MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • Ajay Garkal, Principal Associate of PR Grid, received the 'Most Effective Media Communication' award at the Global Awards for Brand Excellence during the recently concluded World Brand Congress 2011 in Mumbai.

    PR Grid wins global ‘effective communication’ award

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ajay Garkal, Principal Associate of PR Grid received the ‘Most Effective Media Communication’ award at the Global Awards for Brand Excellence, known for their global recognition and celebration of leading marketers, who have shown innovative leadership in their fields, during the recently concluded World Brand Congress 2011 in Mumbai.

     

    The World Brand Congress, which was held at Taj Land’s End in November, is the single largest rendezvous of the best brains behind some of the world’s most successful and sought after brands. The focus of the two-day Congress in Mumbai was to discuss and influence the issues for innovation and change. The event was attended by over 1000 CMOs, brand custodians, marketing heads and other top echelons of brand experts across the world.

     

    Commenting on the achievement, Mr Garkal said, “Our endeavour is to consistently communicate in a credible and concise manner with the media and as a firm we are proud of the sound communication channels and understanding that we have been able to create and sustain between our clients and the media that covers their respective segments and industries.”

     

    The speakers for this year included Rohit Deshpande, Professor of Marketing, Harvard Business School; Shane Gibson, author of Guerrilla Social Media Marketing; Sandipan Ghosh, Global Head, Marketing, Tiffany Foods Limited; Magnus Aspegren, Director-Singapore Studio, BMW Group (Designworks USA); Chris Aubrey, VP Global Retail Marketing Sport Performance, Adidas AG; Prodipta Sen, Executive Director, Alpha G:Corp; and. Jonathan Kopp, Global Digital Director and Partner, Ketchum; among others.

     

    The World Brand Congress 2011 was supported and sponsored by Godfrey Phillips, Mahindra Rise, ESSAR, Reliance, Alpha G:Corp, Century Ply, HP, Nokia, LG, Servo, TATA Housing, LIC, Canon, Aircel, IBM, Max New York Life, Intel and Ericsson among others.

  • The recently launched new Yahoo! Mail promises to deliver a faster, safer and easier online communications experience for users from across India

    Yahoo! mail available in 8 Indian languages

    By A Correspondent

     

    Yahoo! India has announced that the latest version of Yahoo! Mail can now be accessed in eight new regional languages: Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati.

     

    With a simultaneous rollout in 27 new markets including 22 new languages and 16 new countries, Yahoo! Mail is now available in 46 new languages and more than 70 markets worldwide.

     

     

  • Aidem Ventures has been appointed as the media representative for The Economist online business in India.

    Aidem Ventures to handle sales for The Economist online in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Inez Albert
    Suprio Guha Thakurta
    Neena Dasgupta

    Aidem Ventures has been appointed as the media representative for The Economist online business in India.
    Announcing the appointment, Inez Albert, Digital Sales Director – The Economist Group (Asia/Pacific) Ltd. said, “We look forward to strengthening our business presence in India by appointing Aidem Ventures as our representative in India. This partnership, enhanced with Aidem’s business acumen and expertise in the field, will ensure that our commitment of sharing world views and unbiased news reaches out to all stakeholders in the Indian market.”

     

    Speaking on the appointment, Suprio Guha Thakurta, Managing Director, India at The Economist Group said, “We have appointed a strategic sales partner in Aidem and going by their domain expertise (news and digital), we are certain that we can take our online business to new heights in India.”

     

    Neena Dasgupta, Head, Digital & International Business – Aidem Ventures, said, “We are very excited with this mandate to enhance the advertising potential of a credible, global and iconic media brand like The Economist in India. As India continues to integrate strongly with the world economy, an increasing number of Indian companies and brands are looking at expanding their footprint globally, and are seeking robust global media platforms to build their brands to ensure a sustained engagement with the consumers. Aidem, with its extensive experience and track record in the news and digital space, is best equipped to partner with The Economist Online to strengthen their presence in the Indian market.”

     

    It is estimated that the advertising expenditure by Indian entities (like Incredible India) and companies (private and public sector) in the international markets would be around US $ 100 million. With new emergent sectors like medical tourism, software companies, telecommunications, spiritual and wellness tourism, it is anticipated that there will be brisk growth in the years ahead.

     

    Inez Albert

    Neena Dasgupta

    Suprio Guha Thakurta

  • The Global Awards for Brand Excellence were held on the second day of the World Brand Congress 2011 in Mumbai, and Dainik Bhaskar Group won two awards for Brand Excellence in Print and Radio category.

    Dainik Bhaskar Group Wins 4 awards at ‘Global Awards for Brand Excellence’

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Global Awards for Brand Excellence were held on the second day of the World Brand Congress 2011 in Mumbai, and Dainik Bhaskar Group won two awards for Brand Excellence in Print and Radio category.

     

    – Newspaper: Brand leadership Award – Dainik Bhaskar
    – Radio : Brand Leadership Award- 94.3 MY FM
    Additionally,
    – Ms Neha Mavani, Manager MarComm at Dainik Bhaskar group, won the Young Achievers of the Year Award.
    – Mr Sanjeev Kotnala, Vice President, Dainik Bhaskar group was also felicitated with an award as one of the 25 Top Marketers.

     

    The Global Awards for Brand Excellence, part of the World Brand Congress Awards, are unique for their global recognition and celebration of leading marketers across Asia, who have shown innovative leadership in their fields and taken strides beyond national and regional boundaries as well as product categories. More than 800 professionals from 75 countries participated in this conclave.

     

    The awards had received encouraging recognition with more than 450 entries from 300+ companies in 40 categories. The brands were analyzed for Star Factor, Market Perception, Business Acumen, Financial Results, Employer of Choice, Impact and Innovation. For the Individual category, it was Leadership Skills, Business Ethics, Work-Life Balance, Contribution and Career Graph.

  • History Channel is now available on Mobile TV across major operators and has drawn a strong positive response in social media.

    History being made on Digital platforms

    By A Correspondent

     

    History, the world’s leading factual entertainment channel, which debuted its India edition on October 9th, 2011 and reached out to 45 mn viewers within a month of its launch, is now available on the Mobile Platform. The channel has taken a step further to offer thrilling and action packed content from its channel to the viewers across the country.

     

    History will be available on both platforms – Live Streaming as well as Video On Demand on GPRS enabled mobile phones. To access the application, the user will have to send the keyword “HISTORY” as an SMS to 51818. The user can chose to either view the channel or key episodes from a particular show.

     

    This service is available via Mobile TV across all leading mobile operators on such as Vodafone, Airtel, Idea, Aircel, BSNL, MTNL, Reliance, Tata Docomo and Tata Indicom. There will be different subscription charges based on the package viz. daily (Rs. 7/-) or monthly (Rs. 150/-) based on the user’s choice. The service will soon be available in other Indian languages as well.

     

    Said Ajay Chacko, President, A+E Networks I TV18, “It is our endeavour to ensure that our innovative and cutting edge content reaches every possible audience with access to a screen – be it a TV screen, a computer screen or a mobile phone screen. By making HISTORY available on the mobile platform, we have once again taken a step in the direction of broad basing and growing this genre in India.”

  • The e-paper on the app, the first of its kind, allows readers across the world to read the day's newspaper on their iPad just the way they would read a printed copy.

    The Indian Express, now on iPad

    By Akash Raha

     

    The Indian Express has launched its app for the iPad, allowing readers to read the e-paper on the Apple handheld. Within days of its launch, it was among the top ten free applications on the Apple iStore on Monday. The reader-friendly app has much more than the regular newspaper app – it also has the day’s e-paper, an electronic version of the print edition.

     

    “There’s a growing need, across the world, for news and analysis from India that’s insightful, credible, and trustworthy. That’s what the Express is all about,” said Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief, The Indian Express. “And we are committed to delivering this content to readers wherever they are, whatever device they use. The Indian Express iPad app is the logical next step after our print, web, mobile and Kindle editions.”

     

    The e-paper on the app, the first of its kind, allows readers across the world to read the day’s newspaper on their iPad just the way they would read a printed copy. The e-paper has pages and sections of the paper’s different editions. There is a dedicated photo section that carries swiftly downloadable pictures of the day.

     

    Launched by the Express Group’s online division, the app is free. The app also allows readers to browse through live news stories and articles from The Indian Express’s web site too (www.indianexpress.com.) It includes dedicated sections on business, sports, fashion, editorials, opinion pieces and a photogallery.

     

    The app integrates easy sharing of content on social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Readers could also forward links of articles they like to their friends through e-mail besides and save the articles for subsequent reading. An app user guide has been put up on the newspaper’s website, too.

  • Ten Sports has entered into a long term partnership with the International Hockey Federation to acquire the broadcasting rights for the major FIH Championships till 2014. As part of the agreement Ten Sports will be broadcasting over 50 India playing matches the next four years from major men’s hockey tournaments from around the world.

    Ten Sports gets hockey deal till 2014

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ten Sports has entered into a long-term partnership with the International Hockey Federation to acquire the broadcasting rights for the major FIH Championships till 2014. As part of the agreement Ten Sports will be broadcasting over 50 India-playing matches the next four years from major men’s hockey tournaments from around the world.

     

    Atul Pande, CEO Ten Sports, said, “Our long-term agreement with FIH reaffirms our commitment to bring  the best sports action to our viewers, and this new agreement for telecast of the best of men’s hockey, Champions Challenge and Champions Trophy, reaffirms our commitment to grow the sports business and consolidate our position as the leading sports broadcaster.”

     

    Leandro Negre, FIH President, added, “We’re delighted to extend our long-term partnership with Ten Sports for a further four years.  This deal is of unprecedented value to FIH, not only in terms of the record license fee, but also for us to guarantee hockey fans and FIH sponsors unparalleled exposure for the world’s best hockey events on the subcontinent’s most-watched sports channel.”

  • Sports content provider ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has announced the promotion of Sanjay Kailash to Executive Vice President & Head of Sales (India) for its India operations, ESPN Software India (ESI).

    Sanjay Kailash is ESPN’s EVP, Head of Sales (India)

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sports content provider ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) today announced the promotion of Sanjay Kailash to Executive Vice President & Head of Sales (India) for its India operations, ESPN Software India (ESI).

    Mr Kailash will have an expanded role with the overall responsibility of delivering revenue for various streams of the business including Advertising, Affiliate Sales, Digital Media and Event Management Group. He will continue to report directly to ESI’s Managing Director, Aloke Malik.

    Said Mr Malik: “As we further scale up our business in the market with new networks and offerings, we see great potential in bringing more synergy across different revenue functions. This will allow us to explore more opportunities and develop focused propositions for our business partners. Sanjay’s in-depth knowledge and cross-industry experience will help ESPN Software India further reinforce and broaden its business in the sub-continent, and I believe the organization will benefit from his contributions through this new role.”

    Mr Kailash has been with the company for over 10 years, having made significant and consistent contributions to the Ad Sales function. Most recently, Mr Kailash led the ICC Cricket World Cup Ad Sales effort and set new benchmarks in the media industry. In addition to Mr Kailash’s Ad Sales experience, he has developed a deep understanding of the various facets of this business, and forged strong relationships with clients and key associates over the years. He has been keenly involved in the Programming & Scheduling aspects of the business and contributed to the start-up of the Event Management Group in India, as well as growing the Digital Media business for the company.

    T S Panesar will continue to head Affiliate Sales including both Cable & DTH business and Ad Sales will be led by Anup Govindan, both of whom will report to Sanjay Kailash.

    ESPN STAR Sports India’s content line-up includes major sports events across the globe, such as the top cricket rights for premium International Cricket Council events, the successful Champions League Twenty20 as well as international and domestic cricket from Cricket Australia and the England & Wales Cricket Board; Grand Slam tennis events including the season-opening Grand Slam of the Asia/Pacific in the Australian Open along with the iconic Wimbledon Championship; top quality football in Barclays Premier League; premium motorsports events in Formula 1 and MotoGP; the Golf Majors such as The Masters, US Open and The Open Championship, in addition to the highly-anticipated London 2012 Olympic Games scheduled to begin in July next year.

  • Latest additions include Movies Now, Suvarna News 24X7 & Zee 24 Ghante Chattisgarh.

    Tata Sky expands its channel offerings

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tata Sky, the leading Direct-to-Home service provider, has announced the addition of three new channels to its vast line-up of relevant channels for its subscriber base of over 8 million connections.

     

    A strong advocate of offering a wide range in every genre, Tata Sky has added MOVIES NOW to increase the Hollywood movie quotient on its platform. And continuing in the endeavour to offer channels that mirror the voice of the nation; Tata Sky has also launched Suvarna News 24X7, Asianet’s Kannada news channel from the heart of Karnataka and Zee 24 Ghante Chattisgarh, the only 24-hour satellite news channel in Chhattisgarh.

  • Ormax Media’s quarterly study shows Amitabh Bachchan and Ram Kapoor top television popularity charts

    Amitabh, Ram Kapoor are top of the pops

    By A Correspondent

     

    According to the ninth edition of Ormax Media’s quarterly study Characters India Loves (CIL), Amitabh Bachchan (Kaun Banega Crorepati) and Ram Kapoor (Bade Achhe Lagte Hain) are the most favourite non-fiction and fiction characters on television respectively.

     

    This ninth track of CIL was conducted in October 2011, with a sample size of 3477 respondents in six cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Indore & Jalandhar, in the 15-44 years age group.

     

    Amitabh Bachchan leads the non-fiction popularity list with a staggering 57 percent share. A very successful season of his show Kaun Banega Crorepati (Sony) ended this week.

     

    Ram Kapoor leads with 12 percent share in a more fragmented fiction category, ahead of past leaders like Anandi (Balika Vadhu) and Jethalal (Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma), as well as Priya, his wife in Bade Achhe Lagte Hain.

     

    The CIL report is available to subcription to broadcasters, advertisers and media agencies.

  • In addition to heading the newspaper's editorial team in Mumbai, Mr Majumdar will also be responsible for the editorial administration of the Web, Magazines and Books editorial teams.

    BS elevates Shyamal Majumdar to Exec Ed

    By A Correspondent

     

    Business Standard has elevated Mr Shyamal Majumdar as Executive Editor. In addition to heading the newspaper’s editorial team in Mumbai, Mr Majumdar will also be responsible for the editorial administration of the Web, Magazines and Books editorial teams… he will be the editorial interface with the business departments for these operations, an internal communication said.

  • MSM appoints Ms Smriti Krishna as Sr Vice President & Head of Human Resources for the network.

    Smriti Krishna is MSM’s Sr VP, HR Head

    By A Correspondent

    In their continuing efforts to get the best talent on board MSM, the network has announced the appointment of Ms Smriti Krishna as its Senior Vice President and Head of Human resources.

    Ms Krishna recently relocated to Mumbai from Singapore where she was Vice President and Head of HR for NBC Universal Asia Pacific. Prior to Singapore, she has worked in New York, Tokyo and India with the General Electric Company (GE) and its affiliates in significant HR leadership roles.

    Ms Krishna has a rich background in Human Resources and has been recognized for her work on driving many leadership-based, talent development practices and establishing HR as a strategic and integral part of the organization.

    She started her career with Xerox India before joining GE in 2000. She has an MBA from IMI, New Delhi and is a BA in Psychology Honours from Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi.

    Commenting on Ms Krishna’s appointment, Mr Man Jit Singh, CEO MSM said, “We are glad to welcome Smriti Krishna to the MSM family. We are confident that Smriti’s experience in Human Resources and her global perspective will contribute to the growth of our network and our people. We wish her all the best for her new role.”