Now, an app for celebrities to connect with fans


If you are a fan of Virat Kohli, India's hottest cricketing star, you may soon be able to meet and greet him, chat with him online, receive exclusive pictures, videos or content from him or get discounts on select brands, like Wrogn and Chissel, which he endorses or part-owns.
This is provided you buy the Virat FanBox — a special edition MotoG Turbophone that comes with an in-built app for Rs 16,999, which includes the membership fees to the Virat fan club for 365 days.
Of course, the FanBox also comes with a mini-bat signed by Virat, a hand-written (printed) letter from Virat, and a unique membership number which is linked to the IMEI no of the phone — all in a well decorated box. The phone will also serve as a key to a lot of entry points, like the post-match fan booth the club would organise.
The FanBox has been developed by Privyplex, a start-up founded by two alumni of Insead Business School — Ahmed Arab, the CEO, and Upmanyu Misra (chairman of its board), who also heads Elyseum, a Dubai-based private equity firm which has invested $1.5 million in the firm.
“As a cricketer, I feel blessed with all the love and support I get from my fans. TheVirat FanBox is my personal endeavour to get closer to my fans than ever before; to connect and chat with them online and meet them in real life. I am excited and looking forward to engaging and interacting with the club members via the app,” Virat said in a statement.
"In India, celebrities enjoy a lot of following. FanBox is a high-degree engagement platform, which is unique. We are happy to partner with them," says Amit Boni, country head, Motorola. The potential is huge as Virat has 10.5 million followers on Twitter. While the start-up is shy of discussing targets, Boni will be disappointed if it doesn't do 1 million.
Typically, fans-celebrity interactions are one-way. Fans want to have access to celebrities, and celebrities want a better understanding of their fans. "We have created a platform which enables that between the celebrity and the fans," says Ahmed, CEO of Privyplex and a telecom engineer, who has worked with Microsoft, Nokia, Alcatel; co-founded a start-up in Singapore, which was sold to Rocket Internet.
Virat is the first celebrity the firm has signed up, but it’s also in talks with five others globally. These include a football player from South America, a basketball star from USA, a Formula 1 star from Europe, and entertainment and Bollywood stars from South Korea and India, respectively. What’s common is that they are among the most popular in their respective arenas. They all liked the idea and talks with them are currently at various stages; the FanBox will be customised for each.Read more about this article.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Flipkart-ebay deal and the high stake battle with Amazon

Image
Flipkart has been and will continue to make acquisitions to increase scale India's top e-commerce firm   Flipkart   has raised $1.4 billion in its biggest fundraising to date as it takes on US tech giant   Amazon.com   Inc for a larger share of the country's burgeoning online retail market. Chinese social media and entertainment firm Tencent Holdings Ltd, the world's biggest software company Microsoft Corp and online marketplace eBay Inc participated in the funding round, Flipkart said in a statement on Monday, which will value the Indian company at $11.6 billion. That is lower than the $15 billion valuation achieved at its last fundraising in 2015, reflecting how competition has intensified in the e-commerce sector as companies vie for a slice of the world's fastest-growing internet services market. Amazon last year said it would invest over $5 billion in India, and has recently expanded into online video and grocery shopping, seeking to expand aggressively
Read more

Amazon now has customers in 100% serviceable pin-codes in India: Jeff Bezos

Image
If things fall in place, then a deal with a major offline retailer might happen by the end of this year, according to a source Amazon might be the most visited shopping site in India, but for Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of the technology giant, it is still Day 1 in what may be the second-most important market for the firm outside the US. Bezos, in a letter to customers, said that Amazon now has customers in 100 per cent serviceable pin-codes in the country and is shipping packages from more than 50 fulfillment locations in 13 states. From talking about how Alexa plays devotional songs in local Indian languages to Amazon India working closely with communities in rural areas, Bezos said that the online marketplace has now become part of the country's culture and has adapted all its services and offerings accordingly. Stressing that Amazon India has captured the top spot for the last two years, Bezos pointed out that Amazon is the most visited site in the cou
Read more

Hypertension drug recall by USFDA shot in the arm for some drug majors

Image
The recall was due to an impurity (N-Nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA) which was found in the recalled products that include valsartan and its combinations   The recent recall of a common  hypertension drug  in the US due to contamination with a carcinogen has opened up short-term opportunities for a handful of Indian players. The issue with sartan (hypertension drug) began around July, when the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) notified health care professionals of a voluntary recall of several drug products containing the active ingredient valsartan. Valsartan is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. The recall was due to an impurity (N-Nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA) which was found in the recalled products that include valsartan and its combinations. According to the USFDA’s list of products under recall, four companies - Teva, Prinston, Torrent, and Hetero - have recalled products containing the valsartan active ingredient. The USFDA also place
Read more