The VAT regime must be implemented rigorously and Indian Government’s losses must be plugged” andmark has lived up to its name. This pioneering Chennai-born book-destination is today a leading ‘family centric multi-product leisure store’.
Globally, the United Kingdom (UK) is considered one of the more vibrant markets for outdoor advertising globally. Contrary to popular perception, markets like the UK, Switzerland and France have a bigger market for outdoor advertising than say, the US.
Of the ten awards that comprise the Cannes Lions, shortlisted entries for four awards were announced today. Good news for the Indian ad industry comes with Media Lions and Lions Direct seeing one entry each from India. Press awards has nine shortlisted entries and Outdoor has eight. Agencies whose entries have made it to the shortlist are JWT, Mediacom India, Leo Burnett, O&M, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ambience Publicis, McCann Erickson, 1Pointsize and Contract.
After a very short stint of only three months, Vivek Sharma, who had joined rmg david as Managing Partner in March 2005, has put in his papers. Sharma will be joining Mirc Electronics, the owners of the Onida brand, as VP, Marketing, Sales and Services, the position left vacant by V Chandramouli who has moved to Cadbury as Director, Strategy, Innovations and International Business.
Takahiro Maeda, who has a twenty-year stint with the Yamaha group, has now been appointed as the Director, Sales and Marketing for the Indian operations. Yamaha Motor India made an announcement to this effect on Saturday.
The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) is having its 500th Executive Committee meeting in Lahore. A delegation of around 40 Executive Committee members will be in Pakistan from June 20 to 24, 2005, and will also hold roundtable meetings with the All Pakistan Newspaper Society (APNS), South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA), Council of Pakistani Newspaper Editors (CPNE), besides government heads including the Prime Minister and the Information Minister of Pakistan.
Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) super premium diesel ‘Xtra Mile’ insists on changing the reference point of diesel. It aims to establish that much required product connect with the ever swelling Indian car owners. Precisely for which IOC has unveiled a new campaign to promote the diesel brand, as having multi-functional additives that remove harmful deposits from the engine and components.
CNBC TV-18 has introduced ‘soft snippets,’ which is a five minute segment incorporated between back-to-back business programmes, to lighten the serious mode. “The idea behind this is to lighten the mode, not trivialise it,” said Ajay Chacko, Head-Marketing, CNBC TV-18.
The Ambassador refuses to say goodbye even as her new-age competitors crowd the Indian roads once ruled by her. The Amby, manufactured by HMotors since 1948, then under the name Landmaster, has just undergone another little modification that will keep her going: the CNG Bharat Stage III Ambassador Grand.
Signalling a significant change in the traditional way of doing business, consumer goods majors have begun looking at cross-category distribution tie-ups in a big way to share costs and tap consumers.
The cars/jeeps segment in the automobile sector witnessed the highest growth in Print advertising in 2003. While Maruti Udyog was the largest print advertiser, it was followed by Tata Motors. Car/jeep advertisers showed a preference for newspapers as well English publications.
Ananda Vikatan, the Tamil weekly, has added another dimension to the print war in the state. In copies of its issue dated June 26, 2005, a total of 16 pages have been dedicated to the specially created images, and the weekly handed out viewing glasses for readers to view the images, free with the magazine. Vikatan is in the process of inviting advertisers and agencies to feature in the publication in the 3-D format, and is hopeful of this taking off in the coming weeks.
The rapid rise in the country’s middle and upper income classes, more than overall GDP growth per se, is likely to lead to a dramatic hike in the demand for big-ticket items like motorcycles, refrigerators and cars/jeeps, according to the National Council of Applied Economic Research’s (NCAER’s) latest report, “The Great Indian Market”.
The industry experts discussed content regulation on TV at TAM Media Research’s initiative ‘BLINK.’ While both Mukesh Vashi, Advocate, Mumbai High Court, and Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Zee Telefilms, emphasised the need to have a regulatory body to monitor content on TV, there were different opinions expressed with regard to self-regulation and its implementation.
Channel 7, the news channel from the stable of Dainik Jagran, has set aggressive plans for itself post two months of launch. The channel has planned to lure 100-plus advertisers and claims that its crime band has made the difference in the channel’s positioning.
Emvies 2005 has definitely taken the challenge of the awards a level higher as far as the presentations -- written and case studies -- are concerned. Now with judges left to take a call on who excelled in idea and its presentation, industry awaits the results with bated breath.
The network has seen the loss of four senior executives from different departments. Though completely unrelated, the resignations have come around the same time as that of MTV’s MD Alex Kuruvilla’s decision to move out.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has recently sent out a circular regarding complaint that were upheld by the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC). The circular, covering the period January to March 2005, lists 16 ads that were withdrawn, discontinued or modified.
STAR India has done some experiments to strengthen the Friday slot, which have paid off. Beginning with bringing in ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ on the Friday 10.00 pm block, the channel made June episodes of ‘Bluff Master’ a celebrity special and as far as numbers are concerned, STAR One has hit a new high on Fridays, beating other mainstay channels.
‘Mujhse Shaadi Karogi’ was not just a property for Zee TV but also a platform wherein the channel laid stress on promos of forthcoming shows and showcased four new shows to its audience. With a rating of 4.42, channel officials said that they did get the viewer attention they wanted for these shows.
In India unfortunately 90 per cent of PR is still dependent on media relations. Every client wants himself or herself on the front page of the best newspapers or magazines. It’s not a question of PR agencies changing their image, it’s clients who need to change their thinking process. They should understand that everything doesn’t warrant a media story.