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?

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.

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.

Disregard for Sentiments Lands Geo Network in Hot Water

Jang Group's channel Geo TV is banned in many cities of Pakistan including Lahore due to public demand. After a huge social media campaign, it seems like PEMRA took action and stopped Geo TV transmission in major cities of Pakistan. People are very happy on this news because Geo was portraying bad image of Pakistan worldwide.

Many Pakistanis are in the impression that that Geo is Anti-Islamic, Anti-Pakistani and Anti-Pakistan Army channel. Geo is supported by India, Israel and America and shows Katrina Kaif's & Deepika's birthday as breaking news. Pakistani people do not want to see all this crap and that's why they demanded to ban Geo TV permanently in the whole country.

Geo TV is working as an agent in Pakistan to divide the nation and make them feel insecure about their own country's armed forces, ISI and Pakistan Army. They are continuously blaming ISI for the attack on Hamid Mir without any solid proof, just to destroy ISI's image in the world. We as Patriotic Pakistanis request you NOT to watch Geo Network's channels. Avoid purchasing anything related to Jang Group including their Newspapers, Magazines and Books.

Geo TV seems to be changing the basic concepts of young Pakistanis by spreading slogans like "Perhany Likhnay Ke Siwa, Pakistan Ka Matlab Kya". We want to stick to our roots & religion and we as a Nation are proud of our country's base which is "Pakistan Ka Matlab Kya? La Illah Ila Allah."

It seems as if Geo Network is making things really hard for itself by stepping on so many toes at the same time. If it does not rectify its ways, it might soon find itself in very hot water and possibly with no way out. If Geo Network wants to have a decent reputation again, it will have to gain back the trust of the Pakistani people.

Red Bull Campus Cricket victory goes to Karachi!

Karachi University was the team to beat in the Super 11 stage of Red Bull Campus Cricket at the event final held at the Moin Khan Academy ground Karachi, as they bulldozed University of Sargodha by 10 wickets.

The event was dazzled by some present and former stars of Karachi cricket who had gathered to witness the decider namely Moin Khan, Rashid Latif, Nadeem Khan, Faisal Iqbal, Anwar Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Khurram Manzoor. They were there to encourage the players for the final game.

Red Bull Campus Cricket is an international college cricket tournament that gives wings to talented young cricketers across the world. The tournament is now going to take place in Oval, England – a dream ground for all cricket fanatics. Red Bull has provided an excellent platform for the rising stars of cricket to showcase their talent to the world. It makes all the more sense for the brand to be a part of cricket – the favorite sport of this nation!

Check out pictures of the finale below:

The winning team of Karachi University to represent Pakistan in the finals in England