According to well-placed sources, magazine giant India Today Group is chalking out plans to launch a morning tabloid as part of its foray into the daily newspaper segment. The group is said to be aiming at a launch around March 2007.
Arch rivals The Times of India and Hindustan Times are coming together to fend off emerging competition in the Delhi market. The two media giants are in the process of setting up a JV to publish a ‘compact’ common for both. Sameer Kapoor has been appointed to drive this venture. The Times Group has meanwhile shelved plans to launch ‘Delhi Mirror’.
Pantene, P&G's number one shampoo brand today globally re-launched itself on Wednesday. The new positioning looks at making a deeper connect with the female consumer by celebrating iconic woman, who are successful in their respective careers.
Get ready for a musical festive season. Apple on September 20 unveiled its new iPods for the Indian market in keeping with global trends. The iPods are priced attractively from Rs 5,600 for the iPod Shuffle to Rs 23,600 for the 30GB iPod.
The popular pair of the hit serial ‘Jassi Jaise Koi Nahin’ – Jassi and Nandu – are back. But this time they have a very different role to play. The duo will host a breakfast show on Big 92.7 FM, which will be aired from Delhi and Mumbai.
MSN India on September 20 announced the launch of a host of new products and services for its Indian audience. Besides a new look MSN India homepage, it has introduced customizable domain names, improved channels on the Indian portal, Messenger, more value added content and other innovative marketing campaigns.
LG Electronics has planned an aggressive festival marketing strategy this year. The consumer electronics major launched its ‘LG Toon Dhoom’ scheme for its customers in the Capital on September 20. It also unveiled 11 new models of their latest flat panel displays range on the occasion.
TAG Media Network Inc has announced that it would launch a national in-store television network, the first in India. The Network will debut on October 1, 2006 in 62 Spencer’s stores across India. TAG, based in Washington, DC, is operating this new venture in partnership with the MAA Group.
Zee Cinema has introduced a branded time strip on weekdays for the youth TG, called ‘Klub’. The band will comprise various interactive features for this target and is slated to be aired Monday to Friday in the 4:30-8:30 pm slot from September 25, 2006.
The new Chevrolet Aveo commercial that’s due to hit TV screens on September 22 is probably one of the best examples of using a celebrity in a more effective way without the risk of the product getting overshadowed by the celebrities endorsing it.
While license holders of FM Phase II are busy mulling how to position their stations in an increasingly crowded market, 91.9 FM Radio Indigo has decided to go niche, or what it calls ‘non-mass’. Promoted by Jupiter Capital Venture, the FM station was launched in Bangalore on September 19.
Telecom tribunal TDSAT on September 20, 2006 asked Zee-Turner, distributors of Zee and other channels, to provide signals of all 32 channels to Tata Sky, an 80:20 Tata-STAR DTH venture, for Rs 75.
The prime Okhla commercial area at one time was seen as Delhi’s answer to New York’s Madison Avenue. The dream never really took off as many ad agencies gravitated to Gurgaon, the new hot destination for multinationals. The dream seems to be now souring for O&M with its prime landmark office being sealed by MCD.
STAR entertainment showed clear focus on emerging modes of revenue generation when it instituted cells like Advertiser Funded Programming (AFP) and In-programme Product Placement (IPP). One of the first properties to come from this – Rin Mera Star Super Star – has brought some encouraging results for the channel.
Anil Srivatsa of ‘Anil Ki Awaaz’ fame, the largest syndicated South Asian radio show in the US, will be joining India Today Group’s radio venture as COO. Srivatsa is currently Executive Vice-president of ImaginAsian Entertainment Inc, a US-based entertainment company.
In a rather unexpected move, Rediffusion DY&R’s President, Preet Bedi, has resigned from the agency. Mahesh Chauhan, head of group subsidiary Everest Brand Solutions, has been appointed as the new President of Rediffusion. A new head for Everest would be announced later but the votes are tipped in favour of Everest COO Aniruddha Banerjee.
The global Incredible India campaign, commissioned by the Ministry of Tourism, has appointed agencies to handle its media and outdoor duties, While Ashok Creatives, an ITDC arm, will be handling media, Media Mindscapes will be handling outdoors. The combined size of the account is a whopping Rs 75 crore.