Iconic Italian lifestyle brand Diesel believes there’s nothing dumb about stupid. And with this ‘Stupid’ philosophy, the brand is spreading its base in India. Diesel has launched two stores in Mumbai this month in partnership with Reliance Brands Ltd, a part of Reliance Industries Group. Diesel stores will be opened in Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad over the next few months.
KamaSutra condom brand has come out with a bold and boisterous website to tap the growing digital market, with youngsters occupying a major chunk of online traffic. Due to the nature of the content, the website boasts of all the ingredients needed to create a strong impact on the users and in return, deriving a default positioning for the brand.
Judging for the D&AD Awards 2010 is over and the juries have selected 560 entries to go into the Annual. Of these, 135 entries have been nominated for a D&AD Pencil. However, there isn’t much joy for Indian agencies as only four Indian entries – Ogilvy & Mather, Karigari Design, Bates 141 and Kritik – have qualified for In-Books.
Air Asia, the Malaysian low-cost airline, has retained Carat Media Services for its media duties and the agency will continue to handle their business in the Indian Sub-continent and Taiwan.
Ajit Menon, former President - Organisational Development, Mudra Group, has been elevated to Executive Director - Organisational Development. In his new role, Menon will be in-charge of LLC (Leadership, Learning and Change), Facilities Management, Compensation and Benefits, and IT. A member of the Executive Board, Menon works closely with Madhukar Kamath, MD & CEO, Mudra Group.
Jagran Solutions, part of Jagran Prakashan Ltd, has recently set up an end-to-end MICE (Meeting Incentives Conference and Events) unit that will function under the name of Jagran Solutions. However, the unit will be a separate, fully-functional entity. Jagran Solutions is a new age marketing agency that provides solutions for Brand Activations via Consumer Connect Strategies.
The Advertising Club Bombay and The Times Group, the official representatives of Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in India, are offering an opportunity to two young professionals in the field of marketing and communication in the country to win an all expense paid trip to Cannes to participate in the International Young Lion Marketers Competition.
‘Media Quotient - what’s your MQ?’, the Media Quiz 2010, got underway with the Kolkata regional round on April 27. MQ witnessed a good response from participants despite a nationwide strike by the Opposition parties against price rise on that day. Team Cognizant comprising Kavala Gana Sanjeev and Prashnik Nag emerged the winners of the Kolkata regional round of MQ.
The news about ZEEL in the process of acquiring 9X channel has been greeted by media planners in general, who feel it is a win-win for both the companies. Post the acquisition, ZEEL will have two GECs under its umbrella, while INX Media will have more money to pump into 9XM.
What happened with the West in the Internet sphere will happen to mobile in countries like India, and the opportunity and value is immense for advertisers through reach and engagement in a way no other medium can. So, I believe that mobile will emerge as one of the biggest new advertising medium in India and in other emerging markets.