The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2008 announced the Films Lions shortlist on June 19. After the high that India has been on, Films Lions has been a disappointing category. There are only three entries shortlisted from India, and all are from Ogilvy & Mather.
Social Media is organising the Tamil Music Awards 2008 in association with Isayaruvi and Hello FM. The Awards are aimed at recognising and honouring the achievements of the Tamil music fraternity with nominations and votes from the general public. The award function will be held in Chennai on July 5.
With petrol prices hitting the roof and growing concerns over alarming climate changes, hybrid vehicles could be a perfect answer. Honda SIEL Cars India (HSCI) on Wednesday launched India’s first hybrid car, the Civic Hybrid. However, priced at Rs 21.50 lakh, the hybrid version costs almost double that of the petrol Civic. It would be interesting to see how Honda markets not just the car, but the new concept as well, in India.
With TAM Media Research’s Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) all set to become operational in Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, excitement among the FM radio players is quite palpable. Even though the exact timeline for the introduction of RAM in Chennai is not yet known, radio players in the Southern metro are all ready to welcome it.
VIA OOH has added multiple properties in Delhi, Gurgaon and Mumbai in the past month. These include 18 billboards in Delhi, Gurgaon and Mumbai. It has also added public utilities in areas like Nehru Place and ITO in Delhi. VIA has the Oberoi Flyover billboard in Delhi, and is putting up key sites in Andheri and Lokhandwala in Mumbai.
Spark, the annual advertising award show of Ad Club Madras, which was not held for the past couple of years due to lack of entries, is all set to return in a brand new format. The Club is also planning to launch its own website and also proposes to bring out at least three issues of the Club’s e-magazine ‘Headline’ this year.
Sports websites are driven by a mission to serve fans with a one-stop destination for real time, comprehensive, authoritative and innovative content. Each site’s goal is to serve fans across all platforms and provide them the ability to obtain information at their fingertips. Some prominent sports websites are differentiating themselves on various parameters.
Riding on a 30 per cent growth in all business categories, Canon India is aiming to become a Rs 700-crore company this fiscal. The company is focussing on B2C products and new retail strategies.
Jitender Dabas, Vice-President & Strategic Planning Director, JWT Delhi, has won WPP’s Atticus Award for the year 2007. The Award honours original thinking in communication services. Dabas won the award for his entry titled “Why the Consumer should not be King in India?”
Outlook Money has completed a decade in a tough market. Upbeat about the growing circulation, the personal finance magazine now looks to a substantial growth on the Net. The magazine will also introduce sections and come out with special handbooks.
Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 370.8 million in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2008. At a meeting held on June 17, 2008, the Board of Directors of ZNL also recommended a 40 per cent dividend payout for the year.
NDTV Lumiere, an initiative of NDTV Imagine to bring contemporary world cinema to India, has chalked out some aggressive growth plans in the coming months. Besides acquiring Cannes Film Festival award winners like ‘The Class’, ‘Three Monkeys’, ‘Delta’, ‘Snow’ and ‘A Christmas Tale’, NDTV Lumiere is likely to launch a TV channel in August this year.
Once the deal materialises, it could be India’s dream foray into Hollywood big league. DreamWorks SKG, the film studio of Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, and Reliance ADAG are in talks to form a new movie venture. As part of the deal, Reliance is likely to pump in $500-$600 million in equity into the venture.
Sharmista Rijhwani has called it quits as CEO of Sahara One Media & Entertainment. Rijhwani had joined the channel in September 2007. She had replaced Shantanu Aditya, who is now Executive Director, UTV Global Broadcasting, and CEO, UTV Entertainment Television.
Changes at Lowe India continue. In the last two months, three top executives have exited the organisation and Lowe is not looking for replacements. The other top executives have seen a change in their roles. SSC&B brand ceases to exist, as does the IMAG structure. While Pickle has SSC&B as a second agency, the brands under IMAG would be divided. Some IMAG brands would operate under the aegis of Lowe, while some would be groomed into standalone operations.
The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2008 saw a few interesting points made during the seminars of the day. While engagement has been the overriding objective, and digital has been the overarching theme, global industry leaders spoke on various brand examples where brands have allowed consumers to ‘play’ with them and ‘hack’ them and how the combination of mediums could work wonders for brands.
India is on a dream run at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Awards 2008. An impressive list of four Golds, three Silvers, 13 Bronzes and one Grand Prix would make anyone, who didn’t get beyond 12 in its best year, happy. The Indian camp was betting that India would cross 20 this year. With two categories yet to go and the total tally already at 21, the bet has moved on whether India would get to be among the top five most awarded countries.
The India story is getting better and better at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2008. India bagged two Golds, two Silvers and three Bronzes in Press Lions. Design Lions, which have been introduced this year, also added two Golds and a Bronze to India’s kitty. The country has won its first ever Cyber Lion, even though a Bronze. The total metal tally for India is already at 21, and there are two more categories yet to go.