Putting all speculations to rest, Airtel has moved its creative business to JWT India. Senior sources close to the development have confirmed the news to exchange4media. With this, Airtel has ended its 15-year relationship with Rediffusion Y&R. The Airtel account has been pegged at Rs 400 crore.
Tarun Chauhan has come on board JWT Mumbai as Senior VP & Managing Partner. He replaces Dhunji Wadia, who had quit the agency in May 2010. Senior sources close to the development have confirmed the news. Chauhan moves from Lowe Lintas, where he was President.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has invited bids under the ‘two-packet’ system offering exclusive display ad rights at the civil aerodrome at Surat and putting up hoardings outside the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur.
‘Radio’s Role in Communicating on Social Issues’ came under the scanner at the conference jointly organised by UNICEF and AROI in the Capital. Eminent personalities like Shyam Benegal, Zohra Chatterjee, Lov Verma and Tapas Sen discussed ways to make radio more socially relevant and not falling prey to the numbers game.
UNICEF, in with Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI), organised a panel discussion on ‘Giving a voice to the voiceless’ in the Capital. The discussion highlighted the role of radio and media in the welfare of the society. The figure of the ‘voiceless’ was symbolically that of the child and other downtrodden in the society.
The National Capital Region (NCR) is increasingly becoming the latest focus area for various publications. The latest to join the bandwagon is Rashtriya Sahara, which launched its Ghaziabad edition on August 4, 2010. Prior to this, Ghaziabad was serviced by the combined Noida-Ghaziabad edition of Rashtriya Sahara.
Bollywood’s leading PR specialist Dale Bhagwagar will be conducting a workshop specifically designed for people interested in making a successful career in the entertainment industry and media professions. Starting August 16, 2010, the PR Orientation Programme (PROP) is a special 20-day certificate workshop, providing hands-on media training and personalised coaching by Bhagwagar.
Purple Focus, a full service mid-sized agency, has bagged the creative mandates for Shakti Pumps (India) Ltd and Aakriti Group. The cumulative size of the two wins is pegged at Rs 20 crore. Rohit Bindal, Vice President, Purple Focus, has confirmed the wins to exchange4media.
S Yesudas, Managing Director, Indian Subcontinent, Vizeum Media Services India, has been inducted into Vizeum India’s Board as Director.
Peppermint, a new name in the boutique and value priced hotels in India, has assigned its advertising and media duties to HVS for their upcoming 32 hotels in the country. The PRactice will be handling the public relations for the brand.
DNA (Daily News and Analysis) has decided to cease its magazine business. In the process, ‘Me’ magazine, a subsidiary of DNA has been shut down. ‘Me’ was a monthly magazine targeted at women. DNA officials informed exchange4media, “The magazine business as a whole has been dropping in India, so we decided to concentrate only on the DNA newspaper.”
Within months of forming their strategic partnership, the TBWA-Ignitee joint entity has bagged some prestigious digital assignments, which include Visa and Style Spa. Among others. Both Shiv Sethuraman of TBWA\ India and Atul Hegde of Ignitee are upbeat as they speak to exchange4media about the new wins.