BOL Family Program providing Rozgar upgrading Public Transport: Simply CSR or Brilliant Marketing Strategy?

With so many statements of intent in the past few months, BOL Media Group has certainly caused more than just a buzz in the market about its imminent arrival straight into the top tier of Pakistani media channels.

After dazzling the public with their tremendous plans, such as having the best paid employees and providing a alluring array of facilities (publicized as the BOL lifestyle) , BOL seems focused on acquiring the best mix of talent and experience in the Pakistani media industry. It has accomplished that with the like of KamranKhan and Waseem badami.

Now, BOL, as part of its tremendous CSR, has launched the BOL Rozgar campaign; and that too, all over Pakistan. According to BOL Group’s official press release, “BOL creates employment opportunities by upgrading more than 20,000 public transport vehicles across Pakistan.”
 

#BOL is proud to create employment opportunities by upgrading 20,000+ public transport vehicles across #Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/wr9TMj3fNd
— BOL NETWORK (@BOLNETWORK) November 22, 2014

Through this initiative, BOL will definitely add positivity to décor of the public transport system of Pakistan, provide countless people with additional income and provide free repairs for these vehicles all over Pakistan. 

This smart CSR initiative will do wonders for BOL Media Group’s image all over Pakistan but just consider that how many folds will it increase the visibility and recognition of Brand Name among the masses. While many brands in Pakistan have opted for vehicle branding, it seems to be the first time any brand has merged this activity with CSR perspective by upgrading the public transport all over Pakistan. Now that surely qualifies as genius marketing; shooting two birds with one stone!

As a marketer, you cannot find a single glitch in the promotional strategy of BOL’s marketing team. Taking into account all that BOL has done over the last few months and culminating into this clever CSR idea. This campaign has just added to the immense buzz the media group has generated and has only increased the anticipation of what are we marketing spectators going to enjoy when BOL is about to hit the airwaves?

Movie Review: FURY. WW II Revisited

Over the years there have been many movies focusing on World War 2 in particular. Some have been simply ordinary, but some have truly left us speechless. However, the continuing trend shows that the focus has been on the story of one hero or a regiment. Now we can see how Fury is different.

Here's a hint, It can withstand enormous punishment, and is able to annihilate countless foes. Fury  focuses on a WW2 tank named Fury which more than held its own against German tanks despite being just a medium-seized tank.

In addition, Brad Pitt's charisma made the entire movie even more incredible to watch as each scene was amplified even more. The Hollywood superstar gave an outstanding performance and was supported ably by the likes of Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal and Michael Pena.

The cinematography and special effects were fantastic making it a must-watch 3-D experience. Some of the action sequences were truly mind-boggling giving it a real WW2 feel.

Apart from some dragging sequences, Fury  keeps the audience enthralled till the end and has enough action to keep your mouth open for over an hour.  Hence, its definitely 2 thumbs up for Fury!

 **MPAA Rating:* R for strong sequences of war violence, some grisly images and language*

 

BOL TV Owner tells When BOL is going to launch!

A question that has been on the mind of almost every Pakistani is, why has BOL Network not been launched? With all the buzz about the upcoming channel what is the reason for the delay? Since the past few months, everyone is itching to know when BOL TV will hit the airwaves.

I can think of no better response to this than the one provided by Axact and BOL Network’s Chairman and CEO Mr. Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh. He goes on to explain the ground-breaking systems BOL Network has put in place alongside the quality and integrity of Pakistan’s finest journalists which are sure to raise the standard of media enterprises across Pakistan. Indeed, Bol has achieved nothing short of a miracle by establishing this infrastructure in 13 short months!
 

Watch the video to learn more:

When is BOL being launched? from Axact on Vimeo.

Geo Television and PTV's Dismal Coverage of PTI's Azaadi March

As the days move on, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Azaadi march gathers more momentum. PTI Chairman Imran Khan is adamant about his claims that the elections were rigged and Nawaz Sharif and PML-N must answer for this. Included in the list of demands was Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's immediate resignation from his post.

However, whether PTI's claims are justified or not or whether PML-N is causing Pakistan's economy and solidarity major damage by not proposing a viable solution to this remains to be see. But what we have seen, is that all the Pakistani media channels are scrambling to get the best coverage of Azaadi March as it is the trending, newsworthy event of present. Every channel you turn to has been raving about the protest and Imran Khan's inspirational and determined role in it.

Well, every channel except Geo Tv and PTV. It is strange to see Geo who claim to be on top of every news story in Pakistan staying on the sidelines and not once accurately portraying the Azaadi march. PTV is understandably staying neutral in all this, but a bit more coverage would definitely be appreciated. Back to Geo, the only time they have mentioned the Azaadi March is when they have to say something negative about it.

Maybe Geo Tv has something personal against Imran Khan and PTI but media ethics dictate that a channel should report the news accurately and fairly to the best of its ability and not use the news for personal agendas. As an avid media follower, I have to say I am extremely disappointed in Geo Tv.

“Who is Who” in the Editorial Boards of Pakistani Media?

With the advent of 21^st century, Pakistan saw the new industry of privately owned Electronic media booming, which has now flourished into a strong and ever-growing industry encompassing all genres of information. Although the way the NEWS Channels have risen as the top watched TV channels in Pakistan is astounding! Given that the real backbone behind a strong news enterprise is its impeccable editorial quality and the people involved in the editorial process who make it possible.

A very important part of a the entire editorial board of a news channel is its Chief Editorial Head; let us have a quick lookat Pakistan’s media groups and their editorial heads.

Mian Amer Mahmood- Dunya News:

In 2008, Mian Amer Mahmood launched Dunya News, a television network, and since then he has been tightly connected with it and to-date, enjoys the role of editor-in-chief. Mian Amer hails from a business background and studied the same in college. He later launched a number of universities and has been strongly connected with the education sector, but does not hold any degrees in journalism.

Salman Iqbal- ARY News:

ARY Digital Network was founded by Haji Abdul RazzakYaqoob, owner of the famous ARY Group. He began the media enterprise network of ARY in 2000 alongside his brothers in 2000 and since then the creative control has stayed in the family. The current editorial head of ARY Digital Network is Salman Iqbal, son of Haji Mohammad Iqbal.  Following in his father’s footsteps, Salman Iqbal is quite the businessman and he took the reins of ARY Digital Network from his father, but similarly, he also doesn’t have a journalism background, but rather, a business one.

Kamran Khan- BOL Network:

Kamran Khan is one of Pakistan’s most experienced and respected journalists. He was affiliated with GEO/Jang Network for a period of 32 years during which he amassed a great fan following and a fantastic reputation which even gained international attention. Currently, he is the president and editor-in-chief of BOL Network. Having been a journalist all his life, Kamran Khan is extremely well suited for this job.

Mir Shakil Ur Rahman- GEO:

Mir Shakil Ur Rahman inherited the reins of GEO/Jang network from his father Mir Khalil Ur Rahman and has since been in-charge of the media enterprise and it many domains. Despite having some qualified journalists in their ranks, Mir Shakil continues to enjoy creative control over GEO/Jang group as the editorial head and has complete directional control over all content.

Sultan ali Lakhani – Express Group:

A businessman belonging to the infamous Lakson group and previously known to have served as a parliamentarian (from 1988 – 1994) , Mr. Sultan Ali Lakhani serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Express & Express News Channel (Pvt. Ltd.)

The common aspect in most of the aforementioned editorial heads is the fact that they are lacking in journalism backgrounds and qualifications (with the exception of BOL Network’s Editor-in-Chief, Kamran Khan). A news enterprise – with the all-important responsibility of reporting the truth - should always have a journalist at the helm to assure integrity in its reporting. Moreover, this also serves as a gesture of appreciation for the hardworking journalist community to have one of them placed on the supreme decision making position of the editorial board.

However, with owners/ CEO’s having such a huge input in what goes on, the quality and integrity is bound to be compromised; similarly, this is what has been happening with Pakistani TV channels. Here’s for hoping that the culture of putting an experienced journalist by BOL as an editorial head can change this trend in Pakistani media and outline a better future for all media enterprises.

The Mysterious Case of Geo Network’s Ridiculously Exaggerated TV Ratings

Let us go back a couple of months when Geo News publicly criticized the Pakistan army during the Hamid Mir assassination attempt case. Pakistani TV Audience and masses voiced their severe displeasure at GEO Network’s antics over libel towards Pakistan Army and ISI and recommended it should be banned.  As per the ground realities, GEO Network faced a mass boycott by majority of Pakistani Public refusing to further tune into Geo. Even Geo itself cried to the officials regarding Cable TV Distributors all over Pakistan not airing their channel transmission.  However, the viewership ratings for the GEO Network (both Geo News and Geo Entertainment) continued their stable trend astonishingly without any difference or losing any eyeballs!

Interestingly, soon after this, Geo News was banned intermittently; it was made sure by authorities that Geo News was not aired by any cable provider in Pakistan. But again, the ratings received through People Meters System under the name of TeleControl ran under a company, MediaLogics showed that Geo Network’s ratings had no effect whatsoever of the nationwide blanket ban and it was still ranked as the most watched channel in Pakistan.

Perplexed by this, I looked back even further and remembered the backlash Geo TV received from local advertisers and media industry because of the highly negative perception among the target audiences regarding Geo’s anti-Armed Forced behavior. If the ratings as per the Medialogic reports were “as high as the previous months” for Geo News programming then it leads to believe only either of the TWO possibilities:

Possibility A: The rating system technology, which currently is being taken as the authentic measure of media viewership in Pakistan, is seriously flawed and generating highly inaccurate results – hence misdirecting the advertisers and promoters.

Possibility B:  Geo Network and Mir Shakeel ur Rahman have once again managed to use their corrupt ways and lobby-pressures to keep the ratings in their favor by bribing and influencing the concerned officials to tilt the actual ratings at Geo’s side. 

If the latter turns out to be true, it raises some serious questions about the integrity of all those involved as well as another check in Geo Network’s book of dark deeds. This also raises a major concern for the Advertising community in Pakistan as the knowledge they are basing their campaigns that are worth Millions of Rupees can end up in smoke due to these flawed system/ratings!  

LG unveiled the World’s first Curved OLED TV in Pakistan

LG Electronics unveiled the World’s First Curved OLED TV for the first time in Pakistan.The revolutionary display caught the attention of all attending media and shoppers at a busy lavish mall in Karachi. Captivated by the depth of the display and the unique television-shape, the audience was treated to a product overview that highlighted the innovative product features of the CURVED OLED TV.

Crowds gathered to admire the CURVED OLED TV (55EA9800) which features perfect contrast, absolute motion clarity and a display that produces a pristine image no matter the viewing angle. LG Electronics also showcased comprehensive range of ULTRA HD TVs by adding the screen size 55”& 65”(LA9700)to the existing 84” ULTRA HD, completing a product line-up that signals the brand’s commitment to premium design and ground-breaking technology.

“The Home Entertainment sector is fueled by constant change and growth with new products entering the market every day. LG is committed to lead that growth, offering the latest and innovative entertainment products to enhance your entertainment experience in Pakistan,” said Mr. Michael Ha, Director of LG Electronics Pakistan. “We’re in a strong market position globally, carving out a reputation of delivering technology solutions that matter to you. The user experience with the CURVED OLED TV is unique to anything else in the market right now. Our main goal and is to deliver products that make life better for you.”

The World’s First CURVEDOLED TV pixels light themselves, instead of relying on a lamp or backlight. This makes color and light representations far more accurate than ever before. 4.3mm screen size immersed superior color expression, generate less heat and use less electricity. OLED TV has the most perfect viewing angle. No distortions. The World’s First CURVED OLED TV combines LG’s exceptional 4 Color pixel WRGB and HD technologies, enabling it to produce infinite contrast ratio and resolution which 1000 times faster than regular FULL HD LED.

The design of the television won the Red Dot design: best of the best award in March followed by multiple Quality and Performance awards from TÜV Rheinland and Intertek.

LG will continue to solidify its position as a provider of “first ever” products by developing a range of industry leading OLED TVs.