Actor Mithun Chakraborty has stepped in to give some star power to Indian Cricket League’s (ICL) Kolkata Tigers team. Chakraborty would be holding a stake in the team and would be instrumental in its endorsement and promotion.
The third edition of Mint Hindustan Times Luxury Conference gets underway in the Capital on March 28. Kamal Nath, Minister for Commerce and Industry, would inaugurate the Conference and his inaugural address would cover ‘Promoting Luxury Makes for Sound Economics’.
Mercantile Advertising, Pune-based Xebec and Clear Channel have been the empanelled by the Commonwealth Youth Games Organising Committee for its creative and media duties. Pune is playing host to the 3rd edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games in October 2008.
Demystifying today’s consumer has become an important exercise for brands and corporates. As James Lou, Executive Vice President, Managing Director of Strategy, DDB, Chicago, noted at the AdFest 2008, “Today’s consumers are spoilt for choice and it is the consumer who is in control and reinventing the relationship with the brands.”
Kentaro Harano and So Yamada of Hakuhodo Inc, Tokyo, bagged the Fifth Young Lotus Award at AdFest 2008 in Thailand on March 27. Team Tokyo was followed by Team Hong Kong, Leo Burnett and Team Manila; Lowe Worldwide (Philippines) was the other finalist.
Zee Sports has appointed Rahul Khanna as Senior Vice President, Sales. At Zee Sports, Khanna will look after the sponsorship sales for Indian Cricket League (ICL) and other sports properties and events.
Mudra Group’s digital arm Tribal DDB India has appointed Shoumitra Rai Choudhuri as Executive Creative Director. Prior to this, Choudhuri was with JWT Delhi as Associate Vice-President, where he worked across the Pepsi portfolio of brands.
Vivian Reding, Commissioner (Minister) of Information and Media, European Union had a lot to share on ‘Newspaper in Broadband Economy’. She was speaking at a special discussion organised by the Indian Newspaper Society in the Capital on March 27.
Lintas Media Group has joined the subscribers’ list of Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd (aMap), India’s first overnight television ratings system. Sathyamurthy NP, Joint President, Lintas Media Group, said, “Our subscription to aMap will enhance our understanding of television consumption trends beyond just demographics.”
The IBF has expressed its steep disappointment over the Content Code finalised by the I&B Ministry. In a letter to Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting PR Dasmunsi, IBF President Jawahar Goel has said that the finalised version “has negated all the positive cooperation and constructive efforts that had gone into framing of the Content Code.”
With the faster penetration of mobile telephony and growth of FM radio stations, the business of music is growing as well as changing, providing a whole world of options for listeners too. The session on ‘Changing trends in music’ on the concluding day of FICCI Frames 2008 had industry leaders and other stakeholders discussing the impact of changing listeners’ choice on the industry.
IPL. ICL, cricket and some more cricket dominated the session on ‘Sports: The big entertainment options’. First came Kerry Packer’s so-called ‘Pyjama Cricket’, then day and night matches, and now the Twenty20 format. From a serious game, cricket is increasingly assuming an entertainment format. The sparring by Ajay Jadeja and Lalit Modi further enlivened a lively discussion.
Staggering figures these and should jolt the industry and the Government into fighting piracy in a big way. A study carried out by Ernst & Young India for USIBC has some alarming figures to highlight how much piracy is harming the industry. According to the study, piracy is costing India to the tune of Rs 16,000 crore every year.
The much hyped and awaited news channel from INX Media’s stable, NewsX, was launched on March 27. Karan Thapar’s company ITV is the Editorial Advisor for NewsX, while Arup Ghosh is its Newsroom Head.
Publicis Groupe has announced the rebranding of Solutions, its India and Singapore-based marketing services arm, as Solutions | Digitas. This strategic development marks the next step in the international deployment of the Digitas global network.
Big FM has recently promoted two of its key people. Arjun Singgh Baran is now Regional Director, Operations-West. He will be responsible for the overall functioning of the Western region, which includes Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa. Meanwhile, Sudarshan Saha is now Station Manager of Big FM’s Mumbai station and will be looking after its entire on-air and on-ground offerings.
Preetha Pulusani has been appointed as Joint Managing Director of Rolta. She was with Intergraph Corporation for over 25 years at various senior management levels, including President of its SG&I division. She had served as CEO and President of AdeptMedia Corporation, a marketing technology firm based in Alabama, USA. She also served as a Director on the Board of Biztech.
Ford India has announced the appointment of Nigel E Wark in the newly-created position of Executive Director for Marketing, Sales and Service. He will report directly to Arvind Mathew, President and Managing Director of Ford India. Wark was previously Executive Director of Sales for the Asia Pacific and Africa (APA) region, based in Bangkok, Thailand. In his new role, Wark has overall responsibility for marketing, sales and customer service operations in support of Ford India’s expected rapid future growth through capacity expansion and a major shift into the high volume segment. Wark has extensive experience in sales, marketing and service and a strong knowledge of the 12 markets comprising Ford's APA region.
Rajesh Bhardwaj has joined McCann Erickson as Creative Director. He moves from Rediffusion DYR, where he held the same post. In his career span, he has worked on brands such as Electrolux Kelvinator, GSK, Essar, LG, Dabur, Perfetti, Mastercard, Nestle, Odomos and Dainik Jagran.
Jignesh Maniar, Creative Director, O&M, has quit the agency to set up his own marketing communications outfit, called ‘ON’. Maniar, known for his Mentos campaigns, has set up this company in partnership with Roshan Chowdhry, who owns and runs the media agency NAC. Maniar has spent around 10 years in the industry, the first two with Vyas Giannetti Creative, and the next eight with O&M. Some of the brands that he has handled during his career include Asian Paints, Castrol, Sony Entertainment Television, Yahoo!, Aditya Birla Group, ESPN and ING Optimix.