RB Hygiene's Narasimhan Eswar is jury chair for e4m Play 2021

Streaming media awards event e4m Play 2021 will have a high-profile jury team that will determine the best work done by content creators, video platforms, brands, and agencies in the OTT video and audio space in 2020.

RB Hygiene South Asia SVP Narasimhan Eswar Narasimhan Eswar is the Jury Chairperson for the second edition of the event. In the previous edition of e4m Play, McCann World Group India CEO and Chairman (Asia Pacific) Prasoon Joshi was the Jury Chairperson.

The jury members are: Air Asia CMO Siddharth Butalia; Future Group CMO Pawan Sarda; HMD CMO Ruchira Jaitly; Diageo India CMO Deepika Warrier; Make My Trip CMO Sunil Suresh; Visa – India & South Asia Head of Marketing Sujatha V Kumar; OLX Group CMO & PRO India, Regional Brand Head Sapna Arora; Hyundai Motor India Group Head Marketing Virat Khullar; Dabur Head of Media Rajiv Dubey; Pidilite Chief Marketing Officer Vivek Sharma; TVS Motor VP Marketing Aniruddha Haldar, HUL GM-Media Services, South Asia Gauravjeet Singh & AB In-Bev President-South Asia Kartikeya Sharma.

On being the jury chair for e4m Play 2021, Narasimhan Eswar said, “2020 was a year where the digital ecosystem took centerstage. With a huge number of people working from home and restricted to being indoors, not just OTT but all digital media platforms spawned the creation of outstanding content. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing the amazing work put together by the finest practitioners in India."

"In a year when content and streaming has reached new highs, I look forward to seeing examples of best in class thinking in action and understanding insight-driven innovation and ways of connecting with consumers in what’s arguably a very noisy and busy marketplace for content," said HMD Global CMO Ruchira Jaitly.

When asked what he is looking forward to the most at the jury meet of e4m Play Streaming Media Awards 2021, Hindustan Unilever General Manager – Media Services (South Asia) Gauravjeet Singh said, "Expecting what consumer insight or popular culture insight led to the creation of the product and how their insight translated to in-market success."

Panasonic India Head- Brand and Marketing Communications Shirish Agarwal said, “With the gradual increase in internet penetration and ownership of smartphones over the years, the industry has witnessed a rise in demand for online content which provides consumers the convenience to consume content anytime, anywhere. Moving ahead with this trend, we believe that the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the growth of new formats like OTT platforms, podcasts, etc. Also, OTT platforms were the only place for fresh content for viewers during the lockdown period and even after, it gained even more prominence and recognition.

"These platforms have deeply influenced the current marketing strategy and brands are making the most of it. The current scenario seems to be comforting for brands across all domains, as they have been able to engage with their target audience in a meaningful way, creating long-lasting relationships.”

OLX Group India CMO & PRO and OLX Autos Regional Brand Head Sapna Arora noted, "Content consumption landscape for consumers has been accelerated by the pandemic. The transition from 'content is king' to 'consumer-centric content mapping' has spearheaded the rapid adoption of OTT platforms across India. This has spurred a new revolution in terms of content being created, the likes of which have never been seen before. This initiative by exchange4media to bring together leading creators, advertisers, OTT experts, and brands onto a common platform will catalyze and help evolve the trends for OTT consumption & creation in the coming years."

Pidilite CMO Vivek Sharma stated, "OTT industry is going to witness tremendous growth in the post-Covid era as lockdown changed the media habits of consumers, increasing the number of people sampling fresh OTT content and platforms. This growth is not going to be restricted to just a few big players and has already started expanding to niche, regional OTT players. OTTs will play a significant role in the media buying hierarchy for brands and provide opportunities for media innovations like the ‘Fevicol 60 yr’ campaign on OTTs as content. Personal pinpoint targeting and low wastage on OTTs will certainly be of great value for vertical/niche brands. So, after the COVID period trials like Netflix Streamfest, the focus will be on monetizing via subscriptions, leveraging partnerships with telcos and tent-pole content. The key will be to ensure the right freemium strategy to keep the adoption of OTTs going. Overall, exciting times ahead for the industry and the platforms as best content & live sports will decide who has the edge over others."

From brands to advertising agencies, content studios to curators, production houses to influencers, tech companies to streaming/OTT Platforms, e4m PLAY 2021 seeks to award the best in the business. After a successful inaugural edition, the second edition promises to be bigger and better. The event will see a gathering of the most influential people in the OTT business.

The awards span four categories:

Content Awards - Awarding content on web / OTT platforms across genres

Brand Integration & Marketing - Rewarding digital marketing campaigns & integration of brands

Special Awards - Recognizing best shows, platforms & creators across languages

Popular Awards - Honoring actors for their outstanding performances in web shows

Register Here to nominate the best work done between 1st January and 31st December 2020 at the e4m PLAY Streaming Media Awards 2021