Heated arguments transpired between industry leaders on ‘value’ issues at the Advertising Concleve at Goa. Saatchi and Saatchi’s V Shantakumar and Vodafone’s Harit Nagpal started off with an interesting satire on the typical dealings between agencies and clients, and how need for the business and lack of understanding had led to the relations that we saw today.
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- When it comes to product placement, conventional wisdom says a reality TV show is your best bet. Notable appearances by famous names such as AT&T, Chrysler and Coca-Cola in programs including "American Idol" and "The Apprentice" have provided textbook examples of how reality programs can help burnish popular goods. But what if marketers aren't using the programs as wisely as they could?
On the back of new product launches across various categories and rising disposable income, Samsung India is targeting growth of 30 per cent in turnover in 2008 from $1.3 billion in 2007.
Pro-biotic seems to be the new health mantra. First came curd and lassi, and now drinks. In a bid to expand its pro-biotic portfolio Mother Dairy has launched Nutrifit, a fermented pro-biotic drink, in Delhi and NCR. Nutrifit has been positioned as an immunity-building drink for kids.
Summer vacations are still some way off, but channels like Cartoon Network and Pogo are already gearing up to keep kids enthralled this summer with some interesting programmes. Leading the summer line-up are movies featuring some much loved superheroes like ‘My friend Ganesha’, ‘Bal Hanuman’, ‘Krishh’ and ‘Chhota Bheem’.
Real Estate Television, the country’s first 24x7 channel dedicated to real estate and infrastructure, is now available in all metros and major cities across the country. Among the major distribution platforms, Real Estate Television has signed agreements with Hathway, InCable, Amogh, Seven Star and SCV in various cities.
P&G India’s media review results are out. The MediaCom-Madison Media combine has won the business. The account size is pegged between Rs 250 crore and Rs 300 crore. The other agencies in the fray were Starcom Worldwide and Carat. Also, Sam Balsara has acquired 51 per cent stake in MediaCom India. With this, P&G India business would be parked in MediaCom.
TBWA\India has appointed Shiv Sethuraman as CEO. He would be based in Mumbai and oversee operations of both TBWA and Tequila brands in India. He would come on board sometime in mid-June 2008. His last assignment was with Ogilvy Paris, where he had been Managing Director since 2005.
Big FM has announced some key appointments for its Non-Traditional Revenue (NTR) portfolio. Manoj George has been appointed as National Sales Director, while Bipin Grewal would be taking charge as Regional Head-West, Arjun Rao as Regional Head-South, and Aasheesh Dhamija as Regional Director-North.
ArcelorMittal has appointed Ogilvy Public Relations to look after their public relations in India. Ogilvy PR will provide full range of public relation services, including public affairs, corporate PR and special event management. The account will be led by Ogilvy PR Delhi with support from the agency’s national and international offices.
Maneesh Mathur, Associate Vice President-Media Services at P9 Integrated, has been promoted as Chief Operating Officer of the company. Mathur had joined the company in December 2005 as GM, Media Services, and in a span of one year he was escalated to AVP, Media Services.
Connecturf, a digital marketing solutions company with operations across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai, has appointed Atul Hegde, former Head of Vyas Giannetti Creative, as their CEO.
Bobby Pawar, National Creative Director, Mudra Advertising, has been made Chief Creative Officer of the Mudra Group. He will now be the Creative Head across the board for Mudra Advertising, Mudra Marketing Services, and the recently launched Mudra MAX (Media and Content).
UTV has officially announced its venture into the English business news space with UTVi channel. The launch date of the channel is not yet known, but channel officials have confirmed that the launch would be by April-end 2008. UTV has also tied up with ABC News to source international programming content.
Aaj Tak has been recently adjudged the Best News Channel at the Sansui Television Awards. This is the second consecutive year that Aaj Tak has won the Sansui Television Award for Best News Channel. Prabhu Chawla was declared Best TV Anchor for the celebrity interview show, ‘Seedhi Baat’.