SHAHRUKH KHAN - KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS, EST. LOSS: RS.24.1 CRORE

2300 IIPM students get jobs

"Suresh sells tender coconut water near the Eden Gardens. “My shop is very near to the stadium and during last IPL, I had seen a big increase in demand. Cricket enthusiasts that had come to watch the match would come out even during the break to buy tender coconuts. At that time my daily earning had shot up to Rs.4,000 and I was expecting similar or more returns this year.” However, Suresh is not the only one who would be adversely affected as there are many more coconut sellers around Eden Gardens and other venues, who will no more be in a position to reap benefits from IPL."

Another ‘martyr’ on the block will be the sponsorship revenues. Even key sponsors of the tournament are now turning down and are reconsidering their investments in the property. Reebok has already announced that it would slash its spend in IPL by 15-20% and Hyundai, Havells, et al, are also chalking out similar plans. Sources from Coke told 4Ps B&M, “Though nothing has changed as of now, but we are giving our investments a second thought.” (Second thought for the second season… interesting!). Even Nokia’s spokesperson says that the company is playing the waiting game, and is still working on the details on how to go about with things. Nokia was the second most visible brand in the first season of IPL, next only to King Khan. But its success was attributable to the interactive advertising that the company was able to do. Couldn’t BCCI & IPL have played a waiting game instead of the sponsors? Holding IPL in international venue means that the on-ground sponsors like Nokia, Pepsi, LG, et al, would have a lot to lose. One could argue that since these are all global brands, therefore visibility in South Africa or India will mean one and the same thing. But then what about home-grown brands like Havells? A franchisee owner (on conditions of anonymity) argues, “Suppose if Dabur was one of the sponsors, so does it make an economic sense for it to have visibility in South Africa.” The same logic would also hold true for the title sponsor DLF, which would also not stand to gain much from its association with IPL in this season.

Conservatives are pegging a correction of 40-50% in revenues garnered from on-ground activities and say that overall sponsorships can be impacted by as much as 30%. Apart from that, even merchandising and licensing deals of various franchisees would be affected by almost 40-50% because of this ‘slight change in plans.’ “Who would wear a Knight Riders’ T-shirt and helmet while watching the match on TV,” asks Mandar Natekar, Head, Revenue and Marketing, BIGADDA.com. Logical indeed! Mr. Modi & Co. need to perhaps ‘Google’ for answers to such queries. Brijesh Patel, CEO, Bangalore Royal Challengers admits, “The revenues from merchandising and licensing will definitely be lesser than what it would have been had the tournament been played in India itself.”

But, ace marketer Modi is confidently betting big on the fact that IPL is basically a televised event. A viewer will watch it irrespective of the venue of the event. On this front too, industry experts are uncertain. They argue that the TRPs of an IPL event will fall at least by 30%. Why? Well, they aver that there will be less hype around the tournament and fans may feel less connected with the event. Also, an international one day tournament (in which India is playing) happening on Indian soil generates roughly around 25-30% more TRPs than the same tournament held abroad.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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This is my game; it’s alive!

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Gaming consoles are the new-age platforms for advertising agencies. But a lot still has to be worked upon. Now, the ‘programmers’ have to create magic for the marketers and advertisers. Bring brands to life, writes Arun Kumar Roy...

“Stop being a kid! Stop that game...” What’s that? Well, chances are that that was probably the statement that a so-considered adult shot at you, the last time you were busy scoring hard on your latest gaming console... Yes, India has long been known for a community where games are only left to be played by the ‘growing-ups’; ‘anti-gaming culture’ is what you’d prefer calling it! But over the past decade, with the advent of better gaming consoles, the whole scenario is in for a radical change. As per the PEW Study, 66% of all adults (aged 18 years and above) play video games on consoles or the computer. The figures suggested that the percentage of video gamers amongst those aged 18-29 was a staggering 81%, while those between 30 and 49 stood at an incredible 60%! Furtheron, the survey revealed that the average age of today’s Indian gamer has risen to 28 years – much above even the so-considered maturity age of 18-20 years. So what good news is this for the branded consumer goods and advertisement industries? Surely, technology has managed to move the real world of many into the virtual zone, and advertisers are now eyeing the video gaming industry as the next prospective arena for advertising and increasing brand awareness.

With investments on in-game advertising forecasted to touch a brobdignanian $1.8 billion by 2010, the future for those willing to bet heavy on this platform looks brighter than ever. Today, it is possible to analyse the effectiveness of every portion of advertisement dollars that an agency invests in online gaming, with the help of various algorithms drafted into games. All these analytics help them in designing better ads and placements. Companies like Massive, a subsidiary of Microsoft, have developed a powerful algorithm that use the Internet connection to transfer data back to the agencies, informing them about the gamer’s state of mind, amount of time spent on the current level, the kind of accessories a gamer uses, the time of day and many more. A number of games also use billboard-like ads and product placements to create a more life-like, realistic environment. In this regard, advertisements in virtual worlds and MMORPGs like Second Life and Sim City has become a common buzz. As per a survey conducted by Gamasutra, in-game advertising increases brand recall by 44% and positive brand association by 33%. Over 60% of those surveyed felt that the ads caught their attention and made games more realistic without interrupting gaming experience. A perfect example would be the Starwoods Hotels and Resorts that established an aloft hotel in Second Life. The beauty lies here. The real world hotel is yet to open-up, but an early preview to the gamers provides early feedback to designers from prospective guests and also help in spreading awareness about the same.

More importantly, integrating dynamic advertising into video-game environments gives brands a measured lift in consumer awareness and opinions of the players. And women are not excluded from the target segment here, as Ravi Kumar, Country Head, Gamloft, explains, “Those games which appeal to women are threats to popularity of TV. As casual mobile and other forms of gaming grow in popularity, TV as an entertainment medium will surely stand challenged.”

But there are challenges too! According to Gamasutra, around 82% of consumers feel that games are almost as enjoyable with or without advertisements, and this only points out to one fundamental issue – game developers need to make brands a part of their game and not just simply stick branded logos around! Once they do this, real life dollars will flow in aplenty...

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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For once, Don’t read it out...

As another Republic Day silently passes by amidst perpetual fear of another terror attack, it’s time to retrospect and ask a few uncomfortable questions. It’s a known fact that if there’s one country which is responsible for most of the predicaments that the world is facing today, be it economic recession, unprecedented ascension of terrorism, perennial unhappiness in a rat race from which there is no respite, it’s none other than US. And yet ironically if there’s one country which can take the responsibility of bringing the whole world out of all the predicaments, if there’s one country the world is looking up to for signs of hope amidst despair, it’s again that very same US. But why is it like that? Why is it that when the US President gives his inaugural speech after his oath taking ceremony, the whole world listens with bated breath? And why is it that while most of the educated Indians who would otherwise have little interest in politics, are crazy about the prodigy called Barack Obama and make sure to hear his speeches time and again in the YouTube while the address of the Indian President Pratibha Patil to the nation a day before the Republic Day just comes and passes by and no one cares two hoots to hear it, forget about getting inspired by it? Well, even if there is no straightjacket answer to it, one thing that can be claimed with impunity is that in spite of the all the protocols at place, the President of US is not driven by protocols. ....Continue

In black and white

With near thunderbolt pace, American President Barack Obama has transformed the line of US foreign policy less than a week after taking oath to the office by making apparent that the US’s aspirations and objectives will be in accordance with American ideals and the rule of law. Saying “we have no time to lose”, Obama summarised in a curt reply how pressing he deems it is to bolster American international relations and to graph a new line in foreign relations.

In the first two full days, the new government has set swiftness for taking action that was unheard and unseen in Bush’s administration. Giving orders from the White House and State Department headquarters alternatively, Obama pronounced the shutting down of the Guantanamo Bay confinement centre in Cuba, discontinuation of ruthless grilling manners by intelligence officers, halting of armed forces courts for alleged terrorists at Guantanamo for at least four months, ending of covert prisons upheld by the intelligence community overseas, and the selection of two extraordinary diplomatic envoys to deal with sensitive issues of Arab-Israeli amity and Afghanistan and Pakistan.....Continue