Times of India is known for its pioneering spirit and has been the torchbearer for print innovations in the country. From a French window to a talking or 3D newspaper to unique use of content, the innovation team at TOI has always managed to create exciting options for brands to create impact and get talked about.

All this happens in what is now branded as “Times Innovation Lab”, a collaborative space where diverse minds come together to create the next big innovation idea.

The Innovation Lab will work with brands and agencies to create innovative solutions in print, designed to meet specific brand objectives and enhance the effectiveness of a campaign.

"We are thrilled to formally launch Times Innovation Lab and continue our commitment to driving innovation in the print industry," said Malcolm Raphael, Senior Vice President, Times Response. "As one of India's leading media companies, we understand the importance of staying ahead of the curve and providing our clients with ideas that not just use the latest printing technologies, but also integrate available technologies to enhance a consumer’s engagement with an ad and bring alive a brand’s promise in the best way possible.”

Let’s have a look at some recent innovations in The Times Group publications:

Rocket Boys 2 Archival Jacket: Recreating history with this iconic innovation, Sony Liv launched the second season of the hit series Rocket Boys using a jacket ad that replicated the front page from The Times of India marking an important milestone in India’s journey of progress. This was the second time that the OTT platform used this innovation, following the launch of the first season of the show.

OnePlus 3D Vantage: OnePlus decided to make the unboxing experience for its new OnePlus 11 truly out-of-the-box with a unique Front Vantage innovation with 3D effect that immediately grabbed reader attention and made for a more immersive introduction to the latest phone as they turned the page and revealed the contents of the sleek red box.

Hyundai Augmented Reality Innovation: A futuristic innovation for a futuristic brand, Hyundai’s ad came alive upon scanning the QR code, allowing the readers to view and interact with Spot, the cutting-edge robot right on top of their newspaper.

If you have a brand brief requiring customised solutions or if you are a technology/gadget provider looking to collaborate with us, then please write to timesresponse@timesgroup.com.

(This is advertorial content curated by partner team.)

Magh Mela, an annual festival with a fair held in the month of Magha (January/February) at Sangam, Praygraj.  It is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world and attracts millions of devotees every year. This mela attracted a footfall of more than 9 Cr devotees in the duration of 45 days. Certain dates such as the Amavasya and the Makar Sankranti are considered particularly sacred, attracting a larger gathering. The festival is marked by a ritual dip in the waters, but it is also a celebration of community commerce with fairs, education, religious discourses by saints, daan and community meals for the monks and the poor, and entertainment spectacle.

Scores of devotees tend to stay for almost 45 days besides the banks of Sangam as they follow rituals and take baths in the river as per Hindu religious beliefs.

While governments and multiple organizations tend to take care of multiple needs of devotees, the grooming needs of the devotees staying there were largely ignored.

It is to fill this gap, Vi John as a brand stepped in. Vi John, which is India’s largest-selling shaving cream by volume, started a unique campaign called "Shaving Se Snan Tak". The initiative encouraged devotees to get a shave along with the holy dip.

The brand offered absolutely free shaving opportunities to devotees by establishing Shaving Zones near the ghats where they tend to take dips in Sangam. The stall attracted multiple devotees who wanted to enhance their grooming through a shave done professionally by barbers. Devotees also had the option of self shave in the shaving zones with VI John products such as Shaving Foam and After-shave lotions.

Commenting on the initiative - Ashutosh Chaudharie, GM Marketing, VI John stated “ We saw a specific need gap with respect to grooming for such a large congregation of devotees and as a brand with the national appeal made ourselves available at the right spots in the mela. The brand received a lot of love and we could give more than 12,000 consumers VI John Shaving  experience.” 

The brand was also prominently visible through hoardings, inflatables in mela grounds. It also was running a sales stall in the activation zone offering interesting deals to consumers which saw heavy consumer engagement.

Overall, this was one of its kind initiative from VI John as Shaving Zones is a unique concept and have not been attempted earlier in religious gatherings. “Shaving Se Snaan Tak” activation was in that sense true testimony to the brand vision of VI John which is “Grooming India”.

(This is advertorial content curated by partner team.)

Given the growing popularity of online home buying and renting portals in recent years, what is Housing.com’s marketing strategy to stay relevant to today’s digital-first audiences?   

As leaders in the prop-tech category, we believe that both the real estate market and the industry as a whole are on the brink of a significant shift. To position ourselves for success, we've adopted a two-fold strategy: first, to increase awareness, and second, to build a strong brand preference by addressing consumers' key pain points throughout their home buying, renting, and selling journey. We prioritize customer obsession in all of our marketing initiatives, striving to provide an unparalleled experience and support for customers throughout their entire search and discovery process. 

Your recent campaign, ‘Parr… se perfect’ takes a comic spin on the struggles every home seeker goes through. What was the insight behind this campaign? 

In our category, consumer involvement is typically high, which means that at every stage of the home-buying, renting, and selling process, customers are often bombarded with doubts, questions, and reservations. At Housing.com, we understand and empathize with this skepticism. We strive to be a supportive and integral part of our customers' journey, offering a vast array of options so that they never have to settle for anything less than perfect. We welcome and celebrate every question or concern that our customers may have and are committed to providing the widest possible selection of properties for home seekers. At the same time, we're creating the largest pool of potential customers for property sellers and landlords. 

What’s your media strategy to reach your audience pool?

Our media approach is omnichannel, ensuring maximum reach with optimal frequency and impact. We achieve this through a healthy and efficient blend of digital touchpoints, with a particular focus on Over-The-Top (OTT) media and its ConnectedTV offerings. The home entertainment sector is rapidly evolving, and CTV adoption and growth have played a significant role in this change. To reach our audience effectively, we have shifted our marketing efforts towards CTV campaigns. Additionally, social media is a crucial component of our media mix. 

Can you elaborate on your OTT and CTV campaigns since you mentioned shifting advertising budgets there? 

Housing.com targets tech-savvy and affluent urban residents seeking to buy, rent, or sell homes. As a brand focused on serving online audiences, we strive to be present where our customers spend most of their time. Our research into media consumption has revealed a significant increase in time spent on over-the-top (OTT) platforms, particularly with the rise of ConnectedTV in households. To reach our audience effectively, we have invested heavily in this medium. Specifically, we regularly run CTV campaigns during live cricket events on Disney+ Hotstar. These campaigns have helped us achieve widespread brand awareness. In fact, we recently partnered with Disney+ Hotstar's CTV offering during the men's T20 World Cup in October 2022. 

You mentioned a recent campaign that you did during the T20 World Cup on Disney+ Hotstar. Can you tell us a little bit about this campaign? 

There’s no exaggeration in saying that the passion for cricket in India is unmatched, and Disney+ Hotstar's supremacy in live sports streaming is unparalleled. Add to this, their CTV targeting, which enables advertisers like us to reach our core audience at scale. We have been consistently leveraging Disney+ Hotstar's CTV offering across live cricket for the past two years now, including marquee tournaments such as the T20 World Cup 2022, Asia Cup 2022, as well as all the bilaterals in 2022. 

How has a consistent presence on Disney+ Hotstar helped housing.com reach its marketing goals?

Being consistently present during all major cricketing events enabled us to drive significant impact across key brand metrics like awareness, consideration, and brand preference. Since our audience's behavior is highly responsive to media exposure, our consistent association with Disney+ Hotstar has helped us maintain brand saliency throughout the year. 

Lastly, what’s next for Housing.com and Disney+ Hotstar’s partnership?

We are looking forward to continuing our association with Disney+ Hotstar on live cricket. This year is even more exciting, as India is hosting the upcoming ODI World Cup in October. 

(This is advertorial content curated by partner team.)

For advertisers looking to target premium audiences, IPL on HD TV continues to be the go-to platform on account of the sheer scale of audiences, fast-paced growth of HD homes and overarching preference of viewers for watching lag-free live sports action on the big screen.

A Gulf of Scale: HD Homes 7X of CTV

As per BARC, HD TV homes have scaled to 70 million in India, covering over 25% of the overall TV universe. The platform has a mammoth potential reach of 200 million audiences, a scale 7X of connected TV in India. Not only is the universe for connected TV in India miniscule compared to HD TV, but also lacks exclusivity for any incremental scale as 95% of CTV homes in India are HD homes.

IPL and live sports at the heart of HD viewing in India

9 out of 10 HD homes in India watch sports on HD channels, exhibiting the choice of sports fans seeking the best live sports viewing experience on TV, as per BARC. 81% of HD viewers in India are from NCCS AB with 3X higher affinity among NCCS A audiences in megacities. A Kantar research in 2022 shows that nearly two-thirds of sports viewers preferred HD over CTV. A lag-free viewing experience is sacrosanct for live sports viewers especially in a fast-paced event like IPL. This is a natural phenomenon witnessed even in the US which has a high penetration of paid OTT platforms, with TV viewership for Super Bowl over 10X as opposed to digital. 

IPL on HD audiences a perfect fit for Premium Brands

As per a study by Kantar, HD viewers on IPL are users of premium products and services. The study mentions that HD viewers are 4X likely to own premium smartphones above Rs.40,000, 10X more likely to own a Rs.10+ Lac car and 18X more likely to own hotel/resort memberships compared to the average IPL viewer. The sheer size of the HD universe in India makes the platform an ideal choice for advertisers looking to target affluent audiences.  

Disney Star unlocks massive potential on IPL with the launch of south language sports HD channels

Official Broadcaster Disney Star has opened new doors for advertisers with the launch of Star Sports Tamil HD and Star Sports Telugu HD ahead of IPL 2023. Both these markets have consistently been significant contributors of TV viewership in their regional languages and the launch of HD channels will give the broadcaster and advertisers a big boost this IPL. A massive bouquet of 22+ channels, the launch of two HD channels and 10+ language feeds give advertisers a massive canvas during IPL 2023.

CTV in India – A scale too small for advertisers to make an impact

The scale of CTV in India has been a concern for advertisers and has not been able to play up to the hype around it. CTV is witnessing a reality check in India, as has been unraveled by credible industry reports over the last year. As per reports published by CII & KPMG, EY-FICCI and MediaSmart, CTV penetration in India ranges between 10-14 million homes, which is less than 5% of India’s TV universe. Infrastructural challenges like massively low penetration of high-speed internet connections and miniscule cord cutting limits the scale of CTV in India to 0.5 million homes, 5% of India’s TV universe.

A very miniscule number of smart TVs in India are CTVs. The penetration of wired broadband in India that drives high speed connectivity to power CTVs is currently limited to ~12 million homes in India as per a TRAI report in 2022 and has witnessed a significantly sluggish growth after.

Among premium viewers, HD TV is the go-to destination during IPL and come summer, advertisers will be keen on reaping massive benefits of the growing scale of HD viewers.

(This is advertorial content curated by partner team.)

IPL on television is the Super Bowl of India, with the medium dominating viewership by a huge margin compared to its counterpart while delivering long-lasting brand impact for advertisers. Lag-free viewing experience, collective viewing and the lean-back nature of TV viewing makes IPL a TV phenomenon.

So, what is it that makes IPL on TV the biggest platform for advertisers come summer?

Pay TV and HD Homes Grow to make TV bigger than it’s ever been:

According to multiple credible sources like BARC and CII-KPMG, Pay TV homes have grown from 163 million in 2020 to 168 million in 2023, and will continue to grow in the next 5 years. Cord cutting on the other hand, is merely 0.2% of the overall TV universe. Additionally, 400+ million TV viewers in India cannot be accessed by digital platforms, showcasing the gulf of TV scale in comparison to digital.

HD homes in India have grown to a scale 7X of connected TV. For CTV to scale in India, high speed internet connectivity is a massive challenge in addition to low CTV penetration. HD TV continues to remain by far the ideal platform for brands targeting premium audiences. Disney Star targets a reach of 90 Mn HD homes for IPL 2023.

Low cost of access to IPL on TV will drive mass viewership compared to digital: The cost of viewing the entire IPL on Star Sports in HD is just Rs.38/- for Indian households. Another advantage for Star Sports is that majority of cricket viewers in India are already subscribed to the channel. Digital on the other hand will need smartphone users to shell Rs.36 for streaming just one match in standard definition feed, with costs for streaming IPL ranging from 70x-500x of TV over the course of the tournament. The low cost of access will be another reason why TV will be where IPL is watched.

IPL Free-To-Air for the first time ever on TV

In a massive breakthrough for brands and advertisers select 12 games of IPL 2023 will be broadcasted on FTA channel Star Utsav Movies, the first time ever on TV. Star Utsav Movies is India’s third biggest channel in terms of reach with a potential of 200+ million additional audiences for brands to reach out to this IPL. The channel will boost IPL viewership on TV in the HSM region and can be a gamechanger for TV advertisers this summer.

Sports viewership on TV lead by cricket on a stellar rise: In 2022, 750+ million viewers watched live sports on television, with cricket on TV contributing to 650 million of it as per BARC. Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL has been flagbearer of the rising cricket viewership on TV, delivering a ratings growth of 36%-50% across live cricket events in the last 6-8 months. The broadcaster has even broken all-time viewership records across events like key events in the time span, showcasing that cricket on TV is not just garnering eyeballs but also growing at a fast pace.

The Unmatched Power of the Disney Star Network for IPL 2023: The league will be broadcasted LIVE on TV across the widest-ever bouquet of 22+ channels within the Disney Network which commands a market share of 30% on television. Continuing its legacy of driving regional viewership, the broadcast will feature more than ten language feeds. The network has also roped in over 100 cricket experts to create a series of customized regional content that will bring the whole country together as they bond over the love for cricket. 

Scale with efficiency like none other for advertisers: The business impact of IPL on TV has been phenomenal for advertisers across categories and life-stages. In recent years, IPL coverage on Star Sports has been the biggest launchpad for numerous brands in industries such as automobiles, mobile devices, e-commerce, consumer durables and digital payments. Over the past five years, a significant 75% of B2C unicorns in India and a range of brands across various categories and stages of development have effectively utilized Star Sports' IPL coverage to achieve remarkable growth.

Samir Sethi, VP and Head of Brand Marketing at Policy Bazaar and Kaushik Thacker, Strategy and Growth at Winzo spoke to us about what IPL on Star Sports brings to the table for brands.

“Apart from helping brands build a massive reach in a short span of time, IPL on TV also helps drive immediate impact, especially for digital brands, since the mobile device is unengaged, and if a viewer likes the proposition of a brand, they can immediately check it out online, which is what we've also seen. IPL on TV can also be used to target certain segments of consumers based on affluence, by advertising either on Standard Definition or High-Definition feed. Additionally, it can be used to do a focused campaign in a key regional market, by advertising only on a particular regional language feed.” Samir Sethi, VP and Head of Brand Marketing at Policy Bazaar.

Kaushik spoke about how emerging brands and categories benefit from IPL on TV.

“IPL provides opportunity to get unparalleled instant reach that helps not just in driving the awareness, but category creation as well. Additionally, IPL also helps brands drive consideration for their products as being present on IPL on TV helps build the trust with the end consumer. For brands that are looking to drive conversions/actions out of media buy on IPL - TV makes more sense because of the 2nd screen phenomena. IPL is a mix of active and passive viewing experience. Most people consume IPL on the TV with their phones/laptops on. This helps them in quick trials of the advertisers without going out of IPL ecosystem.” Kaushik Thacker, Strategy and Growth at Winzo

IPL on TV - The Choice of Viewers: A YouGov research last year showed that 83% of viewers preferred watching sports on television due to a seamless, more immersive, and lag-free viewing experience. Add to this better audio-visual quality, no distractions from mobile notifications and the collective viewing experience with friends, colleagues, and family members that makes watching live sports on TV a clear winner.

IPL on TV is as integral to advertisers as it is to its viewers and this summer, we might see a scale like we’ve never seen before.

(This is advertorial content curated by partner team.)

Radio City, the largest FM radio network in India, announces the launch of one of the most premium properties Radio City Freedom Awards (RCFA) with this year’s theme being ‘Bridging Boundaries’. Over the last few years, independent music has had a meteoric rise in terms of acceptance and consumption. Today independent music is no longer niche, artists are performing across the country and going on international tours, independent music is being accepted on mainstream media, brands across segments are collaborating with independent artists to tell their brand story, independent music is truly bridging boundaries within the media and entertainment ecosystem.

Radio City Freedom Awards is a pre-eminent platform for commemorating, appreciating, and celebrating the innate talent of the indie music culture in India. In addition to recognizing authentic compositions, Radio City Freedom Awards also recognizes outstanding non-music contributions to the independent music community. The seventh edition of Radio City Freedom Awards has been launched on 28th February 2023 and the award ceremony is slated for 28th March 2023 via a virtual platform.

New-age artists and music has been thriving in India and the idea behind launching Radio City Freedom Awards was to draw attention to and garner support for independent musicians while also exposing the audience to a diverse range of performers. To celebrate the work of emerging and veteran artists from India's independent music culture, the nomination categories for this year’s Radio City Freedom Awards are Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist, Best Folk Fusion Artist, Best Pop Artist, Best Rock Artist, Best Metal Artist, and Best Electronica Artist. In addition to categories based on musical genre, there are awards for Best Video, Best Independent Collaborator, etc. To keep the audience engaged, Radio City plans to conduct various concerts across Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore during the nomination and shortlisting phase.

Ashit Kukian, Chief, Executive Officer, Radio City said, “Over a decade ago, Radio City became the first FM radio station in the country to build a platform to promote Indie music culture. In today’s time, India’s Indie culture is echoing the international trends and the indie artists are booming. The objective of Radio City Freedom Awards is to celebrate the musical journey of indie artists, and edify listeners with premium quality music in a variety of genres. With the seventh edition of Radio City Freedom Awards, we aspire recognizing the fortitude of indie music and artists whose work celebrates the nuances of Indian folklore.”

Radio City has always been a catalyst of inspiration for countless creative people around the nation and is popularly known for being the pioneer of promoting indie culture. The latest edition of Radio City Freedom Awards is set to be most electrifying as it will feature India's most talented independent artists and musicians from across genres. This year’s jury consists of stalwarts from the music industry namely Atul Churamani - Managing Director of Turnkey Music & Publishing Pvt. Ltd., a company he founded to support independent artists publish and self-release music; Anurag Tagat - Assistant Editor at Rolling Stone India; Vijay Basrur - Founder of OK Listen Media; Heena Kriplani - Head of TuneCore; Aishwarya Natarajan - Founder of Indianuance; and Narendra Kusnur - Freelance music journalist, online music show presenter, content consultant in music apps. RCFA has grown to become one of the most sought-after awards with each passing year, garnering rising curiosity and integration from artists across the globe to participate in this celebration of musical creativity and diversity.

Commenting on the launch of Radio City Freedom Awards Season 7, Rachna Kanwar, Chief Operating Officer - Digital Media, Radio City & Mid-day said, “With Radio City Freedom Awards, we’ve come a long way from the first season way back in 2013. The journey has been exciting and fulfilling and we feel fortunate that along the way, we became a part of many inspiring journeys of indie artists and the industry itself. This is an exciting time for us as we unveil the seventh season of Radio City Freedom Awards. Over the years, Radio City has built the most coveted platform for artists to showcase their talent and connect with music lovers. Once again we look forward to receiving nominations from across the country and listening to some exceptional music. We are confident that through Radio City Freedom Awards, we will continue bridging boundaries and strengthening the aura of indie culture.”

Radio City started supporting the indie music culture from 2012 with the launch of the first web radio station called Radio City Freedom. The following year, Radio City introduced Radio City Freedom Awards, the biggest platform in India for celebrating and recognizing indie musicians across genres and languages. Over the seven seasons, Radio City Freedom Awards is India’s only audited & indigenous award for Indie Artists.

(This is advertorial content curated by partner team.)

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the biggest sporting events in India, one that is eagerly awaited by millions of fans. The recent unveiling of the large-scale digital coverage for the upcoming season has only added to the excitement and anticipation among fans.  

With the rapid growth of digital streaming platforms, fans are already turning to online platforms and over-the-top (OTT) services to watch their favourite shows and sporting events, including IPL matches. The convenience of being able to watch matches on-the-go and on multiple devices, coupled with the increasing affordability of high-speed internet, has made digital streaming a popular choice among viewers.

JioCinema's streaming of the IPL with several unique features is in absolute alignment with India's shifting pattern of prime-time entertainment from linear TV to digital platform and therefore the grand coverage of IPL on digital will not only boost viewership but will also serve as a template for being a seamless experience, without any additional cost barrier or increased screen time. 

India has a massive internet user base of nearly 720 million people, with the top 50% of purchasing power concentrated in 30 million homes that have access to unlimited wired internet connections. Additionally, there are 100 million mobile users in this category with unlimited data access. This means that users from these homes can watch IPL without any additional charge, making it easier for them to access digital platforms and consume content.

This segment of the population has been the early adopters of digital platforms and is leading the shift towards digital entertainment in India. They are also highly responsive to ad campaigns, making them an attractive target for brands seeking to reach a large and engaged audience.

As far as the large chunk of the 600 million mobile users are concerned, most of them are on a 2GB/day pack, which is the most popular and cost-effective pack across all telecom providers.  Even if they use half of their data allowance for IPL, they shall be able to access 3.3 hours on standard definition (SD) or a minimum of 1 hour on full High-definition (HD) streaming. In terms of overall macro consumption, SD consumes 0.3 GB per hour, and HD consumes 1 GB per hour. Assuming a 50:50 split (since mobile screens don't need HD), it would take 0.7GB of data to watch one IPL match. And even with that, users will still have at least 65% of their data unused. This means that even users with limited data plans can watch the IPL matches without worrying about excessive data consumption. Additionally, the affordable cost of data allows users to upgrade seamlessly, without any major financial burden.

Even in terms of actual cost, watching IPL on digital is 10 times cheaper than TV.  The cost of watching the entire IPL 2023 series on JioCinema works up to Rs 45- Rs 55 for a resolution of 240p, a resolution of 480p will cost a user Rs 105- Rs 125 and the if all the matches are watched in HD it comes to around Rs 150- Rs 180. Watching the entire series on TV will cost anywhere Rs 440 which is the cost of a base pack.

According to data from BARC, which analysed the viewership pattern of IPL 2022 also suggests that watching the game on a device does not lead to increased consumption in data and is well within the data usage limits. The data shows that the monthly data usage for viewing IPL 2022 was a maximum of 7GB for a resolution of 720p. 

The industry heads are equally enthused by the shift in the viewership patterns and the reach and accessibility that digital gives brands as well as viewers.

 Puneeth Bekal, director of marketing at Mastercard said India is already seeing a huge shift in digital content consumption and IPL on digital is only going to further accelerate the shift. “We are already seeing a huge digital shift in terms of consumption of content not only for sports, but across genres of entertainment. The access and the reach that the digital platforms give brands is massive. IPL on digital is a win-win for every cohort for viewers and even brands,”said Bekal. On how data will not be a barrier to this transition, Bekal further added, “Consumers are smart in terms of using data. There is always prioritisation and rationalisation of how they consume data and for what and over a period time there will be transition to unlimited data. It is a gradual transition and it will be the beginning of a phase where every Indian would partake in digital data consumption.”

Sneha Beriwal, Global CEO, Vahdam said, "Data is not supremely unaffordable in India and this may be that step where people increase their data recharge value. Also, the way IPL is streamed will have to be such that it consumes less bandwidth at the user’s end. We will see at least one or even both changes in the data usage pattern this IPL season.

Vivek Bhargava, co-founder of ProfitWheel said that the digital transition in the country has already happened and with IPL on digital will only add to the internet users in the country. "The digital shift has already happened. There are more viewers on digital than on TV even now. Jio has the infrastructure to support simultaneous viewing across the country and IPL is a huge property which pulls everyone. IPL on digital is also a great way to get more and more people to start using the internet."

In conclusion, it is beyond evident that the digital IPL platform may not face any cost barriers in terms of data consumption. With India's increasing digitization, more and more fans are expected to tune in to the digital platform to catch their favorite teams in action. 

(This is advertorial content curated by partner team.)