MxMIndia

Author: mxmadmin

  • The panel discussed how the technological innovations and its resultant empowerment of individuals have significantly changed the way people consume news today

    INMA 2012: ‘News is not static but dynamic’

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Sanjay Gupta
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alB7H-4TpGU[/youtube]

    The International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA) hosted its 6th annual South Asia conference in New Delhi on August 7. With its theme of ‘Complexity Advantage’, Day 1 of the INMA conference witnessed some power packed sessions.

     

    One such session, ‘The Future of News’, was moderated by Jacob Mathew, Executive Editor, Malayala Manorama and President, WAN-Ifra. The session saw a lively discussion by the two eminent panelists, Mr MJ Akbar, Editorial Director, India Today & Headlines Today and Mr Sanjay Gupta, CEO, Jagran Prakashan Ltd.

     

    The technological innovations and its resultant empowerment of individuals have significantly changed the way people consume news today. Introducing the topic,’The Future of News’, Mr Mathew raised a few key questions: “Would the existing formats be relevant to the future? How will we ensure that news is available anywhere anytime in any format to be consumed by our readers?”

     

    He added that the growth of print has still not been affected as much in South Asia and that the countries in the region should learn from the mistakes made by colleagues in the rest of the world.

     

    MJ Akbar
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5gZXE8988w[/youtube]

    Addressing the basic worry around the future of news, Mr Akbar said: “The reason why news will always be in demand is because man is not a hermit. Man lives in a community and in any community, ignorance is the basis of all conflict. Curiosity is elemental to human experience and as long as curiosity remains a vital part, news will thrive.”  He added that news needs a vehicle and that will be provided by news organizations in the future as well.

     

    Mr Akbar alleged that the real problem facing the society today is not the future of news but the future of a ‘journalist’. He pointed out two traps that journalists today increasingly fall into: “One trap is a fish trap where a journalist looks at the bait and swallows it. This trap is a dangerous challenge to credibility of news as this form of journalism is based essentially on what the journalist has ‘heard’. The other trap is delusion trap where the journalist thinks he/she is more important than news.”

     

    Mr Akbar also compared the newspaper to a ‘thali’ which has a variety of food ranging from healthy ‘dal and rice’ to not-so-healthy ‘achaar'(pickle). He said: “No thali is complete without achaar, but on the other hand, achaar cannot replace dal and rice.”

     

    Coming back to the basic point in question of how big a threat does technology pose for the print industry, Mr Akbar said: “No technology completely destroys another. They all continue to exist together. The only thing that will be destroyed in the future will be your business plans which will have to be reoriented.” He added that there is no essential competition between products (radio, TV, newspaper), every product has its own rationale and news organizations have to be ‘format-driven’.

     

    He concluded: “As long as the newsmaker and the news owner understand that news is not static but dynamic, there’s no reason to worry.”

     

    Mr Gupta echoed Mr Akbar’s views and maintained that there will be news as long as there’s society and as long as there are incidents taking place. He said that the new technology does help in uncovering the truth faster and in an easier way sometimes, but the basics of news is to uncover the truth. It is important, he said, that news media engages audience in a public debate over issues that matter.

     

    Mr Gupta added that good journalism is good business and he concluded by quoting Google’s head of news products, Richard Gingras: “The pace of technological change will not abate, and to think of our current time as a transition between two eras, rather than a continuum of change, is a mistake.”

     

  • The moderator for the session Mr Ashish Pherwani opened the discussion on the ad growth challenge

    INMA 2012: ‘Print must engage audiences effectively’

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Day 1 of the sixth annual South Asia INMA conference opened with a host of promising sessions which addressed key issues facing the industry.

     

    Ashish Pherwani
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfREkdmTRuc[/youtube]

    The session ‘Winning the Ad Growth Challenge: Is it a Plausible Model’ was moderated by Ashish Pherwani, Partner- Advisory Services, Ernst & Young India and the other panelists included Bharat Bambawale, Director, Global Brand Bharti Airtel Ltd; Mayank Pareek, COO (Marketing & Sales), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd; and Shashi Sinha, CEO, LodestarMedia.

     

    The moderator, Mr Pherwani opened the discussion on the ad growth challenge by listing out four factors that he felt were impacting ad growth: inherent competition, technology change, slow economic growth and growth of television. Citing a recent research, Mr Pherwani said that there were clear indications that consumers are spending more time on digital media at the expense of traditional media.

     

    He also listed out some questions for the print industry to address, the broad one being, how to stay relevant and grow revenues. Among the other questions he raised were: New ways advertisers can use print, how to enhance effectiveness of print for advertisers, what makes advertisers continue on print when times are tough and finally how can print companies explore new media.

     

    Mayank Pareek
    [youtube width=”400″ height=”225″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYJJnTGb12U[/youtube]

    Mr Pareek said that the demography is changing because the way people seek news is changing. He said that Maruti had redefined their strategy to invest in print, looking at the changing trends in consumption: “We’ve gone from 67 per cent to 23 per cent in our spends on advertising in print in the last five years.” He said that it is important that companies continuously adopt to the changing demographic needs. He added that even though digital spends are low today, digital is growing and changing rapidly. So for print to remain relevant, there is need to develop engaging content as the other media are offering. However, Mr Pareek agreed that print will continue to play a role in the future as well.

     

    While the other panelists agreed with Mr Pareek that print will continue to be the part of a media plan for an agency or an advertiser, they also shared his concern on the need for print to adapt to changing consumption patterns.

     

    Mr Bambawale of Airtel said: “We are using much less print. There is one strong global trend which holds true forIndiaas well, young eyeballs are moving away from the printed word to the video. So for print medium to engage this audience is a great challenge. The conversation should change from ‘how can we put an ad out there’ to ‘how can we engage’. In a newspaper, content is all about facts and events but in engagement, content is about making things interesting. The answer lies in creating content that has high degree of engagement even around topics of news or current issues.”

     

    Mr Sinha said that the strength of print lies in the fact that it brings a lot of credibility: “Print still stands for credibility, I am not so sure if digital has that. We’ve embraced digital because of the youth. For certain brands which go through an erosion of trust, print is the best place to be in.”

     

    He added that not growing fast enough is the problem of measurement: “The current measurement metrics are limited to cost and reach. There is no way to measure engagement or performance. Unless we start showing these to the advertiser, things won’t change. There is a need to introduce new metrics of measurement.”

     

    Mr Bambawale echoed Mr Sinha’s view on measurement being limited to cost and reach as far as newspapers are concerned: “If you change the matrices by which you present the title to an advertiser, it’d be a more fruitful conversation perhaps.”

     

    The discussion concluded with two key takeaways, Print needs to find new ways of engaging its audience to stay relevant in a changing era. And second, there is a need perhaps to look at other matrices of measurement for print, a way of measuring effectiveness of an innovation.

     

  • The two-day INMA South Asia Conference for newspaper marketers starts in the Capital today

    I Venkat on 10 things to look forward to at the INMA conference

    By I Venkat

     

    1. The entire conference is built around the theme- current complexity and advantages. The treatment of this subject is the first for INMA hence makes it worth attending.

     

    2. Keynote address by Nandan Nilekani where he will talk about sustaining in the volatile market.

     

    3. Earl Wilkinson of INMA will focus on the key subject of new growth plan and how to get there.

     

    4. Discussion on the future of news

     

    5. Youngsters will be involved who will make a case for how they want their newspapers to be

     

    6. The concern area of ad-growth challenge will be another discussion that is worth attending

     

    7. Battle of the bulge will discuss the issue of cost depreciation and utopian expectation. The point being can you really reduce the cost?

     

    8. The burning issue of increase in circulation but decline is readership will also be discussed at length

     

    9. The ever-pressing matter of talent shortage and what one should do about it is another topic that will be brought to the fore.

     

    10. All the topics this year are very provocative that will encourage debate and discussion.

     

    I Venkat is the Director at Eenadu and Chairman of ASCI. He is also on the Board of INMA South Asia

     

  • This year's theme – Complexity Advantage – would discuss driving readership and circulation

    INMA to address ‘Complexity Advantage’ at Sixth Annual Conference

    By A Correspondent

     

    The International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA) is set to host its sixth Annual South Asia Conference on August 7-8 in New Delhi under the theme ‘Complexity Advantage’. In today’s scenario of accelerated change and complexity, strategic competitive advantage is created by the combination of strategy, culture, systems, brands, products, services and by the people that operate throughout the organization.

     

    The INMA South Asia Conference aims to address some of these tectonic shifts that are creating the complexities in our business, so as to stimulate the industry towards evolving a roadmap to convert the various existential challenges into opportunities. As such, the theme of this conference is aptly titled ‘Complexity Advantage’.

     

    Sanjay Gupta

    Mr Sanjay Gupta, who was elected as the President INMA South Asia 2011, and is the Director, CEO and Editor of Jagran Prakashan Ltd said: “This year’s theme would discuss driving readership and circulation. My expectation from the conference is that the industry people from South Asian countries can get their act together when it comes to talking about how to tackle various issues, including digital revenue models.”

     

    Mr Bharat Kapadia, INMA Board Director, and Chairman of Whatuwant Solutions, said, “Even though India is better off when it comes to print market, the last quarter can only be described as tough. The two-day seminar will get the industry to come together and talk about the challenges and work towards a better future.” He added that the complexities of businesses in driving revenues and circulation will be the focus of the conference.

     

    Bharat Kapadia

    INMA aims to bring together top newspapers from South Asia into a two-day, fast-paced tour de force of ideas and innovations to grow newspaper advertising, circulation and brand across titles and across consumer platforms. Over 35 speakers, several partners, press and over 180 delegates from 25 newspapers and another 20 companies across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Europe will be attending this conference.

     

    INMA is the only industry association that is able to pull together South Asia’s top publishers and specifically executives charged with growing advertising, circulation and brand. There will be excellent opportunities to network and share the “INMA conversation” among this exclusive fraternity of the world’s most innovative newspaper executives. INMA is the world’s leading provider of global best practices and marketing ideas. It provides its members thought leadership and practical ideas to grow audience, advertising, brand and profit. Currently, INMA has over 5,000 members in over 82 countries worldwide, which include several members from Indian and now Bangladesh and Pakistan newspapers.

     

  • Welcome to Divas Upclose

    The Indian media has been particularly lucky to have no gender barriers. Media and creative agencies, television channels, newspapers and magazines and even the newer crop of digital agencies are run by women and men in equal measure.

     

    In fact in most cases there is no discrimination. It is perhaps unfair to the captains of these agencies to be categorized by gender, because that they are men or women has not in any way played a role in their ascent or day-to-day work. However, a lot still needs to be done across the country.

     

    Hence, when we started work on this microsite, we were concerned that we are playing to the stereotype. We aren’t. In Diva Upclose, sponsore by BIG CBS LOVE, we speak to the power women in the industry and profile emerging talent in an attempt to inspire more women to get to the profession.

     

    Although media buying and planning have existed ever since advertising began formally, it’s only in the last two decades that we have seen this sector blossom. A lot of credit for this would go to Roda Mehta, who is respected and admired in the industry even today.

     

    And then, of course, we have Lynn De Souza and Ambika Srivastava, women at the helm in two of the most powerful media agencies in the country – Lintas Media Group and Vivaki Exchange respectively. Both fine examples of powerwomen and media professionals par excellence.

     

    The club of power mediawomen has many more members or ‘Divas’ – firm in their belief, rock solid in their standing, having admirable acumen for their work and managing their work, teams, and of course their clients with aplomb. These are (in alphabetical order of their first names) Anamika Mehta (COO, Lodestar UM), Anupriya Acharya (Leader, Client Leadership, South Asia at Mindshare Fulcrum), Basabdutta Chowdhury (CEO, Platinum Media), Divya Gupta (CEO, Dentsu Media), Jasmin Sohrabji (Managing Director, OMD), Mona Jain (CEO, Vivaki Exchange), Nandini Dias (COO, Lodestar UM) and Shubha George (CEO, South Asia, MEC). And then, of course, there is Lara Balsara (Director, Madison Communications).

     

    However, our list of power mediawomen does not end here. There are many more showing their might, or already on the expressway to the top. On the fast lane, but steadily so. Presenting to you these Emerging Stars (in Box below, segregated based on number of years they have put in the industry). In case you find any names missing or wrongly listed – please mail the Series Editor Ritu Midha at ritum@mxmindia.com. Meanwhile, enjoy DIVAS UPCLOSE.

     

     DIVAS – EMERGING STARS

     

     

  • Group M announces three top level changes: Mr Sakhuja replaces Kelly Clark as Global CEO of Maxus who in turn replaces Rob Norman as CEO of Group M North America. Mr Norman has been appointed Chief Digital Officer for Group M Global

    Vikram Sakhuja is Global CEO of Maxus. Maxus HQ to shift to India. Sakhuja replacement not named yet

     By A Correspondent

     

    As India celebrated her 66th Independence Day, there was renewed reason for cheer as the news that the headquarters of the fastest growing media agency is to be shifted to the country filtered in. The shift was necessitated by the appointment of Vikram Sakhuja as Global CEO of Maxus.

     

    Mr Sakhuja’s appointment was part of a series of senior-level changes announced by Group M on Wednesday by Dominic Proctor, President of GroupM Global. “There is no reason why agencies need to be run out of London or New York,” Mr Proctor told Campaign Asia-Pacific. “The world is now a small town, and the fact that our management team are spread around the globe is very fitting.”

     

    In the first move, GroupM North American CEO Rob Norman becomes Chief Digital Officer for GroupM Global, a new position at the company.

     

    “Our activity in digital will define our future success and we are truly fortunate that Rob will step into this crucial role full time,” Mr Proctor said.  “There is nobody better suited or more experienced than Rob to lead our teams into the future.”

     

    Mr Norman has extensive experience in the digital arena having served as CEO of GroupM Interaction since 2006.  Mr Proctor said his responsibilities will be significantly expanded in his new role.

     

    At the same time, Mr Proctor said Kelly Clark, currently Global CEO of the GroupM agency Maxus, will succeed Norman as CEO of GroupM North America.

     

    “Kelly has had wonderful success with our companies in Asia, the UK, and Europe and most recently at Maxus globally,” Mr Proctor said.  “His broad experience and track record will bring a great boost to our business in North America.”  Prior to taking over Maxus in 2008, Mr Clark served as CEO of GroupM Europe, Middle East and Africa.

     

    Maxus was named the 2011 “Media Agency of the Year” by Adweek magazine and last month the agency was named the fastest-growing global media services agency in the world for the third consecutive year by RECMA, the independent organization that measures media agency sector operations.

     

    Taking Mr Clark’s role at Maxus will be Mr Vikram Sakhuja, currently CEO of GroupM India and South Asia.

     

    “Vikram is the perfect candidate to take on the Maxus role from Kelly,” Mr Proctor said.  “Maxus has a great management team and a lot of momentum.  I have no doubt that Vikram will continue to build a great agency.”  He added that Mr Sakhuja will remain in his current role until his successor is announced.

     

    All three will report to Mr Proctor and the new roles begin later this year.

     

  • MxMIndia's editorial and business offices will be closed tomorrow (August 15) on account of India's 66th Independence Day

    Happy Independence Day. No edition of MxMIndia today

    It’s India’s 66th Independence Day today and we wish you a very Happy Independence Day. MxMIndia’s editorial and business offices will be closed today.

     

    If there’s a communique, please mail it to us at editor@mxmindia.com and whoever you are in touch with from the Team.

     

  • The seminar will be packed with powerful speakers, giving the participants an opportunity to interact with the 'Thought Gurus' of the industry

    APREE 2012 to focus on social media marketing

    By A Correspondent

     

    Spotlight Event & Entertainment announced the fifth edition of APREE, which is an annual interactive knowledge exchange platform aimed at bringing Advertising, PR, Entertainment & Event Management companies come together for networking and to discuss the way forward.

     

    “We are pleased to announce the fifth edition of APREE and I am grateful to the industry experts who have contributed in making this a huge platform and trusting the benefits it can bring to the communications industry by way of networking, sharing and evolving through each other’s experience,” said Salama Yamini, Operation Head, APREE Organizing committee.

     

    The seminar will be packed with powerful speakers, giving the participants an opportunity to interact with the ‘Thought Gurus’ of the industry. It will also provide an insight into relevant data explaining where the communications industry is heading. The event is catalogued to provide one with better networking with competitors, brands and industry professionals from all aspects of communication business.

     

    Speaking about the event, Gagan Myne, Director, Spotlight Event & Entertainment said: “This year the focus of APREE 2012 is to concentrate on “How to make most out of Social Media Marketing.”

     

    Some of the prominent speakers this year are: Santosh Desai, MD & CEO Future Brand; Ekalavya Bhattacharya, Head of Digital MTV India; Ryan Valles, CEO Deal & You; Kunal Kishore, Founder & CEO, Value 360 Communications; Moksh Juneja, Founder of Avignyata Inc.; Snigdha Manchanda, Storyteller; Xavier Prabhu, Consultant on branding and Communication

     

    The event will be held from August 23-26th 2012 in Goa.

     

     

  • A weekly column by Paritosh Joshi, until recently CEO, Star CJ. Given his varied experience in the media and industry bodies, Mr Joshi will analyse issues concerning the business of media, measurement and research

    Paritosh Joshi: Independence and Free Media

    By Paritosh Joshi

     

    Constitutional Law is assumed to be arcane, dense and generally beyond the comprehension of anyone except the most learned of legal minds. And yet, some of the most soaring, inspiring expressions of humanity’s pursuit of a higher ideal, the greater good, a more just world are to be found there. Here are two splendid examples:

     

    “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

    JUSTICE, social, economic and political;

    LIBERTY, of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

    EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;

    and to promote among them all

    FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

    IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949,DO HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION”.

     

    “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”.

     

    84 words in that first quotation, the Preamble to the Constitution of India (and it was only 82 before Indira Gandhi imposed ‘SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST’ upon it vide the Forty Second Constitution Amendment Bill, 1976) and a mere 45 in the second, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Look at how emphatic both are on the matter of Free Speech.

     

    Why should this be so? Jurists aver that all other fundamental freedoms can be logically derived from Free Speech. Conversely, truncate Free Speech from the rights enjoyed by the citizens of a nation-state and you have an inevitable path to oppression and tyranny. The Scottish essayist, Thomas Carlyle in his book On Heroes and Her Worship cites the British Parliamentarian Edmund Burke as the progenitor of the phrase “Fourth Estate” to describe the Press. The quote that has passed into common usage is: “There were Three Estates in Parliament; but, in the Reporters’ Gallery yonder, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all”. The importance of this Estate grows exponentially as private and state power expands in a rapidly growing Socio-Economy. By ensuring that the reader or viewer is kept abreast with the latest developments in the world around them and, in particular, calling out malfeasance, misdemeanour and mischief in high places, the media keep untrammelled might in check.

     

    How well are we inIndiadoing on this front?

    Not very, one has to say, with the greatest regret.

     

    Doordarshan, set up with an ambitious charter of achieving everything from “Catalyst for change”, “Promote National Integration” all the way through to  “Create values of appraisal of art and cultural heritage” has now been reduced to an anamic copy of private Hindi GE channels. So much for our much vaunted “Public Broadcasting System”.

     

    And have the private broadcasters covered themselves with glory? Let’s look at news in India’s most widely spoken language: Hindi. With a potential audience footprint running into several hundred million people, the genre must surely recognize its indispensable role in protecting the rights of this, often disadvantaged, class of viewers / citizens. What do they actually get? A puerile confection of tabloid sensationalism, GE quasi-reruns and an endless barrage of news pablum.

     

    Can we be hopeful that things can or will change? Yes. For the strangest reason.

     

    The promise of BARC to give us a wider and deeper understanding of the needs and interest of the television audience. And its other promise of shifting the inventory valuation from a relative currency (CPRP) to an absolute one (CPT). As broadcasters receive a more fair value for the product they sell, their need to be incessantly strident to get audiences or perish trying, will be replaced by greater sobriety and a renewed focus on creative quality.

     

    66th Independence Day Greetings to all my readers and their families!

     

  • It's single-minded on beauty. It's a surprising solution. But most importantly, the commercial puts jaan into an entirely boring product category

    Debrief: Greenlam: Ati sundar!

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Greenlam Laminates is a fun account to work on. The client is quite creative savvy, and this is obvious from the sort of offbeat advertising that happens on this brand. I had the good fortune of working with them during my stint with Lintas,New Delhi, and must say I have a lot of respect for these guys.

     

    Greenlam has released another cool TVC. This one features a gentleman called Shri Saundarya Premi, whose life’s mission is to make this world a more beautiful place. He goes around making sure women get their make-up right, he teaches some rural belles the art of carrying a water pot sensuously, and so on. Finally, when asked what will happen after he’s gone, Shri Premi says the job of beautification will be carried forward by Greenlam Laminates. And that’s when the brand enters the story.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”220″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Td9z0g7S2Y[/youtube]

    I like this one. It’s single-minded on beauty. It’s a surprising solution. It’s humorous and entertaining. And the jingle is pretty catchy too. But most importantly, the commercial puts jaan into an entirely boring product category, something that the makers of Greenlam ads have been doing repeatedly.

     

    One really wishes Shri Saundarya Premi pays a visit to dirty Mumbai. We can do with some beautification.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 4. Single-minded and entertaining.

     

  • The Interconnect arrangement will allow WWIL to carry the encrypted TV channels signal on its digital delivery platform

    WWIL signs DAS interconnect deals with MediaPro

    By A Correspondent

     

    Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd. (WWIL), the cable television service provider, has signed DAS Interconnect arrangements with Mediapro Enterprises for about 70 channels, as part of its commitment for timely implementation of digitization.

     

    WWIL operates under the Siti Digital Cable Television brand name inDelhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.

     

    The Interconnect arrangement will allow WWIL to carry the encrypted TV channels signal on its digital delivery platform. With this arrangement, WWIL can offer channels of Zee, Star, Turner, NDTV, Fox and NGC bouquets to its customer under DAS regime.

     

    With about two and half months to go for first phase of digitization of cable TV networks in  metros, the company  is in active negotiation with all other leading content aggregators / broadcaster for DAS Interconnect arrangements.

     

    By inking all content arrangement the company will roll out channel packages which will be available for consumer, and with this the power will shift in the hands of consumer to choose what they want to watch.

     

    The company is seeding STB in its markets so that subscriber can continue watching cable TV even after the digitization deadline. The government is continuously monitoring the progress report on digitization of cable TV. TRAI has recently directed all MSO and broadcasters to enter into the interconnect agreements by August 21, 2012.

     

    As the digitization of cable will provide better viewing experience to the consumer in terms of the more number of TV channels with better quality picture and sound.

     

  • Pankaj Vassal has been appointed as Vice President (Regional Business Head – West and East) and working closely with him will be Neeti Virmani, Station Head, Mumbai

    Big FM makes two new appointments

    By a Correspondent

     

    Rabe T Iyer

    Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd. (RBNL) announced the appointments of two business heads at BIG FM. Pankaj Vassal has been appointed as Vice President (Regional Business Head – West and East) and will report to Rabe T Iyer, Business Head, BIG FM. He will be responsible for business growth and overall P&L for the business vertical. Working closely with him will be Neeti Virmani, Station Head, Mumbai and helping ensure revenue targets are met. The duo as a team are all set to ensure the targets are met and floor is set to usher phase III of the radio revolution.

     

    Rabe T Iyer, Business Head, BIG FM said: “In our continuing quest to constantly bring more of the “Outside” In, we are happy to have two very talented associates join us in critical positions. Both Vassal and Virmani come with vast experience in driving revenue, operations and execution in different but relevant ecosystems. Their depth and width of business understanding will not only build better ROI, but also build a higher listener affinity for our large network of stations.  I wish them the very best.”

     

    Mr Vassal’s key focus area will be to grow the radio business – expanding the West and East Zones of the network from the revenue point of view. He is said to bring with him close to 15 years of experience. Mr Vassal has worked across organizations like Amway, Motorola, Asian Paints and Essel Packaging wherein he is said to have been instrumental in growing the business and leading improvements in areas such as gross margins and profitability while growing new markets.

     

    Pankaj Vassal said: “I feel incredibly proud and excited to have joined a growing and vibrant organization like RBNL at a time when it is transitioning into a media giant. I respect the vision and culture of the organization, and look forward to taking on new challenges and to contributing towards helping RBNL reach greater heights.”

     

    Working closely with Vassal will be Neeti Virmani, who joins as Station Head for Mumbai, who brings close to 14 years of varied experience across General Management, Marketing and Sales at Mass Consumer focused organizations like Aircel, Pepsi, Airtel, Aptech and STG Ltd. As Station Head, her role will involve – managing overall business and operations of the Mumbai Station while managing the P&L, by driving functions including sales, programming, and marketing. Her key forte is said to include driving growth and share blueprint through market insights and in driving business through large teams.

     

    Neeti Virmani said: “I am delighted to have joined the dynamic RBNL family. The world of multi-media entertainment has fascinated me and I am eager to the take up this challenging role, and learn and contribute to the best of my ability.”