Media Direction, the specialist media wing of RK Swamy Media Group, has bagged the Amrutanjan business, estimated at Rs 10 crore. This is the eighteenth win for Media Direction since its relaunch last year. OMS was the incumbent agency.
Steadfastly sticking to playing international music has paid off for Vh1 as the channel chalks out an aggressive growth plan for the year ahead. On the anvil are new shows such as ‘Vh1 Dance 101’ and ‘Vh1 Divas’. Plans are also afoot to launch branded merchandise by the year-end.
Making a foray into broadcasting space, city-based property developer HDIL has bought 51 per cent stake each in Sri Adhikari Brothers-promoted Broadcast Initiative (BIL) and two of its subsidiaries.
The new TVC for the Motorola ROKR E8 phone sees brand ambassador Abhishek Bachchan dancing with gay abandon, reminiscent of his ‘Kajra re’ antics in ‘Bunty aur Babli’. Bachchan Jr has been seamlessly woven into the idea and is seen struggling with his music side and his initial experiences with the phone.
No, Radio City has not taken to providing transport service, but has introduced a new programme initiative called Bus No. 91.1. The FM station aims to bring its listeners a ‘Whatte Fun’ musical ride on Bus No. 91.1 from 7-11 am on ‘Whatte Fun Mornings’, which would feature some of the nation’s best singers and popular celebrities.
In a country like India, where search for a bride or a groom assumes a huge social networking exercise, Jeevansathi.com aims to make matrimonial search personal and confidential. This fact has been emphasised in a new TVC that broke on June 20 across Hindi, English and regional entertainment and news channels.
After IPL, FM radio players are warming up to cricket in a big way. Fever FM has tied up with ESPN-STAR Sports to promote Asia Cup, which will be held from June 24 to July 6. The FM station has created exclusive content around the cricket tournament for its listeners in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata.
India and Pakistan – two nations that were once one – are two of the keenly observed nations today. India, as the world’s largest democracy; and Pakistan, as the hotbed of militant activities. In a bid to initiate a constructive dialogue between the two nations, Tehelka is hosting a summit titled ‘India & Pakistan: Designing a New Future’ in London on June 26-27.
Out of Home (OOH) Media has launched a new media planning package – OOHAP (OOH Audience Profile) – that aims to make it simpler for the advertiser / media planner to choose his locations where he wants to advertise on OOH Media screens.
In a move to strengthen its creative team, Chennai-based Optima Marketing Solutions has appointed Murali Krishnan as Vice President, while Ravi Krishnan comes on board as Associate Vice President.
After the recent acquisition of 49 per cent stake by Kotecha Capitals in United Restaurants Ltd, the company is now looking at expanding their flagship brand US Pizza in India, besides launching new brands. In keeping with its expansion plans, United Restaurants has appointed Sunil Kumar as CEO for its US Pizza brand.
Big FM has joined hands with Singapore’s MediaCorp Radio for a new FM station, christened Big Bollywood 96.3 FM, which will broadcast ‘live’ Bollywood entertainment daily. The new FM station, which is slated to launch on July 1, is targeted at Asians who seek Bollywood entertainment.
TV Today Network Ltd has announced a 40 per cent jump in its net profit for FY08 at Rs 43.55 crore, as against a net profit of Rs 31.09 crore for FY07. The topline is up 24 per cent at Rs 251.42 crore, as against Rs 202.44 crore last year, while EPS is at Rs 7.51.
After consolidating its foothold in the Hindi general entertainment space, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) is all set to strengthen its presence down South. Apart from launching a Tamil GEC, the media behemoth is also looking at the Telugu and Tamil news and Malayalam general entertainment space. Zee has also made some key appointments recently to boost its South operations.
Interpublic Group (IPG) has won the complete duty of the Jet Airways business globally, which includes Jet Airways and Jet Lite, following a multi-agency pitch process. IPG is creating a new entity ‘Altitude’ for the business. Industry sources peg the business in the vicinity of Rs 100 crore.