind, we did not have a reference point and there were a lot of learnings, which we hoped to implement in the 2nd edition. We had also kept in mind the numerous requests and suggestions received from supportive parents, participants, and partners” Sponsors benefit by getting a highly focused target audience over 2 days, in an environment where they are open to experience the brand, product, or service. The average time spent by a family at Kids Culinaire is 3 - 4 hours. The second edition of Kids Culinaire was well supported by the Delhi Times, Mcvities, Nutella, Philips, Tropicana 100%, Quaker, Aquafina, Creambell, Fortis, Wordswork, The Altitude Store, EVENTFAQS, NDTV Food, Upper Crust, Delhievents.com, Delhi Food Walks, and Kathashaala. Pilcrow’s Rohini Mathur said, “As Pilcrow is an experiential marketing company we always integrate the sponsors into the event to maximize engagement of consumers with the brand rather than have them only as names or product displays.” “Like all growing children, our coming edition will be bigger, better and stronger. Our endeavor is to inspire children to make better food choices and get families to spend more quality time together. Kids Culinaire will also be going to other cities across India in the coming future,” concluded the Pilcrow-duo.

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ENTERTAINMENT | IN FOCUS

IN FOCUS

FESTA DE DIU

Festa de Diu:

Carving a Presence for Isle of Calma in the Destination Events map Curated, executed and managed by Ferriswheel Entertainment, this one-ofits-kind festival attracted over 22 Lakh visitors with over 77 days of art, music, and cultural celebrations.

By Rakhi Jerly

12 thematic weeks, 77 days, 140 shows, 350 artists, 22 lakh visitors - the numbers speak volumes about the recently concluded Festa de Diu. With the completion of a much anticipated inaugural edition, Diu is now home to Asia’s longest beach festival. A celebration of music, art, and culture spanning across three months - from Dec 2015 to Feb 2016 - the Diu Festival was an enormous challenge taken on by Ferriswheel Entertainment that was seamlessly executed.

Winning the Pitch Having won the open national tender for the event, Ferriswheel’s aim was to put Diu on the world map as a global destination for culture and festivities. The Isle of Calma was to be transformed into a culturally enriching hotspot for both locals and tourists. Competing against more than ten top agencies of the country, Ferriswheel won the mandate based on their expertise in molding content, art and technology together. Shubhra Bhardwaj, Founder and Creative Director, Ferriswheel Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., commented on winning the pitch for Fest de Diu, “The winning pitch was about how we broke down the 77 days festival into 12 thematic weeks. We curated the festival across genres for the target group of young to older people and families. It was a challenge because there was a wide variety of audience that we had to cater to. It felt great to win the tender because we had put in a lot of work and effort. Our preparation for the bid was very exhaustive and extensive and we had a great time doing this.” “Our creative content is what sets us apart. The team works very hard on understanding what the client is looking for. Everything is tailor made for both the clients as well as the audience. We try to put ourselves in their space, as specialists, to bridge the gap between the client’s expectation, the audience expectation and the expertise of what we bring to the table,” she adds.

The Big Plan and Preparation From curation of the festival to generating content for 77 days and from the entire event execution to managing the PR for Festa De Diu, it was a wide spectrum of work for Ferriswheel - with each aspect needing its own specialised team. Production, operations, logistics, PR, artist management and content generation, filming, edit set ups and much more was managed by the agency. Armies from each department were deployed at Diu. 74

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ENTERTAINMENT | IN FOCUS

Milind Soman

“We used multiple cameras for filming, we used drones to shoot. There was content generated on a daily basis for social media and short stories were created everyday, which were released every night on whatsapp and social media platforms. It was all about, basically, encompassing and touching all the vantage points of the festival,” said Shubhra. A massive operation was run by the artist team for booking more than 140 shows and 350+ artists. There was a limitation on the number of flights to Diu. This posed a huge challenge for the Ferriswheel team, as musical instruments had to be transported; and the artists too. Shubhra commented, “These 77 days were very demanding for the artist team and with God’s grace we had only two cancellations and shift out from the first proposal draft that we had made. So, we delivered the entire festival from the presentation to closure with only two changes in the calendar. That’s a very big achievement. I am very proud of my team! I would give all the credit to the artists that extended themselves;

for example Talat Aziz travelled all night after his concert to able to take his flight from Rajkot. So, there were challenges on all sides and we managed them effortlessly and seamlessly.”

The 12 Week Spectacle

“Creativity is everything in marketing anything. A destination has to register in somebody’s mind and create a hook where the person decides to use his time and money and make that effort to visit that destination.” SHUBHRA BHARDWAJ, Founder and Creative Director Ferriswheel Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

There were 3 main venues for the festival – Naida Caves, INS Khukri Memorial Amphitheatre and the main stage at the Nagao Beach. At the same time, there were weekly installation changes at Bunder Jetty and Nagao beach. On Dec 19 - The Diu Liberation Day, Diu saw a massive carnival in which the whole city participated. Most activities were done keeping the whole island in mind. The plan was to execute the whole event as per the set weekly themes. Starting with the ‘Colours of India Week’ and the gala opening by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. The opening ceremony saw performances by Shubha Mudgal and Utkarsh Dance Academy, along with Siddhi Dhamal - a folk dance from Gujarat. Week 1 was a potpourri of Indian dance forms and music, along

MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

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ENTERTAINMENT | IN FOCUS

Ali Asgar

Utkarsh Dance Academy

Shillong Chamber Choir

Siddhi Dhamal

with a standup comedy act by Sunil Pal, a literary showcase and a concert by Indian Ocean. Week 2 belonged to Rhythm and Blues with Beat Boxing, Drum Cafe, jam sessions, solo performances, and concert by Ustad Rashid Ali and Sabri Brothers. Dec 14 - 20, 2015 was celebrated at the Diu Liberation Week, with painting & marble workshops and Diu History sessions at the Naida Caves, Sufi Music at the amphitheatre, and of course the Diu Liberation Day Carnival with Rohit Roy, Sand Artist Rahul Arya, and Shibani Kashyap making an appearance. The liberation week celebrations concluded with a Boat Race & Swimming competition, and a concert by Kartavya Band. Week 4 brought on the Christmas cheer with Community Christmas Trees at all three main venues. A festival sweet making workshop was also conducted. However, the highlights were the concerts and choir performances at the beach and amphitheatre. Shillong Choir Group mesmerised the audience on Christmas eve while Benny Dayal and 76

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Indian Idol finalist Ananya Mishra kept the festivities up on Christmas day. Christmas, as usual, is quickly followed by the New Year fun. The New Year Bonanza Week at Fest de Diu was all about partying with DJ’s from across genres - EDM, Bollywood, Retro, and Techno. The week long party concluded with 12 hour LIVE session with DJ Brahmin and a mega performance by Hard Kaur. The non-stop partying was conveniently followed by a wellness week, with Sun Down Yoga, Natural Remedies, 3 Celebrity Chef Rasoi Show, the marathon with Milind Soman, and Fitness session with Dia Mirza. A week of laughter followed with laughter sessions and performances by comedians, mime artists etc. Jan 13 - 17, 2016 was Wonderland Week featuring Kite making and flying, clowns and hand show act, a painting exhibition, puppet shows, magicians, mentalists and caricature artists. A all-in-all fun week for the children, the concluding day of Week 8 featured a Hot

air balloon interactive session with child actor Darsheel Safary, plus a Children’s Talent Hunt and performance by India’s Got Talent Winners, Bad Salsa. Weeks 9, 10, and 11 were Arts, Patriotic and Dance Weeks, respectively. The Art Week featured Terracotta & Painting workshops, a fashion show, and a Symphony Orchestra, while the Dance week brimmed with workshops on Hip-hop, Bollywood, and contemporary styles, plus a Flash Mob by DeeOne Dance Group at the Bunder Jetty. Shreya Ghoshal concluded the Dance Week with her performance on Feb 7, at the Nagao Beach. The Patriotic Week was highlighted by a performance from Kailash Kher. Prince Dance Group, Raaga Trippin’, Manipuri acrobats etc were among the other programs. Week 12, the finale week, was aptly celebrated as Spring Fest. Feb 11, day 1 of the week hosted Dance Diu Dance, a competition judged by Prince of Dance India Dance fame. Day 2 belonged to Voice of Diu judged by Shilpa Rao. Both competition judges also performed at the events. Feb 13, concluded the

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Benny Dayal

Shreya Ghoshal

Shubha Mudgal

Dia Mirza

Spring Fest and the Festa De Diu with performances from Laser Angels, Fictitious Group, Mallakhamb, and New Life. “What was also memorable is the part that led up to the festival. We did road shows in Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, and Ahmedabad. I will never forget these moments. I have never promoted something so exhaustively. It was a large team effort with the government and I would give full credit to Mr. Ashish Kundra (Administrator of Daman and Diu & Dadra and Nagar Haveli) as somebody who had a great vision to put this festival and deliver it,” adds Shubhra.

The Festival Village & Adventure Zone The main focus of organising an event of this scale and vibrance was to market Diu and an international destination. This certainly required comfortable accommodation for those who had travelled from far off to be a part of this cultural extravaganza.

“Live in the Lap of Luxury” - invited the Fest de Diu webpage. And it was nothing short of that at the Festival village. Fully air-conditioned luxury tents featured every facility you would expect at a 5-star accommodation. Porches, king-sized beds, TVs and cosy seating. The luxury cottages with a sea view ensured the ultimate Diu experience. The village also had a 6000 sq ft conference hall that accommodated up to 200 individuals, for corporates or exhibitors to conduct their own private meetings, exhibitions or team off-sites during the duration of the festival. The village also featured an all day flea market with 15+ pop up shops. The Adventure Zone buzzed with hot air ballooning over the Arabian sea, zip lining between the cliffs, and bungee jumping into the sea again. “We had well healed people staying at the festival village. Overall it was an experience that has successfully been enmeshed in tourists and the local people who attended; which will only grow and grow in the future,” says Shubhra.

Destination Diu Festa De Diu organisers’ plan to re-create the Isle of Calma into a culturally enriching hotspot for locals and tourists was undoubtedly successful, with more than 22 lakh visitors hitting the shores of this quaint island during its extended Liberation Day celebrations. Shubhra exclaimed, “Creativity is everything in marketing anything. A destination has to register in somebody’s mind and create a hook where the person decides to use his time and money and make that effort to visit that destination.” Shubhra concludes by commenting on the wide spread recognition for the event, received from all quarters: “Artist loved it; they loved the beaches, the quiet and calm Island, historic monuments. Visitors were just surprised to be caught in this whole world of colours and emotions, in dance and music activities. Clients too are very happy and are satisfied.”

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Then & Now: 10 Years of Sunburn with Karan Singh, CEO

2016 marks the 10th edition of #Sunburn.

TARTED IN 2007, AS A 3-DAY music fiesta, #Sunburn is an amalgamation of music, entertainment, experiences, celebration and lifestyle that has seeded music tourism in India starting with Goa. The music property has enthralled thousands of fans by presenting the most iconic DJs and artists on a parallel platform, including the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Tiesto, Avicii, Hardwell, Deadmau5, Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Afrojack and Nicky Romero. As per IMS APAC Business Report 2014, Sunburn Goa is ranked as big as Tomorrowland and Ultra Miami Festival. The property has also extended its presence into cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai with formats like arena gigs, club gigs, campus gigs, and the newest is ‘Sunburn Reload’ that is specially designed and customized to cater to as many dance music fans, giving them a piece of #Sunburn in their very own town. EVENTFAQS spoke to Karan Singh, CEO of Sunburn on the stellar evolution of the IP in terms of lineup, artists and sponsors. How has Sunburn evolved in the last 10 years? Sunburn introduced the concept of ‘Dance Music’ to India and we are a brand that has been given birth locally, and we have now gone global. A true global brand always happens when you foremost follow the mantra of ‘for the fans, by the fans, of the fans’! Dance Music is inclusive without barriers and it reaches out to all. It makes absolute sense for India to adopt it and participate. We believe why it has become so popular is because it’s very uncomplicated… After all, what can be simpler than ‘live love dance’! Sunburn started as one small event in 2007 on the beaches of Goa and it has grown phenomenally year-on-year because of the excellence that we strive for in all the areas. But it’s also because we speak to our fans, we stay in touch with them trying to figure out what they want, cutting across the age and

Spice Jet, Rayban (in association with), Sky Scanner, Stayzilla, 7Up, Ola Money, Instagram, Tinder, ITC, Dominos. Please tell us about the constant innovations and new platforms in LIVE entertainment?

Karan Singh

the language barriers uniting people across cities and countries, reaching out to create a social platform for people to interact on. Apart from the main festival, we have sub-brands and product lines as Arenas, Reloads, Campus and Club Events. Tier II in the Indian market has been exploding and we have been now focussing on Tier II and III markets to lead the brand journey. This helps us in growing the audience base and the dance music culture in the country, as well. We have witnessed 100% growth YOY in digital audience and we today stand at 1.7 million on Facebook, Google plus is at 1.1 million, Instagram followers are 163k, Twitter is 341k followers, our YouTube channel has 8 million plus video views and 62k subscribers. Even our on ground attendance numbers have seen 40% growth from season 8 to season 9. Can you take us through the IP, specifically in terms of association with sponsors, marketing driven initiatives outlined by Percept Live? Since IPs are experiential in nature, a lot depends on the on ground and digital database integration for the Sponsors. We have been working with the best of the brands, whether it’s been Hero in the past, as the principal sponsor or Renault and Gionee in season 9. The season 9 saw sponsor integration of more than 20 brands with every brand integrating a unique concept - including Renault, Gionee (co-presenters) Kingfisher, Smirnoff, Quikr Cars (in partnership with), FBB, Ola, Sky Bags, Airtel, Gillette,

This is more of an industry perspective, however, we believe that just dance music event, where DJ comes and plays is a bit of history. This year, we will strive to put together a new experience for the fans from a product and offstage point of view. So whether its crowd zorbing or setting up a product which is beyond an artists with other music aspects thrown in it, we are open to innovations and ideas. What are the major challenges faced by the industry? There are multiple challenges that are associated in putting together events of this stature, having said that, we are thankful to the police as well as the multiple government agencies that always lend us their full cooperation. Along with this, we have our production partners and volunteers to thank who come together to put this labour of love and music together for all the Sunburn fans. Security planning is the most important part of such events and we have internal teams that work with experts both domestic and international with adequate experience to plan. Inputs from & local authorities is also taken. In fact, all security, and safety plans are approved by the government authorities. There a layer system put in place for – Management, Monitoring & Prevention. Multiple checks and cordoning at entry with local authority supervision and CCTV cameras discourage any mischief etc. Strict guidelines for material allowed and thorough checking to ensure safety of the patrons. Medical attention is one of the most important things as we do get many cases of heat stroke, breathlessness, etc.; hence, we have medical centre with doctors, nurses stretcher boys – medical watch dogs in the crowd to get any cases/ identify possible cases to provide

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help in time and prevent bigger damage. All numbers are done scientifically to ensure timely help and we always a tie up with a close by hospital as well as identify fastest route to take, if any, severe cases to hospital in minimum time. In terms of production, we have our international benchmarks set to keep up with the global standards that our brand stands for as well as our aim to provide our fans the best experience in the business. And it simply means working with the best partners and vendors in the business with smart planning. Such IPs mostly appeal to the gen-next… so what’s your strategy to engage them? A dance festival is successful when the fans own it. When it’s for the fans, by the fans and of the fans....Experience,

production and content needs to be seamless and contemporary as well as innovative so that the fans walk away with a feeling of experiencing something Iconic. We stay in constant touch with our fans, and study their music preferences across the globe. This helps us in understanding them and ensuring that we deliver a wow experience. Do you have any further plans to take the property to international markets? Sunburn is listed as one of the top 3 music festivals globally. We also enjoy great global fan following and global market equity. We have already done shows in Dubai, Colombo and Oman and tasted great success with them and will continue to do so. We are already exploring other markets with International partners and will be focussing on Eastern Europe and South East Asia.

What are the evolving markets in India? Entire country is lapping up EDM music, as it is music without any boundaries. It is inclusive and unites all. Having said that we have been surprised by the response that we have received from the tier II towns and the ever growing adoration and need of good music, good experiences and good artists. To name a few, Sunburn has stormed with the dance music culture across cities like Raipur, Trivandrum, Kochi, Indore, Bhopal, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Dehradun, Pilani, etc... Live Love Dance! This year, Sunburn is expected to launch a Sunburn Flag that will be used in the coming seasons *(flag can be an existing pattern or fan crowding), along with a Sunburn Loyalty Reward Program.

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IN FOCUS

A R RAHMAN CONCERT

A Concerted Effort: A R RAHMAN’S Nenje Ezhu Tour The multi-city benefit tour was presented by Noise & Grains Entertainment and AKR Events, and co-produced by MR B Live. The tour also had on board various technical teams taking care of different aspects of the tour and providing cutting edge equipment and technology. In this piece, ExM looks at what each of these teams brought to the table.

A MULTI-CITY BENEFIT CONCERT TOUR DEDICATED TO Chennai’s flood victims, A R Rahman’s Nenje Ezhu was held in the second half of January 2016. With over 150 artists and musicians on board, the tour reached an audience of over 75,000 people. Presented by Noise & Grains Entertainment and AKR Events, the event was co-produced and managed by MR B Live. Conceptualized and directed by BToS Productions, the team also took charge of Artist Relations. The technical crew comprised of Stage and Trussing masterminds Men at Work, industry veterans Sound.com providing backline and audio equipment, and Media Pro International on lights.

The Concert The first leg of the three-city concert was held at YMCA Grounds, Chennai on Jan 16, and witnessed around 24,000 people attend. Attended by a crowd of more than 30,000 fans, the Coimbatore concert took place on January 23 at the Codissia Trade Fair Complex, while the tour culminated on Jan 31 in Madurai. This last concert saw around 20,000 people present. A R Rahman took to the stage accompanied by legends of the Indian music industry including S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Hariharan, the soul-stirring voices of Benny Dayal, Hari Charan, Jonita Gandhi, Neeti Mohan, Vijay Prakash, Karthik, Srinivas, Shweta Mohan, Sid Sriram, A. R. Reihana, Haripriya and Sunitha Sarathy, along with rap artists Blaaze, Lady Kash and ADK- to name a few. With choreography by the Terence Lewis Dance Academy, the ensemble thrilled ARR fans with an assorted set-list of classic and fresh Tamil melodies. The star-studded concert also featured Ranjit Barot, Sanket Athale, Raghav Sachar, Gulraj Singh and Mohini Dey along with Sunshine Orchestra, KM Conservatory and Cochin Strings amongst others. The event saw several celebrities attend including actor Dhanush, Trisha, Jeeva and cricket star Murali Karthik.

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“The entire set had to be a clean yet complex build, in order to dismantle and move from city to city with a gap of less than a week between each show. No compromises were made, using entirely world-class gear for a grandiose ensemble and tour of such stature.” BALAJI MANOHARAN Event Head, MR B Live

Elaborating upon the setup created, Balaji Manoharan, Event Head, MR B Live remarked, “The challenge was creating a one of a kind modular, structured multi-city tour kit with time as a major constraint. The entire set had to be a clean yet complex build, in order to dismantle and move from city to city with a gap of less than a week between each show. No compromises were made, using entirely world-class gear for a grandiose ensemble and tour of such stature. Being the first event we’ve done in association with Noise & Grains, handling two cities – Chennai and Coimbatore – proved effortful. In particular, shifting the entire set from city to city definitely required extensive logistical planning.” Vinay Agarwal, Production Head added, “It was nice to witness Time Code being used for a show completely produced and designed here in India. We’ve worked for many shows where this technology has been used, but always brought in by the International Artists’ crew. The safety standards used by Men at Work was at par with any International rigging

“It was nice to witness Time Code being used for a show completely produced and designed here in India. We’ve worked for many shows where this technology has been used, but always brought in by the International Artists’ crew.” VINAY AGARWAL Production Head

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The equipment deployed were all high performance, top of the line systems, like the latest in the line array systems by JBL Professional. The entire production design was finalised only once the audio system and design was in place. Since it was the first time AR Rahman performed in Madurai and Coimbatore, this called for a spectacular auditory experience.

company. The weight loaded on the scaffolding and the counter weight added using water ballasts, the cross bracings done to the trust, the Ring Lock Stage and Scaffolding- all executed with International quality and finish.” The unconventional Diamond stage consisted of the Milos MR5 Ring Lock staging and scaffolding system, notably the first of its kind in the country. Over 5,000 sq. ft. of LED screens, weighing in excess of 4 tonnes were suspended from the scaffolding. In total, 175m of sub hang and spreader trusses were used to light the main stage, and an FOH truss (24m x 6m), suspended from 2 cranes of 50 tonne capacity was used for face and audience lighting.

Sound SOUND.COM provided backline and audio equipment at all three concerts. Full- fledged rehearsals for this commenced right at the beginning of the month at KM Conservatory, Chennai, for which SOUND.COM again provided equipment. 82

“AR Rahman Nenje Ezhu tour produced by BTOS Productions is undoubtedly the biggest tour production that’s been put together and when you do a show with an Oscar, Grammy and multi Award winning artist, things just come into perspective as to how one has to push the boat out in live sound and tour technology, to make this a sonic success.” WARREN D’SOUZA Founder and Managing Director, SOUND.COM

On managing the sound for this mega-tour, Warren D’Souza, Founder and Managing Director, SOUND. COM said, “AR Rahman Nenje Ezhu tour produced by BTOS Productions is undoubtedly the biggest tour production that’s been put together and when you do a show with an Oscar, Grammy and multi Award winning artist, things just come into perspective as to how one has to push the boat out in live sound and tour technology, to make this a sonic success. We started this with a firm thought in mind that we are not going to compromise on audio production quality and safety right from the rigging and flying to the sound and for that we had made the production very clear that everything on this tour will come from

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Mumbai – including the scaffolding, the audio equipment as well as the backline.”

Also deployed were 26 radio mikes and 32 wireless IEMs.

The Equipment used:

All three shows were multi-track recorded with Nuendo Live and the Waves Tracks Live software. The recording had redundancy planned out meticulously.

• • • •

JBL VTX V25 II (30 nos) JBL VTX V20 (24 nos) JBL VT 4888 for delays (24 nos) JBL VT 4887 for side fills 44 SUB woofers (12 nos) • Crown I-Tech HD Amplifiers (64 nos) The sub woofers were arranged in cardioid format in order to prevent sub-woofer energy from spilling onto the stage. The complexity of the show begins with the immense use of RF. With over 64 frequencies used, the RF planning and coordination had to be robust. With SOUND.COM’s strategic investments in radios, catering to artists’ growing requirements has been a fairly streamlined exercise. Given that there was a huge band set up on stage with several musicians, there was a requirement for almost 140 inputs on the show. Soundcraft Vi6 and Vi3000 were used for Front of House (FOH), and Digico AR SD 10 and SD 9 for monitors.

On what SOUND.COM added to the mix on this tour, D’souza added, “The first and obvious change on this tour has been an incredible upgrade to JBL V25 II and the new waveguides has added as a new dimension to the sound of the JBL VTX system. It sounds like a JBL VTX on sonic steroids, amazing balance of power and a noticeable improvement in the way we can mix at low and high volumes and achieve the same sonic balance.”

Visual and Other Elements

F&B management and hospitality). The visual content was conceptualized and created in collaboration with VJ KayCee (Pixadoo), Nazeef Mohammed (BToS), Amit (KM Conservatory) and Blind Mapping Studios, Canada. Specifically tailor-made for this show, each song was complimented by a unique 7k resolution aesthetic treat, visually mapped on the monumental 5,000 sq. ft. LED set. Other partners included Media Pro International (Lighting Design), Stage SFX (Special Effects), and On Cue (Show Running Team). The total effect of these multifarious but superbly coordinated elements could be seen in the response of the crowds to the concerts. Nothing was amiss, and A R Rahman and the singers who performed with him could truly shine.

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LARGE WHITE BANNER ON THE MAIN GATE WITH the words, 'The Blues Live Here', aptly describing Asia’s largest Blues Festival, welcomed the Blues aficionados to Mehboob Studio that played host to the Mahindra Blues Festival from February, 13-14. The annual extravaganza is produced and promoted by Oranjuice Entertainment, a division of Fountainhead MKTG – the experiential marketing agency from Dentsu Aegis Network.

IN FOCUS

MAHINDRA BLUES FEST

The Mahindra Blues Festival '16: Produced by Oranjuice Entertainment & Headlined by Joss Stone The annual extravaganza witnessed three-time Grammy award winner Keb' Mo' and platinum-bestselling British soul singer Joss Stone.

By Isha Gakhar

After featuring biggies like Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan, Taj Mahal, Walter Trout and the young Derek Trucks in the past, this year’s edition of the Mahindra Blues Festival witnessed threetime Grammy award winner Keb' Mo' and platinum-bestselling British soul singer Joss Stone. Also enthralling Indian fans were leading female guitarist Malina Moye, top Indian blues band Soulmate, the nine-piece Heritage Blues Orchestra (Chicago), and award-winning British Blues band King King (Scotland). Delta bluesman Kevin Moore – more popularly known as Keb’ Mo’ – who has redefined the brand of blues by incorporating modern sensibilities without losing traditional touch, amazed with his performance. With her wide musical range spanning blues, soul, pop, ballads and reggae, the headlining act by Joss Stone, wearing an Indianstyled red-and-gold ghagra-choli dress, drew loud applause from the audience. Bill Sims Jr. and Junior Mack (Heritage Blues Orchestra), Alan Nimmo (King King), Soulmate, Malina Moye and Keb Mo joined Joss Stone on the stage for an once-in-alifetime 'All-Star Jam' that sent the fans into an absolute frenzy, ending the 2016 edition of the festival on a perfect note. For the second year in a row, the festival opened its 'Garden Stage' to an amateur band discovered through the Mahindra Blues Hunt. This year featured Bhopal's 'Lal and the People', an exciting young group that underlined the Blues' bright future in India's heartland. Holding on to the reputation of 'raising the bar' apart from the world-class musical quality, the ambience and experience made a difference this year. The well-attended festival was well-organized with the acts alternating between the multiple stages at the venue. The sheer ambience of Mehboob Studios also contributed to the MBF charm. A food court supplied culinary enthusiasts with comfortable seating and multiple choices of cuisine, as well as a lounge dedicated for those who preferred involving in a different kind of blues spirit! When asked about the growth and evolution of the Mahindra Blues Festival, V.G. Jairam, Co-Founder, Oranjuice Entertainment and Fountainhead MKTG said, "The Mahindra Blues Festival has almost single-handedly promoted the Blues as a music genre especially to Indian audiences in the last 6 years. Since then, the Blues has grown tremendously in popularity, sparking up many Blues Bands and smaller concerts and festivals. A leader in its category, the festival prides itself in being not just a series of concerts but one of the Asia’s ‘prestige’ experiences, comparable to events that happen in Europe and America. With Blues performances on multiple stages, a very evolved and discerning audience from around India and the world, and perhaps the most delicious American Southern food outside of Mississippi, the Mahindra Blues Festival is a great way to enjoy the last days of winter. Now in its sixth year, the Mahindra Blues Festival has gained a loyal following as diverse as the Blues genre, bringing Indian, International, young and mature fans together for a weekend of Blues music, good food, and a few surprises. Thanks to the MBF, the Blues has found a new audience in India, one that is growing every year."

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Star-Studded India Debut For Diesel+Art Bollywood, corporate, and social icons attend Mumbai’s first projection photography exhibition by celebrity photographer Rohan Shrestha, curated by Ambika Hinduja Macker. By: Rakhi Jerly

IESEL+ART, A UNIQUE GLOBAL property that celebrates art as an intertwined facet of fashion, made its India debut in Mumbai on Feb 6, 2016. Aimed at promoting the experience of art on an ongoing basis by showcasing the brightest creative minds of tomorrow, the initiative was kicked-off with a unique projection photography exhibit by celebrity photographer Rohan Shrestha. The show curated by Ambika Hinduja Macker of Impeccable Imagination, was open to the public at Diesel’s Juhu flagship store from Feb 7 - 21. Using six ultra-projectors along with a moving image piece housed in the backdrop of print images, Diesel + Art’s latest show was a pioneering projection photography show in the city. The launch event managed by Kickstart Entertainment was attended by celebrities, corporate honchos, social influencers, and eminent art lovers. Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Kriti Sanon, Aditi Rao Hydari, the Hinduja Family, Arjun and Mehr Rampal, Rajkumar Rao, Arjun Kapoor, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Kunal Rawal, Anupam Kher, Esha Gupta, Athiya Shetty, and many more stars came out to support the photographer and Diesel’s non-profitable initiative. Curated by Ambika Hinduja Macker of Impeccable Imagination - a boutique design services company. “Fashion is as much art as is a painting, a sculpture, and a photograph. All of the above are expressions of creativity conveyed through different mediums. It's only natural for fashion brands to involve and indulge art, through various collaborations,” says Ambika, who is the Founder and Creative Director of Impeccable Imagination. Impeccable Imagination is the global representative

of photo and visual artist, Rohan Shrestha. The photographs were also available for sale at the Diesel+Art show. Speaking about the Diesel+Art initiative, Darshan Mehta, President & CEO Reliance Brands Limited, says; “Diesel, as a brand, works very closely with art and music internationally, as both these genres are inherent to the Diesel DNA. Diesel Art is a worldwide initiative to support artists and celebrate different forms of creative expression. In Japan, for instance, we have an established Diesel Art Gallery showcasing avant-garde works of global artists.” In India, Diesel+Art aims to be the launch-pad of some of India’s most talented young artists across genres. A non-commercial venture for Diesel India, 10% of the exhibit sales goes to Ummeed, a charitable organisation helping children with developmental disabilities like cerebral palsy, mental retardation, learning disability, autism etc, through the Reliance Foundation. “We initiated Diesel+Art in India with the same belief, but with a slight difference. A non-profit venture, Diesel+Art dips into our country’s mammoth talent pool, scouting for bright and emerging artists to provide them a professional launch-pad. The Diesel flagship store in Juhu is Diesel+Art Ground zero. It has a dedicated floor that morphs into a gallery space with a focus on interactivity and technology,” said Mehta. While the launch event on Feb 6 was accessible by invite only, the entry to the Diesel+Art exhibition from Feb 7 - 21 was free for the public from 11 am - 8 pm. A video show was also presented on the weekends.

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Shahid Kapoor

Arjun & Mehr Rampal

Sonakshi Sinha

Anupam Kher

Ranveer Singh & Rohan Shrestha

“Fashion is as much art as is a painting, a sculpture, and a photograph. All of the above are expressions of creativity conveyed through different mediums. It's only natural for fashion brands to involve and indulge art, through various collaborations.” AMBIKA HINDUJA MACKER Founder and Creative Director Impeccable Imagination

Rajkumar Rao

Rohan Shrestha & Ambika Hinduja Macker

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IN FOCUS

INDIA BIKE WEEK 2

BRANDS REV UP THE EXPERIENCE AT INDIA BIKE WEEK 2016 In addition to biker favourites like Harley-Davidson, DSK Benelli, and Triumph, touring, outdoor, and accessory brands tapped into this unique gathering of adventure and bike enthusiasts. BY Rakhi Jerly

N FEB  - , THE ARPORA SPORTING GROUND in Goa buzzed with the roar of over 12,000 bikers celebrating the fourth edition of India’s biggest biking carnival - India Bike Week 2016 (IBW). Proudly organised by Seventy Event Media Group (70 EMG) and Fox Life, in association with Shell Advance, this year’s IBW saw the largest gathering of the biking community yet - with both hardcore and casual riders crossing national and international boundaries to celebrate an event that has established itself as a cornerstone of India’s biking culture.

DAY : Bike Unveilings, Moto Trials Showcase and More Day 1 of the two day festival, got off to a rocking start with thousands of bikers making the Great Migration; some from across international borders - Australia, South Africa, the UK, Germany, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia - adding IBW to the global calendar of biking festivals. The festival was launched by Harley Davidson’s parade of over 2,500 HOG riders thundering down IBW’s Main Street, followed by the DSK Benelli riders, and the Riders Association of Triumph. The festival also witnessed several new bike unveilings. DSK Benelli introduced the TRK 502 and Benelli Tornado 302; Triumph brought out the new Street Twin T120 and Thruxton R; while Harley-Davidson showed-off the new 1200 Custom and Ducati the Panigale 959. Manufacturers and sponsors amped up the motorcycling experience with a dedicated test ride track and activities like the Triumph Tiger Academy, Harley-Davidson Touring Bike demo, and Shell the Rev Up zone with their Dyno Wars and power bike displays. This year’s IBW was headlined by a Moto Trials Show featuring trials biking legend, Dougie Lampkin.The Howling Dog Bar hosted the Innovation Bike display and served as the center of attention, showcasing models like the Monowheel and the Skatocross. Next up was the Moto Art Collective, a curated collection of motorcycle and moto-culture inspired art exhibited, with biking lifestyle elements such as Tattoo artworks, Live Graffiti and Airbrushing, sculptures and painting, and moto-photography. It wasn’t all about the adrenaline though; hundreds of national and international clubs mingling at the Howling Dog bar, the Beer Café, and the Knock Out Zones.

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Martin Da Costa, CEO, Seventy EMG with Indian riding sensation C S Santosh

Back for a second time, The Big Trip offered biking enthusiasts a chance to interact with legends of the road as they shared stories gathered over the course of several decades. The day drew to a close with performances by Soulmate and The Other People.

biking community in all its grandeur. What was a closed circuit of automotive owners has today expanded into a vast thriving social circle of passionate explorers fueled by the growing trend of adventure travel. It is such events and experiences that embody the very philosophy of Fox Life and bring it up close for our viewers to touch, feel and enjoy.’’

Over 250 clubs participated in IBW 2016 from across 36 cities, 90 shows and special events. Speaking at a Q&A session with the media on IBW 2016 Day 1, Swati Mohan, Business Head, Fox International Channels India said, ‘‘Building on last year, this year too we witnessed an overwhelming response adding to a great first day experience. IBW has grown over the years and has become a celebration of not just biking, but also a mecca for experience seekers and travellers. We are thrilled to know that our partnership with Seventy EMG that gave birth to India Bike Week is today a platform that helps bring together the nation’s MARCH - APRIL 2016 EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 89

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Yellow Stage's Karan Malhotra Decodes Harley-Davidson India's Pavilion The Yellow Stage has been curating Harley-Davidson India’s experiential activities over the last three years. In an exclusive conversation with ExM’s Isha Gakhar, Karan Malhotra, Managing Director, The Yellow Stage talks about the agency’s role in putting together Harley-Davidson’s Experiential Zone at IBW 2016. What was Harley-Davidson India’s brief to the agency? At Harley-Davidson, the customer experience shapes the company and the brand. Our mandate was to create an experience that is unique and appeals to existing Harley owners and motorcycle enthusiasts who were coming to India Bike Week and had not yet come in close quarters with the brand. Our aim was to create and help deliver personalized experiences that are authentically Harley-Davidson. Right from conceptualization, designing, production and complete management of the pavilion, artist management, SFX to logistics, outdoor media campaign, after-party events, were part of our deliverables. Please describe the various activities that took place?

Shankar Ehsaan Loy) and Suraj Jagan. Celebrations continued with an afterparty at Titos Courtyard. On the second day, the roads leading from Nazri Grounds to Arpora Sporting Grounds, Goa, witnessed the biggest riding spectacle of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in India till date, as the H.O.G. India parade, roared its way into the 2016 IBW. KARAN MALHOTRA Managing Director, The Yellow Stage

It was a three-day event for us. The first day was an exclusive evening for the Harley Owners Group, where more than 2500 H.O.G. members from across 21 H.O.G. chapters across India came down for the 4th H.O.G. India rally and gathered at Harley-Davidson Pavilion at Arpora Sporting Grounds, Goa. The 4th H.O.G. India Rally is the biggest rally of the 5 rallies that are conducted all-round the year, at regular intervals, to provide great riding experiences to HarleyDavidson riders and their families. Through the course of the evening, H.O.G. members and H.O.G. chapters were honored with for their passion and spirit for biking and spanning thousands of kilometers across the country in a year. A true combination of music, motorcycles and mayhem was ensured as the country's legendary rock band Parikrama jammed live with the very famous Ehsaan Noorani (of

Motorcycle enthusiasts kept visiting the Harley-Davidson pavilion to check out the complete lineup of Harley-Davidson India’s 2016 motorcycles. They also indulged in the first-hand experience of sitting atop a roaring Harley-Davidson motorcycle through the HarleyDavidson Jumpstart and get inked in true biker fashion at the Harley-Davidson Experience Zone. Finally, what was the setup like? The setup was created keeping in mind the high energy and an un-caged approach the brand offers. Freedom of thought allowed us to create the pavilion with over 10,000 kgs of metal that was visually impactful. An 800 square feet of a mezzanine structure was created overlooking the festival. Another very exclusive technology of LIVE 3D scale modelling of one’s own self was being offered, along with many other experiences.

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DAY 2: The Enduro Challenge, National Stunt Championships and More Day 2 saw Dougie Lampkin return to take centre stage. As a built up to the Great migration, the IBW MOD Bike parade featured over 30 riders upon specially designed bikes by some of the biggest custom builders in India. The highlight for IBW Day 2 was, however, the Great Migration itself. Over 20 of the most exclusive and biggest national biking clubs participated in the special parade through the IBW Main Street - one of the longest constructed parade routes at an Indian biking festival. From superbikes to the every commuter friendly machines were paraded from Kolhapur, Bangalore, Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad, Kerala and other corners of the country. On its second day, IBW Big Trip showcased notable veterans of the adventure travel industry - such as Renuka Kirplani, Pankaj Trivedi, and Santosh. The IBW National Stunt Championship, one of the most exciting events of the festival, drew to a close with some of India’s finest talents in the circuit being awarded for surpassing elimination rounds stretched across the two days. I STUNT, the team from Mumbai called emerged as the winners. Day 2 also saw the culmination to the much anticipated and India’s first ever official Hard Enduro event, Dirty20 Enduro Challenge, with an overwhelming response from over 60 amateur Motocross riders. 9yr old Indian motocross riding prodigy, Sarthak Chavan, was the highlight of the event. Adding an artistic element to the main event, IBW also featured its first Film Festival this year. The entries were judged by renowned personalities like Imtiaz Ali, Gaurav Jani, and Pankaj Trivedi. IBW 2016 closed on a high with an exciting musical line up including MIDIval Punditz with their signature fusion style melding electronica and classical Indian melodies.

Commenting on the closure of the biggest India Bike Week yet, Martin Da Costa said, ‘‘Superseding the previous years, IBW 2016 has been our biggest success story yet. We are taking a step closer towards identifying IBW not only as a national brand, but establishing it as a global biking extravaganza. The Indian biking brotherhood is just getting bigger and the overwhelming support that we are receiving at India Bike Week, year on year is a testament to that belief ’’.

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Deepak Choudhary reviews IBW from an event IP owner’s unique perspective. “The popularity of India Bike Week led to an increase in attendees since the the last edition. Stray conversations I had with the attendees revealed that bikers and riders from the north to the south of India were present, confirming to me the nation-wide appeal of IBW. Moreover, there was a tremendous amount of diversity with many biking groups and clubs present, including an all-women’s biking group. With 7 new bike launches from 3 brands at the festival, the organisers are no doubt thrilled that more brands are lining up to launch their bikes at the annual biking festival, rather than in the conventional way - at the well-established Auto Expo in New Delhi. DEEPAK CHOUDHARY Event Industry Enthusiast

Activities and exhibits at IBW included Bikini Bike Wash, Custom Motorcycles’ showcase, a display of Vintage Bikes, and motorcycle art by talented artists. The off-road track for bike-spins had everyone’s adrenaline pumping, while The Biker’s mall featured stalls from companies selling accessories, allowing bikers the option to upgrade their bikes according to their needs.” Deepak Choudhary is an Event Industry Enthusiast who is always on the lookout for interesting event Intellectual Properties that can be Owned, Licensed or Acquired (OLA) - A model that he has devised for Event Capital, a company that specialises in empowering event IPs.

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The Brand Advantage As a scaled up version in comparison to previous years, the IBW Expo saw some of the industry’s biggest brands come forward and showcase their offerings. The Expo has developed from what was a simple exhibition showcasing various products, to a social and networking hub for brands and consumers to come together for interactive experience like no other. Some of the biggest brands making their way in the market were Touring brands - Eagle Riders and Trip Machine, outdoor brands - Dirt Sack and UtBt, and Accessory brands like SW Mototech, Touratech, Resonate, Royal Riders and MotoUsher. Other international brands like Victorinox, VW and DC also took part to tap into this unique gathering of adventure and bike enthusiasts.

Officer, Shell Lubricants India said “This year our focus is to bring our patented Pureplus technology to the heavy biking segment. We are happy to announce the launch of Shell Advance Ultra 15W-50, our premium oil formulation designed especially for the heavier bikes. IBW is an exciting platform for us to be present and foster knowledge sharing while showcasing our unique offerings to bike enthusiasts and we are happy to be a part of it.” As an event, the festival has grown, driven by the overwhelming support of the biking community in India and the explosion in the premium bike segment. This characteristic has contributed to the cultivation of associations with over 30 premier brands from across the automotive and lifestyle industries over the years.

Commenting on their association and the overwhelming response from festival goers as well as localities, Rahul Singh, Founder and CEO, The Beer Café, said “IBW has built a strong fraternity with biking communities in India and we are thrilled to be ‘Cheer Partner’ at this mega event of machines and music. For the first time, IBW experienced ‘Beer Garden’ in a spectacular alfresco setting. Beer is the preferred choice of bikers being light and refreshing beverage. It was a great experience to share same platform with bikers, riders, tourist and celebrate the spirit of & culture of Indian biking community." Shell has come on board as IBW’s principal sponsor for the second year in a row.Mansi Madan Tripathy, Chief Marketing

Photographs by: Mehdi Arash Naseeruddin and Ricken Desai

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Sensation White India

Sensation debuts in India with International Standards

By: Karishma Hundalani

ENSATION IS ORGANIZED BY ID&T, WHICH IS ONE of the biggest global dance organizations. ID&T has a 16-year legacy backing the event. Sensation originates from the Netherlands and has toured more than 33 countries, with sell-out shows in cities like Dubai, Amsterdam, New York and Bangkok and has welcomed over 2 million visitors. The IP has been brought to India by Hyderabad-based, Voila Events. Percept LIVE were involved in the marketing / promotions and PR for the event.

Kartikeya Sharma, Marketing Director, India South East Asia, AB InBev said, “Budweiser Music CDs proudly brings to India Sensation, a music extravaganza that has enthralled audiences across the world. We believe the electronic music culture in India is at a very exciting stage and bringing the excellent International festival Sensation is our effort in giving young Indians a taste of the latest and greatest from the global electronic space. We are confident that we will recreate the same epic experiences in the other countries.”

Announcing the brand’s debut in India, Brenda Munsterman, General Manager, Sensation stated, “After an unparalleled run of more than 100 successful Sensation White shows since 2000, we are making our first trip to India with the support of Telangana Tourism for this spectacular world premiere. Sensation White differentiates itself from other dance music festivals, because it’s an all round experience. With theatrical acts, pyro and spectacular show moments during the night, will take the visitors on a magical journey. The all white dress code creates the feeling of unity and works as a canvas for the show lights which creates a mind blowing effect.”

Sensation White is about the grand experience, spectacular show elements, entertainment acts, star-studded line up of the best international DJs and the massive production. The show traveled to India with 13 containers from Amsterdam by road and ocean. It took over 7 days to build the show beyond the six months of exhaustive planning. 50-specialist crew members flew from Amsterdam to help put the show together.

The title sponsors for Sensation White in India were Budweiser. 94

The stage was 242 feet in length and 75 feet high including, a gigantic custom-designed carousel that rotated thrice per minute amidst flying horses. This set design made its debut in the Indian show and will now travel across the globe. Computers controlled the carousel and dancers and aerial

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Afrojack

Axwell

Laidback Luke

Lost Frequency

artists seamlessly integrated themselves in the features of the sets at regular intervals. Every time a new DJ took to the console, a moment was created, including lasers, theatrical acts, and fireworks. The show employed more than 1142400 watts of audio power, 800 lighting fixtures, 30 engineers and a local crew of more than 500 people. Over 96 moving heads were installed, and larger-than-life, inflatable, music-crazed mannequins were made of 3000m of fabric. The arches as part of the stage set, were driven by a hydraulic system and also controlled by a computer at the console. The pyro design included more than 70 positions from where the pyro were shot. Local partners understood (not confirmed by the organiser) to be involved in the project were Production Crew for aspects of on-ground execution, SOUND.COM for Audio Solution, Star Dimension for LED & Lighting Solutions as well as Services India, Men at Work, Maan Decorator and Udappa in varied capacities. The artist line-up for Sensation White in India included, in-house Sensation DJ – Mr. White, Laidback Luke, Lost Frequencies, Afrojack and Axwell.

or unfinished element of venue construct - elements that unfortunately we have accepted as standard. Commenting on the set-up and his satisfaction with the show as it took pace, a Sensation White representative from Amsterdam said, “This is the first open-air venue that has hosted a Sensation White, so there are few elements that needed improvisation, like for instance, the speakers and some other elements are usually suspended from the ceiling of the venue. In this case we’ve had to create platforms to hold them. But all in all, I’m quite satisfied with how the show has come together. I was nervous until yesterday, when I felt nothing would be ready on time, but it all worked out!”

2. EXPERIENTIAL QUOTIENT Sensation India was a concert that a fan could be experiencing in any part of the world. The sets were impressive, the production quality was high standard, the venue management organised, and of course the all-white theme was beautifully implemented. You only realise the power of a theme, when implemented in such numbers. The sense of unity and belonging prevails. Sensation India is case study on how a brand can be built on experience that dwarfs the artists.

Three reasons why Sensation India is a Game Changer:

3. ORGANIZER’S COMMITMENT

1. PRODUCTION QUALITY

This is by far the most important reason why Sensation India is a game changer. By crude math, it’s very clear that the expenses out-number the avenues of income, which leads us to believe that Voila Events is seriously committed to the business.

Details above apart, the sheer quality of production was visible in every element of the show. The console almost looked like a fancy office. No loose wires or masking cloth, shifting carpet

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Mr White

Vijay Amritraj â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Partner & CEO, Voila Events

While it is estimated that the loss in the debut edition is to the tune of INR 20 Million (2 Cr.) it is understood that Voila Events has signed a 5 year agreement with ID&T (not confirmed by Voila). Further the support that Voila has from Telangana Government and the Political & Business community of Hyderabad was visible in the Crystal lounge which was buzzing with actors, industrialists and politician In an exclusive interview with Vijay Amritraj, Partner & CEO, Voila Events, ExM gets a further insight into promotions and amplification related to the inaugural Sensation White in India. Excerpts below:

Uniqueness of the Sensation India stage/set-up Sensation had a centre stage, rather than a usual concert setup with an end stage, giving easy access to all fans. Sensation had more than 130 speakers and subs to give the crowd the best possible sound experience throughout the venue. It took over seven days to build the show with 100s of local crew support.

Engagement through Social Media The Sensation dress code being white, it was very easy to set the tone for social media promotions. Fans posted pictures in white and with white, as it touches all of us in our everyday life, which we could viral all over. Also we engaged a host of local celebrities who played an active part in propagating and amplifying the gig.

Safety Measures The audience is our main priority for any event. We incorporated an all-round safety check from security, fire safety, health and first aid. We had more than 800 security guards, bouncers, women guards patrolling the entire venue at any given point of time. Fire engines and extinguishers were available to ensure no fire mishap occurred. Quick response team, in reflective jackets, were available to address any emergencies.

On-ground activations As this is Sensation's first time in India, we had to think out-ofthe-box for on-ground promotions. Our teams distributed nearly 20,000 Sensation glow bands to fans across the city. They reached gigs, campuses, clubs, offices, parks, malls, everywhere. This created tremendous visibility and brand recall for Sensation.

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