MxMIndia

Category: NEWS

  • Former PepsiCo India head Manu Anand set to take over as head of chocolate maker Cadbury India

    Manu Anand set to take over as head of Cadbury India

    By Ratna Bhushan & Chaitali Chakravarty

     

    Manu Anand

    Manu Anand, former region president, India and South Asia, at PepsiCo, is set to take over as the head of chocolate maker Cadbury India, three officials in direct knowledge of the development said.

     

    It is also learnt that Anand Kripalu, current MD of Cadbury India, is leaving the company to head the Indian arm of a leading liquor multinational.

     

    The spokesperson of Cadbury India said the company does not comment on speculation. “Anand Kripalu is MD & CEO of Cadbury India,” she said. Text messages sent to both Messrs Anand and Kripalu remained unanswered.

     

    Mr Kripalu was heading Cadbury India and South-East Asia before he was redesignated as India MD earlier this year. Cadbury’s operations in emerging markets were restructured earlier this year, with the parent company creating individual business units for India and China and dissolving the developing markets division. In India, Cadbury is a dominant player with over 65 per cent share in the chocolates category. Last year, the firm’s revenues went up 20.8 per cent to Rs 4,065 crore.

     

    The Economic Times had first reported in its June 27 edition that Mr Anand would be joining Mondelez (Cadbury Kraft) after working for almost two decades with PepsiCo.

     

    According to persons familiar with the development, Mr Anand’s resignation from PepsiCo was accepted with immediate effect as the company’s global headquarters felt he was joining a direct competitor.

     

    Both firms sell packaged snacks in many world markets. Cadbury and PepsiCo also sell powder drinks under their Tang and Tropicana brands, respectively.

     

    Mr Anand, who joined PepsiCo in 1994 as CFO of Frito-Lay, PepsiCo’s foods division, was named MD of the foods business four years later. He moved to PepsiCo South-East Asia in 2007, and in 2011 succeeded outgoing chairman Sanjeev Chadha as president of PepsiCo India and South Asia.

     

    In another development, Vinod Rao, former CFO at PepsiCo Asia-Pacific, has been named finance director of the world’s largest liquor firm Diageo’s Asia-Pacific arm, with effect from July 15. A Diageo spokeswoman confirmed Mr Rao’s appointment. “Vinod will be responsible for all aspects of the finance function comprising performance management, compliance, and regional strategy across the region,” she said in a statement.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The former ECD at Contract will be responsible for creating multi-platform campaigns for the assets led by him.

    Juju Basu joins Star India as Creative Communication Head for new business verticals

    Juju Basu

    Star India has appointed Juju Basu as Creative Communication Head for new business verticals, including its sports properties. Mr Basu will be responsible for creating multi-platform campaigns for the assets led by him.

     

    Prior to joining Star, he was Senior Vice President and Executive Creative Director at Contract Advertising. Mr Basu has had successful stints with Grey Worldwide and Saatchi & Saatchi and he was on the jury of the Direct Lions at the recently held Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. “His vast experience will strengthen Star India’s efforts to create an unparalleled resource pool within the network by appointing talented professionals from diverse business domains,” noted a Star India statement.

     

    “After a rather long stint in the advertising world, I decided to focus my creative efforts on content. Star, with its rich canvas of content and its appetite for innovation, offers a great opportunity to further strengthen the creative foundations I built during my years in advertising,” said Mr Basu.

     

    Mr Basu began as an art intern straight after high school. Grey’s Kolkata office was his training ground and he’s still learning a new trick every day. After stints at Grey Kolkata, Colombo and Mauritius, he moved to the agency’s Mumbai office. Winning local metals regularly, he was a part of the Young Creative team representing India.

     

    As Creative Director at Saatchi’s Mumbai office for five years, he saw more local and international awards, including Cannes Lions, D&AD, the One Show and the Asia Pacific Adfest. At Contract’s Gurgaon office, he worked with Domino’s and NIIT.

     

  • Now that the telegram service has been put to rest, we thank all those who have rendered selfless service over the years. They have been at it through indifferent weather and law and order conditions and often at very odd hours.

    1 Minute view: Salute, the telegraph office staff

    So the last of the telegrams were sent out on Sunday evening. When the writer of this comment sent out a dozen-odd phonograms to kids in the family and those of some friends for them to keep a piece of history, he entered into an interesting conversation with the operator at Mumbai’s Central Telegraph Office near Churchgate.

     

    She has been working for 35 years with the telegraph office, and while she isn’t too worried about her job as BSNL will absorb all staff in various functions, there was a moment of sadness. Though the writing was on the wall as the telegram had lost much of its utility over the years.

     

    In fact, in the last 15-odd years, ever since telephone usage leapfrogged and emails entered our lives, one didn’t really feel the need for using the telegram. The last straw was of course text messaging which ensured that it would be curtains for the 160-year telegram service.

     

    For generations, the telegram was the fastest mode of written communication for the lay person. Those in offices had access to telexes and teleprinters. It was often considered a harbinger of good and bad news. In fact, when the bearer of telegram would announce his (or her) arrival, many of us would greet him with a prayer on our lips. Lest the telegram would bring in news of someone’s passing or ill health…

     

    Now that the telegram service has been put to rest, we thank all those who have rendered selfless service over the years. They have been at it through indifferent weather and law and order conditions and often at very odd hours.

     

    Salute!

     

  • IBN7 takes on a fresh look from today (July 15) in an attempt to add value to advertisers, sponsors, etc

    IBN7 repositions, dons new look

    By A Correspondent

     

    Network18’s Hindi news channel IBN7 is sporting a new look with effect from today. In a communiqué sent out to the media on Saturday, the effort is to enhance the channel’s news content and positioning.

     

    As part of the refreshed look-and-feel, IBN7 has gone in for a new logo and a new tagline – Bebaq.Bekhauf – which, the communiqué adds, is a “logical continuation of the earlier tagline ‘Khabar – Har keemat Par’ that reflects the channel’s approach to covering news”

     

    A new campaign to promote the channel is also being unveiled. Themed Nidar. Atal. Prachand. Satya., the campaign defines IBN7 as a channel which is fearless (nidar), accurate (atal), impactful (prachand), and truthful (satya).

     

    Although TAM does not release the numbers of individual channels, according to information available to MxMIndia, IBN7 has been ranking #6 as per TAM ratings over the last five weeks (CS 15+ AB in the Hindi-speaking markets). Aaj Tak leads the list followed by ABP News, India TV, Zee News, NDTV India and then IBN7. Given the Network18 pedigree in news and CNN-IBN’s status amongst English news channels, it has indeed been a surprise that IBN7 is way down the ladder. Some media analysts, Hindi news TV-watchers and former staffers we spoke with attribute the failure to innovate and adapt to market trends as the primary reasons for this. There is also an issue of distribution of the channel.

     

    While attempts to reach the channel spokesperson over the weekend failed, the quotes handed out in a press release are as follows:

    Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN, IBN7 and IBN-Lokmat: “We are delighted to announce the new look of the channel. With the new logo and the revamped look, we intend to enhance the brand recall and continue with our vision to deliver quality news and programming which will have a positive impact on our viewers.”

     

    Ashutosh, Managing Editor, IBN7: “The revamped look of the channel celebrates many glorious years of bringing the untold truth to our viewers. The move is aimed to reiterate the channel’s vision and philosophy and convey its message in a firm manner.”

     

    Sanjay Dua, CEO, Network18 Media: “The defining value of IBN7 which projects fearlessness, boldness and an unbiased approach will now reflect in the channel’s everyday reporting. India’s Channel of Impact, with its refined positioning, will continue to stand out from the rest.”

     

    Dilip Venkatraman, CEO, IBN7: “We are excited about the energies that the new logo, look, tagline and campaign are able to add to IBN7 and we are sure these will add considerable value to all our stakeholders, especially our advertising clients, sponsors, media agencies and other partners.”

     

  • Sanjay Kaul, head of Impact Communications, Sanjeev Shukla, Head of Rural Vertical at Hero MotoCorp Ltd and Rajkumar Jha of Ogilvy have been re-elected Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively

    Pradeep Kashyap re-elected President of RMAI

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rural marketing expert Pradeep Kashyap was re-elected President of the Rural Marketing Association of India (RMAI) at its eighth annual general meeting held last week (July 12).

     

    Sanjay Kaul, head of Impact Communications, Sanjeev Shukla, Head of Rural Vertical at Hero MotoCorp Ltd and Rajkumar Jha of Ogilvy have also been re-elected as Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Besides the above, the other committee members inducted are Seshu Kumar, head of rural retail business at ITC, Himanshu Shah, Chief Mentor of SOI Live Marketing and Vivek Dwivedi, Head – North & East at Percept Limited.

     

    The executive body has been further expanded, given the enhanced potential and opportunities in rural India. Sandip Bansal, Chief Client Officer of Dialog Factory (Group M) and Ranga Rao, Director of RSR Lemon Media Pvt Ltd, have been inducted as Joint Secretaries to spearhead RMAI’s endeavours in West & South respectively.

     

  • Branded jeweller major sends telegrams to commemorate its timelessness

    Orra showcases timelessness by sending telegrams

    By A Correspondent

     

    Branded jeweller major Orra has launched a campaign using telegrams to commemorate the end of the service on July 15. These telegrams were sent to well-wishers and customers, bidding goodbye to the era of telegrams and showcasing the timelessness of Orra.

     

    Said Vijay Jain, CEO, ORRA: “The idea of telegrams was to capture both the nostalgia of the end of an era as well as showcase the timelessness of Orra. For many people this will the be the first and the last opportunity to send a telegram . Also to reach to out to the youth in India we are marrying the old world with the young by sending out telegrams on behalf of our Twitter and Facebook fans.”

     

    The message sent in the telegram was as follows: “Telegrams – Soon to be part of a bygone era. Thankfully some things go on forever. ORRA – Pure Brilliance Impossible to Hide.

     

  • Zee Entertainment will be presenting corporate partner of the ninth edition of the Kyoorius Designyatra to be held in Goa from August 29-31.

    Zee is presenting partner of Kyoorius Designyatra conference

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading fine paper provider and design evangelist Kyoorius announced that the 2013 edition of its annual conference Kyoorius Designyatra will have Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) as the presenting corporate partner.

     

    In its ninth edition, Kyoorius Designyatra 2013 will be held in Goa over three days from August 29 to 31 and likely to be attended by over 1350 delegates including design professionals,creative and art directors, marketing heads, brand heads and students. Rajesh Kejriwal, CEO & Co-Founder of Kyoorius says “attendance from ‘clients’ has consistently grown and we anticipate about 300 senior professionals this year.”*

     

    The theme for the 2013 edition is ‘Create Change’ which will push the envelope and challenge creative professionals to use design as a tool to create real change – change that’s beyond the aesthetic. Inspire them to defy convention and use design as a tool to create real impact – connecting with the audience visually and emotionally.

     

    Meanwhile, Zee and Kyoorius have also announced the launch of IAA Kyoorius Digiyatra in association with International Association of Advertisers (India Chapter).

     

    Digiyatra will be held on the first day of the three day conference – 29th August and will feature some of the world’s best and most influential professionals from global social media giant Facebook to innovative digital marketers and designers to showcase where ‘digital’ is truly going. The day will be dedicated to building online platforms, experiences and content for consumer engagement.

     

    This year’s Designyatra and Digiyatra will feature speakers including Tim Greenhalgh – Global CCO at Fitch, Margret Stewart – Director of Product Design at Facebook, Elizabeth McGuane – Content Strategy Director at LBi London, Jessica Walsh- Partner at Sagmeister & Walsh, KV ‘Pops’ Sridhar – CCO at Leo Burnett India and Subcontinent, Karin Fong – Director at Imaginary Forces, Natasha Jen – Partner at Pentagram, Laura Jordan Bambach from Dare UK, amongst many others.

     

    Said Bharat Ranga, Chief Content and Creative Officer at Zee: “Kyoorius Designyatra has always been a brilliant platform for connecting with the communicators of India, creating inspiration and fueling growth and change. We are glad to come on board as Kyoorius’ corporate partner and support the development of creativity in marketing and communications for the nation – communication that can make a real difference.”

     

    Added Srinivasan K Swamy, President, IAA – India Chapter, “IAA has been focused on ‘digital’ side of communication business where we see a vacuum in knowledge. The IAA Kyoorious Digiyatra has shaped up well and I am sure the delegates are in for a great learning experience.”

     

    *Disclosure: MxMIndia is partnering the Kyoorius Designyatra 2013

     

  • Former Group M entertainment and sports specialist joins SE TransStardia Pvt Ltd as COO

    Hiren Pandit joins TransStadia as COO

    By  A Correspondent

     

    Sports infrastructure firm SE TransStadia Pvt. Ltd has announced the appointment of Hiren Pandit as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this, Mr Pandit was at GroupM and amongst the many roles he played there, one of them was to drive the entertainment and sports practice (ESP).

     

    Said Udit Sheth, Managing Director and CEO: “TransStadia has swiftly grown over the last four years. To manage this growth and further build the business we wanted to build a strong leadership team. I have known Hiren for some time now and believe his experience and passion are the right combination to lead TransStadia in achieving its objectives..”

     

    Said Mr Pandit, “I am passionate about sports and the commitment TransStadia has shown in this space is how I made this decision to join them”.

     

    TransStadia has diversified interests across sports academies,intellectual property rights, consulting and infrastructure. Over the last few years TransStadia has worked at the grassroots level to develop talent and has launched sports academies in various states.

     

  • Leading VAS player OnMobile has elevated Sanjay Bhambri as Chief Commercial Officer

    Sanjay Bhambri is CCO at OnMobile Global

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading telecom value added services provider OnMobile Global Limited has announced the appointment of Sanjay Bhambri as Chief Commercial Officer.

     

    In this role, Mr Bhambri will be the global Client Facing Unit head for the company and will lead teams in emerging markets, LATAM, Europe & North America. The new COO rejoined OnMobile a year ago, as Regional Vice President, Emerging Markets. He has been handling OnMobile’s engagements with India, APAC, Middle East and Africa and played a critical role in driving growth and streamlining operations in these geographies.

     

    “Sanjay has been associated with OnMobile for more than 6 years and has been playing a critical role in leading transformational initiatives globally. He has consistently delivered superior results and shown tremendous leadership over the years.” said Mouli Raman, Co-Founder & CEO, OnMobile.

     

    Said Mr Bhambri: “OnMobile is present in 59 countries across the globe and I look forward to firmly establish it as the global leader in the Mobile Services space by maximizing revenues from our current footprint and expand it further.”

     

  • Aidem Ventures will take charge of all-India sales of the Aamoda Broadcasting Network-run Telugu channel ABN Andhrajyothy

    ABN Andhrajyothy mandates Aidem for ad sales

    By A Correspondent

     

    ABN Andhrajyothy, a leading 24-hour Telugu news channel, has appointed Aidem Ventures as its ad sales partner.

     

    The Aamoda Broadcasting Network-run Telugu channel ABN Andhrajyothy also publishes Telugu newspaper Andhrajyothy since a decade. The TV channel was launched on October 15, 2009.

     

    Vemuri Radhakrishna
    Alok Rakshit

    “We have a very strong foothold in the local market and we feel that this is the right time to expand our ad sales operations pan-India. With Aidem’s expertise, established network and relationship with clients and agencies pan India, we are confident that it will strengthen our growth strategy of taking channel revenues to the next level,” said Vemuri Radhakrishna, Managing Director of ABN Andhrajyothy.

     

    “‘Among the southern states, Andhra Pradesh has the largest number of dedicated news channels, apart from having the highest cable TV penetration. Being one of the leading news channels in the market, we feel privileged to be signing ABN Andhrajyothy’s all-India sales mandate,” said Alok Rakshit, Business Head, Regional Entertainment and News, Aidem Ventures.

     

  • DB Corp announces launch of Akola edition of Dainik Divya Marathi

    Divya Marathi launches 6th edition from Akola

    By A Correspondent

     

    DB Corp Limited announced the launch of its latest edition of Dainik Divya Marathi from Akola in Maharashtra. With this launch, the Marathi daily has expanded its presence into 6 cities in Maharashtra with 6 editions in the region and 65 editions across India for the Dainik Bhaskar group.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Sudhir Agarwal, Managing Director, DB Corp Limited, “Divya Marathi newspaper Akola edition launch has extended our footprint even further across Maharashtra, this being our 6th edition in the state. Akola is a developing city and one of the major cities of Vidarbha region. The city is taking rapid strides in the IT sector and also has a rich cultural heritage. Evidently, Akola brings with it a new proposition and reach to advertisers and we aim to fortify our presence here to emerge as the most preferred media for corporates while also strongly connecting with readers in this region.”

     

    As has been done by the group for the launch of its previous editions and newspapers, a survey was conducted to introduce the Divya Marathi brand to readers for the first time, connect with them, ascertain their individual preferences to ultimately develop news daily that will address their unique issues and highlight aspects that will contribute to Akola’s socio economic development.

     

    A brand campaign supported the launch and announced the progress of the survey at every stage – “Tumchi Marji Janoon Ghyayla Yetoye” (We are coming to know your opinion/wishes!) and “Na Ravanchi, Na Sahebanchi, Aata Chalel Tumchi Marji” (Neither of influential class, nor of politicians, now only public opinion will make a difference!)

     

  • The Information & Broadcasting Ministry has sought the recommendations of TRAI for issues concern FDI cap related to the broadcasting sector and has sought comments of the Press Council of India for FDI in the print media

    MIB seeks TRAI & Press Council views on FDI cap in TV & print

    By A Correspondent

     

    In response to the draft consultation paper of the Ministry of Finance on FDI caps in the Print and Broadcasting Sector, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry has sought the recommendations of TRAI for issues related to the broadcasting sector and has sought the comments of the Press Council of India for matters concerning the print media.

     

    As the process of consultations with both TRAI and PCI would take time, the ministry has communicated to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) that the existing limits of FDI caps and entry routes in the print and broadcasting sectors may continue and status quo in the interim be maintained as prescribed in the consolidated FDI Policy 2013.

     

    Earlier, on receipt of the draft consultation paper on FDI Caps, the ministry undertook comprehensive consultations with stakeholders in the print and broadcasting sectors to elicit their views on the issues concerned. During the consultations, divergent views emerged leading to the issues remaining inconclusive. It may be pointed out that while the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has sought additional time to give its comments, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has not furnished its comments till date. In view of the given position, the Ministry has felt that the matter be referred to TRAI and PCI for seeking their comments.

     

    According to a communique, since TRAI is the regulator for broadcasting and cable services, as in the past, it  needs to be consulted on account of the likely impact of the proposal is expected to have on the Broadcasting Sector as a whole. In September 2012, the foreign investment limits of various segments in broadcasting sector were revised based on TRAI recommendations. TRAI had gone through the due process of consultations with the stakeholders before it made its recommendations.