The Indian Magazine Congress 2008 concluded with a CEO Forum, where various issues discussed during the two-day Congress came under scanner, including rising newsprint costs, talent crunch, vendor commission. IMC 2008 was held in Mumbai on September 22-23 and organised by the Association of Indian Magazines (AIM) in association with Worldwide Media (WWM).
‘Language Publishing: A trade backer’ took centrestage on day two of the Indian Magazine Congress, held in Mumbai on September 23. Industry experts were of the opinion that there was need to educate advertisers about the importance of language publishing and added that the growth for language publishing would continue to come from Tier I and Tier II cities.
Day two of the Indian Magazine Congress, held in Mumbai on September 23 saw a panel discussion on ‘B2B Magazines: The next big wave’. The panellists included Jim James, Director and Publisher Haymarket; Suresh Ramakrishnan, Executive Vice President and Country Head, Reed Infomedia India; Alok Brara, Publisher, India Infrastructure; and Chander M Rai, President and CEO, Cross Border Media Inc. The session was moderated by Pradeep Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, CyberMedia.
Licensing can be favourable for all the good that came out of it, such as helping in launching a brand quickly and being less expensive, but then it could be bad too when one could not recover the money in time. Sharing his mantra for tapping the licensing opportunities was Mike Greehan, COO, Cue Ball, at the Indian Magazine Congress, held in Mumbai on September 22-23.
Day two of the Indian Magazine Congress, held in Mumbai on September 23, started off with a keynote address by Dr Torsten-Joern Klein, member of the executive board and President, G+J international. While he was upbeat about the magazine industry in India, he sounded a cautious note while speaking about international trends.
Day two of the Indian Magazine Congress saw five magazine stalwarts – Ashish Bagga, CEO, Living Media; Paresh Nath, Editor, Delhi Press; Prakash Iyer, Managing Director, Infomedia India; Tarun Rai, CEO, WMM; and Dr Torsten-Joern klein, Member of executive board, President-International Magazine Division mull over issues like independent journalism, 360-degree media publication perspective, quality education, a right mix of youth and experience and wish lists.
Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh print player Nai Dunia Media is all set to increase its national footprint with a national edition. The group is also launching a national weekly newspaper and magazine ‘Sunday NaiDunia’ from nine state capitals simultaneously from October 1.
The good old Department of Posts has got a modern makeover, which involves a new campaign, logo and tagline: ‘Giving wings to your dreams’. The makeover for India Post is part of the Project Arrow. Both the logo and the ad campaign have been designed by O&M Delhi. The print ads will be rolled out on September 24.
TRAI has released a consultation paper on media ownership. The I&B Ministry had sought TRAI’s recommendations on the need for cross media and ownership restrictions in India for radio, broadcasting and print media.
Christophe Cambournac has been elevated to the position of President, Asia, Pacific & India at the Nielsen Company. He replaces Nonoy Niles. In his new role, Cambournac will lead Nielsen in Asia, Pacific and India, working closely with Nielsen’s regional leadership team. He will be based in Singapore and report to CEO David Calhoun.
After Radio Mirchi, Red FM and My FM, Radio City on September 23 announced a 15-20 per cent hike in ad rates in their select key markets. The hike will come into effect from October 1. The radio station is targeting a 40-50 per cent revenue growth, which is higher than the previous year.
English news channel Times Now has launched a marketing campaign centered on the theme ‘Ask More’. The next three weeks will witness a communication across print, TV, outdoor and online to reinforce the position of Times Now as the channel that is sharp enough to ask the questions that really matter. The campaign has been conceptualised by Law & Kenneth.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Pharmaceuticals India, which had recently launched its special breast cancer drug Tykerb and would soon be announcing some new vaccines, are on the lookout for an agency to handle its creative duties for this business.
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has given clearance to the Subhash Chandra-led Essel Group to launch its satellite-based digital cable platform Headend-In-the-Sky (HITS) in India.
MindShare is now Mindshare, and the change is not just from a capital ‘S’ to a small ‘s’. Mindshare has completely rebranded itself to reflect the global restructuring that the agency had undertaken earlier in the year. On September 23, 2008, Mindshare unveiled the comprehensive worldwide rebranding of its corporate identity. The redesign, which is a first in over a decade, was developed in partnership with Moving Brands.
Putting all speculations to rest, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) has finally announced the team that would be leading the agency in India. The BBH Mumbai office would commence operations from November 17, 2008, with Managing Partners Priti Nair, Subhash Kamath and Partha Sinha at the helm. Simon Sherwood, CEO, BBH Group, said, “This feels like putting down the final piece of the jigsaw.” The Mumbai operation marks the first time that BBH has got an all-local management team to launch an office.
To be a brand, one has to focus on a clearly defined target consumer and be loyal to her. The merchandise offer and the brand experience are then tailored to suite the specific aspirational needs of this TG. This makes it unique and relevant to the TG in focus and relevant for the ones outside. It is true that the while many foreign brands are entering Indian, their merchandise and concept is not tailored to the needs of the Indian market, be it from the product or pricing point of view.