Month: July 2022

All these leading social media companies have decided to take a tougher line against disinformation. The EU Code of Practice which could levy heavy fines on them is the trigger to do so.

Many organisations have become signatories in support of the updated Code of Practice on disformation. These signatories agree to do more to tackle deep fakes, fake accounts and political advertising. Non-compliance could attract hefty fine which can be as much as 6 per cent of the company’s global turnover.

The Code proves that Europe has learned its lessons and is not naive anymore. If the rules are flouted consistently, they can stop the access to their space of information.

There are some reservations about the new Code. There are no concrete commitments. They are in the form of a blanket statement to follow the law.

As ads are becoming digital, it is necessary to build unique sonic identities for the brands. These rise above the clutter and reach the immersed audience. In this voice-controlled world, sonic identity acquires importance. Here the sound elements are strategically used — voice, jingles, songs and at times silence. The sound of brand association is generated through audio streaming. Then there is better brand engagement. Audio and moods are co-related. It makes the consumer take informed decisions. in mobile advertising, consumers use AdBlocker. With in-streaming audio marketing, this problem is overcome. Digital audio advertising is a novel channel and there is scope for experimentation.

We still remember DD ads of yore of Maggie, Frooti and Titan with signature advertising sound. These days brands have added another dimension to their identity — sonic identity. It is much deeper than a jingle. It consists of signature tune, a musical logo (or mogo) or a mini-mogo to indicate that transaction is complete or a zing sound that the order is on the way.

The investment brands are increasingly using sonic branding. In advertising we come across ad decay where consumers tend to forget a piece of communication or advertising after a while. However, sonic assets have lower levels of decay. The recall value of such assets remain high.

Music adds an emotional layer to communication.

However, creating sonic identity is a long-term process. It needs continuous support over a period of time.

On 15th June, 2022, Microsoft pushed the 27 years old IE: Internet Explorer app to the dustbin of tech history. Its first version was released by Microsoft in 1995,, when web surfing was dominated by Netscape Navigator. Once upon a time, it was a dominant browser which the surfers loved to hate and a few loved to adore. In doing so, Microsoft has put it in league with Blackberry phones, dial up Modems, Palm Pilots and Pagers.

It was not a bolt from the blue. MS has already announced it a year ago. It has asked users to shift to Microsoft Edge, which was launched in 2015. Edge is compatible with legacy websites and apps. IE and Windows were tied up. Many used IE by default instead of Netscape Navigator. Such simultaneous loading of Windows and IE led to the suing of MS in 1997. In 2002, MS agreed to settle the anti-trust battle where it crushed the rival products. In European Union too MS attracted the charge of harming the rivals such as Mozilla’s Firefox, Opera and Google’s Chrome.

IE too had shortcomings — it was slow, used to crash and was vulnerable to hacking. At the beginning of the millennium, its market share was 90 per cent. It continued to decline in the face of more appealing alternatives.

Chrome today has acquired dominant position with 65 per cent share worldwide. Edge lags behind, and has barely 4 per cent share, slightly ahead of Firefox.

Package A consisting of TV rights for India was won by Disney Star for Rs.57.5 crore per match (or a total of Rs. 23,575 crore for 410 matches over five years).

Package B for India subcontinental digital rights was won by Viacom 18 controlled by Reliance for Rs.50 crore per match (adding up to total of Rs.20500 crore.

Together, the rights have been bought for Rs.107.5 crore per match for the 2023-2027 cycle.

Package C of non-exclusive India digital rights of 18 matches was won by Viacom 18 of Reliance for Rs.2991 crore.

Package D of the rest of the world was won by Viacom 18 and Times Internet for Rs.1324 crore. It consists of reserved rights of T-20 tournament. Viacom 18 took home the rights of digital and TV for Australia, South Africa and UK markets. Times Internet acquired the mandate for the US and Middle East, North Africa (MENA) regions.

Thus the three winners are Disney Star, Viacom 18 and Times Internet.

The BCCI thus earned Rs.48,390 crore in 3-days IPL auction . Their analysts were expecting the e-auction target to be Rs. 50000 crore.

TV advertising rates will reach over Rs.20 lac per 10 second to break even based on Disney Star bid.

After the bidding, the per match value of media rights sitting in packages A to C stands at Rs.140.74 crore. The per match value of package C of 18 matches is Rs.33.2 crore.

IPL is now second only to the American National Football League (NFL). However, NFL operates in a much bigger market, a much dynamic market. Indian M&E market is not as big as the American market. This is a cause of concern. IPL may not leave enough profits for the bidders. Though content costs are shooting up, advertising and subscription revenues are not keeping pace with it.

Half of Rs.48390 crore would go to the eight original franchises. The other 50 per cent would be shared among the players and state associations. State associations will get 70 per cent of that money. It will enable them to develop infrastructure, and facilitate progress at the grassroots. BCCI will hike pensions of former cricketers and umpires.

The I&B Ministry advised the print, electronic and digital media to refrain from advertising on online betting platforms. Betting and gambling is illegal in most parts of the country. It is risky for the consumers both economically and socially.

The advisory has been issued in the larger public interest. There are online advertisements in the social media. There are advertisements of intermediaries and publishers. These ads are displayed in India and targeted to Indian audience. These ads are misleading and violate the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the Advertising code under the Cable TV Network Regulation Act, 1995. It violates the press norms of the press code of the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act, 1978.

The Ministry has already issued advisory on advertisements of online gaming which should conform to ASCI guidelines, 2020.