After having spent just seven months at RK Swamy/BBDO as National Creative Director, K S Gopal is moving out to join rmg david as Creative Partner from July 4. In his new role he will be reporting to the agency’s Country Manager and National Creative Director Josy Paul.
It is finally formal. Putting an end to the intense speculation for the past couple of months, Rajeev Karwal, CEO & Managing Director, Electrolux Kelvinator India, has announced that he has resigned. In a note circulated among the Electrolux India extended management team today, Karwal has said that he had put in his papers on May 2 this year. He will continue to attend office, if required, till the end of the month.
The Government of India accepts the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, with Jaipal Reddy announcing that private FM radio operators will now pay a fixed 4%revenue share to the Government. AP Parigi, MD and CEO Times Infotainment Media Limited and Head of Radio Mirchi, says that the ailing radio industry will get a lifeline.
MindShare is agency of the year at Emvies 2005, with Lodestar and O&M in joint second place. Non-media agency rmg david takes the fourth spot, with MediaCom and Maxus bring up the rear. And finally, Sony Entertainment Television and Reader’s Digest walk off with the Marketer of the Year Award. Ongoing Chairman MG Parameswaran is elated with the event, and declares that the media industry has matured, with firms willing to share strategy. Radio City’s Apoorva Purohit, Chairperson, Emvies, helps us understand why winners won.
India’s mobile users population is well below the projections. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in March 2003 had set a target of 70 million mobile subscribers by March 2005 and 100 million by December 2005.
According to Loren Neuenschwander, MD, Atlantic Region (Europe and India), Delta Air Lines, Chennai will act as a gateway to South India. The airline has recently started direct service from Chennai to NYC via Paris. He said, “Our Mumbai operation has been highly successful and Chennai will act as a gateway to South India. Since we fly via Paris, it serves as an ideal gateway to European destinations too. With a high degree of economic development happening here, we see travel going up a great deal in both the business and the leisure segments. The growth rate in terms of tourism is not proportionate to the economic development. There is a huge potential here.”
It’s time to analyse the Indian film industry, BBC World has taken the initiative to do so by coming up with a brand new series called India Business Report: Bollywood Inc. Produced by UTV, the eight-episode series will kick off from July 3 at 11 am.
Animax is all set to launch two new shows Godzilla and Jackie Chan in the first anniversary month. Launched in July 2004, the animation channel is dedicated to Japanese animation programming.
Historically, cinema advertising has just been about on screen advertising, i.e., ad films and slides before the movie and during interval. However, the current trend shows that on-screen is not enough and a full 360-degree approach is needed to ensure a stronger connect with consumers.
Media sector stocks hogged the limelight on renewed buying interest after the government allowed FDI/ FII investment upto 20 per cent in private FM radio firms. Smart gains in the stocks of private FM players such as Mid-Day Multimedia and TV Today rubbed off on the entire media stocks.
Anil D Ambani’s Reliance Capital (RCL) today said it would acquire a 51 per cent stake in Adlabs Films Ltd for around Rs 350 crore. It will make an open offer for another 20 per cent of the company at Rs 183 per share. The total cost of up to 71 per cent acquisition, made through subsidiary Reliance Land Pvt Ltd, can be around Rs 500 crore.
In a top-level shake-up, Coca-Cola India president Sanjiv Gupta is likely to leave the high-profile soft drinks company after a stint of eight years. Coca-Cola, which is going through a rough phase globally, is restructuring its Indian operation under two CEOs, both likely to be expats. Sources said the new management team, including a new expat CFO, will take over shortly.
Starcom formally launched its Chennai office, its 137th globally, at an event on Wednesday. And it was a flying start for the agency as it rode in with two account wins – Cholayil and Life Cell. While the Cholayil account is estimated to be in the region of Rs 17 crore, the size of the Life Cell account is not known but is expected to be much smaller in terms of spends. These add to Starcom’s Chennai kitty comprising of Hatsun, Singapore Tourism and Dishnet.
Bates has bagged the advertising duties of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). The total ad spend for the account is pegged at Rs 30-35 crore. The other agencies in the fray were RK Swamy/BBDO, JWT and Network Advertising. While IDBI has selected Bates for the creative business, the onus of finalising a media agency is on Bates, and more action on this is expected next week.
Ms. Apurva Purohit has been appointed CEO of Music Broadcast Private Limited (MBPL). She will take charge from July 1, 2005. Ms. Purohit will spearhead the efforts to strengthen the Radio City brand, and play a pivotal role in developing the company’s strategy in the evolving FM radio business in India.
Bennett, Coleman & Co. (BCCL) has launched an initiative with the objective to increase, as Times officials put it, Mumbai Mirror's exposure. Beginning today, the organisation has decided to give a copy of Mumbai Mirror free with The Times of India. The printing of Mirror in the Hindustan Times printing plant also commences today.
Asian Brand Marketing Effectiveness Awards (ABME) 2005 has been a fruitful event for the Indian agencies. The agencies recording a win at the recently concluded awards are MindShare which won Silver for their entry on 'Lux Orchid' in the category 'Most effective use of branded content' and O&M whose both the entries on 'IBM Hot Pack' and 'VIP Frenchie X' have been declared Bronze winners in 'Most effective use of direct marketing' and 'Best integrated marketing campaign' respectively.
The government has decided March 31, 2005 as the cut-off date for an end to the licence fee regime for FM players. From April 1, 2005, all FM players including existing ones will benefit from the new policy that allows 4 per cent revenue sharing and 20 per cent foreign investment. Interestingly, I&B Minister Jaipal Reddy had said at the exchange4emedia Conclave on May 31 this year that his ministry would formally announce these decisions “within a month”.