tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18878527448801204992024-03-19T14:57:58.447+05:30Good ReadUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9297125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-9957872065647553452009-02-16T23:17:00.002+05:302009-02-16T23:20:36.727+05:30New Home - spoonfeedin.wordpress.comHi All,<br /><br />We have moved to a new address - spoonfeedin.wordpress.com.<br /><br />The friendly guys at the IT team in office blocked blogger.So can't access/post articles on this site anymore from workplace ( & most of my reading happens at workplace :-( ....).So please do check out the new webpage.Have successfully transferred all our archive articles to the new webpage too ,so that ensures the fact that all of you won't have to browse through both webpages anymore.So without further adieu , click on spoonfeedin.wordpress.com<br /><br />take care<br />SZriUnknownnoreply@blogger.com673tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-21204603091597427512009-02-07T09:22:00.000+05:302009-02-07T09:23:05.555+05:30Business - Google brings e-books to mobilesWASHINGTON (AFP) – Google is making its vast online library of books available for mobile phones.<br />"We are excited to announce the launch of a mobile version of Google Book Search, opening up over 1.5 million mobile public domain books in the US (and over half a million outside the US) for you to browse," the company said.<br />The Internet search giant, in a post on Thursday on the Google Book Search blog, said mobile versions of the books could be read on devices such as the Apple iPhone or T-Mobile G1, which is powered by Google's Android software.<br />"These new mobile editions are optimized to be read on a small screen," Google said. "With this launch, we believe that we've taken an important step toward more universal access to books."<br />To access the mobile version of Google Book Search a user needs to type http://books.google.com/m into the Web browser of their iPhone or Android phone.<br />Google's announcement comes just days ahead of the expected unveiling by Amazon of a new generation version of its popular electronic book reader, the Kindle, at a New York press conference on Monday.<br />Amazon is also planning to make its online store of e-books for the Kindle available on mobile phones, the New York Times reported on Friday.<br />"We are excited to make Kindle books available on a range of mobile phones," Drew Herdener, an Amazon spokesman, told the Times. "We are working on that now."<br />The Amazon spokesman did not provide any further details.<br />Google will initially only be offering books in the public domain -- those which are not under copyright -- for mobile phones.<br />Amazon, on the other hand, offers the latest releases and 230,000 titles in all, including 103 of the 112 current New York Times bestsellers.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-69353973469620665412009-02-07T09:19:00.000+05:302009-02-07T09:21:58.871+05:30Sport - Michael Phelps says 3-month suspension is fairDavid Ginsburg<br /><br />BALTIMORE – Michael Phelps says it's fair for USA Swimming to suspend him for three months, the latest fallout from a photo showing the Olympic great inhaling from a marijuana pipe. Phelps was back training at his regular pool Friday, a day after his suspension.<br />"It's not my decision. It's theirs," Phelps said of USA Swimming's decision. "I have nothing to say, but if that's they want to do, that's their choice. It's something that USA Swimming came up with. It's fair. Obviously, for a mistake you should get punished."<br />Phelps won a record eight gold medals in Beijing and returned to America as one of the world's most acclaimed athletes. He made headlines of a different kind, however, in the wake of the photo, published Sunday by News of the World, a British tabloid.<br />"It was bad and stupid judgment, and something I'll always live with," Phelps said, minutes before diving into the pool at the Meadowbrook Aquatic Center, where he has trained since he was 7.<br />Although the fallout cost Phelps his Kellogg Co. sponsorship, Subway announced Friday it still supports him.<br />"Like most Americans, and like Michael Phelps himself, we were disappointed in his behavior," the statement said. "Also like most Americans, we accept his apology. Moving forward, he remains in our plans."<br />The fallout from the picture has been much greater than in 2004, when an underage Phelps was arrested for drunken driving three months after the Athens Olympics. He pleaded guilty and apologized to his fans, saying he wouldn't make the same mistake.<br />Phelps wasn't sure how the negative publicity might influence his decision to compete in the 2012 London Olympics.<br />"I'm taking it step by step, day by day. There's still a long way between now and then," he said. "But I'm back here, I'm training for who knows what yet. But I'm back in the water, doing the thing I love."<br />That's a welcome diversion from the attention he's getting outside the pool.<br />"From waking up to megaphones outside your house at 7:30 in the morning to still photographers out there every day for the last four days from 7:30 to when I left for a workout, I can just do what's normal for me," he said. "And right now that's me coming to the pool every day."<br />His coach, Bob Bowman, said the suspension will alter his plans for Phelps, who recently resumed serious training with the goal of qualifying for this summer's world championships in Rome.<br />"It takes away some options from our planning. You know, we had a plan of meets to kind of get us ready for the end of the summer and now we'll have to adjust that," Bowman said. "That kind of comes with this territory."<br />With the three-month suspension he won't be able to take on any rivals until early May, which would give him a little more than two months of competition before July's world championships in Rome.<br />The U.S. team for Rome will be chosen at the national championships July 7-11 in Indianapolis.<br />USA Swimming's decision to suspend Phelps didn't surprise Bowman.<br />"As a member of USA Swimming, I expected them to take action," Bowman said. "I think that we'll abide by it. I think it sends a very strong message to Michael and to others. I understand the disciplinary action."<br />And Phelps was thankful for those who have supported him.<br />"I've been getting messages on Facebook, both good and bad. E-mails, both good and bad. Text messages, all good," he said. "This is time when you need support. To have support from the majority of my sponsors, probably 90 percent, it means a lot. And it's something I'm very thankful for."<br />And what about his mother, Debbie Phelps?<br />"Mom wasn't happy," Phelps said. "She's been supportive through it, but wasn't happy."<br />___<br />AP correspondent Pete Kerzel contributed to this report.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-42052765384210726042009-02-07T09:18:00.000+05:302009-02-07T09:19:18.284+05:30Tech - Lenovo to refocus on Chinese marketNow that the leadership of Lenovo is back in the hands of Chinese executives, the PC maker says it plans to pay more attention to its home market of China and other emerging markets, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.<br />It cut ties with its American CEO Bill Amelio earlier this week after a dreadful financial quarter in which the company lost $97 million. Chairman Yan Yuanqing has taken over as chief executive and company co-founder Liu Chuanzhi is returning to become chairman of the board.<br />Liu blames the company's current woes on the worldwide financial crisis and Lenovo's heavy investment in the commercial computing space with long lists of corporate customers. Though the company has made huge strides to become the fourth-largest PC maker by volume in the world, its presence in the consumer market outside China has been minimal until recently. A year ago the company introduced a line of consumer laptops and desktops, and more recently, a Netbook.<br />Now Lenovo will renew its focus in its home market and emerging markets to include individual and smaller businesses customers, Liu <a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/cnet/tc_cnet/storytext/8301100131015848792/30866085/SIG=1249bqhvr/*http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123380896784051197.html?mg=com-wsj">told the Journal</a>.<br />The company will remain an international company and plans to keep its dual headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, N.C., according to Liu. But what's unclear is what this means for the company's nascent consumer business.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-57753949307712948152009-02-07T09:02:00.000+05:302009-02-07T09:18:15.455+05:30Lifestyle - Playing violent video games has risks: studyNEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Among young college students, the frequency and type of video games played appears to parallel risky drug and alcohol use, poorer personal relationships, and low levels of self-esteem, researchers report.<br />"This does not mean that every person who plays video games has low self-worth, or that playing video games will lead to drug use," Laura M. Padilla-Walker told Reuters Health.<br />Rather, these findings simply indicate video gaming may cluster with a number of negative outcomes, "at least for some segment of the population," said Padilla-Walker, an associate professor at the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.<br />She and colleagues examined the previous 12-months' frequency and type of video game and Internet use reported by 500 female and 313 male undergraduate college students in the United States.<br />The students, who were 20 years old on average and mostly received course credit for their study participation, also recounted their drug and alcohol use, perceptions of self-worth and social acceptance, and the quality of their relationships with friends and family.<br />The findings, reported in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, showed "stark gender differences in video game and Internet use," Padilla-Walker said.<br />For example, compared with young women, young men reported video gaming three times as often and reported playing violent video games nearly eight times as often.<br />Young men were also more likely to use the Internet for entertainment, daily headline news, and pornography, while young women more often used the Internet for email and schoolwork.<br />However, regardless of gender, clear correlations were seen between frequent gaming and more frequent alcohol and drug use and lower quality personal relationships, as well as more frequent violent gaming and a greater number of sexual partners and low quality personal relationships.<br />The investigators linked similar negative outcomes with Internet use for chat rooms, shopping, entertainment, and pornography, but a contrasting "plethora of positive outcomes" with Internet use for schoolwork.<br />Padilla-Walker sees these findings as a starting point for future research. Continued analyses of video game and Internet use should improve the overall understanding of health and development among emerging young adults, she and colleagues note.<br />SOURCE: Journal of Youth and Adolescence, January 2009Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-22572966179865174622009-02-07T09:01:00.000+05:302009-02-07T09:02:56.206+05:30India - Poor planning keeps millions in India's slums, ASNEW DELHI (AP) Millions of Indians are forced to live in squalid slums, not because they are impoverished, but because city planners have failed to build low-cost alternatives, a government report said Tuesday, warning the problem was getting worse. As India's economy has boomed in recent years, India's predominantly rural population has flocked to the cities hoping to get a slice of the growing prosperity.<br />A massive shortage of affordable housing has left many no choice but to live in makeshift tenements with few if any basic utilities, according to the country's first report on urban poverty. Housing projects would provide residents properly constructed homes, linked to basic infrastructure like sewage, electricity and running water.<br />That kind of housing would be in sharp contrast to the slums that dot most major India cities, with their endless warrens of small houses and shops built of corrugated metal, cement and tarpaulins, public latrines and tangles of electric wiring, often illegally linked to the main power lines. "The pace of urbanization in India is set to increase, and with it, urban poverty and urban slums," said Kumari Selja, India's Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation said before releasing the report that was supported by the United Nations.<br />India's slums have been in the international spotlight recently since the success of the Oscar favorite "Slumdog Millionaire," the rags-to-riches tale of poor boy rising from the slums of Mumbai. While the film has won accolades overseas, it has been criticized in India for focusing on India's slums the country's ugly side.<br />But these slums will only grow unless significant steps are taken to build millions of low-cost homes for those flocking to the cities who are "unable to procure shelter through legal market transactions," the report said. The report estimates by 2030, some 50 percent of Indians will live in cities, up from 28 percent currently.<br />With the population already touching 1.1 billion, the challenge is huge. Already, about one quarter of city dwellers are living "in slums amidst squalor, crime disease and tension," the report said.<br />The report, commissioned to try and provide a strategy for urban development, said the major problem until today has been one of vision, not resources. "There has been no political or bureaucratic will to utilize the available land for housing slum dwellers," the report said, noting the only work done in regard to slums had been occasional demolitions during city beautification drives.<br />But, unless there was a clear change in policy the gaps between the urban rich and poor would only grow, officials said. "The challenge is to provide basic services to the urban poor and slum dwellers without letting the elite capture all the benefits," Selja said.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-10570273476957232822009-02-07T08:59:00.000+05:302009-02-07T09:01:43.646+05:30Business - Skoda changing tacks to suit India, cheap cars likely soonSkoda India, a part of the Volkswagen Group, is changing tack and one could soon see new cheaper small cars on Indian roads. Next week, the Skoda India management would be in the company's headquarters in Europe to discuss the nitty gritty of the new small car, as well as a way forward in India, where Skoda is number nine among car manufacturers.<br />"We believe that a better customer experience and a smaller car, where we can provide customers with an affordable Skoda and at the same time, generate volumes for the company is the way forward," said Thomas Kuehl, member of the board and India head, Skoda Auto. Though the company's leadership position in the C segment is firm with a 55 per cent marketshare, the overall sales figure have been seeing lukewarm growth.<br />The company sold 16,046 cars in 2008, up 32 per cent from 12,170 in 2007. In comparison, Honda Siel sold 50,468 cars as against 57,024, a drop of 11 per cent.<br />Kuehl says the solution is not to cut jobs, but to create a portfolio of products and customer service, which would push brand Skoda closer to the pockets of India's vast middle-class.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-1797088469067938182009-02-07T08:58:00.000+05:302009-02-07T08:59:11.351+05:30Sport - Cricket;India attains second spot in ICC ODI rankings for first timeDubai, Feb 6 (PTI) India today attained the number two spot for the first time in ICC's One-Day Rankings history displacing Australia from that position after New Zealand defeated the world champions by six wickets in the second ODI in Melbourne. India, who have made steady progress after its winning streak of nine consecutive ODI triumphs, now have 122 rating points to perch to the second spot for the first time since the ODI rankings were launched in October 2002.<br />India are now three points behind top rankers South Africa. The Proteas recently climbed to the top of the table at Australia's expense.<br />Australia (121) have been pushed to the third place while New Zealand follow on fourth rung with 117 points. Pakistan is further down the ladder at fifth while England and Sri Lanka are sixth and seventh respectively.<br />Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side, already 4-0 up in its ongoing series against Sri Lanka, can close the gap to the Proteas to two points if it secures victory in the final ODI in Colombo on Sunday. But Australia can regain second spot if it wins back-to-back matches against New Zealand in Sydney on Sunday and Adelaide on Tuesday.<br />And if Australia can string three wins together to take out the series then it will draw level on points with South Africa, although it will still lie second when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point. PTI.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-4555178420297689272009-02-07T08:57:00.000+05:302009-02-07T08:58:16.029+05:30Sport - Tennis;I am focussing on singles: Yuki BhambriNew Delhi, Feb. 6, (ANI): Young tennis sensation Yuki Bhambri on Friday said that he is focussing on playing singles for the time being.<br />Sixteen-year-old Yuki Bhambri became the first Indian to win the junior boys title at the Australian Open. He was speaking at a store launch here.<br />Bhambri was presented a shoe shaped memento on the occasion, which was attended by former tennis great Ramesh Krishnan.<br />"Currently I'm focusing on singles and doubles for me mean a lot of fun and learning experience because in doubles we can practice our volley and serve which is very helpful in playing singles," Yuki said.<br />Bhambri has become the third Indian junior to win a title after Ramesh Krishnan (French and Wimbledon junior champion in 1979) and Leander Paes (Wimbledon junior crown in 1990 and the US Open title in 1991). (ANIUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-11127496636179130922009-02-07T08:56:00.002+05:302009-02-07T08:57:26.438+05:30Tech - Transmitting data 16 times faster @ 640 billion bits per secondWashington, Feb 3 (IANS) Every second, millions of phone calls and cable TV shows are dispatched through fibres as digital zeros and ones formed by chopping laser pulses into bits.<br />This slicing and dicing is generally done with an electro-optic modulator, a device for allowing an electric signal to switch a laser beam on and off at high speeds. Reading that fast data stream with a compact and reliable receiver is another matter.<br />A new error-free speed-reading record using a compact ultra-fast component - 640 gigabites (billion) per second or Gbps - has now been established jointly by scientists from Denmark and Australia.<br />New technology and new ways of doing business require new approaches to old procedures. Conventional readers of optical data depend on photo-detectors, electronic devices that can operate up to approximately 40 Gbps.<br />This in itself represents a great feat of rapid reading, but it's not good enough for the higher-rate data streams being designed now. Sometimes to speed up data transmission several signals are multiplexed: each, with its own stream of coded data, is sent down an optical fibre at the same time.<br />In other words, 10 parallel streams of data could each be sent at a rate of 10 Gbps and then added up to an effective stream of 100 Gbps. At the receiving end the parallel signals have to be read out in a complementary de-multiplexing process.<br />Reliable and fast multiplexing and de-multiplexing represent a major bottleneck in linking up the electronic and photonic worlds.<br />In 1998 researchers in Japan created a data stream as high as 640 Gbps and were able to read it back, but the read-out apparatus relied on long lengths of special optical fibre. This particular approach is somewhat unstable.<br />The new de-multiplexing device demonstrated at the Technical University of Denmark, by contrast, can handle the high data rate, and can do so in a stable manner.<br />Furthermore, instead of 50-metre-long fibres, they accomplish their de-multiplexing of the data stream with a waveguide only five cm long, an innovation developed at the Centre for Ultrahigh Bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems, or CUDOS, in Australia.<br />Another benefit of the new device with the compact size is the potential for integration with other components to create more advanced ultra-fast functional chips. The dynamics involved in the CUDOS device could even allow for still higher data rates approaching terabits/second (Tbps, or trillion bits per second), said a CUDOS release.<br />Danish scientist Leif K. Oxenløwe, study co-author said that the record speeds of de-multiplexing represented by his tiny glass microchip is a boon to circuit designers and opens the door to faster network speeds. In the near future, the Danish and Australian researchers hope to achieve 1 Tbps Ethernet capability.<br />These findings were published in Optics Express, the Optical Society's (OSA) open-access journal.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-53295539260886821412009-02-07T08:56:00.001+05:302009-02-07T08:56:35.417+05:30World - Khan's release regrettable;USWashington, Feb 6 (PTI) The US today said Pakistan's disgraced scientist A Q Khan still posed a "serious threat" with regard to nuclear proliferation and expressed regret over his release from house arrest. The US State Department said if the news reports regarding the release of Khan from house arrest is true then it is regrettable.<br />Khan remains a serious threat with regard to nuclear proliferation, the department said. The US had last month slapped sanctions on Khan, 12 associates and three firms and barred them from doing business with the American government or private companies while pledging to work for squeezing out the entire network.<br />Khan was put under house arrest in February 2004 after he spoke on state-run PTV about running a proliferation ring that supplied nuclear equipment and know-how to countries like Libya and North Korea. He was pardoned in 2004 by then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and he retracted the confession last year, saying it was made under pressure.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-40717288906541620652009-02-07T08:54:00.002+05:302009-02-07T08:56:04.499+05:30India - Liquor bottles, condoms in temple trust guest house spark rowHyderabad, Feb 6 (IANS) A controversy erupted Friday involving Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the affairs of famous Tirumala temple, after empty liquor bottles and used condoms were found in the temple trust's guest house here.<br />The activists of the opposition parties took to the streets demanding immediate sacking of D.K. Adikeshavulu Naidu, the TTD chairman.<br />They gathered outside the TTD guest house at Himayatnagar here, raising slogans against the ruling Congress party and the TTD chief. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders alleged that the government had hurt the sentiments of Hindus by allowing immoral activities in a sacred place.<br />Camerapersons of several news channels rushed to the guest house after somebody alerted them about the empty liquor bottles and used condoms on the premises. These were allegedly recovered from a room, in which two activists of the Congress party were staying on a recommendation from Adikeshavulu Naidu. Naidu is also member of parliament from Chittoor.<br />Angry activists of the opposition parties staged a sit-in and alleged that prostitutes were brought to the guest house.<br />'This is a very serious issue. This act has hurt the sentiments of Hindus,' said BJP legislator G. Kishan Reddy.<br />Telugu Desam Party president and Leader of Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu demanded stern action against those involved and immediate sacking of the TTD chief.<br />Interestingly, the incident came to light only a couple of days after Baba Ramdev demanded removal of Adikeshavulu Naidu as the TTD chairman as he was a liquor trader.<br />'Persons with a clean image and good character should be given the responsibility to manage the affairs of the sacred temple,' Ramdev said during a yoga camp here.<br />Adikesavulu Naidu was suspended from the TDP last year after he defied the party whip and voted in favour of Congress-led UPA government at the centre during a trust vote in parliament. He later joined the Congress party, which rewarded him with the post of the TTD chairman.<br />The TTD manages the affairs of Lord Venkateshwara temple, the famous and richest temple in India. Over 60,000 devotees daily visit the temple, located atop Tirumala Hills.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-78858093285572256242009-02-07T08:54:00.001+05:302009-02-07T08:54:45.739+05:30Health - Cell phone use linked to brain tumours: Russian scientistMoscow, Feb 6 (RIA Novosti) A leading Russian scientist has said, citing a Swedish study, that the use of cell phones from an early age could lead to brain tumours.<br />'We have a very cautious attitude as regards children, our future generation. There is data suggesting that brain tumours could develop,' Yury Grigoryev, a leading scientist at the Burnazyan medical biophysical centre said Thursday.<br />Grigoryev cited Swedish research data, which he said showed that if a child uses a cell phone from 8 to 12 years, then the risk of developing a brain tumour by the age of 21 increases fivefold.<br />He also said that every person in Russia is subject to electromagnetic radiation from cellular base stations. He said people use mobile phones too often, which means the dose of radiation they get is comparable to that received by workers whose profession involves dealing with radiolocation equipment and transmitters.<br />Grigoryev said there is as yet no reliable Russian research proving cell phones are harmful to health. However, he said that according to the World Health Organisation, Alzheimer's disease, depression and a greater risk of epileptic reactions could be the possible consequences of mobile phone usage.<br />The head of the medical centre's radiobiology and non-ionizing radiation hygiene lab, Oleg Grigoryev, said that in line with Russian sanitary norms, the use of cell phones is not recommended for minors.<br />'The brand or price of a cell phone doesn't matter. The dose of radiation is defined by the network operation mode and phone use intensity,' he said.<br />Oleg Grigoryev also said that a wire or wireless headset would make the distance from a person's head to the phone over 0.5 meters, a distance believed to be safe. He also advised cutting down on calls.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-89458708656869290022009-02-07T08:53:00.001+05:302009-02-07T08:53:40.818+05:30Science - How gut bacteria prevents cancer, inflammatory bowel disease in humansWashington, Feb 6 (ANI): In a new study, researchers have found that bacteria present in the gut can release substances that may protect the body against colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease.<br />Scientists at the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health and from the MTT Agrifood Research Institute in Finland showed that bacteria in the human gut convert linoleic acid, a naturally-occurring fat in the diet, into a form called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which is absorbed by the gut wall.<br />Dr John Wallace of the Rowett Research Institute said that there exist different types of CLA, out of which only a few have beneficial effects, and that "good" form of CLA is present in dairy foods such as milk and cheese."<br />"But eating lots of dairy foods won't necessarily help our gut health as most of the fats are digested in the small intestine before they get to the large intestine, where most of our gut bacteria are found," he said.<br />The findings indicated that gut bacteria produce several different forms of CLA, most of which are of the "good" kind.<br />Bit Wallace stressed that more extensive studies are needed, as one subject produced small amounts of a CLA whose effects are much less clear.<br />Thus, the researchers deduced that if small quantities of dietary linoleic acid could be delivered to the large intestine, the effects on gut health would be generally beneficial in most people.<br />"The results are of special interest for individuals using anti-obesity treatments that prevent the small intestine from absorbing fats. This means that those fats - including linoleic acid - will pass into the large intestine and the gut bacteria will produce CLA. It has to be the correct CLA, so it is important to understand how individuals produce different CLA. This must depend on which types of bacteria are present," said Wallace.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-78274189419237256952009-02-07T08:52:00.001+05:302009-02-07T08:52:54.479+05:30Entertainment - Drew Barrymore blames tongue piercing for being singleLondon, Feb 6 (IANS) Hollywood actress Drew Barrymore says she has been unlucky in love ever since she got her tongue pierced.<br />The 'Charlie's Angels' star got her tongue pierced after splitting from her ex-boyfriend, comedy actor Justin Long, last summer and now fears potential suitors are turned off by it, reports thesun.co.uk.<br />'I have had it for nine months, I got it and I have been single ever since. I don't know what the deal is with that,' Barrymore saidUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-7488724385967006672009-02-07T08:50:00.000+05:302009-02-07T08:52:14.231+05:30Entertainment - Johnny Depp to appear in 'SpongeBob SquarePants'London, Feb 6 (IANS) Hollywood star Johnny Depp will do a cameo on the 10th birthday episode of animated TV series 'SpongeBob SquarePants'.<br />The actor will voice a surf dude called Jack Kahuna Laguna, who gets stranded on a desert island with the characters Bob and Patrick in the feature-length episode to be aired this spring, reports mirror.co.uk.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-68827686709478587142009-02-07T08:49:00.000+05:302009-02-07T08:50:24.305+05:30Entertainment - Aniston dreads turning 40London, Feb 6 (IANS) Actress Jennifer Aniston says she has been dreading her upcoming 40th birthday ever since she discovered a grey hair amongst her blonde highlights.<br />Aniston will touch 40 on Feb 11 and insists she is never normally upset about getting older. But the former 'Friends' star recently admitted that she broke down when she realised her prized locks were beginning to show signs of ageing, reports contactmusic.com.<br />'I did have a moment over the weekend, my first like 'Huh…I don't want to (turn 40). I found a really long grey hair and it kind of flipped me out. It's not my first but it's the fact that it was so long,' she said.<br />'I was like, 'Oh that's been there. How many others are there, and what does that mean?' It actually brought me to tears slightly,' Aniston addedUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-83366624043202971152009-02-07T08:47:00.002+05:302009-02-07T08:49:18.344+05:30Entertainment - A R Rahman hopes to win at least one OscarLondon, Feb 6 (PTI) Indian music maestro A R Rahman, who has bagged three Academy Award nominations in two categories for his compositions in 'Slumdog Millionaire', believes he will win at least one Oscar with "God's blessings". "I hope, we get at least one (Oscar).<br />I cannot wait for the announcement," Rahman was today quoted in The Daily Telegraph as saying. Only two Indians have ever won an Oscar -- costume designer Bhanu Athaiya for Gandhi (1982) and renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray who received a lifetime achievement award in 1992.<br />However, with three Academy Award nominations this year for Slumdog Millionaire - one for overall score and for two songs - the Chennai-based composer looks likely to be the third, the report said. He is also up for the Best Music award at Sunday night's Baftas.<br />"We've been waiting for this for 80 years," said Rahman. "I believe that whatever comes at a particular time is a blessing from God," he said.<br />While Rahman first came to the attention of Western audiences with his film music for Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) and stage shows Bombay Dreams and The Lord of the Rings, his already stellar profile will go into overdrive should be win the Oscar on Feb 22. PTI.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-25385893426542876992009-02-07T08:47:00.001+05:302009-02-07T08:47:53.083+05:30India - Nutrition labelling a must from March 19Bringing India in line with the developed world, all processed food made or sold in India will have to carry nutritional labelling from March 19, health minister Anbumani Ramadoss said on Wednesday. "Apart from a list of ingredients and the weight, it will become mandatory to list nutrition information, including total calories (energy value), amounts of protein, carbohydrate, fat, sodium (salt), sugars, dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals.<br />Labels will also have to list the amount of trans fat," said Ramadoss at a conference. Artery-clogging trans fats are used extensively in processed food to extend shelf life and preserve flavour.<br />Health secretary Naresh Dayal said the food-processing industry has had time to conform to the new packaging requirements. "The manufacturers were given six months to comply with the new labelling requirements, as required by WTO regulations.<br />The six-month deadline gets over on March 19, so manufacturers have to comply by March 19," Dayal told Hindustan Times.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-8314170251707877242009-02-07T08:46:00.001+05:302009-02-07T08:46:56.580+05:30Sport - Cricket;England fight back after Gayle and Sarwan tonsWest Indies had a lead of 34 runs with three first-innings wickets in hand against England at the close of the third day of the first test at Sabina Park, a day when neither side was able to get the upper hand.<br />Just 192 runs were scored as West Indies moved to 352 for seven.<br />The hosts had hoped to create an imposing total from the impressive foundations built by centurions Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan in their 202-run partnership for the second wicket.<br />But England, thanks to three wickets from seamer Stuart Broad, made the home side work for every run.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-72650839404634181632009-02-07T08:45:00.000+05:302009-02-07T08:46:00.924+05:30Sport - Cricket;Pakistan to host Australia ODI series in UAEKarachi, Feb 6 (IANS) Pakistan will host Australia in a one-day series from April 24 to May 7 at neutral venues in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the PCB said here Friday.<br />PCB chairman Ijaz Butt told reporters on his return from Australia that the series has been moved away from Pakistan to offshore venues - Abu Dhabi and Dubai - because of security reasons.<br />'Pakistan will play the five-match one-day series against Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi,' Butt said.<br />The PCB chief said the decision was taken after the Aussies raised security concerns about touring Pakistan.<br />According to the schedule, the first two matches will be played in Dubai followed by the next three ODIs in Abu Dhabi. The two teams will then return to Dubai for the Twenty20 international.<br />Butt also revealed that Pakistan may be forced to play a home Test series against Australia in England because of security reasons.<br />'If Australia do not play the Tests in Pakistan, there is a possibility of playing the Test series in England,' said Butt who added that the PCB has carried out negotiations with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) about hosting its matches in England.<br />Australia refused to tour Pakistan in 2008 because of safety fears but later agreed to tour the country in 2009 for one-dayers and 2010 for Tests. However, in spite of repeated requests from the PCB, the Aussies declined the invitation to tour Pakistan.<br />Butt said Cricket Australia has no problems in sending its team to Pakistan but acted on the advise of its government. 'The Australian government believes that since its soldiers are fighting in (neighboring) Afghanistan, their cricketers might be at risk in Pakistan,' said Butt.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-39975343882088734502009-02-07T08:24:00.000+05:302009-02-07T08:43:43.881+05:30Sport - Cricket;Clarke's Lara theme affecting Oz team unityMelbourne, Feb.6 (ANI): Australian vice-captain Michael Clarke's desire to spend as much time as possible with his fiancee Lara Bingle is creating heart burn within the team, and rumor mills are agog with reports of him engaged in scraps with mates over the issue.<br />Reports suggest that so deep are the fissures within the squad; that questions are now being asked whether Clarke is up to the job of leading the side, a position that he has been wanting for most of his cricketing life.<br />According to Daily Telegraph and Fox Sports, his altercation with opener Simon Katich in the SCG dressing room, reported on the back of today's newspaper, is the latest incident that questions his credentials for the job.<br />It came after he gave teammates the hurry-up during the rendition of Under The Southern Cross I Stand. He had an appointment he wanted to keep with Bingle.<br />The Australian team is fracturing because of ongoing catfights among wives and girlfriends. A blue between wives and girlfriends on the 2005 Ashes tour splintered team harmony, the unspoken undercurrent to Australia's stunning series loss.<br />In India this summer, a tour when Australia needed its vice-captain to get in and help pull the team up, rumblings instead went around about Clarke's absence. He was having prolonged breakfasts and lunches with Bingle. He spent the night at the Allan Border Medal kissing Bingle like a love struck teenager.<br />His distraction highlights his immaturity for the captaincy job, and the fact it is coming at the cost of performance exacerbates it.<br />So his disrespect for team protocol following the SCG Test, to hurry up the celebration so that he could leave and join his girlfriend, has angered many.<br />It destroys the dressing room culture that has been so vital to Australia's ethos.<br />As every recent player is not allowed to forget, it was on the back of this restoration in pride - Under The Southern Cross I Stand - that Australia rebuilt itself from the horror years of the 1980s.<br />Clarke is media-savvy, with the cool looks and the hot girlfriend, the tattoos, the slick image and flash car. Together, the package is near perfect for the job.<br />Former Test captains are openly appalled by Clarke's desire for Ricky Ponting's job. They believe it is disloyal to Ponting, some even believing he should be sacked as vice-captain because of it.<br />After a particularly long day in the field against South Africa in Melbourne, for instance, he was asked why Australia didn't bowl Katich.<br />"Ask the captain," he said, "I don't make the bowling changes."<br />A weak-willed response, it was seen by former greats as a deliberate affront to Ponting.<br />Little instances all, together they suggest Clarke has not shown he is ready for the role.<br />Still enough remains of the guy who was in a dust-up at Northies, with former Parramatta halfback Tim Smith, to cause concern.<br />The guy who labelled West Indian Chris Gayle a "second-class citizen", which had enough racial undertones to provoke Gayle to action. They had to be separated.<br />In the Australian culture, the Test captaincy is second only in esteem to the office of Prime Minister.ome put it above that, and not because it pays better.<br />Clarke is the boy most likely, there's no doubt.<br />But as Australia faces a sensitive decision as to wives and girlfriends for the upcoming Ashes tour, it might finally be time for him to lead the way. (ANI)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-92095194862893904762009-02-06T19:25:00.000+05:302009-02-06T19:26:26.685+05:30Mktg - Film Marketing;Reeling them inMeera Mohanty<br />It isn’t that farfetched to expect two versions of Shah Rukh Khan’s next release. In one he would play a Tag Heuer-sporting NASA scientist, meet girl, woo her over Diet Pepsis, flex a few muscles and sing a few songs. In the other he̵ 7;d play a Dish TV dealer, meet the same girl, woo her with Pepsis and Sunfeast biscuits, and flex the same muscles and sing the same songs.<br />Just possible, considering the increasing importance of marketing in deciding the fate of a film. And in-movie placements are just one aspect. Today, marketing spends can account for almost half of the cost of production of a small movie. The spends are very flexible, but they can even be as much as the movie itself if the producer decides it’s worth ploughing the money back, explains UTV Motion Pictures’ Shikha Kapoor.<br />Because a steady stream of releases has freed exhibitors from running half-empty halls, dwindling performances can be replaced with newer releases. “Movies have become extremely perishable,” explains Big Pictures COO Mahesh Ramanathan. With week after week of films for the exhibitor to choose from, the ability to draw in the crowds in the first weekend has become a crucial determinant of a film’s fate.<br />“Everyone today understands the importance of owning their films,” says UTV’s Kapoor, pointing to the very media-savvy stars today. They are willing to take part in media interactions, cast engagements and road trips. Thus is explained the stripping of Aamir Khan, the clinical documentation of flab to pectorals, and his generous billboard appearances in the bizarre Ghajini haircut. It certainly paid off, says Nitin Sood, Chief Financial Officer, PVR, with due respect to the contents of the movie. The movie was the biggest hit in recent months.<br />Marketing has also become very sophisticated. The earlier approach, the noisy marketing that bombarded audiences with television and print ads, is passé, says Ramanathan.<br />In a fragmented environment it’s difficult to capture audience mindshare for a film. “It calls for marketing campaigns in which movies are treated as a consumer product; it’s marketing carried out once audience profile and message has been fine tuned,” he says.<br />Producers are micro-engaging. DevD, UTV’s modern-day version of Devdas, launched a line of tattoos in Mumbai’s Al’s tattoo parlour, and a ‘Lustline’ has been opened for callers who can talk to key actors in the urban interpretation of Devdas. The initiatives are targeted at its key audience, the urban youth.<br />The plans are different for the highly awaited Delhi 6, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, which has a more pan-Indian appeal, says UTV. A caravan will take stars to 10-15 cities across the country, including Indore, Surat and Nagpur. A mela, recreating the gullies of Old Delhi, is being planned for Bangalore and Kolkata.<br />For its latest release Luck by Chance, Big Pictures arranged programming alliances, now a norm. Stars made appearances on Oye! It’s Friday, the talk show on NDTV Imagine (hosted by lead actor Farhan Aktar himself) and at the grand finale of the singing contest show SaReGaMaPa.<br />Big Pictures is leveraging Reliance ADAG’s other entertainment businesses such as Big Adda, Zapak (with a microsite) and Big Flicks (with ground promotions at its stores) as well as rolling out online promotions on portals such as Yahoo!, Rediff, and Google. The movie opens across 900 screens and is believed to have had a marketing support of about Rs 8 crore.<br />It all starts at the script level, where audience, message and brands, and how effectively and smoothly they fit are worked out. Traditional FMCG products are now also on board. Brand alliances also amplify the noise of the film, says Kapoor. For its movie Fashion, UTV tied up with RPG Cellular, Kimaya and Sunsilk. Both Kimaya and Sunsilk launched a range after the film.<br />Lead actors Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut walked the ramp for Sunsilk at Lakme Fashion Week, helping buzz reach peak at the time of launch.<br />A Vogue photo shoot was roped into the storyline; Priyanka Chopra had already featured on the magazine’s cover by the time the film released.<br />As brand endorsers stars can extend the association. Samsung launched special Ghajini-model handsets and Tata Sky ran a continuous feature on how Aamir Khan (its brand ambassador) worked to get the Ghajini look and hosted an interactive quiz.<br />While it’s one thing to build expectations, it’s quite another to oversell; that can be detrimental. A case in point is Drona. Marketing is to raise expectations to the exact level that will eventually be met by the movie.<br />Some films do well for themselves by word of mouth. For example, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! which picked up pace purely on its own merit. Almost by itself, with some backing from marketing. UTV says it knew the movie would be talked about and decided to push the movie just around the time of release rather then weeks in advance.<br />Producers are counting on paid previews/premiers. It’s a new phenomenon; Chandni Chowk to China had them, and Luck By Chance ran a “paid preview” before its release.<br />The Hollywood studios’ foray into Hindi movies has demonstrated how the big studios do the marketing. But the hype only did that much for the movies Saawariya (Sony) and Chandni Chowk to China (Warner). Eventually it’s all about the content.<br />Appreciate, however, that theatrical revenues contribute to only half of a producer’s earnings. TV broadcast rights, international territories, musical rights and brand associations make up for the rest.<br />You may no longer hear of a 100-day-run for a Hindi movie. At a time when life cycles are counted in days and not weeks, Rock On! ran for 75 days, points out Ramanathan. However, a 50-day- and 100-day-milestones are still important in establishing a film’s success in the Tamil film industry.<br />UTV, Fox Studios, and Big Pictures have all announced projects in Tamil. It’s both a sentimental and a commercial landmark since they release with fewer prints. Today, while weekend collections can contribute about 50-60 per cent of a movie’s revenues, they make up for 30-40 per cent of that of a Tamil movie. But this could change soon, says Swaroop Reddy, Director, Sathyam Cinemas.<br />At multiplexes, movies go from 10-12 shows a day in the first week to four in the second. The payout, or share of theatre’s tickets sales, to a producer also reduces week-on-week, explains Reddy. Sathyam often works with the presenter to market the movie. A movie lives by its content, says Reddy.<br />Slowdown or no slowdown, filmmakers believe nothing will keep audiences away from an essentially good movie.<br />With a few exceptions, last year hasn’t been good. “The silver lining is that there is a slate of projects. But four bad films, and an audience will get cautious about the fifth,” says Sood.<br />Things will have to be done differently in 2009 when money will be tighter for both film makers and film viewers. UTV sees the marketing window of 60- 45 days coming down to 35 days before the release. “People may be choosy at best, but they won’t give up on films. But a bad film stands to be completely wiped out,” says Ramanathan.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-57263647604138825812009-02-06T19:24:00.001+05:302009-02-06T19:24:54.589+05:30Lifestyle - How women are handling recessionRamesh Menon<br /><br />How long will this recession last, is the question everyone asks. Experts say the worst is yet to come! This has ignited a lot of concern among working women, many of whom are seeing a downturn in their workplaces. Unchartered territory for most people, women are learning to negotiate it the hard way by tweaking their expenses and altering their lifestyle like never before.<br />India is one of the countries relatively less affected by the global economic crisis but millions of families here have acted quickly to slice their spending habits. Of course, leading the new conservative trend are women who are, more often than not, responsible for managing home finance. Many are putting on hold all spending that can wait.<br />In the new scenario, women are counselling paranoid husbands to be more cautious of new ventures. They are largely investing family money in good old bank deposits that are more dependable and putting off expensive vacation plans.<br />Many are also trimming family spending by cutting down on entertainment, eating out and buying new clothes, and using fuel and electricity cautiously. Says Delhi-based Sridevi Sunderajan, 46, a public relations executive with an international NGO, “With recession and jobs cuts, there is uncertainty about the immediate future. I have put a stop on any big buys. I had planned the renovation of my house, which is long pending and for which I have already saved up, but now I would rather wait. I am doing an audit of my family’s expenditure to see where I can cut costs. I now look for cheaper options everywhere, though we are just a family of two.”Salary worries<br />Suddenly, the Indian middle class dream seems to have become just that, a dream. Every year, employees wait eagerly for their annual increments. Things are different this year. In fact, from small enterprises to the big guys, salary cuts are now the norm. Recently, a television channel’s head wrote to employees saying that the top management had agreed to take a 20 per cent cut in salary. The inference: soon they too would have to follow suit.<br />Another effect of the crisis has been that women haven’t got carried away with the year-end sales — something that is usually the highlight of the festive season and the New Year. Financial discipline is a concept that many more are diligently following as they prepare for tough days ahead.<br />Rajni Pradhan, 27, Senior Manager, Knight Frank, real estate consultants in Pune, has started using her landline more than the cell phone. She has cut down on eating out, socialising, let go of the cook, got her husband to call his business associates home for dinner instead of entertaining them in restaurants, and so on. Her husband, Alok, had three mobile phones, two of which he hardly ever used but got billed for every month. Rajni has got rid of those two.<br />“It was not easy asking the cook to leave as it put additional burden on me, but we all have to learn to cope,” she says. It is not just at home that she is battling the recession. At work, she ensures that computers are switched off when not in use. She has also taken on new job roles to hone her skills and, more importantly, to keep the spectre of the pink slip at bay. Then there are the other small switchovers; when she travels on work to Mumbai, she hops on to a bus or a train instead of the more convenient taxi.<br />Sulina Menon, 44, a media and brand consultant in New Delhi, is upset seeing so many of her friends losing their jobs, as downscaling takes place. She knows that it is only a matter of time before she too gets affected. As a freelancer, projects will be fewer and far-between in the months to come. “All of us will have to tighten our belts,” she warns.Consumer survey<br />The Nielsen Online Global Consumer Survey, conducted by Nielsen Consumer Research a few months ago in the US on 28,663 Internet users, showed that only 11 per cent of women felt that there would be an end to recession soon, as compared with 27 per cent of men. There has been no similar survey in India, but the situation here is no different. Women appear to be more concerned and anxious than men.<br />Another recent study by Cambridge University suggested that if there were more women in positions of power, the global financial crisis might have been less severe. Dr Gita Piramal, author of Managing Radical Change, would agree: “Thinking things through, being authentic, ready to get your hands dirty and get down to the frontline yourself, being nurturing and supportive, these are traditionally a woman’s traits but they rise to the fore in a crisis situation.”<br />Women are heralding subtle lifestyle changes and know that a salary cut is not far away. There is, however, no unnecessary panic. They know that all it takes to control a money crisis is to increase financial discipline, consult experts before making investment plans and upgrade skills so that they do not become redundant in the office.<br />Some like Sridevi are even exploiting the recession, making smart investments right now. She could not get any blue-chip company shares during the boom, so now she is getting her husband to research on what to buy as the prices are low.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1887852744880120499.post-54947509166745280942009-02-06T19:23:00.001+05:302009-02-06T19:23:37.751+05:30Mktg - Seeking more bang for the buckPurvita Chatterjee<br />Recently Jaideep Bhattacharya, Chief Marketing Officer, UTI AMC decided to use the services of the 5,000-odd dabbawalas in Mumbai to sell his new Wealth Builder Fund. The slowdown in his industry has led to ad budgets getting slashed. Using this below-the-line (BTL) activity was thought to be a surefire way to touch potential customers rather than invest in fragmented mass media to do the same. Using the dabbawalas as ‘relationship managers’, Bhattacharya believes, will serve as a direct marketing tool for the launch of the new mutual fund.<br />“The dabbawalas would be wearing our branded T-shirts and are being trained in how to hand the mutual fund forms to the officegoer to whom he delivers the dabba. We realised in this case that the direct hits through a newspaper ad would be much lower compared to the potential users who would be directly approached through the dabbawalas. There would be a bigger bang for the buck spent through direct marketing,” says Bhattacharya. Using the 5,000-odd dabbawalas serving Mumbai’s officegoers was seen as a less expensive and viable marketing tool.<br />In spite of being an unorganised segment BTL as an industry is possibly growing faster than ATL (above the line) today and ad agency heads concede this fact. As Subhash Kamath, Managing Partner, BBH, observes: “In spite of being unorganised BTL has been growing faster than ATL. This year it has grown at 25 per cent while ATL has grown between 12 and 15 per cent over last year. For clients mass media has not been the only expenditure. This whole space of activation under BTL ranging from events to promotions has grown much faster.”<br />In fact, both independent and affiliated BTL agencies belonging to bigger advertising networks have experienced a sudden spurt in their business. “From the conversations that we are having with some prospects, yes, we see quite a few requests for proposals for BTL marketing programmes, to address some of the marketing challenges that brands and clients are facing. There is a caution that clients are demonstrating when committing ATL budgets. But as there is an ongoing need to fuel demand or retain customers, these brands are looking at achieving these goals through focused, phased and targeted measurable BTL activities. It is thus not that the ATL budgets have shifted to BTL, it is more that expenditure on BTL compared to a few months ago in absolute quantum is perhaps increasing, says Rajesh Ghatge, Executive Director & COO, 141 Sercon (a BTL agency for Bates) .<br />In the case of Arc Worldwide, a marketing services agency affiliated to Leo Burnett, too there has been spurt in business of late. According to C.V. S. Sharma, Senior Vice-President and Director, Arc Worldwide, “There has been a 30 per cent growth compared to last year in the business of the agency. There is definitely a spurt in BTL activity. Most companies, especially in consumer durables using mass media, have increased their spends on areas such as trade marketing channels. The marketing mix is now favouring BTL activities and there is measurability in the ROI in such cases.”<br />To give some broad trends across industries using BTL, cosmetics and durables brands are doing more of in-shop promotion and activation to induce trials while telecom service providers, education segment, banks, insurance and automobiles are carrying out location-based or segment-based targeted online and offline campaigns. Industries such as automobiles are doing significant CRM (customer relationship management) and loyalty activity to cross sell, up-sell and retain their existing customers to reduce churn and increase per customer realisation while FMCG, durables and IT (consumer products) are investing in and consolidating their channel management and incentive programmes to win in the last mile. Besides, in the case of IT products — telecom and auto companies - investing in comprehensive digital marketing programmes has become more prominent in recent times.<br />According to Srikant Sastri, Managing Director, Solutions Integrated (servicing the Publicis Groupe agencies), “Clients are gradually realigning their marketing mix to embrace a more integrated strategy which allows them to reach a fragmented audience comprehensively and also to make a greater impact with better experience and interactivity. Marketers across industries and verticals are focusing on experimental and digital media to engage customers more deeply with brands. This, in turn, is enabling them to address individual customer/channel demands and customise their interaction, thus generating specific and result-oriented response from the campaigns.”<br />At the same time it would be not be fair to compare the effectiveness of BTL over ATL but in times of slowdown in ad spends, the former does help. As Ghatge of 141 Sercon observes, “Both ATL and BTL have different objectives, generally speaking, in terms of relevance. ATL strategy is driven towards awareness and brand building goals, ‘counting your reach’. BTL strategy is driven towards creating relevant brand and product experiences, interaction, engagements, ‘reaching those who count’. When there is a general squeeze on the ad spends, brands may resort to more of BTL as it tends to be measurable and importantly, may give some immediate results. Also, as the programmes are targeted there is lesser wastage.”<br />Adds Rajesh Menon, Managing Director, Impact Marketing Services, “It would be unfair to directly compare ATL with BTL and there can never really be a trade-off between the two. ATL is a required input in order to build a brand while BTL is primarily used to give that needed push in terms of converting a desire into an actual experience and a purchase. BTL activities are measurable. ATL, unfortunately, cannot be measured.”<br />New technologies and services are also emerging, such as online video advertising in the BTL space. Jivox, an international company, was recently launched to provide an integrated service that allows an advertiser to create, publish and closely monitor/refine the performance of a video advertisement on the Internet. According to Diaz Nesamoney, Founder & CEO, Jivox, “The slowdown has forced companies to try out new media which cost less. Online videos ads have already been adopted by our clients such as LG, Fiat and Tata Sky who believe in achieving optimum results through such videos.”<br />Lesser wastage and measurability are probably the two factors which make BTL activation more popular in times of a slowdown. As Sastri of Solutions claims, “A measurable positive response will instantly yield return for the campaign. More than the cut in ad spends, marketing managers are embracing experiential and digital techniques to ensure ROMI (return on marketing investment) and a direct interaction with their customers. When you measure the direct impact of a sustained BTL marketing campaign on your business results, the cost of acquiring/retaining a customer obviously proves to be much more effective.”<br />The cost of reaching the customer is also not always a consideration in the case of BTL. “The reason for the shift from ATL to activation is not as much to do with lower costs as it is to do with is superior quality of contact. The sheer impact a brand is able to make with the overall lower ticket spend is superior to ATL spends which tend to be inflated,” says Atul S. Nath, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Candid Marketing.<br />However, for BTL it is measurability of the medium that is working for clients facing a slowdown in the business. “The prime reason for the shift to BTL is because marketers are waking up to the fact that BTL is measurable. With increasing pressures on performance on a monthly/quarterly basis, simply advertising and waiting for a brand to move from the shelf days are over. The need of the hour is a ‘here and now’ approach. And BTL activities provide that ‘here and now’, adds Rajesh Menon of Impact.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3