Pitch june issue 2018

`100

Volume 12

| Issue 9 | June 2018

HOSPITALITY MARKETING

AIRBNB

IMPERIAL HOTEL

INDIAN ACCENT

TECH

LIFESTYLE

搀愀洀椀氀愀渀漀⸀挀漀洀

COVER STORY

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June 2018

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Annurag Batra Director Amit Agnihotri Director Nawal Ahuja EDITORIAL TEAM

Executive Editor

Jyotsna Sharma

Contributor Ruhail Amin Smriti Mishra Anam Khan

DESIGN TEAM

Art Director

Shivaji Sengupta

Senior Graphic Designer

Joby Mathew

Photographers Vilas Kalgutkar (Mumbai)

Suresh Gola (Noida) Cover Design

Shivaji Sengupta

AD SALES Runa Sinha (National Business Head) runa.sinha@exchange4media.com - 9810497903

Sneha Walke (VP Special Projects & South Head) sneha@exchange4media.com - 9845541143 Ashish Kudalkar (Regional Manager West - Sales & Business Development) ashish.kudalkar@exchange4media.com - 9820541742

0FFICES

NEW DELHI: B-47, Ground Floor, Defence Colony, New Delhi -110 024 NOIDA: B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301 Phone: (0120) 4007700 Mumbai: 301, Kakad Bhavan, 3rd Floor, 11th Street, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400 050 Phone: (022) 2640 3303/09/14/16 Bengaluru: # 18, 3rd B Cross, Domlur II Stage, Bangalore 560071 CIRCULATION/DISTRIBUTION

Vinod Sharma (Delhi) - 9999447209 vinod@exchange4media.com Anandan Nair (Mumbai) - 9819445200 anair@exchange4media.com On News-stands ` 100/www.pitchonnet.com Printed and published by Annurag Batra on behalf of Adsert Web Solutions Pvt Ltd B-20, I-Floor, Sector-57, Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201301

OPINION

MARKETING AND BUILDING MEANINGFUL BRANDS IN THE

HOSPITALITY SECTOR

AMANPREET BAJAJ Country Manager, Airbnb – India

INTERVIEW

A CHAT WITH CHEF

Printed at All Time Offset Printers, F-406, Sector-63 Noida, Uttar Pradesh - 201 307

MANISH MEHROTRA

An exchange4media Publication

Corporate Chef, Indian Accent Restaurants

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18

INTERVIEW

MARKETING & THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY

52

SOLOMON WHEELER Vice President and Head of Marketing, Vistara

OPINION

MARKETING AND BUILDING MEANINGFUL BRANDS IN THE HOSPITALITY SECTOR ANITA NAYYAR CEO - India & South Asia, Havas Media Group and CEO - Havas Group, North India

48

OUTLOOK VISITORS ARE COMING TO RAJASTHAN.

DIGITALLY!

INTERVIEW

“I STRONGLY BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PEOPLE, AND IT’S THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE”

30

VIJAY WANCHOO,

Sr. Executive Vice President & General Manager- The Imperial

62

NIKHIL SHARDA Sr. Digital Evangelist AdGlobal360

CAMPAIGN/ADVERTISING

#FITTOFIGHT #GIRLSDONTFIGHT #BRUISESCANBEGOOD

SILVIA TALLON Senior Marketing Director, Reebok India

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S NOTE

D

uring 2017, the Indian travel and hospitality sector continued to grow with 15.6 % year-on-year increase in Foreign Tourist Arrivals and 20.8 % year-on-year growth in Foreign Exchange Earnings. Also last year, the travel and tourism sector contributed to 25.9 million jobs and INR 5,141.1 billion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

abatra@exchange4media.com @anuragbatrayo www.facebook.com/anuragbatrayo

Like with all other industries, here too we have seen rapid digitisation because of the increase in smartphones and cheap internet access. Technology is being embraced and used in a big way to engage consumers. In fact, online sale of travel bookings in India is expected to increase at a rate of 14.8 % CAGR from INR1,512.7 billion in 2017 to INR2,625.7 billion by 2021.

AI (Artificial Intelligence), VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) tools are being used to drive customer experience in different measures across the industry. In India, the adoption is not at the scale applied in the west but It is interesting to see how these tools are being used by established players and also new entrants / start-up’s.

Though the outlook for the industry is positive we have a long way to go, and for this issue we spoke to leading marketers from the hospitality industry in India to gain insights into how to increase engagement and enhance brand value.

In addition to interviews and guest columns by leaders from the industry, we have sections on Technology and Lifestyle that you will enjoy reading.

I hope you find reading the issue a pleasure.

Warm Regards,

Annurag Batra Chairman & Editor-in-Chief

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Twitterati

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 7

OPINION

MARKETING AND BUILDING MEANINGFUL BRANDS IN THE

HOSPITALITY SECTOR AMANPREET BAJAJ, Country Manager, Airbnb – India

A

vast and diverse country like India, always has something unique to offer; and our rich cultural heritage and mélange of traditions have paved way for an ever increasing and thriving tourism industry. Today, India’s tourism sector is one of the largest service industries in the country, both in terms of revenue as well as employment.

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According to the 2017 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) released by the World Economic Forum, India ranked 40 amongst the 136 economies across the world.

To effectively tap into this booming industry, it becomes essential for businesses – both emerging and established – to build a focused marketing strategy that centers around the uniqueness of the proposition that the brand has to offer and a strong local connect. In a market environment which has a lot of

brand clutter, a breakthrough strategy that speaks to the local market is important. It is equally important that the strategy resonates with the brand’s philosophy, plays an impactful role in building its identity, adds to its overall recall and helps in attracting new customers while maintaining loyalty.

In India, travel and hospitality are both very fluid and dynamic sectors that are ever evolving with changing consumer preferences. This poses a challenge for marketers because there is then a need to constantly rethink and revise the brand’s strategy by imbibing innovative and out of the box mediums.

Thus, it has become more important to hold the attention of the consumer than ever before, with a variety of options available for them to choose from. Travel service providers and aggregators now need to acknowledge this need, and diversify their marketing plans accordingly.

There it is a growing focus on digital engagement, offering unique travel propositions, value for money deals, or influencer engagement to

ACCORDING TO THE 2017 TRAVEL AND TOURISM COMPETITIVENESS INDEX (TTCI) RELEASED BY THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, INDIA RANKED 40 AMONGST THE 136 ECONOMIES ACROSS THE WORLD

build resonance – today, it has become important to explore all available avenues to build mindshare for your brand.

Additionally, it is also wise to take a personalized approach and streamline your approach based on the customer’s attitude, profile, interests and other key factors instead of targeting an established category. A recent BCG Google study also highlighted that advocacy plays a large role in this domain. People tend to get inspiration for their travel from family and friends and hence driving advocacy on digital media is critical to influence user communities.

This is bound to make your strategy more beneficial. The idea of targeting and tailoring your strategy and its various forms so it directly speaks to or engages ‘one’ individual adds a personalized and emotional connect. This in turn humanizes the brand’s presence in the customer’s life, boosting engagement and elevating loyalty.

At Airbnb for example, our focus has been to establish a local connect with the modern Indian traveler to

make travel magical for him/ her. By showcasing the idea that travel can be more than its current commoditized version and offering people unique experiences instead of standard itineraries, we have been able to make the Indian traveler believe that they can belong anywhere in the world even if it is just for a night. With almost a million Indians having travelled using Airbnb, our growing user base itself is a testament to the value the brand adds to travelers lives

and the relevance of having a focused and locally entrenched marketing plan.

In conclusion, as the market grows, the Indian customer is also constantly evolving. This creates a huge opportunity that many travel and hospitality brands can leverage to innovate and change the game by curating newer, more focused and locally entrenched techniques to capture and retain the interest of their customers.

COVER STORY

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Jyotsna Sharma

T

he hospitality industry encompasses much more than other industries. The defining factor of all businesses in this industry is customer experience. Not to be confused with customer service, which of course, is very important, but only a part of ‘customer experience’. A friend told me about this tour and travel company that not only arranges bespoke tours, but also creates wonderful surprise moments/ events for their customers. These were based on learnings gathered during their interaction with the customer while arranging the trip. So, for instance, your trip to London would include

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 11

COVER STORY tickets to The Phantom of the Opera (which you ordered), and a back-stage meeting with the cast and Andrew Lloyd Webber (the unexpected happy surprise). Your well-planned trip, good customer service from the travel company, along with the back-stage meeting that you weren’t expecting would account for good customer experience -and in turn build brand loyalty.

and also restaurants). Global travel industry gross bookings reached $1.6 trillion in 2017, making it one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the world. Factoring in indirect economic contributions, travel and tourism now accounts for a staggering 10.2 percent of global GDP. (Deloitte 2018 Travel and Hospitality Industry Outlook) Tourism in India accounts for 9.6 % of the GDP and is the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country. In India, the tourism and hospitality sector’s direct contribution to GDP in 2016, was US$ 71.53 billion. The direct contribution

DOMESTIC SPENDING Most of the businesses in this industry are based on providing luxury services and for this very reason providing the best customer experience (CX) is a part of the DNA of every marketer working in Hospitality (Hotels, travel & tourism, events, transportation, cruise liners

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of travel and tourism to GDP is expected to reach US$ 147.96 billion by 2027. (IBEF- India Brand Equity Foundation).

According to the KPMG & FICCI ‘Expedition 3.0: Travel and Hospitality gone Digital’ 2018 report, the key factors driving the growth of the hospitality industry in India are:

Strong and consistent growth in Domestic Tourist Visits (DTVs) — 12.7 per cent y-o-y in 2016 — continues to lead the sector with a significant 88

per cent share of spending

SMARTPHONE & INTERNET PENETRATION

In 2018, India is expected to have 530 million smartphone users, and mobile devices would account for 73 per cent of the time spent on the internet; furthermore, the country is estimated to have 500 million internet users by June 2018, rising above the 34.1 per cent penetration as of 31 December 2017.

LEISURE TRAVEL

Nearly 95 per cent of the direct travel and tourism spending in India comes from leisure travel.

FAST-GROWING ECONOMY

India is one of the fastest growing economies globally — with a GDP

growth of 7.2 per cent during 3Q18 (October 2017– December 2017)

BUSINESS TRAVEL

According to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), India is the tenth-

largest business travel market globally, and is one of the fastest growing markets;

it is expected to be the sixth-largest business travel market in the world by the end of 2019.

MILLENNIALS POPULATION

Millennials are taking more trips per year than ever before, and are also spending more on highvalue accommodations as compared to seniors; for instance, 34 per cent of millennials spent INR6,000 per night or more in the past year, as compared to 22 per cent of those aged 55 plus JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 13

COVER STORY TECH DRIVING CX

Technology has given the contemporary consumer immense power when it comes to making purchasing decisions. In fact, Gartner has predicted that by 2020, customers will manage 85% of their relationship with an enterprise without interacting with a human. It is imperative for businesses to integrate AI (Artificial Intelligence), VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) into their systems in a bid to improve the overall customer experience.

According to Servion, by 2025, AI will power 95% of all customer interactions.

In an industry first move, Wynn Las Vegas announced that by 2017 all its 4,748 rooms would be integrated with the Amazon Echo (smart speakers connected to AI powered virtual assistant Alexa), which would allow its guests to control various hotel room features with a series of voice commands via Alexa.

In Japan, the Heenna Hotel uses robots to assist with check-in and also to carry the luggage to the rooms.

A robotic arm helps in the cloakroom to store luggage.

Further, facial recognition technology is used in the hotel, which allows guests to enter rooms eliminating the need to carry room keys. This is a great move as the hotel no longer has to deal with the problem of lost room keys.

Airbnb is working on using VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented reality) tools to offer an immersive experience to customers, they can check out the accommodation using VR before booking it. AR will be used to get information about the city where the hosts are and would also be useful around the home. For instance, it would help translate foreign language on home appliances, help find light switches and set the thermostat etc.

In terms of travel, facial recognition is being widely used at airports across the globe to assist with checkin and immigration to provide travellers a seamless

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CUSTOMERS OF HOTELS THAT GET THE JOURNEY RIGHT MAY BE 61 PERCENT MORE WILLING TO RECOMMEND THAN CUSTOMERS OF HOTELS THAT MERELY FOCUS ON TOUCHPOINTS. – MCKINSEY ‘CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: NEW CAPABILITIES, NEW AUDIENCES, NEW OPPORTUNITIES’, REPORT JUNE 2017

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TECH-FRIENDLY INDIAN TRAVELER

MOST OF THE BUSINESSES IN THIS INDUSTRY ARE BASED ON PROVIDING LUXURY SERVICES AND FOR THIS VERY REASON PROVIDING THE BEST CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE (CX) IS A PART OF THE DNA OF EVERY MARKETER WORKING IN HOSPITALITY (HOTELS, TRAVEL & TOURISM, EVENTS, TRANSPORTATION, CRUISE LINERS AND ALSO RESTAURANTS).

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COVER STORY

experience. Singapore’s Changi airport will soon use facial recognition to locate late or lost travellers at the airport. So, if you are one who frequently gets late boarding your flight because you are too busy rummaging around in the duty-free shops, you can now breathe a sigh of relief.

Travel websites are increasingly using chatbots to help travellers book holidays, give advice on paperwork to carry along

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BY 2020, CUSTOMERS WILL MANAGE 85% OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH AN ENTERPRISE WITHOUT INTERACTING WITH A HUMAN -GARTNER

and even help in cancelling reservations.

It has been noted that technology is being used heavily across the globe to enhance CX. While leveraging technology is a key factor in enhancing CX, there is another equally important factor to bear in mind, such as, focusing on the entire customer journey and not just the touchpoints.

To achieve this, businesses must have a customer- centric mindset.It is only when organisations internalise such mindsets, and start applying

them at all levels across departments can they provide exceptional customer service.

It is important to set a clear customer experience vision that every employee in the organisation should know and follow. It should become a part of the DNA of the company. For the next step in understanding your consumer, you should understand what aspect in the entire journey matters to him the most – pricing, service, product. Since each consumer is different, different metrics or aspects would matter to

each. For instance, a study revealed that at an airport some customers cared more about their experience with the ground staff rather than the amount of time they waited in a queue for check-in and security etc. Knowing and acting upon such knowledge is important in creating brand advocacy and value. And finally, it is crucial to regularly collect honest feedback from your consumers and measure the effectiveness of the consumer experience provided by your brand.

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INTERVIEW

Jyotsna Sharma

A chat with Chef Manish Mehrotra Corporate Chef, Indian Accent Restaurants

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JS: Please tell our readers about how you started Indian Accent – the inspiration and the journey.

MM: We started Indian Accent nine years back with an intention of bringing a unique concept of inventive Indian cuisine in to being.

Rohit Khattar, Chairman, Old World Hospitality had this new concept in mind, which revolved around contemporizing dishes, using global ingredients, plating them in a non-traditional manner and yet ensuring the taste would remain uniquely Indian. He found the perfect location for the restaurant at a Boutique hotel in Delhi.

We then went into research mode to bring into existence something that’s very traditional

yet does justice to our Indian Accent. With great trepidation, we opened our doors in 2009.

During the initial stage, it was extremely challenging to reach out to people as it was not regular Indian cuisine - not your standard butter chicken and naan restaurant. It took us a long time, a lot of hard work to reach where we are today.

Once we had established ourselves, we decided to take Indian Accent to New York in 2016 and Later in 2017 to Mayfair in London.

JS: The food delivery sector is set to touch $2.5-3.5 billion by 2021. Zomato, Swiggy, Freshmenu and now Uber EATS – foodtech has changed the way India eats. Your thoughts on this?

MM: Today, we live in the

world of convenience. With digitalisation at its peak every facility is just a click away.

These platforms are ideal for quick service & casual dine restaurants only. It doesn’t work well with fine dine restaurants.

Furthermore, with apps being user friendly, diners like to use them for not just ordering food, and making reservations but even expressing their views on the experience they had in a restaurant. However, it does get challenging at times as one has to be extremely attentive of every detail while running the restaurant.

What is the hardest dish you ever made / mastered?

FIVE IN 5

Every dish is as hard or as easy, depends on how fast you can get the right flavours.

Which is your most popular dish?

Our most loved dish is Warm Doda Burfi Treacle Tart, homemade vanilla bean ice cream

Your favourite food?

Modelo Kerala curry

If you hadn’t been a Chef what would you be?

I would have been running my dad’s gas station.

Your favourite restaurant globally (other than Indian Accent) Mathias Dahlgren in Stockholm, JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 19 Sweden

TECH

GOOGLE I/O

CONFERENCE 2018

Anam Khan

T

he 10TH edition of Google I/O conference, which took place from 8th May 2018 – 10th May 2018 in California, United States gave us all reasons to thank technology.

A quick note on what Google I/O is?

Google I/O is an annual festival that brings together developers from around the globe for talks, hands-on learning with Google experts, and a first look at Google’s latest developer products.

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Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google, started off his session on a cheesy note!

Delivering his keynote speech at the conference, Pichai said, “Towards the end of last year it came to my attention that we had a major bug in one of our core products. It turns out, we got the cheese wrong in our burger.’

‘War of tweets’ - Last year, a tweet triggered a debate over the correct placement of cheese on a burger of Apple’s

Let’s take a sneak peak at the announcements from the conference.

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Google’s Software for Calls – keeps you guessing,

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Smart Camera Lens for your smart phone- More power to AI technology and Google, which have shown new ways ofenhancing the smartphone camera’s ability to see the world around. Google Lens technology has got the most significant update yet, which is using the camera and Google Maps together to help people navigate around their city, as well as a handful of other interesting features.

Who cares about Pixels, when you have a smart camera?

•

is it a human or a bot ?- Google’s new “Duplex” technology presents a significant tipping point for machine intelligence–powered virtual assistants.

Now, Google’s AI can pick up the phone and call you, and you may not even realize you’re talking to a bot.

Seems Siri’s got tough competition!

Is it Android vs IOS?? Android P is Google’s most ambitious update in years – Google is definitely not leaving any stone unturned in entertaining it’s Android users.

Android P is different and seems to be one of the most promising inventions of Google. Instead of showing you all the ways you can use its phone operating system to do more, it’s creating features to help you use it less.

Android P, due to hit markets later this year, will have a new dashboard that tells you how often, when, and for how long you are using every app on your phone. The feature is one of several that Google is combining into a theme it calls “Digital Well-Being.”

•

BYE-BYE to the airport chaos. Google Pay now

helps you with tickets and the boarding passGoogle Pay got a big upgrade at Google I/O. Google announced a series of changes to its payments platform (recently rebranded from Android Pay), to include support for peer-to-peer payments in the main Google Pay app, online payments support in all browsers, the ability to see all payments in a single place (instead of just those in-store), and support for tickets and boarding passes in Google Pay’s APIs, among several other things.

emoji versus Google’s. The tweet also drew the Google CEO’s attention who promised to address it immediately and delivered.

Well, who would know the product better than the CEO himself, and Pichai definitely swayed the audience at that moment with this hilarious beginning.

‘BIG TALK – AI AND MACHINE LEARNING’ Google has been revolutionary since the beginning. It has changed the whole concept of the internet and somehow made lives easier. From being a search engine to now aiming to top the AI- game, google plans to open AI centers around the world, and utilise machine learning for revolutionizing healthcare.

Healthcare?? Don’t be surprised if your cardiologist or physician is a bot.

Well I/O was not only about IO but it also drew attention to Android “P”, which is the ninth major version of the Android operating system. It was first announced by Google on March 7, 2018, and the first developer preview was released on the same day.

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APP STORE

I

WHAT YOU GOT IN YOUR MOBILE?

n a world full of disruptive technologies, the need to create and develop new innovative products and ideas that improve our environment and lifestyle is magnified. Apps are a gift of technology and have made lives easy for billions of people.

Here’s a look at Apps that have made headlines in the month of May

Oneplus6 remains number one to get Android P Beta Seems like Oneplus6 is taking its number game seriously. It has become the first mobile brand to announce the availability of Android P Beta, which was launched in London on 16th of May. It made a big entry in India on 17th of May in Mumbai.

Let’s Instagram for shopping and reservations Yes! Instagram is getting ready to launch -app payments for shopping, and reservations. Now with one touch you can click a picture, pay for your shopping and make an appointment at a salon or make a reservation at a restaurant. The social media site is currently testing this feature on some business accounts.

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Instagram plays big: rolls out new messaging feature for business profiles The social media platform, has launched a new set of features for business profiles on its platform. In a blog post, the company announced that it is introducing a fresh set of action buttons for businesses. The statement added, “More than 150 million have a conversation with businesses through Instagram Direct each month, with a third of those messages beginning with an Instagram Story. To make messaging easier and more efficient, we’re introducing a new set of features for businesses using Instagram Direct.”

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IOS gets a gift from google , Gmail for iOS gets Google Pay and snooze features

Is it going to be ‘Avatar’s VS Bitmoji’ ?

Facebook’s Android app has an unreleased feature called Facebook Avatars that lets people build personalized, illustrated versions of themselves for use as stickers in Messenger and comments. It will let users customize their avatar to depict their skin color, hair style and facial features. Facebook Avatars is essentially Facebook’s version of Snapchat’s acquisition, Bitmoji, which has spent years in the top10 apps chart.

Google literally made I/O conference days, happy days for most of its users as Gmail on iOS gets the interesting addition of Google Pay, which makes it possible to “pay anyone with an email address,”.

The other big update here is Snooze. Once inside an email, click the top bar to find the option in a list of functions.

From there, you can choose from a number of presets, including “Later Today,” “Tomorrow,” “Later This Week,” “This Weekend” and “Next Week.”

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TECH NEWS

WHAT A FLIP FROM KART TO MART Walmart acquires a controlling stake of 77% in Flipkart for $16 billion in what was referred to as the world’s largest ecommerce deal.

‘A BILLION DOLLAR GAME’, JOB HUNTING SERVICE GLASSDOOR SOLD TO JAPAN’S RECRUIT FOR $1.2 BILLION

‘THE SECRET OF SECRET’, TWITTER’S UNLAUNCHED ‘SECRET’ ENCRYPTED MESSAGES FEATURE Buried inside Twitter’s Android app is a “Secret conversation” option that if launched would allow users to send encrypted direct messages. The feature could make Twitter a better home for sensitive communications that often end up on encrypted messaging apps like Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp and will also be a way out against twitter abuse.

U.S. job hunting service Glassdoor, which is best known for providing insight into company working cultures, has been acquired for $1.2 billion in cash by Recruit, a $39 billion Japanese corporate that specializes in HR and recruitment services. The all-cash acquisition will see Glassdoor continue to maintain its brand, CEO Robert Hohman explained in a blog post.

IT’S FLYING TAXIS AT UBER

A prototype of a flying car was unveiled by Uber in partnership with NASA at the Uber Elevate Summit to bring in the concept of flying cars to reality by 2023. The electronic Vertical Take off and Landing vehicle will enable ride sharing between four people and is believed to achieve shorter commute and faster service at an affordable price.

BITCOIN WALLET MAKES A DEBUT AT HUAWEI APP STORE The Shenzen based smartphone maker has teamed up with BTC.com to release a bitcoin wallet in its app gallery, which will be pre installed on all new Huawei smartphones.

Condemning the controversies around the use of bitcoin, the manufacturer has decided to give users of the region access to the cryptocurrency wallets.

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GADGETS

WONDERS OF GADGETS ANYWHERE ANYTIME EVEN IF IT’S A ROLLER COASTER RIDE HTC’s first VIVE headset was the climax of home VR; the new VIVE pro improves on every feature. With the combination of higher-res display and headphones with 3D- audio, HTC has tried to change the virtual game scape.

MONEY CAN BUY YOU MEMORIES Fujifilm has launched its medium format “GFX50s” mirror-less camera in India for Rs 511,999. The question is what makes you spend 5 lacs on a camera and the answer to that is; it comes with the newly developed “G Mount” lenses, other features of the camera include an X-processon pro image processing engine, compact body, 3.69M-dot organic EL electronic viewfinder and 2.36M-dot touch-screen LCD back panel. ‘’GFX50s” also incorporates a new “color chrome effect” feature to control the tones and deep colors.

CAN I HAVE ‘MAC N IPAD’ PLEASE, APPLE? After Google, it’s time for Apple to bring in new updates from Apple’s Future. We are few days away from getting a glimpse of what apple has in store.

Apple kicks off its Worldwide Developers Conference from June 4 to 8 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. WWDC is very much about unveiling upgrades to operating systems, apps, services and software frameworks that will be available later in the year.

However, Apple sometimes uses the spotlight to launch new hardware, too.

WITH LENOVO IT’S TIME TO BE HEALTHY AND WISE

Additionally, Fujifilm has introduced “Fujinon GF” lens series with seven interchangeable lenses within prices ranging from Rs 119,999 to Rs 353,999.

WHAT DATE IS IT ‘ALEXA’? BET YOU THOUGHT SIRI Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant is gaining functionality to help it get smarter about working with your calendar. The new abilities will let users move appointments around and schedule meetings based on other people’s availability.

Alexa will be able to suggest times that work for both parties so you can schedule meetings as per the convenience of both parties. Just say, “Alexa schedule a meeting with [name]” and Amazon’s assistant will search through your schedule for a good time, suggesting up to two time slots that could work.

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A- Lenovo launched two new fitness trackers in India - HX03F Spectra and HX03 Cardio. The fitness trackers will be available exclusively via Flipkart.

Lenovo HX03F Spectra is priced at Rs 2,299, while the HX03 Cardio will retail at Rs 1,999. HX03F Spectra comes with a colour large display, a dynamic heart rate monitor, activity tracker and multi master interface switching. It is also IP68 certified making it water resistant.

HX03 Cardio, on the other hand features a 0.87-inch dots OLED Display, an intelligent alarm clock, and a detachable direct USB main body. It also shows incoming calls and information reminders. HX03 Cardio is fuelled by an 80mAh battery.

Commenting on the launch, Sebastian Peng, Head of Lenovo MBG Ecosystem said, ‘We are mainly focusing on two focal points; first is to create brand awareness and second is to bring more Lenovo MBG ecosystem products in to the market.’

INTERVIEW

“I strongly believe in the power of people, and it’s the people who make all the difference” Jyotsna Sharma

30 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

The way people travel has changed completely with Airbnb etc. changing the landscape and disrupting the hotel and travel industry.

How do Iconic hotels like Imperial stay relevant?

VW: At the legendary Imperial hotel, we already have a strong legacy of guests for over three generations. Additionally, due to our international market repute based on our historic product and impeccable services, we attract emerging markets that wish to have unique dining experiences the hotel is known for. Our award winning restaurants and bars act as an impetus to deliver measurable positive growth, tapping newer markets and attracting revenue generating sources, consistently.

What also distinguishes The Imperial is its magnificent art deco design and the unmatched connection with pre-independence era. The beautifully manicured lawns, the pillared verandahs, dining rooms, tea lounges, The Royal Ballroom straight from the era of Lords and Ladies, verdant gardens and the stunning corridors have played host to some celebrated encounters between the British and Indian aristocracy and gentry. The Imperial exudes an inimitable ‘class’, which other contemporary hotels strive to imbue. Our strategy has always rested on providing our guests

a unique experience and a personalized service. It is all about creating a home away from home for our loyal guests.

To conclude, The Imperial New Delhi has a gleaming heritage emerging from India’s golden chapters with a legendary past and bespoke hospitality, loved by royalty. It continues to be a shining star on India’s luxury map!

WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF OVERHAULING OUR WEBSITE TO ENHANCE THE VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE OF THE IMPERIAL, FOR OUR DISCERNING GUESTS

VIJAY WANCHOO, Sr. Executive Vice President & General Manager- The Imperial

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 31

INTERVIEW

How are you engaging with the digital consumer?

VW: Our PR & Marketing strategies are aligned to target our key markets and focus on elite online associations which are unique in their propositions.

We are very active in tapping key domestic and international markets via print and online media and therefore, prefer select associations which match up to our repertoire. Social media too has propelled our reach in the domestic as well as international markets reaching out not only to our target markets, but also to key opinion makers and the media.

From posting videos and relevant posts for specific events and occasions, to working in close alliance with our parent group- Preferred Hotels and Resorts and their digital team, the focus is always to catch the eye of our followers and increase engagement. We promote our art, history, food and wellness, through drool worthy images and relevant staycations, to woo today’s traveller while consistently associating with bloggers and instagrammers, for a wider mileage.

Paid marketing/ advertisements with Online Travel Agents is usually not our mode of operation for online business. However, they do a lot of SEO (search engine optimization), SEM (search engine marketing), PPC (paid per click), metasearch & email marketing activities for us, eventually boosting performance. This in turn helps in increasing productivity for them and for us simultaneously.

32 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

THE ROYAL BALLROOM STRAIGHT FROM THE ERA OF THE LORDS AND LADIES, VERDANT GARDENS AND THE STUNNING CORRIDORS HAVE PLAYED HOST TO SOME CELEBRATED ENCOUNTERS BETWEEN THE BRITISH AND INDIAN ARISTOCRACY AND GENTRY What are the new services / segments Imperial is planning? Expansion?

Our award-winning F&B and wellness services remain strong as ever while evolving their experience with changing times.

Also, our key feeder markets are USA, UK, Germany, India and France and we are looking to reach out to new markets like Australia, Russia and the Scandinavian region. In order to enhance our business we focus on more specific road shows in our feeder markets to tap new clients and participate in specific appointment based travel marts like World Travel Mart (WTM) and International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM)to showcase our iconic hotel.

Your thoughts on the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and VR (Virtual Reality) in the Hotel industry?

We prefer to remain old school in that area. People love the

heritage and the distinguished experience of The Imperial so making it too contemporary will diminish its charm and its untouched legacy.

However, we are in the process of overhauling our website to enhance the virtual experience of The Imperial, for our discerning guests.

Considering the Hospitality Industry is one of the largest job providers in India, do you believe that the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) could affect the job opportunities ?

Yes it can. I strongly believe in the power of people and it’s the people who make all the difference. AI will surely make operations much faster and easier but will take away the human touch which we all long for in this digital age. It will therefore, increase attrition in the industry affecting job opportunities considerably.

FITNESS/LIFESTYLE

SATYAJIT CHAURASIA on

FITNESS Satyajit Chaurasia has helped transform a number of celebrities and business personalities in his career span of 30 years. He believes that people who are successful take fitness very seriously because it is a tool to help overcome obstacles and get straight to the top.

Smriti Mishra

34 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

of Importance n ess everyday fit e minutes every morning.

r fiv m you upto is to train fo can transfor My concept ay yd er ev es inut These five m months, 50% in three inutes out for five m s of working fit ne be e th Here are ng. every morni ate and to stimul d to muscles oo bl nd se to thy heart.

1. The aim is ion for a heal blood circulat tire day, which ism for the en ol ab et e day. m ur ts yo throughout th 2. It kick star t and active er al h, es fr u keeps yo umed, the food cons protein from g them in in at aw ul dr im u st muscles by 3. It helps yo e th ed es to cl at us tiv ac sists the m as you have ation, this as ul rc ci d oo bl through sorb protein. effectively ab tra e, it burns ex uscle, trust m m e or m ve u ha eals.

4. When yo from cheat m calories, even no and there is extra cardio ith ey w th ng e ro nc w he themselves 5. People go , they starve balanced diet mass. loose muscle he five you follow ‘T a ten years if feel the tr ill ex w u an e Yo . liv e’ 6. You will ning Routin ai Tr that t ui ng irc ni C e every mor minute Satya ly and will se te ia ed m im change changing. your body is

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 35

FITNESS/LIFESTYLE

THE 5 MINUTE Satya Circuit Training Routine 1. Start with one minute of 3. One minute of Push-ups (for jumping jack, which will men)- (10 repetitions). If you increase your heart rate and cannot do 10 push ups start take you to the fat burning with five. Do 1 minute of Surya zone. Once your heart rate goes Namaskars (for women). over 130, that’s when you start burning fat, otherwise you are 4. One minute of the plank, which just burning calories. takes care of your abs entirely, start with 30 seconds. After 2. One minute of free squats, the planks do 5 repetitions of the best way to do these is to sit on Bhujang Asana, which takes care the couch completely , get up of your lower back. and repeat for 1 minute. You can start with 15 repetitions , then 5. Side planks 30 seconds on each 12 repetitions, and finally 10 side. repetitions. This exercise takes care of 50 % of your body in just one minute.

So in just five minutes, you have had a full body workout - tapping into every muscle of your body, strengthening your heart, gaining lean muscle mass and losing fat percentage.

IMPORTANCE OF BALANCED

DIET

A normal male should consume 140gms -200gms of protein, and a female needs 80gms -120gms; distributed over 6 to 7 meals in the day.

The basic formula is 1 gm of protein for each pound of your body weight. The rule is to eat every 3 hours, the best source of protein are protein shakes, which are micro filtered protein, it is easy on your stomach, easy to absorb. Every scoop has 25gms of protein with all amino acids and just 2 gms of fat. Protein Shakes are easily available.

Eggs, Fish and Chicken are a good source of protein but red meat should be avoided.

The biggest culprits are Oil and Sugar, Your daily intake of Oil should be no more that 2 teaspoons during the day.

Sweets are a big No No. Once in 15 days you can have a cheat day, but have a glass of hot water after that.

Have less salt and masalas, as these lead to water retention.

Finish your carb intake before 8:30 pm.

If you do feel hungry at night then you can have a bowl of clear soup or green tea.

‘The body is made in the kitchen and not in the gym’.

Follow thesesteps and you will achieve your goal in a short span of time.

Health is most wonderful gift that nature has given us , so respect it ..Value it!

36 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

LIFESTYLE

THE TALE OF THE KARDASHIANS, THE JENNERS AND THEIR BILLION DOLLAR BEAUTY EMPIRE Anam Khan

‘Trick-o-Treat’

If ‘Trick o Treat’ is actually relatable to any celebrity, it’s definitely relatable to Kardashian-Jenner clan. The family has established itself as an example of good brand management.

‘MY MOM MIGHT NOT BE A SUPERMOM BUT SHE IS A MOMAGER!’ Kris Jenner, is not just a regular mom but a ‘momager’ when it comes to managing the Kardashian-Jenner family empire.

Kris Jenner has made sure that the family business grows strong. She is the mastermind behind the business of her daughters.

While the world was busy celebrating Mother’s Day and social media was flooded with emotional Mother’s Day posts and campaigns, Kris had some unusual plans and was ready with yet another treat for her audiences. She took over the Kylie’s Cosmetics Instagram account, renaming it “Kris Cosmetics,” to announce her makeup line, a collaborative make-up line with Kylie.

Now this was a master-stroke, well executed by the motherdaughter duo.

38 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

SOCIAL MEDIA HUMBLE BRAG Kim Kadarshian West, who’s initial claim to fame was questionable, is an affluent business woman today.

From Vampire Facials to bold photoshoots, Kim has

always been open about her experiences and has shared them honestly with all her 111 Million Instagram followers. This mother of three, is definitely a great entrepreneur. Kim has managed to build a brand name with several products under her in-house cosmetic beauty

range-KKW and social media has played a big role in building her brand.

STAR TO ENTREPRENEUR

In its one-year existence, KKW Beauty has proven itself to be a force to be reckoned with. Since launching with contour kits in June 2017, Kim Kardashian’s fledgling direct-to-consumer makeup company has launched additional face and lip products (as well as three fragrances), racking up tens of millions in sales, all while bucking traditional beauty industry norms and business practices.

From a lip-kit to concealer, powder contour to eyeshadow highlighter, you name it and KKW has it all. Kim also believes in evolving, she has recently formed a partnership with renowned make- up artist, Mario Dedivanovic.

Kim has a longtime history of successful launches like the Kardashian’s KKW Beauty brand that made $14.4 million in sales

in just five minutes, and the KKW Crystal Gardenia fragrance launch making an overwhelming $10 million dollars in one day, we have no doubt that the latest Kardashian beauty additions will be a hit.

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 39

LIFESTYLE

‘RICHIE-RICH’

Everybody loved the cartoon series, Richie Rich. Most of us dreamt of living a life like that wealthy boy from the cartoon series.

Well, there is someone from the Kardshian-Jenner clan who is actually living that life and getting attention from the global media and brands.

She might be the youngest in the family but has become the second highest-earner in the Kardashian-Jenner clan after her half-sister Kim Kardashian West.

Kylie Jenner, with 108 Million followers on her Instagram account is yet

another sensational personality from the Kardashian- Jenner clan. She might just be 20 years old, but the reality TV star presides over a business portfolio to rival American top business leaders three times her age. Launched in 2015, Kylie cosmetics captivated cosmetics

LAST YEAR, JENNER BECAME THE YOUNGEST CELEBRITY ON FORBES 100 LIST OF THE ‘100 TOPPAID CELEBRITIES IN THE WORLD’ fans everywhere with the launch of the three Kylie Lip Kits, consisting of a lip liner and matt liquid lipsticks. The $29 kits sold out within minutes and sent prices on re-sale sites soaring. Since then, her direct-to-consumer make-up range has expanded to include eyeshadows, blushes, makeup brushes and highlighters (or, as kyliecosmetics.com bills them, “Kylighters”).

40 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

Last year, Jenner became the youngest celebrity on Forbes 100 list of the ‘100 top-paid celebrities in the world’ — having earned $41 million over the past year (Forbes report). Kardashian West, also earned a spot on the list with earnings of $45.5 million.

The Kardashians and Jenners aren’t like the usual families. They do party a lot but never miss out on important events for launching and promoting their products.

The eldest sister, Kourtney Kardashian recently celebrated her 39th birthday which was marked with a flurry of gushing tributes from friends, family and fans alike.

Yet aside from the loving notes, her half-sister Kylie Jenner used the big day to announce she would be collaborating with the birthday girl for the latest in her cosmetics line - KOURT X KYLIE, complete with three eyeshadows and three lipkits.

Never ones to miss a moment in the spotlight, this family knows how to ‘PROMOTE’ and ‘CELEBRATE’, the right things at the right time.

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 41

TRAVEL TRAVEL/LIFESTYLE

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.” - Anais Nin 42 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

Petra

Sadhana Sharma

The Intrepid Club - Curator of Experiential Journeys

T

rends indicate that the coming year’s top travel motivator is - tracking down fresh territory, while exploring new destinations. More than ever before, luxury travellers are seeking adventures in less explored areas and craving

customized local experiences wherever they holiday.

Also, hot on the Adventure seekers to-do-list, is to head for destinations that are changing rapidly, some to the point of being endangered.

Cuba tops the list, with the

polar regions of Antarctica and the Arctic, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and Venice, with its deteriorating lagoon, are all in the same league.

Another interesting trend is that, no more short jaunts now satisfy the affluent, as

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 43

TRAVEL/LIFESTYLE

international trips of two weeks and above are seeing an increased demand. The summer vacation means atleast 3 weeks out of the country. The seasoned traveller is willing to splurge on an over-the-top exclusive experience: like to pay top dollar for an exclusive visit of a Vasa Museum after-hours tour, or board a private jet for an unforgettable roundthe-world photography tour, or spend a night in a luxury camp in Mongolia.

The Intrepid club portfolio has similar DNA. We have always emphasized on out of the box holiday ideas, put our energy behind ensuring that travelers return with memories that outlive the actual experience. Travel should be Experiential – where you get acquainted with the sights and smells of a destination. Yes it does take the travel designers that much more effort, and time, but that makes all the difference, and elevates a regular holiday to a memorable experience you will talk about for years to come.

Here are some of the key experiences which are ontrend:

Iceland

Iceland Going 40 stories down into the Thrihnukagigur— a dormant volcano in Iceland is an overwhelming experience even for the Intrepid Traveller, and an equally rare opportunity. The scale of colours inside is created by the extreme heat of the eruption superheating the naturally occurring minerals.

Inside, it seems like the walls were a canvas and nature the artist. For those with a sense of adventure, a day return trip to Greenland is in order.

Polar Regions The Arctic and Antarctic latitudes are renowned for the striking phenomenon of

44 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

Polar Regions

Masai Mara

Polar Lights. If your bucketlist includes seeing the sky dance of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights, we can get you there.

The autumn and winter skies above Greenland’s eastern coast are renowned for putting on some of the best Aurora displays in the world. You also get great views of the lights from Norway and Canada.

Its southern counterpart, the Aurora Australis (or the Southern Lights), has features identical to the Aurora Borealis.

Petra Dine under the stars at Beida or Little Petra in a beautiful

Masai Mara

setting. Torches light the path covered with Bedouin carpets as you are escorted towards the sound of an Arabic flute being played somewhere far away. A light and sound show reveals the monument in all its glorious detail and Dinner, accompanied by oriental classical music, is served under the stars.

Known worldwide for its rich and exotic locales, Masai Mara witnesses wildebeest migration from July-September when the entire area is speckled with the beautiful animal sprinting across diverse terrains in huge numbers.

Over two million animals migrate in an annual pattern, carrying out their journey to the greener pastures of Tanzania and Kenya.

This is the time when you get to witness the Big 5 in all their glory. On your trip get to know more about Masai Mara’s history by driving deep into one of the Masai villages.

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 45

LIFESTYLE

BULLYPROOF YOUR WORKPLACE Dr. Prerna Kohli

“

YOU CAN TALK WITH A CLOSE FRIEND OR RELATIVE ABOUT WHAT’S TROUBLING YOU; BUT IT’S NOT THE SAME AS PROFESSIONALLYTRAINED EXPERIENCED PSYCHOLOGIST WHO KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF HELP YOU NEED

Children who are bullies often grow up to be adults who are bullies.

Unfortunately, managers who are bullies make work life very difficult and all employees suffer from emotional and psychological scars.

B

ullies come in all ages and sizes. Thus, if your spouse, neighbour, or colleague at work is a bully, then you can learn to avoid them. But, if your manager is a bully your employment can have serious consequences.

Many times, people have a problem in recognizing if their manager is a bully, they assume that the manager is “different”.

Hence, It is important to understand what is bullying?

Bullying is unacceptable behaviour among children or adults. Thus, Bullying is the use of force, coercion, threats, intimidation or aggressive behaviour to dominate or subjugate others.

“

GIVEN BELOW ARE SEVEN SIGNS TO RECOGNIZE IF YOUR MANAGER IS A BULLY 1. Verbally abuses you

2. Intimidates you on a regular basis 3. Questions your capabilities or your commitment 4. Intrudes on your privacy, spies on you 5. Undermines your work, and doesn’t allow you to succeed

Whoever thought that bullying was a childhood problem and as children grow up to be adults bullying ends, was extremely naive.

If you observe even a few of these traits in your manager, then there is a high likelihood of your him/ her being a bully.

Also, there are specific steps that you need to take to protect yourself from the bullying; these may include keeping a detailed log of the “bullying” activities and also reporting his behaviour to HR. If you find that the stress of dealing with a “bully” manager is taking a toll on your mental wellness, it is advisible to meet with an experienced psychologist, prior to looking for a different job.

6. Spreads rumors about you 7. Isolates you at work, doesn’t include you in team activities, and work related social activities

Dr. Prerna Kohli is a four-time gold medallist, eminent clinical psychologist, a public speaker, workshop facilitator, intensive research scholar and a social worker. Dr. Kohli is an awardee of “100 Women Achievers of India” by the President of India.

She offers Heart-based workshops and lectures that focus on Life Balance, Self-awareness, and Inner Peace.

Dedicated to sharing her knowledge and compassion with others, Prerna blends intuitive wisdom with solid understanding, creating a powerful holistic approach, specializing in the areas of Emotional change. She spends considerable time in teaching Life Skills to Tihar inmates.

OPINION

ANITA NAYYAR

CEO - India & South Asia, Havas Media Group and CEO - Havas Group, North India

I

n today’s fast changing world, the reasons that brought yesterdays’ customer to your hotel are evolving. Big brands are buying up hotels and merging like never before.

OTA’s are taking increasingly larger bites out of independent property occupancies. Online bookers read an average of twelve reviews before deciding on a hotel. Brands like Airbnb & MakeMyTrip have reshaped the hospitality and technology industry forever.

The guests of today are not the guests of yesterday, and their expectations are radically different. From business travel, to leisure to holidaying hotels are expected to cater to varying requirements by traveller type.

With the Millennial generation fast becoming the largest customer group it is critical to understand them and what they are looking for when they travel. Globally, millennial (ages 18-34) travellers constitute around one-fifth of international tourists and about three-fifths of the world’s millennials are

48 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

Marketing and Building Meaningful Brands in the HOSPITALITY SECTOR from Asia and out of this cohort, 33% are from India or China.

Destination weddings are emerging very fast and the requirement for the customer here is completely different.

So are destination conferences for businesses. Hence, the hospitality industry needs to keep all such requirements in mind to provide the right experience to the right customer.

Companies need to define their strategies based on this demographic group’s personality traits and habits— they travel a lot; are early adopters of technology; like personalized interactions and are spontaneous and impulsive.

Hotels will want to please them with easy check-in and gourmet dining experiences at reasonable prices. In return, satisfied millennials will actively promote their businesses on social media channels.

Consumers today thrive on experiences that are memorable and lasting. And one way to create memorable

MILLENNIAL TRAVELLERS CONSTITUTE AROUND ONE-FIFTH OF INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS AND ABOUT THREE-FIFTHS OF THE WORLD’S MILLENNIALS ARE FROM ASIA AND OUT OF THIS COHORT, 33% ARE FROM INDIA OR CHINA.

experience, is to make it meaningful.

According to a research conducted by Havas Group, in order for a brand to be meaningful, it needs to improve the quality of people’s lives in a tangible, substantial, and fulfilling way. Globally, Travel & Tourism ranks No. 1 as the most meaningful industry while in India it stands at No. 10. The study also reveals new data that tracks the relationship between a brand’s performance, its meaningfulness and the content it produces.

Shockingly, 60% of the content provided by brands is just not meaningful to consumers.

When it comes to content, the expectations differ from industry to industry. Again, Travel & Tourism ranks no. 1 globally in terms of content effectiveness with 47% respondents associating the travel industry with effective content such as customer support and social media sharing.

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 49

OPINION

Emirates Airlines

The Republic of Palau

Building connections through meaningful campaigns –

Client: The Republic of Palau Consumers want brands to provide value to their lives— while also showing commitment to society and the environment.

And whether it’s by positively benefitting their family, work, social life, or community, it’s today’s meaningful brand that is winning.

The Palau Pledge campaign created by Host/Havas (Australia), in partnership with the Palau Legacy Project, drew

50 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

attention to sustainability and the ecological challenges related to tourism. Palau, the thirteenth smallest nation in the world with a population of less than 20,000 people, became the first country in the world to ask visitors to sign a declaration in passports to protect its environment and culture for next generation. Palau Pledge was a world-first ecoinitiative that put an onus on ‘responsible, sustainable tourism’ from the growing number of tourists who have visited the island in recent years.

Dubai Tourism Dubai Tourism

Client: Emirates Airlines

Client: Dubai Tourism

Emirates is a market leader in India and as a brand, they constantly strive to become more and meaningful every year. In a category such as airlines, consumers are driven by experiences - whether it is the on-board cuisine, sitting comfort, the boarding process among other factors. The focus of the brand building initiatives, hence is very experiential; whether it is a partnership with a lifestyle channel to showcase the customized cuisines created by celebrity chefs which is available on-board or whether it is about using virtual reality to make consumers experience the airline and the destinations it flies to. Emirates ‘World in My Kitchen’ and ‘Be There’, both campaigns fulfilled the criteria of creating personalized experiences that were memorable and lasting.

Dubai Tourism is yet another future-first and meaningful brand. Promoting Dubai as a go-to destination was a task for an audience that resists tradition advertising and the biggest challenge was to create a differentiation and a zing factor about Dubai.

Music videos emerged as the most popular content on YouTube, with 84% of total views. Co-creating a music video by Imagine Dragons in partnership with Universal Music Group, which showcased Dubai in black and white lent the Z factor to Dubai as a destination, thus collaborating, to place the city of Dubai in the heart of the content people love. The song ‘Thunder’ not only topped the charts with over 200 million views but also boosted consideration for Dubai as a holiday destination.

INTERVIEW

MARKETING & THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY

How has marketing in the airline industry changed over the last few years?

SOLOMON WHEELER

Vice President and Head of Marketing, Vistara

52 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

Value may mean different things to different people.

Conventionally, the market has been price-sensitive, and so the choices of this segment of travellers have been driven mainly by affordability. This segment of customers is constantly on the lookout for sales, offers and promotions which help them maximise this “value”. Low-cost airlines have made air travel more accessible not only though pricing but also in terms of network expansion. However, there’s a new segment of travellers, the millennials, that’s changing the definition of travel. They’re a generation that views travelling as an important contributor to their personal growth, and not just a luxury. They tend

to choose experiences over ‘things’, as they gain more affluence especially in a rapidly developing economy such as India. And, they like to talk about their experiences as well, especially on social platforms. The preferences of those aged above 40 are not much different from those of the young and aspiring leaders of tomorrow; they all value a seamless and personalised travel experience that complements their evolved lifestyles, and are happily willing to pay a little extra for a lot more.

Travel and dining are two spaces which are seen as enablers. The role of social media in spreading awareness and discovery of these newer experiences, led by special interest platforms like Instagram, cannot be

undermined. Technology is enabling a huge change in the way products and services are being searched for, bought and consumed and the mobile phone (especially in travel) is at the heart of things.

This segment of fast-paced travellers remains constantly connected to the digital world, and they are also outspoken of their opinions and feedback.

This is one of the reasons that Vistara won top honours in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards this year solely on the basis of unprejudiced customer reviews.

There has also been a change in the way tickets are being booked online. Airlines are increasingly investing in enhancing their own platforms in order to suit the customer needs. Vistara recently relaunched its revamped

website and user-interface improvisations are making all the difference. The apps, other digital assets, chat- bots, all of these are redefining the way a customer books tickets and are helping airlines reinvent themselves.

Besides transformation and automation of marketing in the travel space, there is still a significant role that traditional marketing platforms like television, OOH, experiential and print continue to play in driving traditional brand KPIs like salience, TOMA and awareness.

How is digital innovation engaging audiences and improving customer experience in the airline / aviation sector It’s all about personalization: Research has shown that

purchase of an airline ticket is preceded by a discovery process which would include search (at least 5 options over a period of 5 to 10 days), blogs, reviews through and references from peers and friends. On a few occasions, the buyer may not even be the flyer, which makes the task for marketers even more challenging. Personalization is the name of the game when it comes to customers’ travel experience. Thanks to a growing volume of data collected from every customer touchpoint and advanced analytics, today airlines have the information and tools they need to make their products and communications more meaningful than ever before. To start, a strong personalization strategy should rely on a mix of firstparty data (the information a

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 53

INTERVIEW company can gather from its own websites, social media activity, and mobile apps) and third-party data from outside sources such as Facebook news feeds and search behavior.

The results from a recent survey by Adobe and Skift with travel marketers provides additional direction on which first-party data sources are considered most valuable. 60 percent of marketers said they already use social media data to build a fuller perspective of customers. Email was the second-most common, with 58 percent of marketers using it, followed by digital analytics at 52 percent and transactional data at 47 percent.

Just having the data and the right sources is the first step. The next step is to pool in all of the data through the customers’ journey and various touch points into a single window. After that, the next step is linking together existing technology and databases into an integrated technology “stack”.

Without this holistic view across various internal systems and databases, its much harder to deliver personalization throughout the entire customer journey and all its touchpoints.

The next step when deploying technology is determining how and where to distribute more personalized interactions over the course of the customer journey. And on this point, today’s biggest area of opportunity to personalize is during the customer journey.

Delivering on personalized experiences during the journey versus a pre or post-trip communication cycle, becomes the backbone of meaningful connections that can help brands win. We introduced the most sophisticated online NPS system last year, with what we believe is an intuitive and user-friendly interface. This

54 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

“DELIVERING ON PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCES DURING THE JOURNEY VERSUS A PRE OR POST-TRIP COMMUNICATION CYCLE, BECOMES THE BACKBONE OF MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS THAT CAN HELP BRANDS WIN”

Recently, a major American carrier started to equip flight attendants with a mobile seatrecognition tool that helps them quickly identify highvalue corporate passengers and provide a more personal interaction during their flights.

The growth of influencer campaigns on social platforms and rapid-response airline customer service teams on social platforms are seen as two outgrowths of this trend.

The latter has redefined customer service for today’s connected airline traveler who wants instant resolution to his or her queries just like his cup of coffee. Social media offers

goes to every customer after every flight for whom we have information. The mechanism has given us several meaningful insights that have helped us refine and reshape our product and services. The system helps us understand where investing is needed or needs cutting. For example, serving freshly brewed Starbucks coffee onboard Vistara was in response to the recurring feedback from our premium customers that they preferred to sip the same quality of coffee on a flight that they would at a fine dining restaurant or a coffeehouse.

We found this feedback very valuable and considered several options, before associating with Starbucks to become the first and only airline in South Asia and Southeast Asia to offer this service onboard.

further opportunities to utilize customers’ social data, which now provides airlines with peek into customer insights and helps them enhance the aspect of personalization.

Having said that, customers remember a brand for how you make them feel. This is where the role of people comes to play, which in an airline is of most importance.

Most airlines use their people (flight deck and cabin crew along with ground staff) to humanize and represent what that airline stands for in terms of values and culture. In case of service brands, where the product is intangible, the role of these employees becomes irreplaceable in brand building and making them consumercentric.

27th June

Taj Santacruz

2018

Mumbai

Where digital pioneers honour future digital pioneers

PRESENTS

The big stage for India’s biggest digital marketing awards ASSESSMENT JURY

GOLD PARTNERS

PANKAJ PARIHAR Vice President & Head Digital Marketing Godrej Consumer Products

DEEPAK BHATT Manager, Communications IIM, Ahmedabad

ANKIT DESAI Head – Media & Digital Marketing Marico India

HARSHIT SHAH Head – Digital Marketing Ceat

AVEEK CHAUDHURI SANCHITA JOHRI Chief Manager Digital Group Digital Marketing Transformation & Technology Projects Lead, India Indiabulls Ventures Johnson & Johnson Consumer

MEENU BAGLA Head- Global Brand & Digital Marketing – Tech Mahindra

RUJUTA NADKARNI Head Digital Marketing Mahindra & Mahindra (Farm Division)

NEEL PANDYA Head of Media Loreal India

ACHINT AURORA Digital Marketing Leader IBM

ASHISH BAJAJ Media Head Ola

SANDEEP NAHARIA Digital Business Advisor & Former Global Head Digital Marketing Syntel

SANDEEP BALAN Head - Digital Marketing United Breweries

KARTHIK SRINIVASAN Independent Communications Consultant - Digital marketing & Former National Lead, Social Ogilvy

ANKEETA DEB Digital, Content & Direct Marketing, India Lead Schneider Electric

LAKSHMIPATHY BHAT Marketing Communications Professional VP - Marketing Communications Robosoft

VIPIN GULIANI Head Digital Marketing, Piramal Group

SHASHI MUKHERJEE Head - Digital Reckitt Benckiser

NEHA SHARMA Head Digital Media Marketing Dunkin Donuts, Jubilant

PRIYANKA GANDHI Head of Media for APAC Division Colgate Palmolive

RINKESH SHAH Multi Channel Marketing Strategist CIPLA

PRADEEP CHOPRA CEO Digital Vidya

SHARMILA SANDEEP Chief Manager – Digital Marketing ICICI Bank

Michael M. Bala Head-Digital & Mobile Marketing Matrimony.com

ASSOCIATE PARTNER

BADGE & LANYARD PARTNER

APPLICATION PARTNER

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT PRIYANKA BHADOURIA: +91 9540085059

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AMISHA SHAH: +91 9979972990

priyanka.bhadouria@exchange4media.com

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FOR PARTNERSHIPS, PLEASE CONTACT DELHI: Runa Sinha (National Sales Head): +91 9810497903 | runa.sinha@exchange4media.com MUMBAI: Ashish Kudalkar (Regional Manager-West): +91 9820541742 | ashish.kudalkar@exchange4media.com BANGALORE: Sneha Walke (VP Special Projects & South Head): +91 98455 41143 | sneha@exchange4media.com

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RAPID FIRE

TIM CASTREE

Global CEO, Wavemaker

Idea of a perfect vacation Martha’s Vineyard, which is off the coast of Boston in New England and the reason I love it so much is I can get there without flying.

Favourite go to app for work or otherwise My favourite app for work is what we made at wavemaker and it’s called the wave app. It’s where I get all of my news, updates and everything that’s going on inside the company. So our own app has become my go to app.

De stressing after a long day at work Playing with the kids. It takes me about five minutes to de stress once I get in the front door and get time with the youngsters.

56 | PITCH | APRIL JUNE 2018 2018

If not a marketer, what would you have been I would probably be a farmer. I would go for the simple life.

Favourite forms of Entertainment I’m a bit of a Netflix junkie. The last show that I’ve been binge watching is Wild Wild Country.

Tim Castree is the Global CEO of Wavemaker, GroupM‘s billion-dollar revenue media, content and technology agency, obsessed with the customer’s purchase journey. Tim oversees a business that is powered by the creativity and curiosity of 8,500 people in 90 countries.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Tim’s diverse management experience spans creative, media and integrated agencies. Prior to joining Wavemaker, Tim was MD for Videology’s USA business where he developed the company’s strategy for providing cross-screen media technology solutions for advertisers, agencies and media companies.

Previously, Tim was COO for MediaVest US, running the business and leading major client accounts including American Honda Motor Company, Mondelēz, Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Sprint. He was also President, Global MD for SMG, leading the global P&G business.

Tim began his career at Leo Burnett in Melbourne. He was the head of client management at BBH New York, before spending three years back in Australia as the CEO for Leo Burnett in Sydney, where under his leadership Leo Burnett was named Australia’s Agency of the Year and he won a Titanium Lion for his work on Earth Hour.

APRIL JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 57

HOSPITALITY NEWS

AROUND THE GLOBE A welcome move by Government of India!

In an attempt to avoid nuisance while travelling, the Ministry of Aviation proposed a draft on ‘Charter of Rights’ which incorporated the clause of no cancellation fee on air tickets cancelled within 24 hours of booking, provided the cancellation is done more than four days before the flight departure date. In addition to this, the draft underlines that the cancellation charges cannot exceed the ticket amount, the taxes and levies are to be refunded. In case the flight is delayed for more than four hours from the scheduled departure time, the full ticket amount is to be refunded to the customer. Whereas for a 24 hour delay, passenger is entitled to free-of-charge hotel accommodation.

Hilton to be more environment friendly

The global hotel chain aims to implement science based targets to ensure reduction in carbon emission by 61 percent.

The brand would commit to removal of plastic straws from all its properties as well as expand its soap recycling program.

Oyo goes to China The Indian hospitality service Oyo launched its services in Shenzhen, one of the busiest and fastest growing container ports in the world as part of its expansion plan. Further, the Gurugram based budget hotel network has opened eight hotels, with a room count of about 400 thereby marking its presence in the world’s second largest economy.

58 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

Hilton partners with Country Garden

A strategic partnership was announced between Hilton and China- based Country Garden Group in Shanghai. As a result, a number of Country Garden hotel properties will be managed by Hilton, primarily with its DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn brands..

Plaza Hotel ready to move

New York’s iconic Plaza Hotel is set to be sold at $ 600 million to Shahal Khan of White City Ventures and Kamran Hakim of the Hakim Organization. The deal of the Hotel, which was once owned by President Donald Trump, is expected to close on June 25.

Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla

by Diageo will soon be available in travel retail

Diageo’s Tanqueray gin range, Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla, will soon be available in travel retail. Made using Seville oranges, it is said to have a tangy, sweet flavour, with notes of tangerine, juniper and coriander.

Tanqueray Flor de Sevilla will be available in global travelretail from July in one litre bottles

Hyatt Centric comes to India

Adopt a Heritage – Where ‘managing’ met ‘marketing’

As part of the Government’s initiative ‘Adopt a heritage’, the Dalmia Bharat Group signed a five year contract to maintain the Red Fort in Delhi. This would be a two way phenomenon. The contract would result in the group working on ‘managing’ and providing better amenities in the premises while advertising its own brand name inside the monument. Considering the footfalls witnessed by Red Fort, an investment of Rs. 25 crore over five years would definitely be a win-win situation for Dalmia Bharat group.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has re-branded Hyatt Bangalore MG Road to the Hyatt Centric, marking it the brand’s first hotel in India and twenty-third property worldwide.

“Located in prime destinations across world-class cities like New York, Miami, Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago, the Hyatt Centric brand is designed to enable exploration and discovery, and targets millennial-minded travellers who want to be in the middle of the action,” the company said.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 14 premier brands. As of March 31, 2018, the company’s portfolio included more than 700 properties in over 50 countries.

INTERVIEW

A Chat with Kanika Hasrat, General Manager, Vivanta by Taj

K

anika Hasrat, General Manager, Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka, New Delhi has spent over two decades in the hospitality industry. She has held different positions and worked with top brands like Courtyard by Marriott Gurugram, JW Marriott Mumbai, Marriott Amsterdam, Trident Jaipur and Oberoi Mumbai.

Having worked across verticals within the industry, Hasrat has deep understanding and vast knowledge of industry trends and happenings.

In her current role she is responsible for the hotels performance, business growth while driving overall guest satisfaction. She is committed in working closely with the team and drives performance across verticals in the hotel.

Ask her about the representation of women in corporate leadership and how the hospitality sector reflected it, Hasrat said, “There is a fair representation of women leadership in the hospitality sector. Taj supports women empowerment at every level and are proud of our abiding

60 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

initiatives that walk the talk. At Vivanta Group we lay emphasis on nurturing women leaders and we have set-up special facilities to enable women to work after childbirth so that their can return to their professional life easily.”

Hasrat also believes that the Indian luxury hospitality sector is slated to witness big growth.

According to her, “We have been redefining the hospitality sector. In fact hospitality has been very much part of the Indian ethos. For us atithi devaa bhavo is the beginning of the culture of hospitality. As a hotelier I can say that that culture can eat strategy for breakfast.”

THOUGH MACHINES MIGHT BE REPLACING HUMANS IN MANY INDUSTRIES, BUT HOSPITALITY IS AMONGST FEW SECTORS THAT DOES NOT FEAR THAT DISRUPTION. COMMENTING ON THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY’S UNIQUE CULTURE, HASRAT EXPLAINS, “I’M FORTUNATE TO WORK IN AN INDUSTRY WHERE HUMANS ARE THE BIGGEST RESOURCE. WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE TO WORK IN AN INDUSTRY WHERE WE CANNOT GET REPLACED BY ROBOTS. AS FAR AS TAJ VIVANTA IS CONCERNED, WE ARE VERY CULTURE DRIVEN AND WE BELIEVE IN CREATING COMPELLING EXPERIENCES.” Hasrat has worked in diverse areas of operation within the industry including Housekeeping, Front Office and Rooms. Her expertise includes in improving standards, bringing innovation in day to day tasks and driving overall performance of the hotel.

With a keen eye for detail, she has won many awards and accolades both within the brands as well as on industry platforms such as Hotelier India where she was awarded ‘General Manager of the Year 2014.’

#top50brands

The Jury Board is Ready for the Tough Job! 8

JURY CHAIR

GURMEET SINGH

JULY 2018|GURUGRAM

Chairman & Managing Director Johnson ControlsHitachi Air Condi�oning India Ltd.

JURY MEMBERS

ARVIND BHANDARI

GUNJAN SONI

IRWIN PREET SINGH ANAND

JISHNU SEN

KAPIL DEV PILLAI

KARAN KUMAR

MOKSH CHOPRA

SHANTISWARUP PANDA

SUMIT SEHGAL

VINEET SEHGAL

VIVEK SHARMA

YADVINDER SINGH GULERIA

Sr. VP, South Asia Nestle

CMO KFC India

Head Jabong & CMO Myntra

CMO Raymonds Lifestyle Business

COO OLX India

CMO COMIO India

CMO CMO Head - Brand & Marke�ng Big Bazaar - Future Group Godrej Consumer Products Fabindia

CMO Quikr

CMO Pidilite Industries Ltd

Sr Vice President, Sales & Marke�ng Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd

For more informaton, Contact us: Priyanka Singh - priyanka.singh@exchange4media.com | +91 9810839486 Sonia Mehndira�a - sonia@exchange4media.com | +91 98999 66264 For Partnerships, Please Contact: Runa Sinha - National Business Head | runa.sinha@exchange4media.com | +91 9810497903 JUNE 2018|| +91 PITCH | 61 Ashish Kudalkar | Regional Manager West-Sales & Business Development | ashish.kudalkar@exchange4media.com 9820541742 Sneha Walke - VP Special Projects & South Head | sneha@exchange4media.com | +91 9845541143

OUTLOOK

VISITORS ARE COMING TO

RAJASTHAN.

DIGITALLY! Nikhil Sharda

Sr. Digital Evangelist AdGlobal360

T

he state of Rajasthan is not just home to seven crore people but is also an abode to diversified culture, historical heritage, royalty and lifetime experiences. It’s a state that possesses both antiquity and novelty and offers a slice of life that can be savoured by anyone who has an appetite for exploration and self-discovery.

There’s a kind of sorcery in Rajasthan that adds beauty to its landscape, whether it’s the golden Thar desert that shimmers in the light of life during the day and kisses a sky full of stars at night or the historic cities which have preserved the past in the present. Planning to spend time in this land is synonymous to planning for metanoia. Tourism has been the most booming industry for the state for the past many years - Idiosyncratic art forms, warm hospitality, and timeless architecture have enchanted tourists.

Rajasthan, has taken the responsibility to shape up its digital image and the independent digital media agency AdGlobal360 is helping shape it. The baton of Rajasthan Tourism’s digital mandate by Ogilvy & Mather, was passed on and since then AdGlobal360 has been working to raise the

62 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

bar of the state’s tourism to a vertex of popularity. The agency believes in promoting ‘Experiences’ rather than simply promoting the highlights of the state. Campaigns like FeatureSthan, Claim Your Sthan have succeeded in showcasing the experiences of the visitors in front of the world. FeatureSthan generated a lot of buzz as it gave visitors an opportunity to get featured on the Rajasthan Tourism website whereas, Claim Your Sthan asked users to capture Rajasthan in the form of beautiful pictures and upload it on the microsite with their name which then gave them an auto-generated certificate on their name. This garnered not only organic engagement online, but helped assimilate

unique crowd-sourced content about the state. Paying a lot of heed to the significance of art, literature and food, campaigns like AuthorSthan and FoodSthan targeted the very passion of it all. Visual depiction of the native food juxtaposed by poetry and prose helped weave a different narrative with each post.

With regular updates and additions made to the Rajasthan Tourism’s website, it’s assured that no-one stays unaware and no destination gets shadowed. Considering the number of international footfall in the state is higher than any other state of India, the tourism board has recently launched four major campaigns named Diet Under a Dollar, Desserts in Desert, Desi Icebreakers and Rajasthani

Travel Hacks to make travelling in Rajasthan, a cakewalk for international tourists. A lot of emphasis has been laid on offbeat destinations of the state and building upon state tourism’s tagline Jaane Kya Dikh Jaye, Rajasthan is successfully depicted as one state that is full of good surprises. The definition of tourism in Rajasthan is undergoing a transformation that will take it beyond the conventional aspects of the state, towards a new horizon of exploration and discovery.

The latest campaign JhalakThe Rajasthani Dab that aims at choreographing the new gesture of happiness has been accepted well and is striking all the right chords. Every major campaign ever planned

by Rajasthan Tourism so far has been supported by the creation of relevant micro sites that provide an extensive view of the subject through an interesting narrative.

Rajasthan is an evergreen

hub of fairs and festival that take place all over the year in different parts of the cultural state and it’s their responsibility to spread the Rajasthani festivity in the world by using the power of digital media to an optimum level.

From the Desert Festival to art exhibitions, from jungle safaris to musical performances, if you are staying in tune digitally with Rajasthan tourism, the only thing you are missing is being there yourself,

everything else is being brought to you the way it is.

With numerous interesting campaigns in the pipeline and Rajasthan meeting its tourism targets ahead of the time, you can expect a lot more to happen in the state and on various digital platforms. So, stay tuned, as you never know Jaane Kya Dikh Jaye!

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 63

CAMPAIGN/ADVERTISING

adverts we loved

#ADVERTISEMENTS WITHAMESSAGE Always- Like a Girl

#LikeAGirl was meant to redefine the term into a positive affirmation and overcome confidence crisis that girls face as part of growing up.

Under Armour- I will what I want

Gisele Bundchen, a Brazilian model faced real time commentary while she was boxing, which contained contradicting opinions. The aim was to showcase that a woman, regardless of her profession, should have the choice to do as she pleases.

64 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

Nike Women- What are girls made of?

Girls are made not of flowers or gossip but of battles, bruises and will power harder than stone.

Dove - #MyBeautyMySay

From they say to ‘my’ say, Dove gathered people across various fields and compiled their voices on what people said about them vs what they actually became.

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 65

CAMPAIGN/ADVERTISING

#FitToFight #GirlsDontFight #BruisesCanBeGood

BY SILVIA TALLON SENIOR MARKETING DIRECTOR, REEBOK INDIA

R

eebok has transformed itself to become a brand dedicated wholly to the sport of fitness. This stemmed us to form a deeper connection to what we can do and who we are. Today’s FitGen – a generation hungry to get back to the basics – are ready to take full advantage of Reebok’s tough fitness philosophy. This fitness movement in the country showcases the true potential that brings out the best in each one of us and compels us to push past our limits – with every push up, pull up, squat, and beyond.

Since the last few years, our business has been greatly focused on the women category amongst the consumer base. As a brand we take pride in calling ourself a woman first brand that believes in the collective spirit of women power. Given the increasing fitness consciousness among this group, at Reebok we wanted to create a disruptive movement that united all women with one powerful call.

This helped give inception to the FitToFight campaign.

Launched in 2016, FitToFight celebrates the struggles, dreams, and triumphs of unsung real life “women heroes”, who have overcome physical, mental and social barriers. The brand’s strong connect with

66 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

women helped develop this campaign and endorse their empowerment. The initiative introduced actor and powerhouse Kangana Ranaut thatwitnessed countless powerful and motivating FitToFight stories from women across the country, including Paralympian Deepa Malik and Bollywood stunt woman Geeta Tandon.Concluding this endeavor, these bravehearts were awarded at our first FitToFight awards hosted by Reebok.

The overwhelming response gave us the impetus to build the #FitToFightplatform further with the #GirlsDontFightcampaign in 2017. With the prevalent socio and cultural context, our aim was to create a compelling narrative that challenged gender perceptions with a fight against prevalent societal evils – eve teasing and inequality in pay.

With the aid of the digital medium we launched two powerful films that displayed women bravado in face of these odds. Our brand ambassador Kangana Ranaut turned into a mentor and an inner voice

AS A BRAND WE TAKE PRIDE IN CALLING OURSELF A WOMAN FIRST BRAND THAT BELIEVES IN THE COLLECTIVE SPIRIT OF WOMEN POWER.

that propelled each woman to never back down. The focus was on breaking stereotypes and staring down challenges and in doing so, Reebok drew to break the most perpetuated stereotype faced by every woman and tell the world that girls, in fact, can and do fight.We reiterated how physical fitness translates into strength of the mind too.

As we foster a stronger connection with women audience base, in 2018 we wanted to engage the public with a call to change. With

this generated the idea of#BruisesCanBeGood where we espoused the woman fighter undeterred through her bruises and celebrated this relentless spirit on International Women’s Day. The brand chose an alternate medium of a social experiment where we invited a group of people to observe a woman with bruises on her body and recorded their experiences.

The responses were reflective of a certain perception we hold of a bruised woman, attributing it to domestic violence or physical assault. The experiment proved to be an eye opener

and upturned our engrained gender biases. Through the visual medium, we fought for a legislative action of making self-defence classes mandatory for women across schools and colleges. This cause witnessed great support creating conversations that turned the film into a strong indictment on our status quo.

Each of our campaigns represent the Reebok ethos that tough fitness has the power to transform lives, sharpen the mind, strengthen human bonds and liberate your human potential.

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 67

ADVERTISING

EVOLUTION OF

E-COMMERCE ADVERTISING GLOBAL SCENARIO The practice of targeted ads has become sharper over the years. TV, Print, Radio and OOH were largely nontargeted, but online ads came up with a range of targeting options - from demographics to geographic and now a lot of psychographic factors.

Google was the first one to build a sustainable advertising business on the back of targeted ads. One of their more successful product is search ads - where user intent (via searches) is shown relevant ads.

E-commerce platforms have intent data at scale, and hence, can enable targeting at a massive scale with higher accuracy than any other platform because they have an added layer of shopping data.

By engaging with consumers natively within an e-commerce platform, brands can not only channelise their messaging better, but their advertising appears to be non-intrusive to customers as it is blended with the platform’s browsing experience.

Globally, e-commerce giants like Alibaba and Taobao have robust advertising businesses that are proving to be a strong alternative to the existing advertising ecosystem. Google’s search ad business leans on the premise that a customer researching a product will click relevant ads that will lead to a sale. Google has incredibly rich data from users search and browsing histories, and Facebook lets advertisers combine users social graph with other data, like where they have been and what they have bought.

But e-commerce giants have a huge set of data that Facebook and Google can’t

68 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

access—namely, their own.

Already, more than half of all online searches for products start on Amazon in US and of those a majority end there.

And the trend is only growing globally.

INDIAN SCENARIO SET TO GROW AT 2.2X OF MARKET GROWTH RATES The rise of online shopping in India has lead to growth of e-commerce advertising over the last 18-24 months. Multiple players like Snapdeal, Paytm, Amazon, Nykaa, Big Basket, Myntra and Flipkart among others are starting to make a significant dent in the overall digital spends pie.

Various estimates suggest that commerce spends in India last year have already breached INR 600 crores. Given that most of these destinations are only running display ads, commerce advertising is already 35% of the display market and around 8% of the overall market.

Commerce advertising should reach around INR 2,000 - 2,500 crores by 2020 (assuming a 30% CAGR - the e-commerce rate of growth).

However, major e-commerce players like Flipkart are well on their way to beat these industry estimates by a significant margin as they expand their advertiser offerings; harnessing their intent data across publishers and verticals.

ADOPTION OF COMMERCE ADVERTISING AMONG BRANDS 2X YOY GROWTH The first wave of adoption for commerce advertising has come from categories that have a significant share of sales or relevant audiences on e-commerce i.e.

FMCG Slowly but steadily, FMCG is becoming a key player in this domain

MOBILE ...........................................................

..........................................................

ELECTRONICS Laptops, Printers, Computer Accessories, Power Banks and Audio devices

TELCOS An attach service which follows similar cohorts of mobile handsets

..............................................................

..........................................................

LIFESTYLE Women’s and Men’s’ apparels, Shoes, Watches and Luggage.

BFSI Has started to harness the vast financial data available to e-commerce players for targeted advertising

.............................................................. ..........................................................

WHITEGOODS AND APPLIANCES TV, AC, WM, Ref, Small home appliances and water purifiers ..............................................................

AUTOMOBILE Frequently uses e-commerce as a publisher with customer profiles and purchase patterns to specifically target their audiences

The adoption drivers for brands from these categories are •

Shortest journey to purchase

•

Ability to target consumers not just at the top of the funnel, but right at the bottom

•

End-to-end Attribution

•

Better Return on Advertising Spends (ROAS)

THE ADOPTION DRIVERS FOR BRANDS FROM THESE CATEGORIES ARE As more advertisers join the advertising bandwagon on e-commerce, in the short run, they are likely to over index on ad formats in the following order: • Display on deck - On App (Top of the page widgets, brand stories) / Desktop (Top of the page widgets,

•

Brand story cards) will continue to grow steadily.

Off deck advertising - In a market where all intent data available is usually directional, advertisers would want to latch onto deterministic data from e-commerce players and use that to maximize

•

•

their returns. Off deck advertising in % terms should hence be the largest gainer YOY. PLA (Product Listing Ads) - Globally, PLA have taken the lion’s share of advertising spends.

For companies like Alibaba, PLA would account for

JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 69

•

over 65% of their earnings from ads. In India, the PLA contribution has been below 20% as the market isn’t mature yet from both the sellers and consumers perspective.

Brand Stores, Search and Attach - will continue to be high interest but low scale.

FUTURE EVOLUTION OF COMMERCE ADVERTISING While commerce advertising has always focused on customer-first experience, the future of many commerce ad formats depends on one thing: the perfect user experience.

The two biggest categories in e-commerce, namely technology and lifestyle will emerge as trendsetters in the future. For example, providing a more immersive native experience while purchasing a phone will be a determining factor that will create conversions. Features like haptic feedback can soon be experienced on ad platforms.

While shopping for apparel, ad formats will be able to intelligently display matching ensembles. With interactive product descriptions and artificial intelligence powered data analytics, commerce advertising is looking to target

FUTURE EVOLUTION OF COMMERCE ADVERTISING •

CUSTOMIZED EXPERIENCE

•

HAPTIC FEEDBACK

•

INTELLIGENT PLACEMENTS

•

INTERACTIVE PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS

•

AI POWER DATA ANALYSIS

both people who are surfing and exploring products along with those who have an intent of purchasing. The experience will also be curated and customised according to the user’s preferences.

Responsive design will play a big role in the growth of commerce advertising, with ads specifically being targeted to different devices like laptops, mobiles and tablets. The expansion will also be centered on tier 2 and tier 3 cities, where

internet connectivity has led to more interest in online shopping and browsing.

Growth opportunities will come from customising commerce ad packages that serve specific brand need which based on where they stand in the ‘Awareness’, Consideration’ and ‘Purchase’ stage. Streamlined data which will allow for more intelligible insights, more comprehensive performance trackers, and reporting tools will attract brands to commerce ads..

CASE STUDY: SAMSUNG - FLIPKART brand’s products on the first fold. This included the presence of banner ads called ‘Star Banners’ on the App. Flipkart divided its audience into firsttime buyers, premium buyers, buyers seeking for deals and discounts and non-smartphone buyers.

The focus was on the first two categories with scenario backups for a refresh in the page banner advertisements, every 3 hours. To ensure complete success, Flipkart also advertised it on different media channels like social, radio, TV and out-of-home banners. This resulted in:

10 MILLION PAGE CLICKS (PRODUCT VIEWS) Samsung wanted to increase their sales on Flipkart during the festive season, Flipkart responded with a multiple-channel plan for the brand. Samsung came on board as a platinum sponsor advertising the

6X CONVERSION RATE (COMPARED TO HISTORICAL BENCHMARKS) 25X INVESTMENT ON ADVERTISING SPENDS (ROAS) 1.2X PRODUCT SALES (COMPARED TO ORIGINAL TARGET) Star Banners became a resounding success and other companies soon followed similar product strategies to optimize their sales.

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GOLDEN MIKES 2018 GOLDEN MIKES RADIO ADVERTISING AWARDS THE POWER OF VOICE IS UNQUESTIONABLE AND GOLDEN MIKES AWARDS ARE TRULY A CELEBRATION OF THE BEST RADIO ADS SEEN IN INDIA, ACROSS RADIO CHANNELS, FROM EVERY PART OF THE COUNTRY. THE AWARDS ACKNOWLEDGE THE CONTRIBUTION OF ADVERTISING AGENCIES, MEDIA AGENCIES, CLIENTS, RADIO STATIONS, PRODUCTION HOUSES AND OTHERS TO THE GROWTH OF THE MEDIUM IN THE COUNTRY.

1

1 Team Red FM wins Radio Station of the Year award

2

3

2 Ashish Bhasin of Dentsu Aegis

Network with Abraham Thomas of Radio City

3 Annurag Batra of BW|Businessworld

and exchange4media Group with Rohit Bansal of Reliance Industries

4 Amit Wadhwani of Sai Estate Consultants and Swati Nanda Wadhwani

4

5

6

7

5 Sam Balsara of Madison World 6 Tarun Jha of Å koda Auto India with Girish Hingorani of Blue Star

7 Samir Bangara of Qyuki Digital Media with Karan Gupta of Zirca Digital Solutions

74 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

8

9

10 8 Azim Lalani of Firstpost 9 Kamini Rupani of Netcore Solutions 10 Satyabrata Das and Alok Jalan of Laqshya Media Group

11,12 Dipesh Panchal of Childline India Foundation receives Radio Advertiser of the Year award from Ashish Bhasin, Abraham Thomas and Nawal Ahuja of exchange4media Group 13 Ram Mehrotra of Nerolac 14 Carol Goyal of Mogae Media 12

11

15 Team Radio City

13

14

15 JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 75

GALLERY

PITCH CMO SUMMIT 2018, DELHI THE 10TH EDITION OF PITCH CMO SUMMIT IS A FLAGSHIP PROPERTY OF THE EXCHANGE4MEDIA GROUP. IT WITNESSES A GATHERING OF THE BEST MINDS IN THE BUSINESS OF MARKETING. ‘WHY SELL IF YOU CAN GET CONSUMERS TO BUY?’ WAS THE THEME FOR THE PITCH CMO SUMMIT 2018.

1

LEADERS FROM THE INDUSTRY EXPLAINED HOW TO CONCENTRATE ON ‘THE BUY’, AND UNDERLINED THE CHALLENGES, AND HIGHLIGHTED THE OPPORTUNITIES IN DOING SO

1 (L-R) Jagdish Mitra, Chief Strategy

and Marketing Officer Head Growth Factories - Tech Mahindra; Anshuman Goenka, Marketing Head, Bacardi India Private Limited and Category Head - Whisky, AMEA Region; Naseeb Puri, Director Marketing, Mountain Dew, PepsiCo; Prashant Sinha, Co-Founder & COO, Momspresso; Sanjay Bhutani, Managing Director, Bausch and Lomb India; Shilpa Dureja Puri, Director Marketing - Digital & Experiential Microsoft

2

3

4

5

2 Special address:

Vijay Mansukhani, MD Onida

3 Keynote :

Tim Castree, Global CEO Wavemaker

4 Special Address :

Sudip Ghose, CEO VIP Industries

5 Speaker :

Amit Tiwari, Vice President Marketing Havells India Ltd

76 | PITCH | JUNE 2018

6

7

8 6

Panelist : Jagdish Mitra, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer Head Growth Factories - Tech Mahindra

7

Panelist : Naseeb Puri, Director Marketing, Mountain Dew, PepsiCo

8

Panelist : Shilpa Dureja Puri, Director Marketing - Digital & Experiential Microsoft

9

Speaker : Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital

10 Speaker :

Shankar Nath, Sr. VP- Marketing Paytm

9

10

11 Annurag Batra, Editor-in-chief, BW

11 JUNE 2018 | PITCH | 77

BOOK REVIEW

Over the years, prominent brands in India across product categories, both home-grown and multinational, have tackled crises - some unexpected and some self-inflicted, but each a defining factor in shaping a company’s future. In a first-of-its-kind narrative, Rebuild brings together the stories behind some of India’s biggest businesses that dealt with potential disaster and emerged on the other side - either victorious or wiser.

Digging deep into the crisis management strategies adopted by companies such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Kingfisher, Tata Sons, Indian Premier League, Facebook, Uber, Nokia, Nestlé Maggi Noodles and several more, it analyses the steps that different organizations have taken to minimize damage to their brand, and describes how (if at all) they recovered.

Featuring interviews with top management executives as well as expert brand-watchers, Rebuild closely examines the circumstances that cause brands to falter - faulty products, leadership changes, disastrous sales cycles and competition activity, among others - and provides invaluable insights that may serve as cautionary tales for organizations, both small and large.

REBUILD:

How Brands in India Overcame Crisis and Emerged Stronger, Better, Wiser Ramya Ramamurthy | Hardback , Rs. 599/-

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amya wanted to write a book which wasn’t academic but one that had a detailed angle oncrisis faced by brands in India. This book not only talks about how to deal with a crisis once it has happened, but also how to avoid them. What is crisis though? Ramya’s definition of crisis is not just about mis management, an uncontrollable catastrophic event, a scenario where the product is tampered with, or even stored badly. She defines it as the ability to stay relevant and the ability to not get complacent.

Through her book she explains the importance of shorter innovation cycles and a quick turnaround based on consumer tastes. She emphasizes that if you are not on top of this, things will start to unravel quickly.The book describes how to handle crisis in the modern era and is aimed at anyone who is interested in marketing and branding. It is current and an easy read.

Ramya Ramamurthy studied English literature from Mumbai University and holds a diploma in broadcast journalism from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She was a media professional for several years and worked for Storyboard, the CNBC TV18 magazine show that set the bar for tracking advertising and marketing on television. She recently gave up broadcast journalism to direct documentaries for television channels such as Star World and National Geographic. Rebuild is her first book.

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