Amit Syngle of Asian Paints talks about its collaboration with St+Art India Foundation to create a Mahatma Gandhi mural at Churchgate Station in Mumbai. Abraham Thomas of Radio City talks about the beta launch of Video City that allows listeners to consumer FM in a video format
WITH ST+ART INDIA FOUNDATION ASSOCIATION, WE WANT TO TAKE ART TO THE MASSES: AMIT SYNGLE
St+art India Foundation and Asian Paints - with support from Western Railway and the Consulate General of Brazil - have come together to create a Mahatma Gandhi mural at Churchgate station in Mumbai. Legendary Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra is creating this public art masterpiece as a symbol of peace. Amit Syngle, COO, Asian Paints Ltd., tells us more.
ON ST+ART INDIA ASSOCIATION: Through this association, our intent is to add a bit of vibrancy to cities and uplift the moods, spirits and lives of people of India across various cities. We want to take art to the masses and open spaces to dialogues, conversations and culture creation through the lens of the city.
ON SHIFT FROM PAINT BRAND TO DECOR-CENTRIC BRAND: All through these years, the company evolved, progressed and committed itself to making every Indian house it reached into ‘home’. Our latest offering is AP Homes, a multi-category décor store where consumers can avail an integrated décor consultancy across categories ranging from paints, bath fittings, kitchen, sanitaryware, wallpapers, furniture, etc. With AP homes, we are going beyond just paint and colour to offer solutions for home improvement as well. We also launched www.beautifulhomes.com – an online décor magazine that features inspirational Indian homes and work spaces, practical décor tips, accessible design ideas and DIY guides. With constant new additions to the Asian Paints product portfolio, we not only offer innovative high quality solutions for that segment but also create opportunities for us to be the first mover in the decor segment.
ON ADAPTING BRANDED CONTENT IN A BIG WAY: It is difficult to define the TG in terms of age group, which will remain between 21 and 54 years. But from a psychographic purview, it is an evolved set of consumers and audience we wanted to reach out to. Since the brand is also moving from a paint brand to a decor-centric positioning, we considered the digital medium as that is where the right audience is.
VIDEO CITY: WITH FM IN VIDEO FORMAT, WE HAVE ADDED ANOTHER DIMENSION TO RADIO: ABRAHAM THOMAS
Radio City 91.1 FM recently had the beta launch of Video City, a platform that allows listeners to consume FM in a video format. This innovation aims to transform radio from being a listener-only medium to an experiential digital multimedia platform. Abraham Thomas, CEO, Radio City 91.1 FM tells us more.
INSIGHT BEHIND LAUNCHING VIDEO CITY: Radio City’s offerings have consistently evolved with the changing needs of our consumers. A noticeable trend was the substantial increase in the interest levels of our audience to consume surround programming. With Video City, India’s first Video FM, we have added another dimension to Radio that gives our fans a sneak peek into all the fun and live action that is happening within the Radio City studio on video. We aim to transform Radio from a listener-only medium to an experiential Digital multimedia platform.
CHALLENGES IN INTEGRATING THE FM AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS: Seamless integration of digital and on-ground activations is simpler with Radio, compared to other media. All our RJs are digital influencers and have a huge fan base which makes it very convenient to integrate messages into social media and digital platforms beyond Radio. The evolution of the digital landscape offers Radio a great opportunity to integrate existing services with new age media.
MONETIZATION: We are already monetizing our various digital platforms across the network of 47 web radio stations which carry audio advertisements. The momentum generated by these platforms adds credibility and puts Radio City in a unique position to expand and drive new age properties like Video City. We will evaluate Video City’s monetization options once we have a significant fan base that wants to be part of different shows, interviews and formats within Radio. We are optimistic that Video City will be an attractive platform for potential advertisers.
EXPANSION PLANS: The Video City platform is currently being beta-tested in Mumbai. We intend to expand it to more markets soon. Starting with the metros, we are looking at launching Video City in the Hindi Speaking Markets first followed by the markets in South India.
