C3CUBE initiates touch-screen kiosk entertainment revolution in India

DDS Kiosk Saket

Dilli DIl Se Kiosk, DT Place, Saket

During this IPL season, if you had walked into any of the major outlets of McDonald’s or Nirulas, the DT Mall Food Courts or any of 27 prime retail locations across the Delhi NCR region, you would have seen a crowd of young people engrossed in a futuristic, interactive touch-screen kiosk. This was the Dilli Dil Se Network, part of the Coca-Cola Dilli Dil Se marketing program celebrating the Delhi Daredevils and India’s first ever network of multimedia, broadband-enabled entertainment kiosks.

The Dilli Dil Se kiosk network was conceived and developed by acclaimed multimedia producer Raja Choudhury and his digital agency, C3CUBE Multimedia for Coca-Cola India as part of its integrated marketing program to leverage its sponsorship of the Delhi Daredevils during the DLF IPL 2009. This program also included a website, www.DilliDilSe.com, designed by C3CUBE.

Traditionally, touch-screen kiosks are visible in banks, at airports, stations, museums aimed at facilitating customer transactions, information or ticketing. This is the first time a kiosk network has been created solely for the purpose of promoting a sporting event and providing entertainment in a safe, fun-filled environment. And the formula worked! During the DLF IPL 2009, over 20,000 enthusiastic users between the ages of 13 and 30 logged on to the Dilli Dil Se kiosk network to cheer and celebrate the Delhi Daredevils steady climb to the top of the league table, and into the semi-finals.

DDS kiosk home page

The cutting-edge kiosk network integrated a large 19 inch letterbox touch-screen interface and a 32 inch LCD TV and provided dynamic content such as a promotion, games, a private social network, video mail, SMS tweets, a juke box, Bluetooth 2.0 downloads, videos, ads, team player game cards, 3D virtual tours and much more.

“This is a first-of-its-kind entertainment kiosk network” says Raja Choudhury, who has been building award-winning kiosks, websites, videos and TV programs in the US, UK and Indian markets since 1993. “We believe such a network that integrates Web 2.0, flash games, a social network, Bluetooth, video mail, SMS and music over a 2 Mbps broadband connection, has not been deployed so far. Coca-Cola India believed in our vision and we were able to make this possible during the IPL.”

C3CUBE and Coca-Cola India were able to attract some key partners to this pioneering experiment during the DLF IPL event including McDonald’s, Nirulas, DLF DT Malls, Kwality Group, Pind Baluchis, Zenga Mobile Apps, Waves, INOX cinemas, Vikings Game Zone and Airtel Broadband.

DT Mega Mall Gurgaon

Dilli Dil Se Kiosk, DT Mega Mall Gurgaon

Mansoor Siddiqi, Director – Integrated Marketing Communications at Coca-Cola India said that “The Dilli Dil Se kiosk network was a fresh initiative in the marketing of a brand asset. It enabled local Delhi Daredevils fans to cheer their team on, in an involving and fun manner, and achieved engagement metrics beyond our expectations.”

C3CUBE Multimedia is a two-year old agency with offices in New Delhi and New York that has already notched up major interactive successes including 2 Webby Honoree Awards in 2008 for OurWeddingDay.com and CBCWorldwide.com as well as numerous awards for JadeNYC.com and the documentary film “Spirituality in the Modern World.” The company now plans to launch a series of public multimedia projects in the Indian market, including a new tourism, information and entertainment kiosk network for Delhi called the Delhi I-Zone in time for the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

For further information contact Kritika Singh at Kritika@c3cube.com or call +91 989984749.

DilliDilSe.com brings a fresh take on the success of the Delhi Daredevils.

DilliDilSe.com Home Page design - moveable ajax tiles provide interactive intro to exciting site

DilliDilSe.com Home Page design - moveable ajax tiles provide interactive intro to exciting site

New Delhi, 22 May 2009 – As the Delhi Daredevils make their way into the semi-finals, one website is proving a big hit with fans as it celebrates the victories in a novel and unique way. Developed by New Delhi and New York creative hotshop, C3CUBE Multimedia for Coca-Cola India, www.DilliDilSe.com takes Daredevils fans into an alternate universe with a fun game called “Get Gauti to the Match”, a multimedia team section with shareable and collectible virtual fan cards, a complete social club with friends, forums, crazy videos, a slogan contest, a 3D guide to the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium, Delhi events from Buzzintown, live scores, music, prizes and much more.

DilliDilSe.com is Coca-Cola India’s first entry in the Web 2.0 world of rich online media and social networking as part of its sponsorship and promotion of the Delhi Daredevils team during DLF IPL2 in South Africa. It partnered with Webby award-winning creative agency, C3CUBE Multimedia to design and deploy both the website and a network of 27 multimedia touch-screen kiosks at prime customer outlets such as McDonald’s, Nirula’s, DT Malls and other locations across Delhi NCR.

DilliDilSe.com takes a very different route from the regular fan community and team sites during IPL 2. The site integrates bright and cheerful design elements, cutting edge Ajax technologies, rich media flash content in the forms of games, tours and fan cards and the best of Web 2.0 technologies including a social club with friends, videos, photos, slogans, forums and short messages. Fans can interact with Gauti, Veeru, Amit, as well as each other in new and unusual ways within a safe, fun-filled environment.

In describing the vision for the site Mansoor Siddiqi, Director of Integrated Marketing at Coca-Cola India said that “we felt the Delhi Daredevils fans needed something in addition to the regular channels of communication, to share their passion for the team during the DLF-IPL season in a dynamic and interactive environment…and DilliDilSe.com is our way to help them cheer the team on.”

Raja Choudhury, Managing Director of C3CUBE Multimedia said “the partnership with Coca-Cola pushes the boundaries of what is possible in sports promotion in terms of online presence, and we are excited to see the success of DilliDilSe.com as the Delhi Daredevils shoot to the top of the league table.”

For further information contact Kritika Singh at Kritika@c3cube.com or call +91 9899847497

Forecasting the World in 2019

A new online multi-player game has been launched by the Future Institute in Menlo Park (Silicon Valley) called SuperStruct:

….the world’s first massively multiplayer forecasting game. By playing the game, you’ll help us chronicle the world of 2019–and imagine how we might solve the problems we’ll face. Because this is about more than just envisioning the future. It’s about making the future, inventing new ways to organize the human race and augment our collective human potential.

By getting involved in a massive social networking experiment through blogs, forums, videos, wikis and other Web 2.0 tools, the games aims to get you involved in the chronicling and shaping of the world of 2019.  game starts with a doomsday premise:

The Global Extinction Awareness System, a supercomputer that accurately predicted the extinction of red squirrels several years ago, has run the numbers for our own species through the computer, and our odds of survival aren’t good. According to GEAS, Homo sapiens may go extinct by the year 2042.

According to Discover magazine this isn’t just a chance for gamers to flirt with the dark edge of disaster; they’ll also be participating in a cutting-edge experiment that tries to harness the wisdom of crowds for a higher purpose. Superstruct is what the Future institute calls the world’s first “massively multiplayer forecasting game.” The Institute for the Future doesn’t like to put it this way, but it’s essentially trying to use crowdsourcing to predict the future….visit SuperStruct.

Brewster Kahle: A digital library, free to the world

Brewster Kahle: A digital library, free to the world

This great video from TED shows Brewster Kahle, inventor and librarian, talking about his universal free library for everything ever written, filmed or recorded….yes, utopian open ideas can still exist in today’s consumerist word – thank god!

Its 2014. Google wins the Media Wars!

OK. It’s 2014. Google and Amazon have amalgamated to form Googlezon – Google owns cloud computing with the Google Grid and the New York Times and all newspapers are obsolete. Then Google launches EPIC…you have to see this great short film from the Museum of Media ….EPIC.

Reality Check: Web 2.0 a non-starter in Indian market

According to the Business Standard and research firm IDC, the majority of Indian Web 2.0 sites have no real business model and are struggling for both revenues and investments:

It’s a shiny, new dance floor, but how many can dance? The Web 2.0 market in India is still struggling for direction and funding, though the start-up scene in the Indian consumer space has been vibrant. Yet, the number of Web 2.0 companies focused on the enterprise or business space can be counted on one’s fingers.

A majority of players are active in areas like social networking sites (SNS), blogging, and document and multimedia sharing in the consumer space. A mere 12 of the 67 India-focused websites studied by research firm IDC have a clear enterprise or business-driven model to their operations, while 55 have a consumer focus.

Interesting article given the shear hype around the Web 2.0 phenomenon. Food for thought. The reality is that Web 2.0 technologies will become an integral part of doing business on the Web and only a few sites dedicated to exploiting the phenomenon as one will survive. Good luck!

Read the full article here.

Brand Building in a “Web 2.0” World

Web 2.0 seems to be the new holy grail for all entrepreneurs and marketers, and while many experts sing its praises, an equal number do predict its demise into enterprise ether. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in-between. But one business area where Web 2.0 certainly has had a major impact is in branding and marketing. This cannot be denied.

Web 2.0 is a broad term that covers all aspects of Web usage or technologies that facilitate collaboration, sharing, online conversations, user-generated content or social networking of some kind. For example, there are over 10 million blogs today and no matter what area of business you are in, someone has probably created a blog about it and someone else is actually reading that blog. (Blog stands for Web Log or Journal or Site that a Web user creates themselves on any subject of their choosing.)

As a brand builder or marketer, ignoring Web 2.0 is ignoring some of the best tools you can find in managing your 360 degree (touching every touch point in your marketing matrix with an appropriate relationship) marketing strategy and your reputation online. Understanding your customer’s buying habits and interests, mapping current trends, getting free feedback and reviews, testing out new concepts on focus groups for free, managing your brand’s reputation through proper message management, distributing viral messages and ideas quickly – what else can a marketer ask for. This is the promise of Web 2.0. However, remember – the opposite can hold true as well – so use these tools carefully. Here are some ideas to help you along: Continue reading

Seven Steps to Building a Great Online Brand

A quick survey of Websites considered “GREAT” will reveal that the majority of them were started by small companies or entrepreneurs using limited financing, a lot of sweat and a great idea. YouTube.com, Linkedin.com, Craigslist.com, Flickr.com, Naukri.com and even the big boys Yahoo and Google were once ideas in the heads of individuals or small companies. But, how did these brands become so big and in such a short time.

Well, apart from luck, timing and the presence of angels, all online branding exercises share certain characteristics that differentiate them and make them “great.” In the 14 years I have been designing and studying online and multimedia brands I have come to understand that there are seven steps any entrepreneur can take to ensure success. Continue reading