PHOENIX (AdAge.com) -- AOL CEO Randy Falco thinks a potential merger between Microsoft and Yahoo to compete with Google is all about search -- and a mistake. But he's happy to watch the spectacle.
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- A global consortium of influential marketers, major ad-buying firms and popular media outlets have quietly funded research they hope will solve a tough mystery: As TV viewers exert more control over that small screen in the living room, can they still be persuaded to sit and watch advertising? That's what a project known as "Beyond :30" hopes to discover.
Buoyed by the success of ‘Little Masters’, a reality show for children below the age of 13, Jaya TV launched ‘Little Masters Season-2’ on February 23. The show, which will be aired every Saturday and Sunday between 9 pm and 10 pm, aims to provide a platform for children to showcase their singing and dancing talents.
ESPN-STAR Sports has announced a new seven-year contract for the Australian Open till 2014, covering cable & satellite, IPTV, DTH and terrestrial rights. ESPN-STAR Sports and Tennis Australia have also agreed to a ground-breaking collaboration for new media platforms such as mobile telephony and the Internet.
Atul Hedge, COO, Vyas Giannetti Creative has put in his papers. Even as official comments couldn’t be ascertained at the time of filing the report, sources close to the development informed that the internal announcement on his move was made earlier today.
After a stint of 13 years, D Sriram, Starcom MediaVest Group’s Asia-Pacific CEO, has decided to move on from the organisation. His responsibilities would be split between South Asia CEO Ravi Kiran and Hong Kong, Taiwan and South China CEO Paul Maher, who now take charge of Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, respectively.
BBC Worldwide has announced three new appointments in India to strengthen its Global Channels business operations in South Asia. Jasdeep Pannu has been appointed as Director of Programming, while Shaalu Wadhwa has been made Director of Marketing & Communications. Abhijeet Deolekar has been named the Creative Director.
Arun Mahajan has joined J9, a venture of Jagran Prakashan Ltd offering value added services on mobile and Web, as Chief Technology Officer. He will be looking after new product development and provide technology guidance for all existing and new ventures of J9.
The ABP Group has appointed Sabyasachi Ghosh as Vice-President Ad Sales for its dailies. He replaces Dinesh Jain, who had put in his papers in July 2007.
Balakrishnan B has been appointed Head of MAA Communication Bozell’s Bangalore branch. Along with his role as Branch Head, Balakrishnan would also spearhead the new business initiatives and be responsible for adding to the client portfolio. He moves from Lowe, Bangalore, where he was Director, Brand Services.
Nandu Narasimhan has put in his papers at Saatchi & Saatchi as Creative Director-North. His next destination is not yet known. He had joined Saatchi & Saatchi Delhi in June 2006 and had worked on brands like Sony Ericsson and Mother Dairy.
Millennium Spire has appointed Grey Worldwide to handle its creative and media duties following a multi-agency pitch that involved four agencies. Millennium Spire is a green field company under the Millennium Global umbrella and is focused on private equity investments in real estate. The company is investing over $1 billion in India.
Galaxy Entertainment Corporation Ltd, one of the group companies of the Future Group, has appointed Shashi Kalathil as CEO to spearhead the company’s foray into leisure, entertainment, sport, and wellness & fitness segments. Kalathil, who moves from NEO Sports where he was CEP, will join Galaxy Entertainment from March 1, 2008.
Indian Franchising and Retailing Expo (IFRE) 2007-08 put the spotlight on the franchising and retailing industry in India at a two-day event. The Expo was held in the Capital on February 22-23 and was organised by the exchange4media Group in association with Franchising Association of India (FAI).
Business Standard launched its Gujarati edition on February 26, 2008. The paper will be published from Mumbai and also printed in Ahmedabad. Interestingly, BS has followed The Economic Times into the Gujarati readership market exactly after a year. And both the pink dailies entered the Hindi market within three days of each other very recently.
V&S Broadcasting, an affiliate of UTV Broadcasting, launched its Hindi movie channel UTV Movies on February 24, 2008. The channel plans to embark on an aggressive marketing campaign from the first week of March and has earmarked Rs 30 crore for media spends. Following a multi-agency pitch, RK Swamy BBDO and MPG have been appointed as AORs for the channel.
Star Plus is very busy these days, and with the new properties that the channel has lined up, including on slots such as 8.30 pm, the channel would have an almost new look very soon. ‘Paanchvi Paas’, ‘Mahabharata’ and ‘Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil’ are among some of the new names that the channel has planned.