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Category: MAM

  • Times OOH chief gets billboard industry throne

    Times OOH chief gets billboard industry throne

    MUMBAI:The billboards plastering India’s chaotic streets have found their new overlord. Narayanaswami Shekhar, chief executive of Times OOH, has been crowned chairman of the Indian Outdoor Advertising Association, handing the Times Group executive sway over an industry grappling with digital revolution and regulatory squeeze. Earlier the vice-chairman, he takes over from Jagran Engage COO Pawan Bansal.

    Shekhar’s ascent to the top of IOAA puts him at the helm of a lobby group that corrals more than 80 per cent of India’s leading outdoor media barons and boasts 220-plus members scattered from Mumbai’s traffic-choked arteries to Bangalore’s tech corridors. The association’s bread and butter involves fending off municipal crackdowns whilst championing the interests of companies that transform India’s urban jungle into a kaleidoscope of consumer messaging.

    The appointment comes as India’s outdoor advertising sector—worth billions of rupees—faces an existential reckoning. Digital screens are rapidly displacing static hoardings, whilst smartphone ubiquity threatens the traditional model of ambushing commuters with roadside pitches. Meanwhile, courts and municipal authorities have launched periodic crusades against “visual pollution,” threatening the very billboards that fund the industry.

    Shekhar’s new perch positions him as the industry’s chief evangelist at a pivotal moment. His Times OOH stable operates across India’s major cities, where the company’s digital displays compete for eyeballs against everything from Hindi film posters to political propaganda. The challenge now is ensuring outdoor advertising remains relevant in an increasingly screen-saturated landscape.

    For the Times group, Shekhar’s industry chairmanship represents a strategic coup. The media conglomerate can now influence regulations and standards that directly impact its outdoor advertising arm, whilst positioning itself as the sector’s thought leader.

    The association’s core mission—protecting and promoting outdoor advertising interests—takes on fresh urgency as Indian cities grapple with beautification drives that often view billboards as urban blight rather than legitimate business infrastructure.

  • Greaves Cotton reshuffles deck chairs as power veteran takes charge

    Greaves Cotton reshuffles deck chairs as power veteran takes charge

    MUMBAI:  Greaves Cotton has handed the reins of its energy solutions business to Swarnendu Jha, a 26-year power industry veteran who has hopscotched between diesel engine makers and generator specialists from Pune to the Gulf.

    The Mumbai-listed engineering firm promoted Jha to vice president of energy solutions on Sunday, whilst simultaneously making  marketing and sales head Abhijit Joshi report to the newly-minted Jha. With that, Joshi has lost his status as senior management personnel under stock exchange rules.

    Jha’s appointment caps a career spent navigating India’s stuttering power sector, from his early days at Kirloskar Oil Engines through stints at American heavyweight Cummins and a spell flogging Caterpillar generators across the Gulf states with distributor Mar Al Bahar. The mechanical engineering graduate from Pune University later topped up his credentials with a sales and marketing diploma from Symbiosis—academic armour for battling in India’s cut-throat industrial markets.

    The reshuffle comes as Greaves Cotton, founded in 1859 during the British Raj, grapples with India’s energy transition. The company has been pivoting from its traditional diesel engine roots towards cleaner technologies, including electric vehicles and renewable energy solutions, as environmental regulations tighten and customer preferences shift.

    Joshi’s reporting change, which is what Greaves Cotton has diplomatically framed it, suggests the company wants a more seasoned hand steering its energy portfolio. The move mirrors broader corporate India’s tendency to parachute industry specialists into key roles as competition intensifies and margins compress.

    The timing is telling: India’s power equipment sector faces headwinds from slowing industrial growth and delayed project approvals, even as the government pushes aggressive renewable energy targets. Companies like Greaves Cotton must thread the needle between supporting India’s coal-fired industrial base and positioning for a cleaner energy future.

    For investors, the appointment signals Greaves Cotton’s intent to professionalise its energy division management, though whether Jha’s considerable experience can translate into improved performance remains to be tested against India’s notoriously fickle power markets.

  • Vision beyond sight: Chokkhudaan ushers in Pujo with true inclusivity

    Vision beyond sight: Chokkhudaan ushers in Pujo with true inclusivity

    MUMBAI: Eye-opening celebrations marked the start of Devi Paksho in Kolkata, as Doctors’ Choice and the Kashi Bose lane puja committee hosted ‘Chokkhudaan – Pujo Dekho Moner Chokhe,’ a moving initiative that placed empathy and inclusion at the heart of Durga Puja.

    In a symbolic gesture, children with visual impairment inaugurated the Pujo festivities, reminding the community that the spirit of Sharod Utsav is as much about shared humanity as it is about grandeur.

    The occasion was graced by dignitaries including Government of West Bengal, hon’ble minister for industries, commerce & enterprises, dr Shashi Panja, alongside senior leaders of Doctors’ Choice. The event also honoured achievers from the visually impaired community: swimmer Chinmay Mondal, cricket administrator Kanai Lal Chakraborty, and theatre advocate Subhash Dey, recognising their resilience and contribution.

    Music then took centre stage, with a soulful performance by the visually impaired children that left audiences deeply touched. This year, the Kashi Bose Lane pandal has also introduced Braille descriptions of its theme, ensuring accessibility for visitors with special needs and truly making the festival one for all.

    “As we welcome Maa Durga, Chokkhudaan has reminded us that the essence of Pujo lies not only in its splendour but in inclusion and togetherness,” said Doctors’ Choice, head of marketing & strategy, Shivam Agarwal.

    Extending the theme of vision, a special eye donation booth in collaboration with Medical Bank has been set up at the pandal, while a selfie zone spreads awareness with a call to pledge sight as the ultimate gift.

    By turning the spotlight on the visually impaired and encouraging eye donation, Doctors’ Choice has ensured this Pujo begins not just with devotion but with compassion, proving that sometimes, the clearest vision comes from the heart.

  • Nielsen pushes case for independent audience measurement at India Brand Summit India ’25

    Nielsen pushes case for independent audience measurement at India Brand Summit India ’25

    MUMBAI: When brands can’t measure right, they can’t spend smart. That was the blunt message from Nielsen at the third India Brand Summit 2025, organised by Indian Television dot com, on 19 September.

    The summit brought together a heavyweight mix of marketers from leading FMCG firms, advertising agencies, media buyers, policymakers and digital innovators: all focused on rewriting India’s branding playbook with sharper, more cost-effective strategies.

    Speaking on the theme “The need for an independent audience measurement system for enhanced reach analysis,” Nielsen, senior director, Mridul Verma  made the case for breaking out of siloed metrics. He argued that platform-specific data clouds the true picture of audience reach, causing wasted ad spend and missed opportunities.

    To illustrate, he cited a Samsonite campaign that tapped Nielsen one ads to fine-tune in-flight advertising. By applying unified, cross-platform measurement, the brand was able to optimise outcomes across connected TV, mobile and desktop.

    Verma noted that such cross-channel clarity is critical in today’s fragmented media environment, adding that independent measurement is no longer a nice-to-have but a necessity for marketers seeking efficient and accountable growth.

    With digital advertising spend soaring in India, Nielsen’s pitch for a single yardstick was clear: only a unified view can keep campaigns efficient and effective in a crowded media landscape.

     

  • ITC Sunrise honours Bengal’s dhakis with Dhaki Utsav

    ITC Sunrise honours Bengal’s dhakis with Dhaki Utsav

    MUMBAI: Drumrolls don’t just herald celebrations this Pujo, they’ve become the celebration itself. In a landmark cultural tribute, ITC Sunrise put Bengal’s beloved dhakis centre stage with a spectacular ‘Dhaki Utsav’ at Kolkata’s iconic Kumartuli Ghat on Mahalaya.

    Led by percussion virtuoso Tanmoy Bose and Padma Shri awardee Gokul Dhaki, the never-before-seen spectacle brought dozens of traditional drummers together in unison, unveiling a specially composed Durga Puja anthem for Sunrise.

    The riverfront reverberated with the thunderous rhythm of the dhak, weaving music into devotion against the sacred backdrop of Kumartuli, where idol-making and rituals mark the spiritual awakening of goddess Durga. The beats weren’t just performance; they were a collective heartbeat of Bengal’s biggest festival.

    “Durga Puja is not just a celebration, it is an emotion stitched together with rhythm,” said ITC Spices, business head, Piyush Mishra. “With Dhaki Utsav, we wanted to shine the spotlight on the artists who define the soundscape of Pujo.”

    For the dhakis themselves, the recognition was deeply moving. “Pujo is life for us,” said Gokul Dhaki. “To see our art celebrated on such a scale is an honour beyond words.” Bose echoed the sentiment, calling the performance “a privilege and a moment to cherish forever.”

    With this initiative, Sunrise has gone beyond spices to spice up tradition, not only creating a festive anthem but etching a new cultural legacy that honours the keepers of Bengal’s most iconic rhythm.

    From empowering women priests to celebrating self-defence through its Durgatinashini campaign, Sunrise has consistently blended tradition with progress. This year’s Dhaki Utsav reinforces its role as a brand deeply rooted in Bengal’s heritage, ensuring the drummers who fuel Pujo’s spirit are finally recognised as its soul.

  • Mondelez moves veteran to crack Asia’s snack market

    Mondelez moves veteran to crack Asia’s snack market

    INGAPORE: Mondelez International has handed the keys to its south-east Asian kingdom to Abhiroop Chuckarbutty, a battle-hardened consumer goods veteran who spent more than two decades navigating the treacherous waters of emerging markets from Mumbai’s bustling bazaars to Dubai’s gleaming malls.

    The 22-year industry stalwart, who orchestrated the messy separation of a $500m tea business from Unilever’s sprawling empire in 2024, will now steer the American snacking giant’s charge across a region where Oreos compete with local delicacies and Cadbury chocolate battles tropical heat.

    Chuckarbutty’s appointment as president comes after a year running Mondelez’s African operations from Johannesburg, where he cut his teeth on the company’s complex multi-market dynamics. Before that corporate musical chairs routine, he spent two turbulent years as president of ekaterra’s Africa, Middle East and Turkey tea business, shepherding the venture through its acrimonious divorce from Unilever in 2022.

    The executive’s résumé reads like a corporate fire-fighting courseware. At Unilever, where he spent 16 years climbing the ranks, Chuckarbutty wrestled with everything from sluggish west Asian markets to the herculean task of digitising India’s advertising landscape. He juggled profit-and-loss responsibility for a bewildering array of brands—from Lifebuoy soap bars to Kissan ketchup—across markets as diverse as Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.

    His new perch in Singapore puts him at the epicentre of Asia’s snacking revolution, where rising incomes and urbanisation are fuelling an insatiable appetite for packaged treats. The region’s young, mobile-savvy consumers present both opportunity and headache for western brands trying to crack local tastes whilst fending off nimble domestic rivals.

    Chuckarbutty’s knack for “business turnarounds and accelerating scale businesses”—as his corporate biography modestly puts it—will be tested against south-east Asia’s fragmented markets, where regulatory tangles and supply-chain snarls can derail even the slickest marketing campaigns.

    The appointment signals Mondelez’s intent to double down on a region that represents one of the fastest-growing snacking markets globally, even as trade tensions and economic uncertainty cloud the broader Asian outlook

  • Madison Media’s Vikram Sakhuja takes over as chairman of MRUC

    Madison Media’s Vikram Sakhuja takes over as chairman of MRUC

    MUMBAI: Madison World, partner group ceo, Madison Media & OOH, Vikram Sakhuja has been elected chairman of the MRUC (Media Research Users Council of India). The MRUCI board approved his appointment at its annual general meeting, with Sakhuja succeeding Shailesh Gupta of Jagran Media. He had been vice-chairman of the body since 2024.

    Joining him on the new leadership slate, Dhruba Mukherjee, director at ABP Network, has been elected vice-chairman, while Shashi Sinha, executive chairman of IPG Mediabrands, will head the IRS technical committee, a role Sakhuja previously held.

    An alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta, Sakhuja brings nearly four decades of experience across marketing, media and advertising. He has held leadership roles at P&G (Procter & Gamble), Coca-cola, Star TV, Mindshare, Groupm and Maxus Worldwide, before taking over at Madison in 2015. 

  • Rakesh Jha steps in as Eyeota’s unit sales head for North

    Rakesh Jha steps in as Eyeota’s unit sales head for North

    NEW DELHI: Eyeota has tapped Rakesh Jha to lead sales across northern India, a hire aimed at bulking up the Dun & Bradstreet subsidiary’s reach in the country’s fastest-growing advertising corridor.

    Jha spent more than seven years at Times Internet, climbing from senior officer to senior manager of ad sales. He managed headline clients including CoinDCX, Atomberg Technologies, The Sleep Company and Optimum Nutrition, and cut deals with agencies such as Dentsu, Mindshare, Havas Media and Edelman. His remit covered everything from native and programmatic media buys to content-marketing projects on platforms such as Spotlight and Colombia Ads.

    Before Times Internet, Jha worked on publisher alliances at LocoVida, helping more than 120 publishers across 11 languages drive audience engagement and programmatic revenues. Known for a forensic eye on CPM, CPC and CPL models, he has a record of negotiating high-yield contracts, running multichannel campaigns and squeezing extra performance from digital budgets.

    At Eyeota, Jha will marshal revenue growth and data partnerships across Delhi and neighbouring states, marrying his pitch-perfect sales craft with Eyeota’s audience-enrichment and targeting tools. The company sees India’s northern belt—home to the country’s biggest advertisers—as a critical frontier for its global expansion

  • Zee TV’s ‘Ganga Mai Ki Betiyan’ celebrates strength of single motherhood

    Zee TV’s ‘Ganga Mai Ki Betiyan’ celebrates strength of single motherhood

    MUMBAI: Holding her daughters’ hands, she’s walking into prime time with courage, grit and grace. Zee TV is set to launch its new drama, Ganga Mai Ki Betiyan, a heartwarming tale of a single mother who rebuilds her life from scratch and raises her daughters to stand tall against society’s taunts.

    Adapted from Zee Kannada’s hit show Puttakana Makkalu, the Hindi remake shines a light on women’s resilience in the face of abandonment and stigma. Set in the culturally vibrant backdrop of Varanasi, the series is produced by Ravie Dubey and Sargun Mehta’s Dreamiyata Dramaa.

    The show follows Ganga Mai (played by Shubhangi Latkar), who raises her daughters Sneha (Amandeep Sidhu), Sahana (Srishti Jain) and Soni (Vaishnavi Prajapati) with dignity, self-respect and an unbreakable spirit. Each daughter brings a unique flavour to the story: Sneha, the fiery dreamer aiming to be a district collector; Sahana, the nurturer whose cooking and wisdom hold the family together; and Soni, the playful yet mature spark who keeps optimism alive at home.

    Adding another layer to the drama is Sheizaan Khan as Siddhant, a feared yet soft-hearted moneylender whose life changes when he crosses paths with Sneha.

    To mark the launch, Zee TV hosted an experiential set tour in Chandigarh, where media were treated to a soulful meal at the family’s on-screen dhaba, mirroring the warmth and simplicity of the characters.

    Zee TV,  chief channel officer, Mangesh Kulkarni said, “With shows like Saru, Tumm Se Tumm Tak, Chhoriyan Chali Gaon, and now Ganga Mai Ki Betiyan, we are bringing forth stories that are rooted in culture yet contemporary in their outlook.”

    Zee Entertainment, chief content officer, Raghavendra Hunsur added, “What moves us most is not just Ganga Mai’s struggle, but the everyday grace with which she turns hardship into hope.”

    For lead actor Shubhangi Latkar, the role has been transformative. “Ganga Mai is a symbol of every woman who chooses dignity over despair. Portraying her has been an emotionally enriching journey for me,” she added.

    With its message that daughters are never a burden but a source of pride, Ganga Mai Ki Betiyan promises to strike an emotional chord with families across India.

     

  • Nasher Miles & Flipkart add colour to ‘The Big Billion Days’ 25′

    Nasher Miles & Flipkart add colour to ‘The Big Billion Days’ 25′

    MUMBAI: Why pack dull when you can pack with personality? This festive season, Nasher Miles is unzipping a bold new chapter in travel style, teaming up with Flipkart for ‘The Big Billion Days 2025.’

    The luggage brand, celebrated for its splash of colour and playful spirit, has rolled out two cheeky films starring digital darlings Sakshi Shivdasani and Ayush Mehra. The duo brings their trademark wit and charm to everyday travel scenarios, from last-minute road trips to date-night dashes, where bland baggage just doesn’t fit the bill.

    With the sassy slogan “Why so boring, bro?”, Nasher Miles is calling time on lifeless luggage, nudging young, style-conscious travellers to match their bags to their vibe: colourful, durable, and unapologetically fun.

    “This campaign is about more than bags, it’s about boldness,” said Nasher Miles, co-founder & cmo, Shruti Kedia Daga. “Flipkart’s Big Billion Days gives us the perfect stage to inspire people to travel with style, spirit, and a dash of mischief.”

    Backed by creative agency Itch, the campaign closes with a punchy message: ‘Drop the boring.’ For co-founder Naman Agarwal, the idea is simple: “If fashion is an expression, why should luggage be left out? Bags should be as full of personality as the people who carry them.”

    Set to run across digital platforms, Flipkart’s app, and mass media, the films ensure that this year’s Big billion days won’t just be about snagging deals, it’ll be about carrying colour and character wherever the journey leads.