Red FM has joined hands with Pfizer, Salaam Bombay, and BMC to organize a Quit Smoking Express, which will spread awareness about the hazards of smoking amongst the youth. Starting from May 25th, this campaign comprising of on air and on ground elements will culminate on May 31st in the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. As part of the on ground activation, the Red FM Quit Smoking Express, comprising of private buses will travel the roads of these cities propagating the anti smoking message.

This road show will give a unique opportunity to the masses to show their concern for loved ones who might be addicted to smoking, through a signature board on the bus and special personalized messages delivered on-air by the RJs on-board the express. Flyers and pamphlets distributed during the activity will advise listeners on the way to Quit Smoking. A special toll-free number 1800 4190 190 and an informative website www.champsclub.in will also be offered to people to help them to quit smoking.

Commenting on this initiative, Anuj Singh, National Marketing Head and Station Head (Mumbai), Red FM said, “Red FM has always been at the forefront in bajaaoing issues that concern the society under our CSR umbrella, Bajaao for a Cause. Cigarette smoking is an ill that affects not only the smoker but also his family and friends. Through this initiative we are not only trying to get the masses to quit smoking but also helping them get over this addiction by giving them information though a toll free number and website provided by Pfizer.”

As part of the on-going social initiatives under the CSR umbrella, ‘Bajaao for a Cause,’ Red FM has helped spread awareness about tobacco abuse in the past by associating with organizations like Salaam Bombay Foundation that actively campaign against tobacco abuse.

The best way to stop smoking is to just stop - no ifs, ands or butts.

Don’t forget to catch the Red FM Quit Smoking Express and make your loved ones aware about the evils of smoking!

About RED FM
Launched in 2002, RED FM first started round the clock operations in Mumbai, followed by Delhi and & Kolkata in 2003. Owned by a consortium of Malaysian conglomerate Astro Malaysia, NDTV India and software company Value Labs, Red FM is known for its attitude of providing a Station for Expression to the common man and playing only Superhit Music. Bajaate Raho! As Red FM likes to shout, is already part of common parlance, and truly represents Red FM’s attitude. Widely appreciated by the Trade as well as the Listeners, as proven by the 21 awards to its credit and the tremendous growth over the last year, Red FM is fast consolidating its leadership position in the industry.

Mr Menon brings with him 27 years of rich media (including Asianet & Zee Network-Bharathi TV) and marketing (Hindustan Lever & PC-India) experience. He was the COO of a large media group in Chennai till recently.

Also joining the channel as its new News Head is Mr Anil Nair, a seasoned business journalist from the Indian Express Group with 17 years’ experience.

Announcing these appointments here, Mr Manoj Namburu, the CMD of the Rs 5000-crore Alliance Group, said RETV was now poised to set up new benchmarks in the Indian electronic media. The English-language pan-India channel’s soft launch has already been received well across the country as it tracks real estate and infrastructure developments extensively.

Besides its hourly Realty Check news bulletins on major developments in real estate and infrastructure, RE TV features a variety of programmes ranging from House Hunting to Celebrity Homes, Interior Décor to Architecture and Myths & Legends and Going Places. Its research desk provides in-depth analysis of and status reports on important Indian and international real estate sector happenings

Noted media personality Sashi Kumar has put the channel together as a consultant along with Ajit Bhaskaran as its Creative Head. RETV has news bureaus with studios in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad besides a news gathering network covering Kolkata and other cities.

Category 5: Print Advertising Sales and Retention awards marketing activities used to support the sales or retention of display advertising in the core print newspaper, for example, advertiser reward programmes, special advertiser events, etc. MiD DAY’s very successful “Media Nights at Hard Rock Café, a promotion that encouraged media networking and fraternizing won the INMA for this category. Every Wednesday, media folk are invited to get discounted drinks and starters at the popular club and enjoy an evening out. The Media Nights were inspired by MiD DAY’s mission of Making Work Fun for their YUMPI audience (Young Urban Mobile Professionals of India).

MiD DAY was also awarded second place at the INMA Awards for Category 9: New Marketing Services which recognizes campaigns that add distinctive value to advertising clients. This win was specifically for MiD DAY’s innovative Impact Covers that invited the reader to truly engage with the content of the advertisers’ message. The impact cover innovations for Saawariya the movie, that used very aesthetic gateway paper, taking the level of impact and impression to a new level, and an integrated campaign across the paper for Ford Endeavour that saw the car zooming through the back page of the paper, seeming to tear through the centrefold, and crash out of the front page were recognized here.

MiD DAY was also awarded second place at the INMA Awards for Category 10: Public Relations and Community Service, for MiD DAY’s campaign “Smoking Causes Blindness” that created awareness for a cause that is of great concern to MiD DAY’s audience of urban professionals.

Says Abhijit Pradhan, Director Sales & Marketing, MiD DAY Multimedia Limited, “The media industry in India is one of the most dynamic and exciting places to be at present, and it has some of the most creative global talent working for it. It’s great to see Indian media houses taking their place as leaders in recognized global forums such as INMA.”

“The YUMPI* is an extremely attractive but incredibly elusive audience for marketers today. MiD DAY as a brand understands this audience and reaches this audience physically in a way no other media or media brand does. The Global INMA wins for these campaigns are in recognition of the success of this effort,” he added

Over the last year, MiD DAY had undertaken several initiatives to increase engagement levels of this audience with advertising that appears on our pages. A recently conducted Nielsen Engagement Study indicates that MiD DAY engages YUMPI’s best across leading English Dailies in Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore. MiD DAY’s circulation stands at 2,00,000 sold copies in Mumbai, 75,000 in Delhi an 60,000 in Bangalore.

Sonal Chauhaan’s cut a cake for her birthday and Kunal Deshmukh, Emraan and she clinked champagne glasses as they toasted the two occasions that fall on May 16 this year – Sonal’s birthday and the release of Jannat.

The station ran a contest that allowed listeners to instantly win passes to the party, tickets to the movie, music CDs as well as opportunities to meet the stars and cast of the movie. The contest began on the 12th of May, 2008 and ran for three days, with calls for entries through 30 second spots on Radio One playing through the day, press ads in MiD DAY as well as through mailers to members of Club One. The winners were selected by a randomizer, and 10 couples were invited to participate in this fun evening, while a 100 tickets and CDs were given out.

Says Raj Gopal Iyer, Station Head, West, Radio One, “Radio One’s audience is mostly made up of urban professionals. Our research shows that music, bollywood and cricket are big points of interest for this group. Jannat’s music is a chartbuster, the theme revolves around cricket, and there’s a lot of interest in the movie at the moment. So it’s a perfect fit for our brand.”

Adds Vineet Singh Hukamani, CEO Radio One, “Today’s generation of radio listeners, is very clear about what it wants and wants it instantly. That’s why Radio One is positioned as “The Station for the Fatafat Generation” and all our events follow this theme.”

Participants had to be a minimum age of 21 to qualify for passes to the party, which was based on the theme of the movie, in which Emraan Hashmi plays a bookie. Each person who entered the venue was given a leather pouch with 5 blue coins that he/ she could use on any of the games of chance that had been set up in the restaurant’s lovely alfresco area. If they won, they were given a pink coin in return. Every half hour, the party coordinators would check to see who had the maximum number of pink coins, and that person won prizes such as autographed CDs, movie tickets, dining vouchers from Trafalgar Chowk and Radio One goodie bags. Emraan and Kunal seemed to thoroughly enjoy the games.

Trafalgar Chowk, which has been recently taken over by a new management, has also introduced a whole new menu refurbished its interiors including a first-of-its-kind, state of the art Sony Playstation Karaoke Lounge. It was selected as a venue because of its ample space, excellent ambience, easy accessibility as well as the distinct areas which the space was divided within the restaurant. People enjoyed the games of chance were set up in its charming alfresco area. Emraan Hashmi and Director Kunal Deshmukh of Jannat also tried their hand at the games.

The evening also saw a celebration of Actress Sonal Chauhaan’s birthday which is on May 16, the day the movie releases. The movie, which is a love story set against the wall paper of match-fixing and betting, premiered in Pakistan on May 14, becoming the first Indian movie to do so. Celebratory events around the premiere were illuminated further by the presence of cricketing stars such as Imraan Khan and Wasim Akram. Also, the latest revelation of cricketer Marlon Samuel’s betting-related two year ban has increased the relevance of the movie in today’s multi crore cricketing scene.

The RAPA awards honour outstanding creative work in the radio field and RADIO ONE, Mumbai won 2 awards. The award for Category 1: Best Radio Programme was given to the very popular show Flashback which is hosted by Hrishikesh Kannan. The show format re-creates the magic of evergreen hits of Bollywood. The aim of the show is to take listeners on a nostalgic journey with a smart combination of music from the 70s, 80s and the 90s. RADIO ONE’s music mix enables listeners of all ages to connect with the show.

RADIO ONE also won the award under Category 2: Best Female RJ Hindi for the show Good Morning Mumbai, RADIO ONE Mumbai’s flagship show, hosted by RJ Tarana. Tarana along with Jaggu hosts Mumbai’s best loved breakfast show on FM radio in Mumbai. Together they are the perfect ‘ulta-seedha’ jodi that have Mumbai talking about them, as they talk about their city every morning. Tarana, who has worked with the station since she was 16 through its many avatars, was quick to call her co-host Jaggu on stage and acknowledge his contribution to the show’s success.

Raj Gopal Iyer, Station Head, West for Radio One believes that Hrishikesh’s passion and knowledge of music gives Flashback a real edge over other rivals, especially as most other retro shows only devote air time to the hits of the 70s.

“Tarana has been the voice that the listener loves waking up to. Her distinctive tone could jolt you out of bed or have you in splits with her opinions and observations. She is funny, witty, bitchy and she can also be mamma Tarana when she wants to. She is the only RJ that brings about all these qualities to give the breakfast show its edge and is a complete Mumbai authority,” he adds

RADIO ONE, Delhi won the award for the Best Hindi Radio Promo. This award was given for a Rakhi Sawant Promo when she had released an album on being a super girl. The promo was “agar rakhi sawant udegi to shaktimaan ka kya hoga”. The promo was judged on the basis of production which was produced by Debijit Saha.

RADIO ONE, Banglore won the award for the Radio Programme produced in Kannada- Birthday Day Bakra. This daily segment goes on air at 8.20 am on theBreakfast Show. The RJs “pull a bakra” on celebrities and general “janta”. RJ Prithvi, the show’s host and Rakesh, the producer of the show have created this humorous segment and built it up so much that it’s achieved cult status in the city. At they end of each “Bakra” a goody bag filled with exciting prizes is given to the person.

RADIO ONE, Chennai won the award for the Best English Spot. The promo spot was created for the Ad Club of Chennai to promote their football tournament. The spot feature various departments in an ad agency; creative, client servicing etc., playing a match with a humorous commentary on it. The Promo was produced and scripted by Rajiv Rajaram.

Says Vineet Singh Hukamani, CEO, RADIO ONE, “At RADIO ONE we pride ourselves in consistency in our creative product and you’ll see that all our four metro stations that entered for RAPA have won with more than a 100% strike rate (Mumbai picked up 2 and 1 each for Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai). This is the highest ratio at the awards and we give all the credit to our local teams for excelling in their regions’

New York City – HDtracks.com, the new high-resolution digital music store founded by audiophile record label Chesky Records, today announced the limited availability of a free album download that encourages all listeners to “hear the HDtracks difference.”

“The HDtracks Ultimate Download Experience,” free to visitors to www.HDtracks.com who register with only an email address, offers eight spectacular audiophile-quality recordings across different genres, all hand-picked to prove just how great music downloads can sound. Those who download The Ultimate Download Experience will also receive a promotional code for 20% off their next HDtracks purchase.

HDtracks is unique among digital music stores for its combination of CD-quality music files unencumbered by digital rights management (DRM)*, the ability to download in any of three file types to match most playback devices, and a reliable, easy-to-use interface that makes browsing and downloading a pleasure. The site features thousands of artists representing 60 of the world’s best independent record labels, and all albums are priced at $11.98 and come complete with PDF liner notes (a first among digital music sites). Tracks may be downloaded as CD-quality uncompressed AIFF files or lossless FLAC files, or MP3 files ripped at 320 kilobits-per-second (kbps) — some 2½-times the rate of typical music-store downloads. Ultra-high-resolution 96kHz/24-bit downloads are planned as well.

“Musicians and sound engineers create incredible performances and amazing, lifelike recordings, only to have people download their work at 128 kbps from the popular music stores,” said HDtracks co-founder David Chesky. “This completely destroys the nuance of the recording and often introduces audible distortion. Our free “Ultimate Download Experience” album should prove to listeners once-and-for all that they can hear the difference between a CD-quality or high bit-rate file and a conventional download, even on an iPod .”

About HDtracks
Founded by David and Norman Chesky of the respected audiophile-record label Chesky Records, HDtracks is a high-quality music download service offering a diverse catalog of independent music from around the world. HDtracks does not believe in DRM, and as a result, offers a selection of unencrypted files that play on any computer or portable device. HDtracks recognizes that while there are significant benefits to accessing music at the touch of a button in today’s computer age, preserving sound quality and the visceral experience of the live music performance should remain a priority. The HDtracks mission is to deliver the whole package: world-class music, unrivaled sound, files that play in any environment, and liner notes that enhance appreciation of the artist and album.

* Digital Rights Management encoding, or DRM, is a technology that limits the usage of digital media. HDTracks does not employ this technology, as the company believes that once its customers purchase music from its site, they have the right to play it wherever they wish on any device they choose.

Jetix is calling on all kids that dream of being a national football hero to take part in the Euro Galactik Cup. Kids from all over Europe will be playing against each other in a competition that aims to crown one nation the European Galactik Champions. And, in addition to helping Britain onto glory, kids across the UK could win a trip of a lifetime for them and their friends to the prestigious Soccercamp Marbella training facility.

The tournament will be at the heart of Jetix’ Football Month which will see Jetix channels across Europe running on-air competitions and football related content including the new series of the popular animated adventure show, Galactik Football.

The online tournament, which will coincide with Euro 2008, will see 16 countries do battle to be crowned champions of Europe. Kids from all over the continent will take part in nine skilled-based games including penalty shoot-outs, dribbling and goalkeeping skills to earn points for their chosen country. Players can go to www.jetix.co.uk/cup to play for Britain with all the points scored accumulated into a league table of the countries, which will be regularly updated, so you can see how the UK is performing.

The UK will also have its own national league table where kids can win prizes and see how they rank both nationally and internationally. The top scorer will then be entered into a prize draw to win the chance for them and up to 14 friends to spend five days at the prestigious Soccercamp Marbella where some of Europe’s top teams including Bayern Munich, Everton and Fiorentina FC train. A spokesperson for Jetix, said: “Football fever will be gripping us all over Europe this summer in the build up to the European championships. The Jetix “Euro Galactik Cup” is a fantastic opportunity to take passion for football even further and compete online with friends and peers across Europe to see who really is the ultimate soccer nation.”

Nice, France, Management World – TM Forum, the world’s leading trade association focused on management of communications, information and entertainment services, today announced the publication of a new reference book aimed at integrating systems applications. Written by John Reilly, at the TM Forum and John Wilmes, of Progress Software, this is the latest in a series that describes how to adopt and apply the TM Forum’s New Generation Operations Systems and Software (NGOSS) program.

At the heart of NGOSS is the TM Forum’s Information Framework which provides the information/data reference model and a common information/data vocabulary essential for integration of systems. Commonly referred to as the Shared Information and Data model (SID) it is widely used across industry. The new book, “Application Integration Using the SID” provides an introduction to application integration frameworks and how to use the TM Forum Information Framework within that context. It provides detailed, step-by-step guidance on scoping, analyzing and designing BSS/OSS integration projects that leverage NGOSS frameworks and integration tools for data interoperability. Topics covered include:

• Introduction to application integration frameworks
• Process steps for employing the SID within an integration framework
• SID-based contracts, services and APIs
• Tool support for SID-based integration frameworks
• Real-world case studies

The book explains to readers how to use the TM Forum Information Framework to overcome typical integration challenges in data mapping and interface design. It also showcases how the common data model architecture contributes to successful service oriented architecture (SOA) implementation. Finally, it explains which features are critical in selecting data integration tools and platforms, and applies lessons from real-world case studies.

Application Integration Using the SID can be purchased through www.tmforum.org and online at amazon.

New Orleans – The Cable Show Booth #1405 – Motorola (NYSE:MOT) Motorola today announced the Motorola SmartStream Terminal Data Collector (STDC), a solution for remote collection and presentation of set-top diagnostic information. Already deployed with major cable operators in North and South America, the STDC solution reports detailed diagnostic data, saving service providers on operating expenses and increasing customer satisfaction. The STDC joins with the Motorola NBBS Device Management Platform to deliver comprehensive device management capabilities across the broadband-connected home through the entire device life-cycle including: installation, configuration, bulk modifications and trouble resolution.

The STDC solution includes a server at the cable headend and client software on consumer set-tops. The STDC gathers critical information about the settop population as a whole, or the status of an individual settop. The diagnostic information is grouped into intuitive data sets enabling CSRs and technical support personnel to quickly and easily debug a variety of device issues remotely. The current data sets available in the STDC make it a powerful and affordable diagnostic solution, enabling quality of service for delivery of broadcast video and interactive applications such as video-on-demand (VOD) and switched digital video (SDV).

“We are bringing an unprecedented level of visibility into the working performance of cable set-tops,” said Mark DePietro, VP Video Access Solutions for Motorola Home and Networks Mobility. “The remote capabilities of the STDC solution mean operators can not only deliver better quality of support to their subscribers, they can also reduce costs by saving on truck rolls. This optimized approach provides service assurance and enables cable operators to increase subscriber satisfaction and retention in an increasingly competitive market.”

The solution currently provides six key data sets for scheduled and on-demand reporting, with an emphasis on enabling operators to quickly, even proactively, identify service degradation due to network or set-top performance. Additional data sets are already in development.

The initial STDC data sets include:

Core Diagnostic – General set-top state and status
In-band Diagnostic – Tuner and signal quality information
Decryptor Tier Report – Set-top authorization information
Download Object Diagnostic – Set-top software data
Aloha Diagnostic – Network traffic information
Service Information Diagnostic – MPEG (PAT/PMT/PID) information

The STDC system is scalable to multiple set-tops in a home as well as multiple output locations for report viewing. Adding on the ability to bundle the technology with the Motorola NBBS platform, the STDC solution is both flexible and customizable for cable operators seeking a full device diagnostic system.

Motorola’s NBBS is a scaleable, carrier-grade software platform that enables operators to remotely access, configure, monitor and troubleshoot the full portfolio of consumer devices, home networks and services. NBBS not only lowers operational expenses and operators’ costs by reducing truck rolls but also increases revenues by accelerating new service introduction.

STDC and Motorola’s NBBS are part of Motorola’s overall Service Assurance program – enhancing Quality of Service at the edge of the network.

Motorola is showing the STDC technology alongside NBBS at The Cable Show, May 18-20, 2008 at the New Orleans Convention Center, South Hall, Booth #1405.
The demonstration will feature live diagnostic reporting as well as interface options appropriate to customer service representatives and plant operations managers.

NEW ORLEANS, The Cable Show Booth #1405 – Motorola (NYSE:MOT) today introduced its portfolio of advanced advertising delivery technologies for the cable industry that leverages both operators’ existing Motorola products as well as new product offerings to support a wide range of advertising initiatives. Motorola will demonstrate a cost effective solution that allows operators to offer targeted advertising that supports a wide variety of business models. The solution utilizes set-tops, on demand servers, advertising insertion equipment and switched digital video technology.

The Cable Show will mark the first time that Motorola presents its widely deployed, market leading solutions, such as the CherryPicker splicer, B-1 Video Server, APEX advanced edge modulator, and next generation set tops, as an integrated media services platform with advanced advertising capability. Motorola is heavily focused on advertising solutions for its customers and has dedicated significant resources to make it efficiently deployable with current products while preserving a software-based path to future capabilities, thereby providing ease of mind for operators making capital investment decisions today.

Many operators already have most of the pieces in place today to create personalized media experiences with advanced advertising in their systems. As an example, operators can see the Motorola B-1 on demand platform and the Motorola switched digital video (SDV) solution configured to provide personalized video streams to individual set-top boxes, enabling targeted messaging. The solution will leverage the recently announced version of the CherryPicker CAP-1000 ad inserter/statmux and APEX 1000 edge QAM that enables operators to digitally insert hundreds of video ad streams simultaneously. In addition, the Motorola B-1 will be shown providing targeted, dynamic on demand advertising for Time-Shifted Television and VOD programming, as well as reconfigured to take the place of a traditional ad server for linear ad insertion. Motorola will also demonstrate client-based approaches to targeted and interactive advertising that leverage the DCX series set-top boxes.

“If you look at the product developments and acquisitions Motorola has made over the past couple of years, it becomes clear that we’ve built a powerhouse media services platform that serves as a foundation for delivering advanced advertising solutions to our customers” said Mark DePietro VP, Video Access Solutions for Motorola’s Home and networks Mobility business. “With Broadbus and the B-1 Video Server, our switched digital video solution, and the Terayon CherryPicker ad insertion equipment, Motorola has integrated the market’s most robust technologies for advertising and entertainment delivery.”

Motorola’s advanced advertising portfolio offers flexibility to operators through an array of options for both client-based and network-based advertising architectures. Depending on an operator’s roadmap, Motorola can design short-term and long-term solution strategies that will help customers develop new revenue streams in the evolving advertising market.