Shantanu Khosla, MD, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care, was unanimously elected Chairman of the Board of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). Bhaskar Das, Executive President, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., was elected Vice-Chairman.
Japan's $2.8-bn Citizen group plans to go beyond its flagship watch business in India. While the watch business has remained the sole face of Citizen in the country, the Japanese group now proposes to introduce its consumer electronics, healthcare equipment, jewellery and industrial machinery businesses.
Van Heusen has unveiled two new lines of clothing in India — Van Heusen Woman and V. (pronounced V `Dot'), a range of trendy outfits for the younger man.
The History Channel continues with its India-focused programming in September and October too by launching a number of India-specific content. Integrating on-air, online as well as on-ground initiatives, the channel aims to reach out to its viewers and advertisers and make it more relatable and entertaining to the Indian audience.
TechTribe, a collaboration platform ‘where innovators connect’, was launched on September 14. The software platform aims to enable Indian technology professionals in software and services to connect with like-minded people around the world and collaborate on innovative solutions.
The Chandigarh branch of Noshe Oceanic has added two new businesses to its kitty. The agency has bagged the creative and media duties of Nikka Mal Jewellers and Talwar Jewellers. The combined size of both the accounts is upwards of Rs 50 lakh.
Come festive season and consumer durable companies get busy in formulating their best strategies to boost sales. It’s the same story every year – new product launches, attractive offers, free gifts, the works. exchange4media does a pre-festival preview of what different companies have lined up this year.
Tony Davidson, joint Executive Creative Director of Wieden+Kennedy London, has been elected D&AD President at a meeting of the Board of Trustees in London.
Online interactive agency Media2win has bagged the online duties for Tata Sky, Tata AIG Life Insurance and Lenovo computers. According to industry sources, the size of the business has been pegged upwards of Rs 7 crore.
Dubai Lynx, a new awards competition organised by the team that runs Cannes Lions and Eurobest Awards, will be held in March 2007 in association with the UAE Chapter of the IAA (International Advertising Association). Entries will be invited from throughout the Middle East and North Africa for the awards competition.
The two-day IFRA India 2006 conference came to an end on September 14 in Chennai. The concluding day saw various speakers calling for a synergy between the print, mainly newspapers, and the new media like blogs and podcast to attract younger, Net-savvy non-readers.
Idiom design and consulting, a holistic design solutions provider, has chalked out aggressive growth plans in India and has appointed Shantanu Saha as Chief Executive Officer. This move comes in the wake of the company commencing its operations in Delhi.
Sending in its comments on the proposed Broadcast Bill, Indian Media Group (IMG) has asked the I&B Ministry to allow Indian media houses to become powerful multinationals instead of putting restrictions in terms of cross-media holdings, which could be counter-productive.
Optimum Media Solutions has been assigned the media duties for Amrutanjan brands following a multi-agency pitch. The size of the business has been pegged in the region of Rs 4-5 crore. Mindshare, Lodestar Universal, Carat and Denstu were the other agencies in the fray for the account.
The case on NRS 2006 is far from over with industry heads still looking forward to some response from the National Readership Studies Council (NRSC) over the issues raised and discussed at a meeting between industry heads and NRSC officials. Industry expects NRS to revert within fortnight.
<p align=justify>"A media agency can't tell a creative agency what to do! When you work with good creative people, you realise that they bring something to the table that a media agency can never provide... Stable clients are seeing the importance of efficient media work and they are paying. Some of the large clients are on the fee-based structure, where commissions and rates don't arise at all, and that is a much better way to go... People are avoiding advertising more and more and this would increase. It is getting therefore a bit dangerous for advertising to just be conventional."
<p align=justify>If you recognise the value of creative then you should also understand that there are some conditions that are conducive to making a truly outstanding creative, and part of the condition is the encouragement and the fact that clients whom you tell a great idea instantly respond to it. They should be able to say yes or no from their heart. More and more clients are beginning to do that. But then it requires time – sometimes resources and sometimes just an open mind.
<p align=justify>India is a key market for Yamaha. From a manufacturing and production perspective, the cost efficiencies available in India is extremely competitive when compared with other markets. Keeping this in mind, we will be launching at least one new model every year for young urban customers and provide them with a true Yamaha riding experience. The products will be at least three years ahead of competition in terms of styling, performance and features. We aim to triple our market share by 2010