MxMIndia

Tag: Sudha Natrajan

  • #KeepLearning will offer educational content in video, audio and article formats

    Times of India joins Byju’s #KeepLearning campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Times of India, in association with edtech major Byju’s, has announced the launch of the #KeepLearning campaign. The initiative intends to empower students, parents and educators with information and the best practices of online learning.

     

    Speaking about the initiative, Sanjeev Bhargava, Director – Brand, TOI said: “The pandemic has brought about several drastic changes in the way we live our lives. One of the sectors that have seen sizeable change is the education sector, which has swiftly transitioned and adopted a digital approach. As a media platform, we have consistently been drivers of effective change in society, building and supporting movements; with this legacy, we bring an endeavour to empower parents and educators while providing them with the best guidance and knowledge in association with Byju’s. Bridging the gap between the knowledge of how to leverage the various digital learning tools that have been developed for us, #KeepLearning will help children, parents and educators alike.”

     

    Added Sudha Natrajan, Director – Response, TOI: “Covid-19’s prevailing impact has forced people to live life indoors. The education sector has also moved from blackboards to digital screens, affecting the life of the students and forcing them to adapt to the digital way of learning. With TOI’s and Byju’s – #KeepLearning initiative, we aim to edify the parents and educators about how they can adapt to these changes and also help students adapt to the changing times for a better future. By using different approaches and digital tools we intend to create a bridge between the parents and teachers to drive them towards a better future for the students.”

     

    Said Mrinal Mohit, Chief Operating Officer, Byju’s: “Learning and education are an important part of our lives. With the advancement of technologies and availability of several tools, it is necessary to expand the scope of learning at every stage and educate ourselves on how we can harness the presented opportunity. With the #KeepLearning campaign, in association with TOI, Byju’s hopes to enlighten students, parents and educators about the ‘how-to’ of e-learning and bring about a change in the education sector.”

     

     

  • India may be out of the T20 Cricket World Cup, but advertisers continue to cheer

    India out, advertisers still in!

     

    By Ananya Saha and Robin Thomas

     

    India might not have made it to the semi-finals of the T20 Cricket World Cup, but the advertisers and sponsors of the event are still cheering. ESPN Star had sold inventories to about 34 advertisers and, according to industry estimates, the advertising revenues that the channel made for the T20 World Cup are already in the range of Rs 250 crore. Are they complaining?

     

    Mahesh Ranka

    Mahesh Ranka, Founder & CEO, Indus Sports and Sponsorship, feels that India’s performance would hit the advertisers. He said, “The ad deliveries in the World Cup will be lower given that India did not make it through. However, the advertisers and sponsors would have taken the factor of India not making it through before they signed up. The bigger issue is for ESPN Star, whose inventory might be affected.”

     

    It is no news that advertisers and agencies always plan with such contingencies, of India not winning or getting out of a tournament, in mind. And especially in the case of T20, India was going to play either five matches or seven. With just three games left, from a sheer quantity perspective, it does not seem a big loss to advertisers.

     

    Anwesh Bose

    Anwesh Bose, Senior Vice President, DDB MudraMax Media, said, “Advertisers and sponsors have got their value already. Cricket is a non-cancellable property, so nobody is going to withdraw the money they have put in. For the T20 World Cup, sponsors buy the inventory for the entire tournament.” He added, “The broadcaster, in this case ESPN Star, holds back about 10 percent of inventory of finals and semi-finals, which they sell at a very high premium. Now that India did not go, they might not be able to command the premium for the inventory.”

     

    With India losing, ESPN Star has definitely lost an opportunity that they would have capitalised on if India had made it through.

     

     

    Vivek Srivastava

    Vivek Srivastava, Joint MD, Innocean Worldwide, said, “If you are a brand that looks at tactical use of such opportunities then you might sound like prophets of doom at this eventuality. However, most strategically driven brands today have long-term sports marketing properties and a long-term perspective on leveraging them. They look at a long-term engagement via a mega sport like cricket. Our client Hyundai has a long-term vision about integrating the brand and engaging with India’s passion for cricket as well as other cricket-playing nations via a five-year official partner status with the ICC. While India missing out on a semi-final berth hurts the emotions, it is business as usual.”

     

    Agreeing with Mr Srivastava is Hiren Pandit, Managing Partner-Special Projects at Group M who opined, “Advertisers have got more mileage and viewership during the T20 matches, and India’s exit will be slightly disappointing for them. Most of the advertisers in cricket are long-term advertisers, all the deals have been done earlier. India’s early exit may have been a missed opportunity but it does not mean that advertisers will not continue to sponsor the sport. Viewership will be impacted by India’s exit but there will still be some viewership.”

     

    The industry believes that the viewership will only see a minor blip, if at all. According to Satish Menon, CEO, Sports 18, while advertisers may be slightly disappointed with the loss, it is not going to stop them from advertising or investing in cricket in the near future.

     

    Mr Menon asserted, “When (Team India) does not do well it does reflect on the viewership and so on. As far as the viewership is concerned there will be a marginal dip, not a huge one because cricket is a universal game and a lot of the cricket fans or viewers also follow other matches equally. So I don’t think India’s exit will have any major impact on viewership and especially because it is the T20 World Cup.”

     

    Sudha Natrajan

    “When India is not there in a tournament, there is between 25 percent and about 35 percent drop in the viewership as compared to when India is playing. This is the sort of trend you see in the earlier games. If the games are interesting, the viewership could even climb, despite India’s exit from the tournament. The problem however is the buzz and the interest level that the country has when India is playing as compared to when they are not playing. So more than the TVR, it is the overall interest that you see diminishing,” concluded Sudha Natrajan, founder, TMC Corporation.

     

    Given that it is the festive season in India, the advertisers might not mind a few losses.

     

     

    Clippings above (LtoR) from DNA, Hindustan Times and The Times of India

     

  • The cafe, which opens on September 6, is the brainchild of Subramanian and Sudha Natrajan. Both come in with more than 20 years' experience each in the industry and wanted to give back something to the industry

    Soul food (& drink) for media folk @ TMC

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    There is no dearth of Cafes and pubs in Delhi. So how is The Media Cafe going to be any different from the rest? The answer relies in the consumers it aims to please – the media fraternity.

     

    The Cafe, which opens on September 6, is the brainchild of Raghav Subramanian and Sudha Natrajan. Both come in with more than 20 years’ experience each in the industry, and wanted to give back something to the industry. “Our industry is very people-centric, so it is for the friends – colleagues and clients – which we have made over the years,” says Sudha Natrajan.

     

     

     

    Raghav Subramanian

    The Media Cafe is a unique concept, which will mainly cater to the entire fraternity – media/advertising/marketing. “Our idea is to have a place where people from the industry can hang out and have a good time. However, since we are in a mall – which gives us security as well as other amenities like power etc – other walk-ins are also expected. Having said that, its not a place where you’ll see Delhi socialites, but is a place where people will become regulars and would want to come and unwind and provide a sense of belonging to the community,” she adds.
    The theme too of the Cafe is very media centric and promises to provide ‘soul’ food to the patrons. The owners aim to provide the best to the industry which has given them so much and want the Cafe to be a place to be much more than ‘business’. “From the ambiance to food to the pricing, we have kept the industry in mind. And as said earlier, we want people to come back again and again. Hence, we don’t want the place to be heavy on people’s pockets. We want both senior as well as junior level employees to enjoy the place,” says Natrajan.

     

    But what about Mumbai? “Of course, Mumbai is on the cards. But let us stabilize here and then we will definitely open-up in Mumbai,” says Natrajan when asked about future plans for the Cafe.

     

    Sudha Natrajan

    Address: 3rd Floor, South Point Mall, next to Genpact, Golf Course Road, Gurgaon, Haryana 122002

    Timings: Mon – Sun 12:00-00:00

    Serves: International and Indian cuisines + alcohol

    Accommodatse: Approx 110-120 people

    Pricing: Not very heavy on the pocket

     

  • Manas Mishra will be President of Initiative as CEO Sudha Natarajan moves on

    Manas Mishra joins Lintas Initiative as President

    By A Correspondent [updated]

     

    Lintas Media Group has confirmed the  the appointment of Manas Mishra as President of Initiative India. As Lintas Initiative Media CEO Sudha Natarajan moves on, Mr Mishra will helm the agency. Presently Managing Director on the 600 million dollar P&G business at Starcom China, Mr Mishra earlier led Mudra Connext till late last year.

     

    A media and communications professional with 17 years of experience spanning media strategy, revenue growth, successful team leadership, and P&L management, Manas has earlier worked with Mediaedge CIA, and Contract, and also ran the Initiative Mumbai office from 2004 to 2006.

     

    Mr Mishra will be based in Gurgaon, overseeing a national team of 65 people servicing the agency’s blue chip accounts in the country – prominent among them being Maruti Suzuki, Sony Electronics, Voltas, Expedia, 3M, Citizen watches etc.

     

    Speaking on this appointment, Lynn de Souza, Chairman and CEO of Lintas Media Group, to whom Mr Mishra will report, said, “It is wonderful to have Manas back with us. He has grown manifold during the time he has spent with other leading agency networks, while retaining a strong strategic bent of mind. His service on the Technical Committee of the IRS has also been highly appreciated.” Mr Mishra added, “I am looking forward to this new journey with Initiative, building new partnerships with teams and clients.”

     

    Meanwhile, Ms   Natrajan will be leaving the agency at the end of July. “Sudha has been a great asset to Lintas Media Group”, added Ms de Souza. “Her business acumen and affectionate nature have won her long standing relationships in the media industry which will serve her well in future pursuits. We will miss her terribly but respect her desire to try out something new”.

     

  • For Subhas Warrier, Lintas Initiative Media (LIM) opens a new chapter in his 2 decade odd career spanning multiple regions and multiple markets

    Subhas Warrier joins LIM as EVP-Head of South

    By A Correspondent

     

    For Subhas Warrier, Lintas Initiative Media (LIM) opens a new chapter in his 2 decade odd career spanning multiple regions and multiple markets. Starting off on an advertising career in Mumbai and then later in Bangalore and Chennai, with an in-between sojourn in SE Asia and Middle East, he joins LIM as an Executive Vice President.

     

    A creative person at heart Mr Warrier’s first love is copy-writing, which he dabbled in during his early days. Media was incidental but that is what made it for him so far.

     

    Prior to his most recent stint with Dentsu Media as their Mumbai Head, he has worked with JWT, Ogilvy, and MindShare followed by handling own business and a consultancy start up called Eye-2-Eye Media in Dubai

     

    A tough work out at the Tennis courts and, an occasional indulgence in Golf, keeps me agile, he says, besides being an off the beaten track traveler/trekker. “I am delighted to join Lintas Initiative Media. There is a great bunch of people here. Our clients here are very aggressive and are open to new ideas and are continuously looking to take more and more innovative initiatives in their marketing effort,” said Mr Warrier.

     

    Sudha Natrajan, CEO, welcomed Mr Warrier onboard, as part of grand plan to make LIM future proof: “A creative mind, bringing back magic to the media business, is what he will bring to the table. A senior council of experienced professionals with cutting edge expertise is what I have set out to build, and Raghav, who joined as the COO, 4 months back, was the first step in that direction. Subhas, who will report into him, will now strengthen the council.”

     

    Raghav Subramanian said: “The South has always been key for Lintas, and has contributed greatly to our overall growth and equity. We have a healthy roster of large clients with long relationships, and we needed someone with the maturity and depth of experience that Subhas brings to the table. We have very aggressive plans for the region for this year, and are already in the process of acquisition of some key new businesses.”