After much speculation, 24-hour Telugu news channel Zee 24 Gantalu is set to launch on March 27, 2009. The launch coincides with the festival of Ugadi, which happens to be the Telugu New Year day. Zee 24 Gantalu is the 34th channel in Zee’s bouquet and the second channel for Telugu audience from Zee News Ltd, the first being Zee Telugu.
When the Nano is launched at the venerable Parsi Gymkhana Grounds in Mumbai by Ratan Tata on Monday, March 23, it will not just be the launch of a car. Instead, it will be the launch of a million possibilities. And in these troubled times, India needs a symbol of hope and one which can show the world that Made In India is no longer about off-shoring or about inexpensive services.
Kanwar Sandhu has put in his papers as Resident Editor at Hindustan Times Chandigarh, after a nine-year stint. He is setting up a new regional news and entertainment channel, ‘Day ‘n’ Night News’ along with Kansan News Pvt Ltd, and will also be the Channel Head. Meanwhile, Ramesh Vinakay has replaced Sandhu’s as Resident Editor at Hindustan Times Chandigarh.
There was 15 per cent growth in usage of innovative print ad layouts during 2008, as compared to 2007. The ‘L’ shaped ad layout was used maximum in print, closely followed by ‘figured outline’ during 2008. Food and beverages category led with 26 per cent share of the overall innovative ad layouts used in Print during 2008.
Megamart, the retail arm of India’s integrated textile manufacturer and a leading branded apparel maker and retailer Arvind Ltd, has assigned its creative duties for the state of Tamil Nadu to Chennai-based agency WOC. No pitch call preceded this win. The creative account for the rest of the country is handled by Meridian.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has released its report for the period October-December 2008 on ads that were either withdrawn or modified. A total of 29 ads had been brought under the scanner, of which two ads have been withdrawn, five modified, and one already ended as it was an event-specific time bound communication.
The IPL Season 2 has been seeing more twists and turns than a Balaji serial. With the BCCI now deciding to hold the tournament outside India, South Africa, England and New Zealand are emerging as the likely destinations. While fans in India are unhappy about this move, the IPL franchises are still planning their next moves following this latest development.
Divya Radhakrishnan, President, TME, has more than two decades of rich experience in media planning and buying and has been with TME since April 2003. As Head of Tata AOR earlier, and later in her role of National Head of Buying and New Initiatives, she has intrinsically worked with all key clients and has been a key player in the TME success story. Continuing with the tribute to the Women Icons of the media and advertising world, exchange4media highlights the achievements and contributions of Radhakrishnan.
The 2009 Dubai Lynx Awards was held as an international advertising festival over three days from March 15-17, 2009. There was a strong Indian presence at the Awards this year as well. Mumbai-born Tanvir Kanji, Founder of Inca Tanvir Advertising, Sharjah, was adjudged the Dubai Lynx Advertising Person of the Year 2009.
Should profit-making companies like Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd trim workforce and cut salaries due to two bad quarters? Not many think it’s cool for an otherwise prosperous media to do so, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari.
Subway sandwich chain, which operates through a wholly-owned subsidiary Subway Systems India, is on the lookout for a creative partner. The account size is pegged at Rs 10 crore. Senior sources close to the development have confirmed the news. This is the first time that Subway is hiring an ad agency.
Indian agencies put up a strong show at the AdFest 2009, held in Pattaya, Thailand from March 19-21, bagging 27 metals. Leo Burnett India topped the list with 11 metals, followed by McCann Erickson and JWT India (four each), Rediffusion Y&R and O&M India (two each), Contract, Creativeland Asia, TBWA\India and Publicis (one each).
Radio is emerging as a strong ally for most political parties in their campaigns for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. While it is not known how much of the total Rs 10,000 crore poll spend would be cornered by radio, it is expected to be sizeable considering the widespread reach of the medium and the scope for innovations.