MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • All set for new highs @ AdAsia 2011

    By Shruti Pushkarna

     

    Asia’s biggest Marketing, Media and Advertising Congress is less than two months away, and the Organizing Committee members of AdAsia 2011 seem all set to set new precedents in the history of AdAsia. Organizing Committee Chairperson and Group CEO-MD Mudra Group, Mr Madhukar Kamath, confesses, that after Jaipur 2003, the team is working hard towards setting a new benchmark.

    The theme for AdAsia 2011 is Uncertainty: The New Certainty. Extensive thought has gone into the content for AdAsia 2011. As opposed to Jaipur 2003, where the city had the advantage of virtually no distractions, Delhi is a bigger challenge. Mr Kamath admitted, A lot of thinking has gone into the 20 unique sessions for this year as the biggest challenge was to keep the audience inside the halls hooked enough with great content, knowing that Delhi as a city is full of distractions.

    Adding to this, Mr Ashish Bagga, Co-Chairman of the Organising Committee and India Group CEO, said, We have looked at all the highs of Jaipur and made them higher and we’ve looked at all the lows of Jaipur and made them into our strengths Delhi will be far far better than Jaipur in every which way. Delhi is going to be the New Certainty in making the new benchmark of AdAsia.

    Speaking at a press conference in the Capital on Thursday, the Committee presented the media with a quick peek on the programming. Day1 will open with a keynote with Mr Michael Roth, Chairman & CEO, Interpublic and Mr Harish Manwani, COO, Unilever. This will be followed with uniquely designed sessions for the following two days.

    With eight Indian panelists and nearly 40 foreign speakers, AdAsia 2011 seems a promising delight for the industry across Asia. No AdAsia in the last 26 years has had this ensemble of speakers, said Mr Kamath.

    Bollywood actor and theatre artist Mr Boman Irani will host the event and there will be spectacular performances by Mr Shiamak Dawar’s dance troupe, as well as Shillong Choir, the winners of popular reality show India’s Got Talent. Day 1 will also see a rare musical ensemble led by the famous percussionist, Mr Taufiq Qureshi, son of legendary tabla maestro, Ustad Allah Rakha. Everyone inside the hall will be making some music, remarked Mr Kamath.

    The event promises to be not just the biggest international gathering of industry stalwarts but also a cultural gala. On the schedule are Kathak performances, a Vietnamese evening, and theme lunches and dinners to look forward to. The streets of Delhi will be recreated on the Taj lawns, displaying foods of Delhi and street performances, said Kamath.

    With around 1,200 delegates expected this year, over 400 will be international delegates alone. The neighbouring countries like China and Pakistan have shown an overwhelming response, with over 100 pre-registration requests from Pakistan and around 30 from China so far. Mr Kamath said that there have been about 300 registrations so far, and more are expected.

    A high-profile event, AdAsia will see government participation with confirmations from the Delhi Chief Minister and I&B Minister for the opening ceremony. Bollywood veteran Mr Amitabh Bachchan, and actors Mr Shahrukh Khan and Mr Aamir Khan have also been requested to attend. So keeping the high profile in mind, strict security measures will be in place.Although we don’t take responsibility for any quakes, quipped Mr Bagga.

    Answering questions about the business prospects of the event, Mr Bagga stated,This is not a money making thing, it’s a knowledge sharing platform.As for the speakers, Mr Kamath said, All of them, barring a few listed professional speakers, agreed to attend at a very reasonable price.

    Although the committee members expressed their desire to reach out to the maximum number of management students in the country through this platform, there are no discounts on offer. The delegate tickets are priced at Rs 33,000 for early birds and Rs 40,000 post September 30.

    However, there are contests on social media, like Twitter and Facebook, and winning these can get you registration waivers. All you need to do is, upload a 10 slide presentation on the theme, Uncertainty: The New Certainty. These presentations will be judged by the members of the Advisory Board of AdAsia 2011.

    Vietnam will play host to the next AdAsia. As for AdAsia 2015, Thailand and Taiwan are competing to host it. Details about the event can be found at http://adasia2011.com/index.html

     

  • The News Broadcasters Asscociation asks the Prime Minister to ask the Press Council of India chief to mind his own business

    Mediaah! Katju ko bolo katli maaro, says NBA

    Pradyuman MaheshwariPardon the forced usage of Bambaiyya, but with a name like Katju and this being the season for mithai, one couldn’t help the play on Kaaju Katli. With apologies to the lovers of the Kaaju Katli. I am not too concerned about how Mr K reacts… in any case he finds journalists irresponsible and unintelligent.

    There’s been a lot of song and dance about the Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju’s outbursts to all and sundry. Yesterday, the News Broadcasters Association asked the Prime Minister to ask the Press Council of India to mind his own business and stop effing around with the news TV wallahs.

    The Prime Minister is in Cannes attending the G20 summit and I won’t be surprised if he does precious little about it.

    There have been various reports on the News Broadcasters Association asking the Prime Minister to restrain the Press Council of India chairman to not comment on areas that are beyond his jurisdiction. I found the one on former friend and benefactor Anil Wanvari’s Indiantelevision.com the most exhaustive. Here goes: http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k11/nov/nov28.php

    But before you slam the man any further, as our editor-at-large Anil Thakraney writes, there is a point that Katju is making. There are scores of occasions when you do have our news channels transgressing all lines of decency. I have stopped some of the channels – especially a few in Hindi – because of the trashy content that’s there on them. Even on Big News Days, these guys don’t seem to get over their obsession with the Occult. And the Inane.

    Former Aaj Tak CEO and also bossman of a dozen industry associations G Krishnan would often argue for the trade about this with a “We are like this only refrain”.  Whoever says news has to be only current affairs. And whoever said current affairs shouldn’t include who Ranbir Kapoor was in bed with last night.

    (aside, these days channels could also do similar stories about mediapersons, but we’ll come to that some other time… or perhaps will never do it.!)

    (aside 2: the last time, Mediaah! tried to write on the private life of a mediaperson, we had to kill ourselves).

    I am not armed with the stats, but the fact of the matter is that all news broadcasters aren’t members of the NBA. And it’s impossible for the NBA to coerce channels to turn members. There’s nothing out of the ordinary about this. In other trade associations too, large players don’t become members.

    So, as the NBA has said, let its self-regulation policies rule over all news channels. In fact the uplinking and downlinking policies must make it mandatory for all news channels broadcasting out of India to subscribe to a self-regulation code of the NBA.

     

    Should the Press Council be made the Media Council?

     

    First, do we need a Press Council. The newspaperwallahs have their INS, the magazine guys have an AIM, internet and mobile dudes have IAMAI, the ad folk have their AAAI and ASCI, so why the Press Council.

    It’s a body with no teeth. It can’t do a thing to police newspapers. I remember receiving a few letters from the Council in the ‘90s asking my paper to apologise for some flimsy reason. I was advised by my publisher to ignore the notice, and when one realised there was no need for the paper to issue an apology, I trashed the missive. It’s not that the newspaper lost its licence or was penalised. We went about our business peacefully only to trash the next letter that came in.

    I am a little surprised that the Press Council didn’t have news channels under its jurisdiction all these years. When it was set up in 1966 (with the Press Council Act taking coming into existence only in 1978), we only had the government-owned Doordarshan and All India Radio so I guess no one found the need for policing the airwaves.

    Para 1 of the ‘about us’ section of its site says:

    The Press Council of India was first set up in the year 1966 by the Parliament on the recommendations of the First Press Commission with the object of preserving the freedom of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of press in India. The present Council functions under the Press Council Act 1978. It is a statutory, quasi judicial body which acts as a watchdog of the press. It adjudicates the complaints against and by the press for violation of ethics and for violation of the freedom of the press respectively.

    There is a self-regulator for news and non-news television and advertising and there is none for print and digital media. So I guess there is merit for a self-regulator, but ideally it should be done by an industry body and not someone set up by the government. As for ensuring the freedom of the press, we surely don’t need a Press Council of India to police that.

    Our democratic set-up will ensure that governments can’t get away with stifling the press. As for media owners muzzling their own employees, I don’t think the Press Council or any minister or Parliamentarian can do anything about it. The owners almost always have the final say.

     

  • Communication can include local flavouring but the core idea remains and finds cohesion when it comes to execution.

    The Anchor: 5 reasons it’s good to be part of an international agency network

    By Alok Agrawal

    #1 Global exposure: There is an opportunity to interact and learn from the various offices of the network spread across the world. Especially in the times we are operating in, it is imperative that we have knowledge of how markets are operating in different parts of the world, and a global network makes this possible.

    #2 One network one brand: With many international brands finding a foothold in India and and Indian brands going International, a network handling the brand helps in creating seamless communication across the world. While communication can include local flavouring, the core idea remains and finds cohesion when it comes to execution.

    #3 People experience: One gets to interact with people from various geographies and learn from them. There is an opportunity to exchange ideas which helps in coming out with better communication solutions.

    #4 New practices: As the business of advertising is undergoing transformation with changing times, being part of the network helps in anticipating those changes, learning from markets that have undergone such changes earlier or anticipate changes and be better equipped to meet those challenges.

    #5 New experience: Besides, it helps in giving an opportunity to travel across the various offices across the world and be part of new experiences.

     

    Alok Agrawal is the Chief Operating Officer of Cheil India/Southwest Asia Regional HQ.

  • Niira Radia has paid the price for doing her job while those on either end of her intermediary role are sitting pretty.

    Freaking News: Media ethics just hogwash?

    This is surely the best story about journalistic arrogance and insouciance. A newspaper reports that Mr X has the “manners of a pig”. Mr X sues and wins the case and the newspaper is directed to retract the remark. The next day’s edition declares: “Mr X hasn’t the manners of a pig”.

    Basically, you can’t win.

    For years, the media has got away with this and everything else. But now, in these days of social media and public clothes lines, nothing is secret and certainly nothing is sacred. The hippies wanted to let it all hang out but even they may not have envisaged the extent to which they were taken seriously.

    There are three issues at hand here. The first is about paid news – which specifically in the Indian context refers to politicians and political parties buying editorial space to win elections. This is not a seedy arrangement with a crooked reporter. This is money paid to the owners and managers of media houses.

    The election commission had taken up the issue but seems more concerned with punishing the politicians rather than the media houses. Both, surely, are culpable.

    The second is the new chairman of the Press Council of India and his contempt for journalists. The contempt may well be justifiable and freedom of expression as a fundamental right applies to all of us. How his views have anything to do with the activities of the Press Council are another matter. Markandey Katju may have forgotten that he is not longer a judge on the Supreme Court but head of a toothless, spineless and rather redundant body. Or probably he knows that, which is why he trying to get a little more for himself.

    The third is the strangest of all. Just before public relations diva Niira Radia quit the profession, NDTV elevated Barkha Dutt to the post of editor-in-chief and has set up an ethics committee under another editor, Sonia Varma. One of all journalists’ favourite proverbs is about bolting the stable door after the horse has fled. Well, maybe it doesn’t fit here. The horse has been promoted and is in fact running the stable. What exactly will this ethics committee achieve now, over a year after the Radia tapes damned Dutt and Vir Sanghvi? Sanghvi lost his popular Hindustan Times column ‘Counterpoint’ and for many, his reputation, for agreeing to Radia’s suggestions and demands. Dutt stonewalled and badgered her way through all criticism and appears to be have been rewarded for similar interactions with Radia. Her column in the Hindustan Times remains, however.

    From all appearances, Radia has suffered the most. She was the messenger acting for her clients, the Tatas and the Ambanis. It was the telecom industry, as revealed in Radia’s conversations, who wanted the DMK’s A Raja to become telecom minister. Radia has paid the price for doing her job while those on either end of her intermediary role are sitting pretty.

    Under such circumstances, it does feel that the breast-beating about media ethics is just hogwash. No one wants to take on the big names and too many within the media are obviously willing to be compromised. The current story in Goa about a sting operation revealing paid news has hardly created the storm it should.

    Right now, many of us are just happy fooling the public and few of us have the manners of a pig.

  • MxMIndia partners ‘Paid News’ event to be held on November 18 in Mumbai with a film screening followed by a panel discussion.

    MxMIndia partners ‘Paid News’ event

    By A Correspondent

    MxMIndia has partnered the event ‘Paid News: Fooling People all the Time’ organised by Moneylife Foundation and Citizens Action Network with the support of industrialist Cyrus Guzder.

    To be held in Mumbai’s Madame Cama Hall (Opp Lion Gate, Kala Ghoda) on Friday, November 18, the evening will see the screening of the documentary ‘Brokering News’ followed by a panel discussion with senior journalists and the film-maker Umesh Aggarwal.

    About the film: The Delhi-based non-governmental, not-for-profit Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT) recently released a documentary titled “Brokering News—the inside story of paid news”.

    The film by Umesh Aggarwal addresses a significant challenge facing Indian democracy today—which is the state of its media. The film looks at three aspects of paid news—how politicians are paying for positive coverage during elections, with the result that those who don’t pay are blanked out by the media; how the coverage and reviews of movies are orchestrated and paid for and of course, paid news about business and industry. It depicts in detail how journalists were forced to broker deals to offer editorial coverage to politicians.

    Details of the Event:

    Panelists: Umesh Aggarwal, Ayaz Memon, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Bhawana Somaaya, and Sucheta Dalal.

    Timings: 5.30-7.30pm (Registration and Tea starts at 5pm)

    Venue: Madame Cama Hall, KR Cama Hall Institute, Bombay Samachar Marg, Opp. Lion Gate, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400 023

    Admission: While admission is free, please register well in advance. Contact details: Call Judith/Seraphina on 022-24441058-60, or mail at mail@mlfoundation.in,or log on to www.mlfoundation.in

    While MxMIndia.com is Media Partner of the event, other media organisations (including trade media) are welcome to register and cover the event

  • NDTV Profit and Hero MotoCorp Ltd Have launched the contest ‘A Search for India’s Stock Market Hero’ beginning November 8, on NDTV Profit.

    Search on for Stock Market Hero

    By Akash Raha

    NDTV Profit and Hero MotoCorp Ltd. launched the contest ‘A Search for India’s Stock Market Hero’ beginning November 8, on NDTV Profit. This new and exciting contest will give an opportunity to every stock market enthusiast to win Rs. 50,000 every two hours and upto Rs. 2 lakhs everyday for the next three months.

    Speaking on the channel’s new offering, Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV, said “We have always believed in creating exciting formats to keep our viewers engaged. This is not just any regular stock market game. It’s a contest of both skill and knowledge. And it will help investors get a deeper understanding of financial markets”

    All the viewers have to do to win is answer two simple questions: “Which stock which will gain the most in the next two hours?” and another question related to the programme on-air.

    Anil Dua, Sr Vice President (Marketing & Sales), HeroMotoCorp Ltd., said ”The new ‘Hero’ has arisen and is all poised to carry forward its rich legacy, setting new benchmarks with record performance and cutting-edge products. It is this spirit of ‘Hum Mein Hai Hero’ which reflects in all our brand associations.”

  • The industry must read between the lines and realize the need for a shake-up, echo delegates at the INMA South Asia conference

    Newspapers: Reinvent or Perish?

     

     

    By Tuhina Anand

    The newspaper industry is undergoing transformation and the only way ahead is to look within and reinvent. While it may be too much to say that for the print industry the only option is to reinvent, else they will perish, but it won’t be far from the truth to say that if they don’t adapt to the changing times they will be groping in the dark and will only pave the way for their downfall. Early adoption and partnership with technology are a few ways by which the industry can look at transforming itself to cater to the Gen Y.

    Expressing his view, Mr I Venkat, Director, Eenadu, said, “Yes, we have to reinvent. I think the time has come when we no longer can continue in the traditional way. While the future of newspapers in India is still strong and will be for at least for 10-15 years and what happens henceforth I can’t really say. But in that time period, one should have reinvented and come up with multiple platform and strengthen them so that they become established models to generate revenue.”

    He maintains that printed word will remain sacrosanct though the content would undergo change to meet with the various platforms. In fact, Mr Venkat points that even now the way news is being consumed is changing where they have witnessed a significant rise in people coming to digital platform to access news.

    Shahrukh Hasan, Group Managing Director, Jang Group, Pakistan is of the opinion that the newspaper industry would not perish even if they don’t reinvent because there is lot of inherent growth still left in the print business. He said, “That said, I think reinvent I would, even if there are no threats as it is imperative for our continued growth. As it happens the print media is under lot of strain and we have seen globally it has been losing readership but in our part of the world the fundamentals that drive the business is strong, like literacy rates going up, growing middle class, migration from rural to urban areas, a very young population and the erosion of the joint family system. These are factors which impact growth and circulation. In fact they are all working in our favour.”

    “The important thing is that we have to realize that the business we are in is evolving and we have to adapt for that reason. We have to abandon tradition and adapt to reengineer to remain relevant. We are not competing with new media or television but we have to adapt in terms of how we process the news and understand what kind of news we have to provide to our readers in these changing scenario where different platforms with different speed of delivering news exist.”

    While Mr Hasan points that reinvention is not necessary but he will still go with it to be future ready. There is also another opinion which stresses that the newspaper business doesn’t need to be reinvented but it’s the newsroom that need to reinvent. Sanjay Gupta, Director, CEO and Editor, Jagran Prakashan Ltd, said, “Newspapers will remain. It will never die and it’s seen that in the most advanced economies where digital has taken over newspaper still exist. But it’s their relevance to the marketers that is changing.” Newspapers may not be relevant to the marketer as a touch point because of more varied and systematic approach that digital offers and for media companies to make journalism sustainable, Mr Gupta points that there is need to go into different revenue streams and digital comes into play in that aspect.

    So the interesting point that comes in this discussion is the decreasing relevancy of newspaper to a marketer hence bringing the digital platform to up the revenues. Also many media company pointed of unbundling of packages to advertisers that comprised a 360 degree approach.

    Reinvention in terms of digital may be the mantra for many to follow but for KN Tilak Kumar, Joint Managing Director and Editor Deccan Herald, the potential in print in its existing avatar is immense.  He said, “There is a lot of scope for print media especially rising population, growing literacy and urbanization signify that there is a lot of potential for print media to grow. We have been trying to reinvent in terms of content, design and layout. Digital is the future but it’s not a concern In India as we see it now.”

    Content is the key and even for Prabhat Khabar’s MD, KK Goenka. He reaches to his consumers in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and the paper has reached the status of the 7th largest read Hindi daily and this has happened primarily by the physical newspaper. Digital he says doesn’t play a role in the growth of his paper but yes content is the key. He says, “It’s the credibility and trust of people that we have built over the years that is responsible e for our success. It’s the issue that we have taken that is no less than a movement that has helped in building what Prabhat Khabar is today.”

  • Sushil Kumar turns ‘Atithi Sampadak’ at Prabhat Khabar’s Muzzafarpur edition

    KBC winner guest edits Prabhat Khabar for a day

    By A Correspondent

    From being a face in the billion-plus fellow Indians, Kaun Banega Crorepati Season 5 winner is a star. With reason. Hailing from a humble background, the man achieved what several others — with more privileged upbringing – could not. The Rs 5 crore jackpot.

    So, Sushil Kumar ‘Motihari ka Moti’ (pearl of Motihari) was Guest Editor of the Muzzafarpur edition of Prabhat Kabhar on Monday. Mr Kumar was in the office as early as 6am and went on occupying the Guest Ed’s chair till 7pm. He carefully went through the day’s news reports and also got a feel of the newspaper’s operations.

    When Mr Kumar charmed the newspaper’s staff,  that he had turned into a star was evident from the dignitaries who visited the newsroom for an audience. Also, around 14,000 phone calls were made to the allocated numbers, Mr K K Goenka, Managing Director of Neutral Publishing House (publishers of the Ranchi-based Prabhat Khabar) told MxMIndia.

     

    Picture: Prabhat Khabar staff photographer

  • Anil Thakraney’s comment on advertising and media matters

    Anil Thakraney’s Hard Knocks: The impotent social media

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    The social media has become the brand new joint to bond and vent pent-up anger. Even as you read this, tens of hundreds of causes are being launched by eager Facebookers, with many followers diligently signing up. From issues of animal rights to environment protection to fund raising for the needy to just about anything that can change the world. And when problems happen in the metro towns, it’s time to scream, collect fellow networkers and put pressure on governance. This too keeps happening every month. The two recent causes that come to my mind immediately are one, the ‘Meter Jam’ campaign launched with a lot of fanfare to teach the cheating auto rickshaw buggers a lesson. And two, demand for justice for the dead Keenan and Reuben, the young men who died fighting off drunken taporis.

     

    Now while I am happy folks have found a new place to express rage (far easier to click buttons from inside an air conditioned room than trudge to the Gateway of India and light candles), I wonder if the social media has the power to make real impact. The ‘Meter Jam’ effort flopped miserably after a lot of noise. And am afraid the ‘Justice for Keenan and Reuben’ campaign will meet the same fate. Sure, anger has spilled on to the mass media, and the Maharashtra CM has been forced to make a statement, but all will be forgotten soon. Perhaps some of the culprits will get a jail term very soon, but sexual harassment of women and crime on the streets will simply go on. And the rick guys will continue to cheat us, of course. Quite obviously what is required is a massive overhaul in our legal and policing machinery if we want to see real change, and that can’t happen by cribbing and carping on Twitter and Face Book.

     

    But, no matter. Let the causes be launched, let the anger roll. At least people feel a little lighter in the head after clicking the ‘Like’ button. It de-stresses the mind. However, I’d imagine Yoga is a better bet. It’s soul satisfying, and if you indulge in some of Baba Ramdev’s techniques, you could lose some weight too.

     

    PS: Watch this ad for a vacuum cleaner. A superb example of how to use horror in advertising. It’s one genre that’s rarely used inIndia.

    [youtube width=”300″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGb8pMIeY6w&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

  • S Keerthivasan, head of HT Media's Fever FM and music division has moved on, making way for Harshad Jain or Airtel DTH.

    Yesterday’s story: Keerthivasan tunes out of Fever, Harshad Jain is new biz head

    By Ritu Midha

    S. KeerthivasanMr S Keerthivasan, CEO, HT Music and Entertainment Ltd, has decided to call it a day. Mr Keerthivasan, who is currently pursuing higher education at the Kelloggs Business School, plans to explore new opportunities once he completes his course.
    The responsibility of Business Head, Radio would be now handled by Mr Harshad Jain, who is expected to join the organisation shortly. He moves from Airtel DTH at Bharti Airtel Ltd. Prior to which he has also spent productive time at Pepsico and Worldspace India.
    Praising Mr Keerthivasan for his achievement at HT Media, an internal communique by Mr Rajiv Verma , CEO, HT Media, states, “Under his leadership and sharp focus, the radio business has done very well. In five short years,  Fever has become one of HT Media’s most successful businesses with annual revenues poised to cross the Rs 100 cr mark, exiting on a growth of almost 70% last year. “ He adds, “While he will certainly be missed, I am sure he will be very successful and be of great value to any team he joins. I wish him the best of luck in all of his future endeavours.

    Mr Keerthivasan joined HT Media in 2004. He has over 15 years of experience. In HT Media, he spanned various large leadership roles including Head – Business Excellence, where he was instrumental in creating a blueprint for future development of the division. Mr Keerthivasan has also been CFO of HTML. He has previously worked in companies like Whirlpool, Xerox and A F Ferguson and is a Chartered and Cost Accountant by qualification.

    Picture: From the HT Media website (http://www.htmedia.in)

  • Celebration of Hindi Diwas by Business Standard Hindi, promoting the use of the language in business.

    Business Standard celebrates use of Hindi in biz

    By Akash Raha

     

    Business Standard Hindi recently celebrated Hindi Diwas and activated the initiative which was aimed at promoting the use of Hindi language in business parlance. This initiative of Business Standard is going to commence at the end of this month. The tag line for this initiative is “Behtar Business woh, jo aapke bhaasha mein ho!”

     

    Speaking on necessity and efficacy of spreading the business language in Hindi, Mr Arun Natesh, Head-Marketing, Business Standard said, “This initiative was important as there are a lot of people in the country do their business in Hindi, because that is the language of the masses. But inspite of that, there are a lot of words and terminologies that people use that is not easily understandable as it lacks homogeneity. So the idea is to promote business terminology and language in Hindi. Since our newspaper gives them comprehensive information on business, our initiative empowers them in understanding the effective terminology of use.”

     

    For this initiative, they compiled a special pullout which looked at the usage of the Hindi language online, in mobile and the growing interest globally for the language by the likes of Microsoft and Google.

     

    As a part of this initiative Business Standard organized quizzes testing knowledge of business terminology. Enthusiastic participation was seen across Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Patna, Bhopal, Raipur and Kolkata. Business Standard went to the premises of organizations like SBI, LIC, Allahabad Bank, NABARD, BHEL, Bhilai Steel Plant, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank etc.

     

    Business Standard, in Hindi, reaches out to small and medium entrepreneurs, traders, small investors etc. Keeping this focus, the paper itself is designed around meeting this need by adding locally relevant content. Business Standard also brings to the reader what its editorial team is famed for – incisive and in-depth analysis of events. In recent times, the paper has strengthened the coverage of local commodity information immensely benefiting the large trading community.

  • Aaren Initiative Outdoor fully acquired by Lintas Media Group, to be renamed Lintas Initiative Outdoor.

    Aaren is now a 100% LMG company

    By A Correspondent

    Lintas Media Group has completed its acquisition of Aaren Initiative, the country’s premier OOH agency that works for Hindustan Unilever and Nokia, among other blue chip accounts. The 50 percent stake held by the joint venture partner, Aaren Advertising, has been recently purchased by Lintas in an amicable settlement. The name of the agency will be changed to Lintas Initiative.

    Aaren Initiative Outdoor was set up as a 50-50 joint venture between Lintas and Aaren ten years ago when the presence of media agencies in the medium was still unknown.  Aaren Initiative was a pioneer in the space, professionalizing media planning, buying and monitoring in this relatively unorganized medium, and grew rapidly into a large agency billing over Rs 150 crores annually, with offices in 28 cities and a network of over 100 employees.

    Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO of Lintas Media Group and Chairman of Aaren Initiative will continue to be the Chairman of the wholly owned agency. She said, “Through this acquisition we hope to work with many more global clients and have made plans to invest in the right tools and people to transform Lintas Initiative Outdoor into a future ready OOH and retail player. We are grateful to our erstwhile partners, Aaren, for all their counsel and support during the formative years of the agency”.

    Hemanth Shah will continue to function as the Managing Director. Elaborating on his role, Mr Shah said, “The team shall have the independence to function and nurture non-network clients and the network clients shall experience seamless deliveries. The acquisition allows for the company to plan holistic solutions and integrate them into its offerings right from creative to all-media.”