Better than the Billion

With India emerging as the second most populated country with a whooping count of 1.2 billion, the population has grown tremendously and all though the media has not been really able to knock at each door, digital technology has a promising entry and is looking forward to glorious success. The penetration of digital technologies have been carefully observed by FICCI. However the eurozone crisis and global economy slowdown has left the media and entertainment industry to face some tough questions.

The real challenge for the media firms is in formulating a multi platform distribution stratergy and to reach out to regional pockets of the country while keeping the services affordable for every consumer. A cleaner segmentation is required to customize services to keep it relevant. Alive app from the times group is one such examples that keeps its audience hooked with the edge to interact with the news segment which keeps the reading experience more by interaction and feedback mechanism.

India being loaded with social concerns and youth growing strong in their values, media has a chance to influence the same and engage large number of consumers to creare an awareness and bring reality closer to them. Responsible journalism has a need and to look out for opportunities to enlighten consumers on social issues. Satyameva Jayathe is one such success stories on the television segment.

While the GDP has slowed down, the sun is brighter towards the media industry. The industry has embarked on 12-6% growth rate which is a large growth from 728 Billion rupees in 2011 to 821 billion in 2012. Given the growth of the digital technologies it is expected to gross up to 917 billion rupees.

The television viewership iis at 730 million, 181 million readers, 159 radio listeners and 176 million internet users. The potential only grown larger.

The television continues its position on the top of the list. Music grew at 18% and the animation industry bounced back with a growth of 21%. Radio will continue to grow with phase three to begin the bidding process. The new advertising regulations for television to restrict to limited slot for advertising, radio being the next resort will have stronger aspects in the sales revenues.

With the growth in every sector the advertising sector has grown immensely and the total spent over 2012 was 327.4 billion. The advertising rates too have increased.

Print continues to have the largest portion in revenues despite digitization besides the print having its share in the digital sector with online editions and larger subscriptions.

Digitization of television with phase two reaching to 38 cities, it is changing the television experience. The movies too, have moved on to digitization with distribution Up to 50% movies chose digital while it is expected to turn 100%.

In the overview, Indian literacy rate growing and digitization taking new heights traditional media will have to share the limelight with digital media.

Personally, it will be interesting to see new ventures in the radio sector with the licensing in the new phase and changes in the royalty and regulations the industry can look forward to new concepts and creative challenges in the sector.

Fitting in the right shoe: Brands

Honestly, the term brand was loaded in my dictionary not more than about five years back. Probably while transiting from school to early college in a pathetic attempt to feel belonged to a place that I didn’t really want to be a part of.

I was exposed to brands when almost all of us wanted a fastrack watch because it was a statement more than a watch. Sometime when it really mattered which store was the faded pair of jeans picked up from and I remember few friends using the fancy tags of jeans as book marks in the Chetan Bhagat books which again was merely following a culture that we begged to be a part of.

With evolution, this is what I feel of brands.

Brand to my renewed knowledge is what the company calls itself as strictly their product and the consumers find it to be their product in terms of comfort and luxury. A company or a product could become a brand comfortably if they successfully convince their pocket of consumers with continued support and consistency. To my grand mom, her fragrant incense sticks from her trusted company is her brand but does that mean everyone else is using the same? No. It simply means that the incense sticks has managed to stick on to someone’s life without giving a chance of replacement. With loyalty of consumers, a product becomes a part of someone’s life making them a testimony to their existence.

Subsequently, an aggressive effort to top the leads, brands thrive to create a need for themselves through strategies and efficient marketing. I remember how subtly fastrack made its impact on the youth. “How many you have man” was a straight challenge to have a collection of the accessories from fastrack which would in turn increase the cool quotient. “Move on” was yet another campaign on the fast moving culture by fastrack which was well accepted. While blackberry tried accommodating themselves among the youth, it couldn’t really make a mark simply because it didn’t seem to come in terms with what a typical student needs and what one could afford.

Ultimately what really counts is what goes best with the built-in attitude of a consumer and how influential are advertisements on the mindset. Individualistic minds are often not taken away by advertisements or a culture while some tend to give everything to try what a large number is using.

To me everything that I use is a brand. Not too long ago, I was in heavy impression that using a well known brand was what made me a updated denizen. Thanks to the company I keep now, I have a mind of my own and go by what the product has in store for me and not what the world has found it to be. 

Once an apple fan , forever an apple fan

My loyalty to apple has been intact and irreplaced just like any of the line of apple products I own. From my iPod shuffle to MacBook Pro, I clearly start my day with apple and live on. Perhaps I have not known of any other brand I have been connected to. IS that what apple does to one? Well a true apple lover would never always agree that apple is what sorts them the best.

SO what’s the chicken of apple? What makes apple most addictive than any other product? Why not a Samsung or a Sony?

Firstly, it is the very look of  an apple product. Sophistication, class, precision and the attitude that apple carries as a brand. From the simplest advertisements to the best layout website, apple commands over style elements and simple elegance. Apple clearly competes with itself in proving themselves to be better than themselves and creating the best in class operating systems, Apple always surprises its loyal fans with being better than the best.

It is surprising when someone says “apple is complicated” because it is actually the simplest in every sense. Who else could think of a master button that lets you live in the multiple windows of a sleek pocket fitting phones? It is rather surprising when someone who carries a phone bigger than the pocket and has to wrap it like a note book. A phone should appear like a phone which apple masters in. It is that one button that lets you do everything that world wanted from life.

Class apart- Apple is a class apart product, the world knows it. It is actually a blessing that most of theirs apps are paid. Obviously, just because apps are free, doesn’t mean one could download everything. An app should be used to what it is designed for and definitely not for the heck of it. A paid app for me is technically for more efficient, fully loaded, no hidden version and most importantly sanitized. I can blindly download an app without really doubting its authenticity.

Quality is something what apple has always stood for. I have not known of any other music player that can redefine a musical experience. The ear fitting earphones and gesture sensing interface changing every aspect of a smart device that has ever existed.

Apple is for everyone. From simplifying a businessman’s schedule and finance, it can be a child’s best friend in learning, a teenagers best companion in any time entertainment, apple can change the same for everyone without changing its significant features. Unlike any other operation system, the apple interface is uncomplicated, simple and user friendly.

If all of this isn’t enough to prove itself to be the best, its after sales service is spectacular. No other brand can dare to promise an instant replacement in any case of damage. An apple product is unaffected from any threats such as virus. All of these interesting features of apple makes what it is.