Week at a glance: Horror genre; iCubesWire - The Disrupter; Sony BBC Earth

Indepth: What ails the horror genre on television today? – Part 1 & Part 2
Think horror in Indian Cinema and Television and the first and only images that come to mind are the Ramsay Brothers’ brand of scare fests – tacky make-up, amateurish VFX, ear-drum splitting background score, superstitious mumbo-jumbo and not much variation in the story plot.  

In the first part of this two-part Indepth feature report, Adgully delved on what ails the genre, reasons behind the slide, viewership trends, why this genre is stuck in a time warp, as well as why lines are blurring between family-oriented daily soaps and horror series.  

In the second and final part, the report explores the blurring of lines between family soaps and horror, the cost of producing a well-made horror series, budget and time constraints, and much more.  

The Disrupters: iCubesWire brewing fresh ideas to achieve ‘True ROI’
Adgully’s latest feature offering – The Disrupters –puts the spotlight on small independent agencies that have been setting a blazing trail in the advertising industry with their work, their new way of operating and ideation.  

Featured in this edition of The Disrupters is iCubesWire, a digital marketing solutions company which helps brands acquire and retain clients through the web, mobile, email, videos, and so on. iCubesWire is associated with multitudinal brands like Flipkart, Paytm, Kotak Mahindra, Sanghi Cement and real-estate pioneers like Central Park. Besides performance marketing, SMM, SEO, Mobile Marketing, ORM, iCubesWire has also forayed into product vertical with artificial intelligence to explore far-sighted possibilities of the digital world. 

Keeping Sony BBC Earth as pure play factual Ent channel has worked: Tushar Shah
Within a year of its launch, the factual entertainment channel Sony BBC Earth emerged as the No. 1 channel in the Metros as per BARC numbers [TG: 15-40 AB Market – All India 1Mn+ Period – Week 8-11, 2018 (All Day)]. As per BARC data for Week 30, the channel has garnered a gross viewership of 4,682 and is ranked second in the Infotainment genre. In conversation with Adgully, Tushar Shah, Executive Vice – President and Business Head, English Cluster, Sony Pictures Networks India, chalks out Sony’s strategy to further grow Sony BBC Earth, marketing innovation, advertiser response, the infotainment genre in India and more. 

TV impressions for IPL 2018 grew 41% over 2016 season: BARC data
Indian Premier League (IPL) has become one of the biggest sporting properties in India today. IPL as a TV property has continued to grow in terms of viewership and engagement with the audience. IPL 2018 witnessed huge uptake on regional language channels as well. Viewership share of regional-language telecast (23 per cent) is at par with that of English language telecast (22 per cent), while Hindi dominates with 55 per cent. These are part of the findings of three years of BARC India data on the Indian Premier League.  

WPP increases investments in India
WPP announced investments in its business in India, in line with its long-term growth objectives in this important market. As part of this, GroupM, the world’s leading media investment group, will move to full ownership of the mobile marketing agency Madhouse, from its current 50 per cent interest. In addition, WPP companies Sudler, Wunderman and Y&R, which now operate as joint venture agencies with Rediffusion, will be developed as wholly-owned agencies, with WPP selling its stakes in the current Rediffusion joint ventures. There will be no change to Wunderman’s existing India businesses.  

The W Suite | “We can easily have women leaders at top chairs of any organisation”
AdGully’s ‘The W-Suite’ series features interactions with influential women leaders in India. Neha Kulwal, CEO, Admitad India, is a well-known women entrepreneur. As one of the key founder members in setting up Admitad India from the date of incorporation, Kulwal has played a major role in taking the organisation to greater heights – be it in business deals for the organisation or representing the company at larger platforms. Her moves in strategic planning and decision making are well reflected in the client base and the revenues generated in India. 

Industry celebrates the IAA Leadership Awards 2018 winners
The International Advertising Association’s (IAA) India Chapter announced the winners for the sixth edition of the coveted Leadership Awards at St Regis Hotel, Mumbai on July 27, 2018. ZEE was the presenting partner for the event. IAA India inducted Sam Balsara, Chairman and Managing Director, Madison World, into the IAA Hall of Fame for doing so much more than just founding and building a great communication company.  

Madison Media senior level hires
Madison Media has announced the appointment of Girish Upadhyay as Chief Operating Officer, Madison Media Infinity, based in Mumbai. Upadhyay will handle Viacom18, Asian Paints and other key clients for the agency. He joins the agency from Tata Motors, where he was Head of Marketing Services responsible for Media Planning and Buying, Digital and Market Research. 

Shan Jain comes onboard as Chief Strategy Officer of Madison Media. He will perform a national role, but will be based in New Delhi. Jain’s last stint was with Publicis as Managing Partner - Business Transformation Practice. Some of the key clients that she has led and contributed to are Unilever Personal Care, Unilever Foods and Beverage, GSK, Nestle, Sun Pharma, ITC, Maruti and Gillette. 

Offbeat: Netflix, Pak shows on YouTube keep GitikkaGanjuDhar busy
Adgully’s special feature section – ‘Offbeat’ – seeks to give a peek into the lesser known facets of our very well-known industry leaders. Hailing from Kashmir, Gitikka Ganju Dhar, Anchor, Moderator, Writer and Talk Show Host, has woven her path to success against all odds. Dhar’s career has not only been a hallmark of triumph, but is an inspiration for many as she strongly believes that sheer perseverance, hard work and determination will not only make one’s dreams come true, but can also make one the best at whatever it is that they wish to accomplish. 

BARC Wk 30: Major gains for Star Utsav, Star Bharat; Naagin 3 tops charts
BARC ratings for Week 30 (July 21-27) [HSM (U+R): NCCS All : 2+ Individuals] saw Star Utsav, Star Bharat, and Sony Entertainment Television registering gains in their rankings as well as gross viewership. ‘Naagin 3’ continues to go from strength to strength, registering further growth in its viewership to 15,818 (000) Impressions.

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