Date-wise News
The Three Rs of Humour: Ratings, Readerhip and Revenues
Airline start-up, sputter: Cos seen hitting hard ground
Amidst all the euphoria of airline launches and record aircraft purchase orders from India, analysts have begun to sound a word of caution. A Morgan Stanley report has questioned the wisdom of IndiGo's ambitious 100-aircraft acquisition plan as well as Kingfisher's plan to buy wide-bodied aircraft.
Lenovo India continues its non-metro forays
Lenovo India is increasing its retail presence across more Indian cities through its chain of exclusive brand stores, ThinkWorld. It announced the launch of ThinkWorlds in Hyderabad, Raipur and Madurai on August 11, adding to its 33 existing outlets.
Dabur India to launch cough-drop version of Honitus
Dabur India Ltd will be launching a cough-drop version of its successful ‘Honitus’ brand. This extension will mark Dabur’s entry into the large size lozenges segment within the cough and cold category.
Titan and Tanishq unveil bands of patriotism and brother-sister love
Riding on prefect timing is not just ‘Mangal Pandey-The Rising’, releasing as a precursor to the 58th Independence Day. Titan is also ensuring it marks the release as well as the Independence Day with the launch of a new range called ‘The Rising’ Collection.
Kotak Mahindra Bank unveils ‘Best Compliments’ card
Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched a new product called the ‘Best Compliments Card’. It is a prepaid fixed denomination card that can be bought from any of the Bank’s branches and can be used like a debit/credit card at any Visa outlet across the country.
Amara Raja Batteries races with Narain Karthikeyan for Amaron PRO – NK
Now that Narain Karthikeyan has entered the F1 circuit, he has not only made India proud, but also pleased Amara Raja Batteries with his success. Commemorating his success, the company has launched Amaron PRO – NK racing batteries.
Sehwag teams up with MAX to make everyone ‘deewana’
MAX knows only too well India’s ‘deewanapan’ over cinema and cricket. First it was Kapil Dev and Sameer Khan who drove home the message that watching MAX can have a spellbinding effect. Now Virendra Sehwag will do his bit in communicating the same message.
Singapore arm to pick up 12% stake in Colgate India
The Singapore-based Colgate-Palmolive (Asia) Pte has proposed to acquire a 12 per cent stake in Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd from parent Colgate-Palmolive Company USA.
Godrej in talks to pick up a big chunk in Jyothy Labs
Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) is in talks to acquire a substantial equity stake in the fast-growing FMCG firm, Jyothy Labs. Jyothy, which owns popular brands like Jeeva Ayurvedic soap, Ujala Supreme whitener, EXO dish cleaners, Speed detergent and Maxo mosquito coils, is a closely-held southern firm promoted by MP Ramachandran, current chairman and MD of the company.
CNBC TV18, Airtel join hands to present India Business Leader Awards 2005
CNBC TV18 is partnering with Airtel to bring to India the inaugural India Business Leader Awards. The Awards programme is part of the prestigious regional-level Asia Business Leader Awards, initiated by CNBC Asia.
Prashant Sharma joins SaharaOne TV as National Head-Sales
Continuing the trend of hiring distinguished personnel at different levels from varied professional backgrounds, SaharaOne Television’s core team is now complete with Prashant Sharma joining as National Head-Sales.
LG appoints Girish Bapat as VP-Marketing; Salil Kapoor re-designated as Head of Marketing Services and Brand
In a major development in its marketing set-up, LG Electronics India Ltd has appointed Girish Bapat as Vice-President-Marketing. He will be responsible for the overall marketing functions of the consumer durables major. Bapat takes charge from August 12.
Bharti Tele-Ventures rejigs top-level management
Leading telecom conglomerate, Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd, has announced strategic organisational changes. These changes are aimed to drive growth and accelerate the institutionalisation process at Bharti.
Ford India VP-Marketing, Sales and Service Vinay Piparsania heads to Thailand
Close on the heels of Arvind Mathew taking over as Managing Director of Ford India (from August 1, 2005), another top-level change has been announced by the company. Vinay Piparsania, Vice-President, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford India, is heading to Thailand on an international assignment.
‘KBC 2’ opens a 19.75, sets a new launch record
The show that changed the face of television has brought more record breaking news. ‘KBC 2’ has opened at a 19.75, recording an unprecedented launch TRP. On the same day, the following programme ‘Ba, Bahoo aur Baby’ has delivered an 11 plus. Needless to say, STAR India is pleased but the network’s COO, Sameer Nair states that the journey has just begun.
<b>Ashok Amritraj</b>, Chairman and CEO, Hyde Park Entertainment
<p align=justify>“On a major film, India accounts for less than 1 per cent of the world market. The same goes for China. The reasons include: one, that there is rampant video piracy in both the countries. Secondly, the price of tickets is too low. Lastly, audiences for an Indian movie are too less. The average production costs are in the region of $60-65 million. The marketing cost is $30-35 million. Neither India nor China gives back even a million.”