Yahoo! India has launched Yahoo! Buzz in India (buzz.yahoo.in). Yahoo! Buzz enables people to vote (by “buzzing up”) and comment on the stories they find most remarkable in order to help shape the headlines on Yahoo!’s homepage and beyond. With Yahoo! Buzz, people can discover and share the most interesting content (images, videos and articles) from across the Web.
Created especially for Indian audiences, the recently launched Warner-branded Hollywood motion pictures and television series channel, WB, from Turner is all set to roll out a high-decibel multi-layered marketing campaign from Monday, May 25, 2009. M&C Saatchi is the creative agency.
ZenithOptimedia Group has been awarded the media duties of Videocon Group, players in consumer durable sector. The account has come at a time when Videocon is consolidating its leadership position through innovation, quality and performance in newer markets and businesses. The account spans across Delhi and Mumbai across multiple business units of the Videocon Group, viz., Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances, Direct to Home Services, Mobile Handsets, PlanetM and Mobile Services.
Zicom Electronic Security Systems has appointed M&C Saatchi Communications, the Indian arm of the UK-based global advertising agency, as its strategic and creative communications partner. Zicom deals in state-of-the-art electronic security systems for small, medium and large establishments and government projects, offering impeccable service regardless of the nature of the industry.
In keeping with its global campaign, Motorola is launching its global print campaign for high-end phone ‘Aura’ in India. Conceptualised by O&M UK, the ad has been shot in Milan by celebrated Hollywood director Anthony Mandler. The final result uses cutting-edge post-production techniques to show footballer David Beckham in a different light.
‘Media Quotient – what’s your MQ?’, the Media Quiz 2009, came to a grand finale in Mumbai on May 22. The first of its kind initiative from exchange4media had earlier generated quite a buzz in Delhi and Kolkata. Delhi’s Team Samridhi Finance beat five other finalists to win the Media Quiz 2009. Star News was the main sponsor for the event, while Mumbai Mirror was the associate sponsor. Encompass was the event partner.
There may still be some time before 3G services are rolled out in India, but BSNL is wasting no time in promoting its 3G service and gain the first mover’s advantage and has come up with a new TVC for this. PerceptH is the agency behind the TVC, which has been directed by Abhishek Kapoor and produced by Film Farm.
Taking into consideration the OOH viewership estimates of IPL 2009, Lintas Media Group, in conjunction with their OOH media company Aaren Initiative, has conducted a daily survey across 15 cities to assess the number of people who watched IPL on screen outside their homes. As per the study, office is the most viewed location.
The new Cabinet along with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was sworn in at a ceremony on May 22, 2009 that took place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Anand Sharma, who held the MoS rank in the previous ministry, was also among those sworn in and is tipped to be the next Information & Broadcasting Minister.
AJ Square Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd, a global IT service provider, has appointed Ramesh Thondapi as VP Sales & Marketing - India Operations. He will be responsible for driving the company’s business growth. In his earlier stint with Tata Teleservices, Thondapi was General Manager - Marketing and responsible for various products and businesses. He also has been part of leading companies like LG Electronics, Electrolux Kelvinator Ltd, & Pepsico. Commenting on Thondapi’s appointment, Boaz Augustine, CMD, AJ Square, said, “His extensive experience in exploring and developing new markets will provide the necessary impetus to consolidate and enhance our position as a leading full spectrum IT and mobility service provider offering our customers convenience, confidentiality and security across multiple delivery channels.”
Yahoo! India has announced the appointment of Arun Tadanki as Managing Director with the mandate for expanding and consolidating business also in sub-continental Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and building on Yahoo!’s leading market position in this region. Tadanki will be based out of Delhi and report to Keith Nilsson, Senior Vice President, Emerging Markets. He will be responsible for continuing the momentum of Yahoo! India and its industry leading properties. Prior to joining Yahoo!, Tadanki was President-Asia-Pacific & Middle East, Monster.com, where he was responsible for all aspects of the business. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras in 1990 and earned an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in 1992.
Mudra Delhi has appointed Azazul Haque as Creative Director. Prior to this appointment Haque was with Lowe as Assistant Creative Director. He has over nine years’ experience in advertising. Haque began his career with Lowe Lintas & Partners as a trainee copywriter and was there for two years. Following this, he had stints with agencies like PerceptH, Bates, and Publicis before moving on to Mudra. Some of the prominent brands that he has worked on include Havells, Nestle Maggi, Airtel, Idea, Hero Honda, Maruti, LG, Ministry of Health, ABN Amro. Some of the campaigns that he has worked on include the ‘Sudup-Sadaap-Sudup’ campaign for Maggi 2-Minute Noodles and the Dabur Lal Dant Manjan relaunch.