Sterling Group's Fresh and Honest Cafe Ltd has entered the packaged filter coffee segment with the launch of 'Alive'. The company is targeting a 10 per cent share of the organised segment and is bullish on estimates that the organised segment's share would go up to 70 per cent in 2010, from the present 47 per cent.
India TV, which recently went in for a makeover, has now taken the initiative to create a new genre of programming in a news channel. Towards this end, the channel has decided to make weekends lively and vibrant with a programme called 'India Beats' starting from March 4.
B D Nathani has come on board of New Balance, America's leading shoe brand at Royal Sporting House, as Director (Sales and Marketing). With his expertise in management and marketing, Nathani will be responsible for promoting and expanding the brand's presence in the Indian market. Before taking up the new assignment, Nathani was Vice-President, Sierra Industrial Enterprises, looking after Lotto Sports Italia, and Disney footwear for kids. Prior to this, he worked had with the Woodland brand for 10 years.
Gaurav Vashist has joined Outlook as AGM on the national portfolio on the government and PSU accounts. Vashist, who has 13 years' experience, was heading the government team in India Today earlier. Vashist has also worked with Delhi Press.
Manish Jani, former Client Services Director at Enterprise Nexus, Mumbai, has joined Triton, Mumbai, as Group Account Director on the Eureka Forbes business. He has replaced Rajesh Puri, who moved recently to Contract. Jani will report to Vinay Kanchan, Triton Mumbai's Vice-President. He will work on all the sub-brands from the Eureka Forbes stable, including Aquaguard, Eurovigil, Euroclean and E-initiative (Eureka Forbes' environmental initiative). At Enterprise Nexus, Jani has worked on ENIL, Toshiba, In Orbit Mall and Neelkamal Plastics. Jani started his career with PerceptH in 1993, where he spent close to four and a half years. He then moved to Quadrant and five years later, he joined Enterprise Nexus.
In the last cover story, we wrote that we were sceptical of a response from either The Times of India or from DNA on their carrying near-identical "exclusive" interviews with President George W Bush. We were wrong; Chidanand Rajghatta of Times News Network files an explanatory story from Washington, and the misuse of the word "exclusive" is made more spectacular with his clarification.
He started the empire with a massive failure, a miscalculation that would have had most entrepreneurs scurrying for cover. India Today was first conceptualised as a window on India targeting the Non-Resident Indian - and while his editorial team succeeded in putting together a credible and competent product, the organisation could never come to grips with the marketing and distribution challenges. The International edition was consigned to the dust-bin - but not the product that had been created. It was re-engineered, and the NRI's loss became the Indian citizen's gain.
The new fortnightly business magazine from the Outlook group, Outlook Business, which is slated to hit the stands on April 15, has been priced at Rs 15. The group is eyeing a print run of 90,000 to 100,000 copies for the first issue of Outlook Business.
Samsung India Electronics Ltd has some buoyant plans for 2006. The company, as reported by exchange4media earlier, would lay stress on flat panel TVs and digital media products this year. In order to achieve that, Samsung India would push its marketing focus towards below the line activities this year.
Consumer products major Marico is looking at extending the franchise of Saffola from cooking oils to salt. After being rather quiet on the communication front for the last five years, the company is, in addition to the television commercial also doing radio spots and has beefed up its retail strategy.
The Indian retail story just got bigger. The Body Shop, the world's leading high-end personal care retailer, is foraying into the country partnering with Planet Sports.
Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd has picked up stake in Access Atlantech Tech (I) P Ltd (AAT), the company that brought SAE Technology College to India. The private treaties arm of BCCL has signed the deal with AAT promoter Rathish Babu Unnikrishnan.
TNS, one of the world leaders in market information, has confirmed its participation in Asia Pacific's largest market research industry conference, being held this year in Mumbai from March 19-21. TNS will be also co-sponsoring the welcome dinner for all delegates.
D B Dutta, GM-Marketing, The Printers (Mysore) Pvt Ltd., has been elevated as Vice-President, Marketing and Circulation, for the company. The elevation comes at a time when the group is looking to expand to avenues beyond print, and explore the digital media, including the SMS channel.
Chennai-based agency Fifth Estate Communications is ramping up its media function. N Shankar, who carries with him 30 years of experience in the media departments of several agencies, has moved in as Media Manager. He joined the agency on March 2, 2006.
Lenovo has unveiled its branded PCs in India, following the recent introduction of Lenovo-branded PCs to a worldwide audience, moving out from China. Lenovo has also roped in Bollywood brother-sister duo of Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan to endorse its products.
City dwellers across India can now enjoy a range of BBC programmes 24x7, thanks to a partnership between BBC World Service and WorldSpace satellite radio, which broadcasts to the Indian subcontinent. The programmes will be available in four languages – English, Hindi, Urdu and Bengali.
Rohit Sharma, National Sales Head, Indiatimes, Delhi has put in his papers. He is joining the games portal division of Reliance Entertainment as Chief Operating Officer from March 6. He will be responsible for setting up the whole company and launching its biggest game portal.
The year has begun on a high note for Malayala Manorama, which has been awarded Unesco's rural communication award for a campaign, titled 'Pala Thuli' (Many Drops), to create awareness on water conservation. The award comes under the biennial International Programme for the Development of Communication.
The Ad Club has extended the last date for submitting entries for 39th Annual Abby Awards to March 8. The Abby Awards will be held in Mumbai on March 31, 2006. According to an official communiqué, entries for this year had come in from a number of agencies across India and the South Asian Region.
Job search engine Monster.com has shifted its creative duties to JWT, Delhi. The incumbent agency was McCann-Erickson, Delhi. The agency had called for a creative pitch in which three agencies has participated – JWT, McCann-Erickson and O&M Delhi. The estimated account size is Rs 10 crore.
<p align=justify>"There will be some modifications along the way, but the business - at the end of the day - is still about ideas. It’s still about attracting and growing business with ideas. There is a great pressure on the individual’s ability to attract business."