Mobile Banking JV - Bharti, SBI to invest $22 mn

India's top mobile operator Bharti Airtel and State Bank of India will together initially invest 1 billion rupees ($22 million) in a joint venture for mobile-based banking, O.P. Bhatt, chairman of the country's top lender, said on Wednesday.

Bharti Airtel said in September it had received a licence from the central bank to launch mobile payment services.

Bharti Airtel had 149.4 million mobile customers in India at end-November, in a market of more than 700 million mobile users. India is the world's fastest-growing and the second-biggest market for mobile connections.

Singtel buys $30 mn worth of shares in Bharti Airtel

Singapore Telecommunications said on Tuesday it has paid S$39 million ($30 million) for 4.07 million shares in Bharti Airtel Ltd , pushing up its stake in the Indian firm to 32.15 percent from 32.04 percent previously.

Singtel stock closed up 0.66 percent on Tuesday at S$3.07.

English-language advertising in India is among the most creative in the world

English-language advertising in India is among the most creative in the world. TV advertising especially in the Hindi language has made major headway in the past 10 years, especially with the advent of satellite TV. Hindi TV channels - such as ZEE and Sony TV - have fashioned themselves on lines of Western channels, and most advertising on such channels is glitzy, smart and tailored for the middle classes. Such channels have forced the state-owned channel, Doordarshan, to add spice to their programmes which, earlier, were quite drab. The importance of the Hindi-speaking market (which is also fluent in English) is borne out from the fact that STAR TV, once an all-English channel, is now rich in Hindi programmes. Even the British Broadcasting Corporation is reportedly toying with the idea of airing Hindi programmes.Most major international advertising firms have chosen local Indian partners for their work in this market. Mumbai remains the centre of the advertising business in India.

India has a diverse and growing number of daily newspapers. Since 1991, the increase of business and financial news reports in English-language and vernacular dailies has paralleled the economic reform programme and the movements of the stock markets. Most leading publications have their circulation audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulation which has an India-dedicated office in Mumbai

Leading business newspapers include Business Standard and Economic Times. Magazines include India Today, Business India , Business Today, and Business World.

In addition to advertising, other kinds of trade promotion activities are also well-developed in India. A large of exhibitions are held all over India, the most prominent ones at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Conferences and seminars are also widespread.

NETGEAR to strengthen its Brand and market position in India

* With launch of 3G Mobile Broadband Router MBRN3000 and DSL Router with 3G failover DGN2200M for the growing Broadband Wireless data services market in India
* Enable Small Business and high-end consumers with the “Ultimate Networking Machine”, WNDR3700, a top of the line wireless router with international acclaim.
* Introduce the NETGEAR AV Series with , WNCE2001 to connect the growing number of Internet Enabled HDTVs, Gaming console, Blu-ray players and Set-top boxes

NETGEAR®, the worldwide provider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions, introduced and showcased an array of products for the Indian market.
Recently on a visit to India, Mr. Som Pal Choudhury , Director Product Marketing, Consumer Networking Products, NETGEAR Inc, addressed a Marketing meeting held in Mumbai and Delhi, attended by NETGEAR’s Premium Partners and Distributors. During the meeting, he highlighted the growing importance of India for NETGEAR and said, “With the growth of 3G Wireless Broadband and consumer gadgets in India, it is imperative for us to introduce some of our key products, that have had tremendous success in US and Europe, to the India market. The Indian Businesses and Consumers today demand the lifestyle networking gadgets with top-notch quality and valued features that NETGEAR delivers for connecting people and devices to the Internet.”
The NETGEAR partners were introduced to NETGEAR’s latest and upcoming products, and had a one-on- one session with Mr. Pal Choudhury on the key demands from the changing Indian market. “The emerging 3G Data services, the demand beyond simple wireless connectivity by the advanced home and small business users with multiple PCs and devices, and the emergence of Internet enabled Home Theatre devices were the key trends in the Indian market”,

Top 10 Commercial Advertisements of India in 2009-2010.

Top 10 Commercial Advertisements and Marketing of India in 2009-2010:

(10) Starting on tenth position, I rate this pepsi Ad. "Yougistan ka Wow".

(9) I never saw any great ad of limca which make me remember, this one
is something fresh which is presented on a boy and girl with an very
good visual presentaion with water.
Limca
Creative Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
Production: Footcandles Inc.
Brand/Advertiser: Coca-Cola India
Year: 2010

(8) ZooZoo
Created by: Rajiv Rao (Ogilvy & Mather)
Directed by: Prakash Varma (Nirvana Films)
Brand/Advertiser: Vodafone
Year: 2010

(7) Surf excel
Director : Vinil Mathew
Producer : Swadha Kulkarni
Production House : Footcandles Film Pvt Ltd

(6) Not Just for the big boys
Agency:Ogilvy & Mather
Brand/Advertiser: IDBI
Year: 2009

(5) Bingo, an ITC Product, which till date all the ads were funny with a intresting sound. Though there are few more good ads of this brand, this one is fresh and matches with its caption red Chillies.
Red Chilles
Creted by: Ogilvy & Mather
Brand/Advertiser: Bingo (ITC)
No confusion. Great combination
Year: 2009

(4)Fevicol, which is named for its creative advertising for the beginning has come up with another creative ad, this time with starting with a girl at an competition and ending up at a birth of a child with an Moustache.
So funny it looks.
Mooch (Moustache)
Agency:(Ogilvy and Mather)
Directed by:Prasoon Pandey (Corcoise Films Pvt Ltd)
Brand/Advertiser: Fevicol
Year: 2009

(3) The lovely creatures with egg heads and ballooned bodies had turned everyone not to miss even one ad of the Vodafone Zoozoo ads. Though there are many awesome zoo ads are there I selected this because of the very creative direction.
ZooZoo
Created by: Rajiv Rao (Ogilvy & Mather)
Directed by: Prakash Varma (Nirvana Films)
Brand/Advertiser: Vodafone
Year: 2010Here is the Top 10 Commercial Advertisements of India in 2009-2010.

(6) Not Just for the big boys
Agency:Ogilvy & Mather
Brand/Advertiser: IDBI
Year: 2009

(5) Bingo, an ITC Product, which till date all the ads were funny with a intresting sound. Though there are few more good ads of this brand, this one is fresh and matches with its caption red Chillies.
Red Chilles
Creted by: Ogilvy & Mather
Brand/Advertiser: Bingo (ITC)
No confusion. Great combination
Year: 2009

(4)Fevicol, which is named for its creative advertising for the beginning has come up with another creative ad, this time with starting with a girl at an competition and ending up at a birth of a child with an Moustache.
So funny it looks.
Mooch (Moustache)
Agency:(Ogilvy and Mather)
Directed by:Prasoon Pandey (Corcoise Films Pvt Ltd)
Brand/Advertiser: Fevicol
Year: 2009

(3) The lovely creatures with egg heads and ballooned bodies had turned everyone not to miss even one ad of the Vodafone Zoozoo ads. Though there are many awesome zoo ads are there I selected this because of the very creative direction.
ZooZoo
Created by: Rajiv Rao (Ogilvy & Mather)
Directed by: Prakash Varma (Nirvana Films)
Brand/Advertiser: Vodafone
Year: 2010
(2) This is one of the best ads on the Television till date, So intensive this ad was made, so I put it in the second slot. In this advertisement, without any conversation its clearly presented with an caption Banking for Everyone, between the 2 Kids and Elephants.
Banking for Everyone (Hathi and Soccer)
Agency:Ogilvy & Mather
Brand/Advertiser: IDBI
Year: 2009

(1) I ranked this for No,1, because this ads looks so fresh at looks and an apt for its title (Listen want you want to listen).
So Funny it looks where the conversation goes between interviewer and the interviewee. You are Hired !!!
My Song
Directed by: FCB-Ulka Advertising Agency.
Brand/Advertiser: Tata Docomo
Year: 2010

RIM Playbook heating Indian market!!!!

Today at Research In Motion's annual BlackBerry Developer Conference for marketing and advertisement, CEO Mike Lazaridis announced the company's new tablet -- the PlayBook. The tablet will utilize an OS created by the recently acquired QNX (just as we'd heard previous to the announcement) called the BlackBerry Tablet OS which will offer full OpenGL and POSIX support alongside web standards such as HTML5 (which is all tied into RIM's new WebWorks SDK). Lazaridis was joined on stage by the company's founder, Dan Dodge, who said that "QNX is going to enable things that you have never seen before," and added that the PlayBook would be "an incredible gaming platform for publishers and the players." RIM also touted the PlayBook's ability to handle Flash content via Flash 10.1, as well as Adobe AIR apps. The new slate -- which Lazaridis described as "the first professional tablet" -- will sport a 7-inch, 1024 x 600, capacitive multitouch display, a Cortex A9-based, dual-core 1GHz CPU (the company calls it the "fastest tablet ever"), 1GB of RAM, and a 3 megapixel front-facing camera along with a 5 megapixel rear lens (and yes, there will be video conferencing). There was no mention of onboard storage capacity during the keynote, though the devices we just spied in our eyes-on post are labeled 16GB and 32GB on their back panels. The PlayBook will be capable of 1080p HD video, and comes equipped with an HDMI port as well as a microUSB jack, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, and Bluetooth 2.1. The device clocks in at a svelte 5.1- by 7.6-inches, is only 0.4-inches thick, and weighs just 400g (or about 0.9 pounds).


In terms of interface, the OS looks like a mashup of webOS and the BlackBerry OS, even allowing for multitasking via what amounts to a "card" view. Interestingly, RIM and QNX boasted of the PlayBook's multimedia and gaming functions, but Mike Lazaridis also described the tablet as "an amplified view of what's already on your BlackBerry." That's due largely in part to a function of the tablet which allows you to siphon data off of your BlackBerry handset via Bluetooth tethering and display it on your PlayBook (a la the ill-fated Palm Foleo). While the PlayBook doesn't seem to rely on phone content alone, the press release from the company says that users can "use their tablet and smartphone interchangeably without worrying about syncing or duplicating data." RIM didn't hand out any solid launch dates beyond "early 2011," and of course, there was no mention of retail price. We've got a slew of content after the break, including the PlayBook spec rundown, the company's press release, and a full video of the device (and UI) in action -- so take a look!

* 7-inch LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
* BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
* 1 GHz dual-core processor
* 1 GB RAM
* Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
* Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
* Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
* HDMI video output
* Wi-Fi - 802.11 a/b/g/n
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
* Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
* Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
* Ultra thin and portable:
* Measures 5.1"x7.6"x0.4" (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
* Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
* RIM intends to also offer 3G and 4G models in the future.

Airtel - Dil Jo Chahe Paas Laye

Two television commercials created by JWT, the brand's creative partner, are currently on-air. The first TVC titled, 'Endless Goodbye', shows a couple bumping into each other repeatedly after having said their goodbyes.

The TVC begins with a couple who looks very sad as the young man is leaving. However, the very next moment, he finds the girl in a nearby café and is very excited to see her. Later, both walk down a street. They say goodbye to each other and the girl turns away, only to meet the man again, who comes in a cab. The girl hops into the taxi and both of them leave together. Then, the man asks the cabbie to stop the taxi and gets out, bidding adieu to the girl inside. The next instant, the girl comes running towards the man and hugs him. The TVC then shows the couple happily walking across the city. They enter a metro station and once again are very sad, as the young man boards a train. As the train leaves, the girl once again meets the man on the platform and happily hugs him. The TVC ends with a voiceover saying, "In Airtel's world, you'll never be away from your close ones. Dil Jo Chahe Paas Laye."





The second TVC titled, 'Street Performer', opens with a man dancing to the tune of Airtel's official ringtone. Next, a girl walks down the street; she stops as she sees the young man performing interesting dance moves. The girl stays for a while to watch him dancing; but leaves when she checks the time on her watch and realises that she is getting late. The man, who is still dancing, stops and finds that the girl has left. So, he follows her and catches up with her. He continues dancing while the girl is walking. The TVC ends with a voiceover stating that in Airtel's world, entertainment will never stop, followed by the tagline, 'Dil Jo Chahe Paas Laye'.