MAM

Best creative ideas in digital are simple, straightforward

Published

14 years ago

November 26, 2011

MUMBAI: The best ideas in the digital arena are simple and straightforward. Simplicity can be a very big idea. It is not necessary to have a fancy site and spend millions to get a big marketing campaign done in the digital arena. At the same time it is important to use technology while conceiving a digital campaign. Also there are no best practices. What has worked for one company may not work for another.

These points were made by Star TV VP, head – digital (Internet and Mobile) Lalit Bhagia during a session at the Mobile Digital Marketing Summit held during World Brand Congress 2011. He called them the habits of success for digital. He spoke about ‘Creativity in Digital‘. Another habit that will work is grooming young people as the best digital ideas come from youngsters. That is because they spend a lot of time on new media. This has been learning for him.

Another important thing to remember is that an idea should not be limited to one medium. It should be able to travel across digital, television, print etc. He said that now messaging is for the consumer and not at the consumer. “You need to get consumers to participate. The good news is that the definition of creativity has not changed. You still need insight and a big idea.”

He gave two examples. One was a campaign done to promote the ‘Forever Bond Festival on Star Movies. The idea for the campaign was that people want to be like Bond. The campaign allowed them to do that. Users could drive Bonds car on a web page. The aim was to allow fans of Bond to feel like him. People could use their mobile. Another example was the Fox Crime campaign. The idea for the campaign was that there is a detective in each of us. It was a 360 degree campaign and people had to catch a killer. It wasn‘t easy for users. Among other things they had to go through footage from a transit camera. It gave users the experience of being a detective. It is important in the digital world to do marketing that earns attention. It is doing a campaign on Twitter for Love2hateU a new local show on Star World.

He noted earlier it was just about trying to get a share of the consumers‘ wallet. The difference in digital though is that the consumer is in control. The experience has to be meaningful. Otherwise if he finds an ad annoying he will simply close the web page. One can no longer just throw message at consumers.

Meanwhile Philips Electronics India GM, country head media Amit Tiwari spoke about ‘Role of Creativity and Innovation in Digital and Social Media Marketing‘ at the same session. He noted that while creativity is always part of a campaign brief it is not enough. Innovation is also important. “Innovative creativity is the most powerful creativity that exists. Creativity is important but being different always wins.”

He notes that there is a lot of copying of creative templates when companies should be trying to create their own templates. A Facebook presence cannot be the beginning and end of a brands involvement in digital. Companies need to look at whether campaigns are being done for consumers. There must be a correlation what the consumer wants and what a brand is offering. Campaigns in the digital world have to entertaining and response based. This way one can learn what a consumer wants. Campaigns have to memorable and active. Creativity and innovation leads to sales and brand building. He gave the example of the Philips Valentine‘s Day campaign. Intel‘s Museum of Me initiative also worked well.

The last speaker at the session was MobME Wireless Solutions CEO Sanjay Vijayakumar. He dwelt on ‘The Evolution of Kerala Tourism Brand Mobile Strategy – From WAP site to the worlds largest Iphone/Ipad campaign for Tourism‘. The company has worked with the board for three and a half years. There were mistakes made at first. In 2007 a SMS based initiative was done called dream Season campaign which failed. They then decide to use GPRS. A cross branded campaign with Vodafone was done. The phone becomes an audio guide for people wanting to know about Kerala. In 2010 a welcome R9oamer campaign was done with Idea. It has also done a cross branding experiment with the railways. This year ‘Your Moment is waiting‘ campaign is being done with Google for the US and European markets.

Brands

Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

24 hours ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

24 hours ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

24 hours ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.