The fourth Indian Magazine Congress got off to a promising start in Mumbai on September 22. Sushma Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, addressed various issues concerning the magazine industry and said that the Government was in process of taking certain decisions that would benefit the industry.
Day one of the Indian Magazine Congress 2008 saw the print industry deliberate on magazines building communities. Industry leaders stated that magazines had a strong role to play in brand building. The day also saw experts discuss ‘Magazine: Value and Wealth creation’, where it was stated that regional language magazines continued to dominate the market.
The session on ‘Exploiting the Digital Opportunities’ at the Indian Magazine Congress 2008 explored the myriad possibilities offered by digital media. The Congress is being held in Mumbai on September 22-23. Meanwhile, delivering the keynote on ‘Mobile Platform’, Netcore’s Rajesh Jain pointed out that SMS would be for mobile what search was for the Internet.
TDSAT has issued notices to distributors of Star and Sony groups of channels following a petition filed by Zee Group’s DishTV, seeking signals for its HITS distribution platform. The TDSAT bench headed by Justice Arun Kumar also directed Star Den and MSM Discovery, distributors of Star and Sony channels, respectively, to try to negotiate with DishTV.
IBN Network on September 22 gave away the first ever IBN7 Diamond States Awards, a initiative in partnership with Outlook, to recognise the human and social development efforts by the States of India. Kerala and Goa bagged five awards each. The other award winners included Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Meghalaya.
TNT has launched its new global strap line ‘Sure we can’ capturing its ‘Can do’ mentality. In addition, TNT has launched its new Express and Group websites which are the first touch points that would carry the new strap line.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s portfolio of brand associations is increasing. The latest to sign him as brand ambassador is cement manufacturer Lafarge India. A TVC conceptualised by O&M Kolkata has been launched, which addresses every man’s dream of owning his own house.
Keeping in mind the forthcoming festive season, Thums Up is launching a new look ‘Taste the Thunder’ communication initiative. The launch of the new integrated marketing communication plan includes a TVC featuring popular Telugu actor Mahesh Babu.
Kohler Co, manufacturer of kitchen and bath products, has brought its award-winning ad campaign, ‘As I See It’, to the Indian market. Conceptualised by American ad agency GSD&M Idea City, Kohler has unveiled a new print campaign for India.
Magazine publishers, like most other media owners, are moving towards an age of convergence, at least in the mature markets. BBC Worldwide’s Peter Phippen addressed the audience at the fourth Indian Magazine Congress (IMC) 2008 on the role that magazines play in a multimedia environment. The two-day Congress is being held in Mumbai on September 22-23.
The pertinent topic of ‘Do readers know what they want?’ came up for discussion in an interesting session at the Indian Magazine Congress 2008, being held in Mumbai on September 22-23. Eminent speakers like Aroon Purie, Vinod Mehta and Vir Sanghvi deliberated on who decided what was good content for readers – editors, marketers or advertisers.
In times of economic recession what works is long term planning and having international quality editorial in localised flavour. This was the mantra for riding out the economic downturn according to George Green, President & CEO, Hearst Magazine International. He was addressing the distinguished gathering at the Indian Magazine Congress 2008, being held in Mumbai on September 22-23.