Senior mediaperson and Sakal Media Group CEO Jwalant Swaroop has quit the organisation.
He had joined the Pune-based media group in January 2015. According to information we have received, Mr Swaroop will stay with the organisation till October 31. An announcement to this effect has been made by Sakal group Managing Director Abhijit Pawar.
Although Mr Swaroop was unavailable for comment, he is understood to be exploring options including getting back to his consulting assignments.
By A Correspondent
Maharashtra’s largest independently owned media group has appointed Salt Brand Solutions to represent its communications.Salt Brand Solutions will be spearheading the creative strategy and communication for the Pune based Sakal Media Group.
The Group’s extensive portfolio includes – Sakal, Sakal Times, Gomantak, Gomantak Times, Magazines, Saam TV channel and foundations namely DCF, YIN, SILC, Tanishka and Madhurangan.
Mahesh Chauhan, Founder, Salt Brand Solutions said, “Our engagement with Sakal has been a journey of discovery. What appears to outsiders as a regional media group is actually a dynamic media conglomerate that is transforming itself into a media-ecosystem aimed at creating real, sustainable change on ground. We are eager to bring this story alive to all key stakeholders. Besides, I consider it an honour to be associated with an institution like Sakal.â€
“We were impressed by Salt’s thorough understanding of the brand and our ambitions. The team is young and enthusiastic with some great creative work to showcase.†said Jwalant Swaroop, CEO, Sakal Media Group.
The Sakal Media Group tops readership charts in Maharashtra and Goa and publishes 5 daily newspapers with 12 editions, 3 weeklies, 3 magazines in Marathi and English. The newspaper was established in 1932.
By A Correspondent
Veteran industryperson Jwalant Swaroop has joined the Sakal Media Group as CEO. He will take complete charge of the group’s print and digital media businesses.
The Pune-based Sakal Media Group has a presence over nine ‘units’ across Maharashtra along with a Marathi and English daily in Goa. Other than the eponymous flagship Marathi daily, the group also publishes a slew of Marathi magazines, English daily Sakal Times and a daily Marathi tabloid-sized newspaper exclusively on agriculture called Agrowon. While all its publications have digital editions, the Marathi esakal.com is said to be the largest Marathi news website. Sakal is the #2 Marathi daily as per the Indian Readership Survey.
Mr Swaroop is seasoned in the media domain having spent two decades in Lokmat (which is the #1 Marathi daily). He was COO at Lokmat from June 2011 to July 2012 and had joined the Marathi news group in August 1992 after stints in an ad agency and a publication (1995-92).
Since leaving Lokmat, Mr Swaroop set up Oshoyana Consultants in August 2012 and Happiness Unlimited as recently as October 2014.
Speaking to MxMIndia, Mr Swaroop said he was looking forward to leading the Sakal Media Group to greater heights. Interestingly, while at Lokmat, he would fight the Pune-based group fiercely. On Oshoyana and Happiness Unlimited, Mr Swaroop said both operations are being run by professionals now.
While the print and digital business will be looked at by Mr Swaroop, he clarified that he will not oversee the television operations of the group. The social development activities run under the aegis of the Delivering Change Foundation that the group has promoted will be run independently of the Sakal Media Group, it is learnt.
By A Correspondent
The winds of change are blowing at Marathi daily, Lokmat. Senior mediaperson and a veteran newspaper business professional Jwalant Swaroop, who was the Chief Operating Officer of Lokmat Media since June last year, will now take on an advisory role. Meanwhile, executive director Karan Darda, who was being groomed to take full charge of the business operations, is likely to assume the role of the COO.
As Executive Director, Mr Darda has been involved in the operations and circulation areas of the group and has been working towards conceptualizing and implementing marketing programmes. He has been on the board of the Company since April 2009 and is credited with conceptualizing and successfully implementing Aurangabad Premier League for cricket and Kolhapur Premier League for football, thereby creating new opportunities for the group in sports.
Mr Swaroop has been with the Lokmat group since 1992 and was instrumental in the group’s wide acceptance in Delhi amongst marketers and media agency professionals. Mr Swaroop has also worked with the Northern Indian Patrika for a bit and spent around six years in ad agency, Advertising & Integrated Marketing (AIM).
By Jwalant Swaroop
Whether we like it or not, we cannot help but accept IRS as the currency for readership measurement. I do not think that we have an option. Â In fact, I find IRS most valuable tool for its robustness and brilliant consistency. Over a period of time IRS as a product has evolved and is must for the media planning.
1. IRS is the industry’s most acceptable currency. For the benefit of the professionals joining the industry now, let me share that there were times when we had NRS and IRS the two conflicting readership surveys. Now that the merger of both is official, IRS has emerged as the most acceptable currency.
2. IRS is a technically sound product which encapsulates expectations of all the stake holders.
3. Given the sample size IRS captures the readership trends having geographical and demographic details with precision.
4. Despite the fact that it is largely industry funded, IRS has a neutral stance delivering value to clients and agencies equally.
5. The product linkage data in IRS is significant for understanding the market size and set directions to brand and media owners.
6. IRS can also be leveraged for setting directions for the content team to develop content for building attractiveness in the target readership which the media owners desires to build.
7. Since the IRS results are out every quarter, it builds the excitement.
Jwalant Swaroop is COO-Publishing, Lokmat Media Pvt Ltd