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Tag: Advertising Agencies Association of India

  • Goafest back after two years, to be held in April 2022

    Goafest back after two years, to be held in April 2022

    Mumbai: After a gap of two years, Goafest 2022 is back for its 15th edition and is set to be held in Grand Hyatt, Goa from 7-9 April 2022. The event that celebrates the achievements of the media and advertising industry, is curated by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club (TAC).

    The three-day event, which recognises consummate industry talents, will be helmed by Jaideep Gandhi as the chairman of the Goafest 2022 organising committee. Rana Barua has been elected as chairman of the awards governing council for the renowned ABBY Awards 2022. Being organised for the last 50 years, ABBY Awards is a prestigious ad award show which is attended by more than 1500 to 1800 professionals from the marketing, advertising, media, research, and PR fraternity.

    “Goafest is the definitive festival for the advertising, media and marketing industry in the sub-continent. This time the festival is coming after a gap of two years and so one can imagine the anticipation the industry professionals will have! We also expect a lot of first-timers this time given a lot of new young talent has joined in these two years. Goafest 2022 will be a good platform to celebrate our industry’s resilience as well as the potential,” said AAAI president Anupriya Acharya, speaking about the fest’s 15th edition.

    On Jaideep Gandhi’s appointment as the chairman, she further added, “Jaideep is a seasoned industry professional with vast experience on Goafest. Certainly, it will translate into a delightful and engaging festival experience for all.”

    Speaking about the return of the prestigious event, Gandhi said, “It is the illustrious return of Goafest 2022, with its 15th edition, where recognition, innovation, collaboration and celebration all happen under the same sky. Ensuring all safety protocols that are necessary in a post-pandemic world, I believe it’s time for the industry to rediscover the power, joy and magic of connecting once again in the real world. I’m grateful to the previous Chairmen ‘Mr. Nakul Chopra, Mr. Ashish Bhasin’ for the learnings I received from them and thankful to the President of AAAI – Ms Anupriya Acharya for her continuous support and encouragement.”

    The Advertising Club president and Times of India president Partha Sinha on the return of the premier event said, “The return of ABBY and Goafest not only marks the return of normalcy in the advertising, marketing and media landscape of India but it also underlines the reason for which most of like this profession – the celebration of excellence. The ABBYs is the highest honour in this country for excellence and we wanted to ensure that we bring the big one back with all its glory. We have used the hiatus to our advantage and the award will witness some big forward movements in this Goafest. Watch this space for more details.” 

    On Rana Barua’s appointment as the chairman, he added, “Rana has first-hand experiences of organising and winning both creative and media awards. His experience will be hugely beneficial as the chairman of the Award Governing Council. It’s a complex job and we had to entrust the right person with that job.”

    Speaking about the forthcoming ABBY’s, Havas Group India Group CEO and The Advertising Club VP and AGC chairman Rana Barua said, “After two extremely tough years for the industry, I am extremely happy to say that ABBY’s is back. ABBY’s has always been recognized as the best in creativity for our industry and winning Abby’s will continue to be an inspiration and motivation for the new generation of marketers, agencies and brand custodians. Since the period of entries will be from 16 February, 2019 to 15th February 2021, I encourage all to come forward and celebrate their best work.”

    The awards governing committee for ABBY’s Awards includes:

    1.       Havas Group India Group CEO Rana Barua (AGC chairman).

    2.       Another Idea founder Jaideep Gandhi (Goafest organising committee chairman).

    3.      Times of India president Partha Sinha.

    4.      IPG Mediabrands India CEO Shashi Sinha.

    5.      Aditya Birla Capital Ltd CMO Ajay Kakar.

    6.     The Advertising Club managing committee member Ajay Chandwani.

    7.      Times Response senior VP Malcom Raphael.

    8.      Publicis Groupe South Asia CEO Anupriya Acharya.

    9.     GroupM Media (India) Pvt Ltd South Asia CEO Prasanth Kumar.

    10.   Madison Communications Pvt Ltd chairman and managing director Sam Balsara.

    11.   FCB Group India Group chairman and CEO Rohit Ohri.

    12.   Ogilvy & Mather Pvt Ltd vice-chairperson & chief client officer India Hephzibah Pathak.

  • Arvind Sharma to be conferred with AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2021

    Arvind Sharma to be conferred with AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2021

    Mumbai: The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) announced on Monday that AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021 will be conferred on advertising veteran Arvind Sharma. This is the highest honour to be given to an individual in India for his/her outstanding contribution to the advertising industry.

    Arvind Sharma, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, has had a long and successful career in the Indian advertising industry. What made him a true industry leader was the way he managed to make people achieve more than what they thought they were capable of, said the association in a statement.

    As a young leader, he was tasked with making a local agency, Chaitra, transition into the Indian arm of Leo Burnett Worldwide. Over two eventful decades, he created an organisation that was both formidable and flexible. In doing this, he turned a safe and conservative agency into a creative power center. Soon, the agency’s work on Thums Up, Bajaj, Heinz, P&G, and many others saw it taking on the big guns in creative pitches as well as award shows, becoming one of India’s early winners at Cannes.

    Sharma has also been responsible for several incredible talents that have blossomed under his watch.

    Making the announcement, AAAI president Anupriya Acharya stated, “Arvind Sharma has been a true pioneer. Apart from singlehandedly making Leo Burnett a top agency and a force to reckon with he has also groomed some of the finest talents in our industry. But more than that he has made a tremendous contribution to our industry across both the art and science of advertising. He is truly deserving of this honour.”

    AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award selection committee chairman Ashish Bhasin said, “Arvind is a deserving winner of this prestigious honor. Not only has he been a successful advertising professional, he has also contributed significantly to the industry in various capacities, including as President of AAAI and a key driver in launching Goafest. I am pleased to say that the entire committee was unanimous in conferring this award upon Arvind.”

    The AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has been a practitioner of advertising for twenty-five years and had been in the top management position; has been or continues to be an active participant in industry bodies and or made significant contributions in shaping the industry priorities which enabled the advertising industry to grow, prosper and become more professionalised; individual known for his integrity, ethical practice and leadership qualities; contributed to his Company/Companies growth by innovative thinking and taking them in newer directions; involved in projects of social consequence which is seen as a role model for the industry at large and had been an industry veteran.

    Some of the past winners of this award include Subhas Ghosal, Alyque Padamsee, Mike Khanna, R K Swamy, Piyush Pandey, Sam Balsara, Prem Mehta, Roda Mehta, Ram Sehgal, Madhukar Kamath, and others.

    Formed in 1945, the AAAI is the national organisation of advertising agencies to promote their industry interests. The AAAI today comprises a very large number of small, medium, and large-sized agencies as its members, who together account for almost 80 per cent of the advertising business placed in the country.

  • Ashish Bhasin hands over charge of AAAI to Anupriya Acharya

    Ashish Bhasin hands over charge of AAAI to Anupriya Acharya

    NEW DELHI: Ashish Bhasin, president of Advertising Agencies Association of India( AAAI)  has handed over charge of  AAAI to Publicis Groupe’s CEO south Asia, Anupriya Acharya, who was elected as the president of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2020-21 at its Annual General Body Meeting held recently. 

    GroupM CEO south Asia Prasanth Kumar was unanimously elected VP of the association.

    Other elected members of the Executive Committee in alphabetical order are:

    Anand Bhadkamkar                       Dentsu Aegis Network Marketing Solutions Pvt Ltd

    Kunal Lalani                                   Crayons Advertising Pvt Ltd

    Mohit Joshi                                     Havas Media India Pvt Ltd

    Pranav Premnarayen                     Prem Associates Advertising & Marketing

    Rana Barua                                    Havas Worldwide India Pvt Ltd

    Vivek Srivastava                             Innocean Worldwide Communications Pvt Ltd

    Ashish Bhasin will be the ex-officio member of the AAAI Executive Committee for 2020-21 as its immediate past President.

    Acharya said “It’s a tremendous honor and also an enormous responsibility to be elected as the President of such a prestigious organisation. I am acutely aware that our industry, like the rest of the world, has just witnessed the most unprecedented times and it’s a difficult time for most. The pandemic has only underscored the relevance of collective thinking and the heightened role that AAAI can play. I will strive to do my best to further the interests of the advertising industry and take AAAI to greater heights as we emerge into the new normal. Many top advertising professionals have contributed very selflessly and relentlessly to the AAAI, both with and without executive positions. And that is what inspires me immensely as I take on this position. Many thanks to Ashish Bhasin for his leadership in the last two years as President – he has made great progress in making the association more inclusive, diverse, and future-ready. Also, thanks to all the Executive committee members and the secretariat for all the learning they have given me in the past many years”.

    Bhasin stated, “I have had the privilege to lead AAAI for two years as its president, I wish to thank all my fellow executive committee members for their wholehearted cooperation and valuable support. I would also like to congratulate Anupriya Acharya on her election as President. Anupriya has been a key member of the Indian media and advertising industry for a long time. I’m sure she will play a stellar role in taking forward the Association and its work. I wish her the very best for this role.”

    The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) is the apex national organisation of advertising agencies, formed in 1945, to promote their industry interests so that they continue to make an essential and ever-increasing contribution to the nation. The AAAI today is truly representative, with a large number of small, medium, and large-sized agencies as its members, who together account for almost 80% of the advertising business placed in the country. 

  • Red Abby to adjudge the best communication programmes that fight violence against women

    Red Abby to adjudge the best communication programmes that fight violence against women

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Club and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) will launch ‘The Red Abby’ award as a part of Goafest 2020.  ‘The Red Abby’ awards have been instituted to acknowledge the best creative works that address the issue of violence against women in society.

    The jury for the Red Abby Awards includes some of the foremost leaders from across the FMCG, advertising, media, creative and entertainment industry.

    The jury list for ‘The Red Abby’ 2020

    1.    Anupriya Acharya- CEO, Publicis Groupe, South Asia

    2.    Babita Baruah, Managing Partner, GTB India

    3.    Deepika Warrier, CEO, Nourishco Beverages (a joint venture between Pepsico and Tata Global Beverages)

    4.    Lara Balsara Wajifdar, Executive Director at Madison World

    5.    Megha Tata, MD- South Asia, Discovery Communications India

    6.    Mini Mathur, Acclaimed Actor and Television Host

    7.    Raj Nayak, Founder, House of Cheer

    8.    Tarun Katial, CEO, Zee5, India

    The jury is entrusted with the key responsibility of together screening entries received in ‘The Red Abby’ category, thereby arriving at the shortlist. The jury meet is scheduled for 17 March in Mumbai where the jurors will test creativity and impact of the communication campaigns.

    The Advertising Club President Partho Dasgupta said: “Women’s safety is a cause that needs a loud and clear voice. The esteemed jury of ‘The Red Abby’ comes from a diverse background with rich experience in their respective industries. Their collective experience will make the evaluation process robust and fair, while adjudging the works’ impact.”  

    Sonia Huria (in the picture), Managing Committee Member of The Advertising Club and Evangelist, ‘The Red Abby’, said: “At the heart of a successful campaign is the impact it made. In case of ‘The Red Abby’ the impact will be basis the effectiveness of the behaviour change messaging of the campaign. With such an esteemed jury for its maiden edition, we are sure that the best-in-class works will find their right place in the Abby Awards Hall of Fame.”

  • Ashish Bhasin re-elected president of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI)

    Ashish Bhasin re-elected president of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI)

    MUMBAI: Ashish Bhasin, CEO Greater South, Dentsu Aegis Network and Chairman & CEO India, has been re-elected as President  of the  Advertising  Agencies  Association  of India (AAAI) for the  year 2019-20. The announcement was made at the AAAI Annual General Body Meeting, held today.

    Also, Anupriya Acharya, CEO, Publicis Media India, has been  re-elected as Vice-President of the Association.

    Other elected members of the Executive Committee in alphabetical  order are:

    Anand Bhadkamkar     Dentsu Aegis Network
    Kalyan Sarkar             Standard Publicity
    Kunal Lalani            Crayons Advertising 
    Prasanth Kumar            Group M Media India 
    Srinivasan K Swamy    RK Swamy BBDO
    Vivek Srivastava     Innocean Worldwide Communication

    Immediate  Past  President,  Nakul Chopra  will be  the  ex-officio member  of the  new  AAAI Executive Committee.

    On this occasion, Mr Ashish Bhasin, President  AAAI, said “I thank the members of the AAAI for  reposing  their  faith  in me  by electing  me  for another term  as  the  President  of this illustrious organisation.   Along with my colleagues in the Executive Committee, I had set out on a mission to make  the  association  more  inclusive, diverse  and  future-ready. While we have  made  significant progress  in some  areas,  there  are  many areas  which require  more work to be done.   I am honoured to be selected  for the  second  term,  which will allow the Executive Committee and me to complete  the unfinished tasks. The tremendous support  and unity that the members of AAAI have shown, makes me proud of our Association!”

    The   Advertising   Agencies   Association   of  India   (AAAI)   is  the   national   organisation   of advertising  agencies,  formed  in 1945,  to  promote their  industry  interests  so  that  they continue  to  make  an  essential  and  ever-increasing  contribution  to  the  nation.  The  AAAI today  is truly representative,  with a very large number  of small, medium  and  large-sized agencies as its members, who together account  for almost  80% of the advertising business
    placed in the country.

  • Advertising Agencies Association of India &The Advertising Club announce the Awards Governing Council for ABBY Awards 2019

    Advertising Agencies Association of India &The Advertising Club announce the Awards Governing Council for ABBY Awards 2019

    MUMBAI: The 14th edition of the premiere Advertising Festival –  Goafest 2019, presented by Viacom18 is just around the corner and the preparations are in full momentum for the apex industry event and awards. Celebrating creative excellence in the Advertising and Media industry, the ABBY awards presented every year at the festival  is a key focus area for the fraternity to showcase their their best work. The Advertising Agencies Association of India &The Advertising Club have now announced the Awards Governing Council for the prestigious awards. 

     The  celebrated Awards Governing Council for the ABBY’s 2019 are. 
    Awards Governing Council  on behalf of The Advertising Club 
    •    Shashi Sinha: Chairman of the Awards Governing Council, ABBY Awards 2019, Secretary – The Advertising Club and CEO, IPG Mediabrands India
    •    Vikram Sakhuja: President, The Advertising Club & Group CEO – Madison Media & OOH – ‎Madison World
    •    Ajay Kakar: Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital
    •    Ajay Chandwani: Director, Percept Ltd
    •    Aditya Swamy: Head – Agency Partnerships , Google
    •    Sapangeet Rajawat: Head – Marketing, Hindi Mass Entertainment

    Awards Governing Council  on behalf of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI)
    •    Nakul Chopra; Chairman – Goafest 2019
    •    Ashish Bhasin: Chairman & CEO South Asia Dentsu Aegis Network – ‎Aegis Group plc
    •    Anupriya Acharya: CEO, Publicis Media India
    •     Rohit Ohri: Group Chairman and CEO, FCB India 
    •    Jaydeep Gandhi: Chairman & Director, Jaya Advertising

    Speaking on the focus of the AGC  for the upcoming edition, Shashi Sinha, Chairman of the Awards Governing Council, ABBY Awards 2019 & Secretary, The Advertising Club said  “The newly appointed Awards Governing Counicl is committed to ensuring that the awards are inclusive and have multi sectoral  representation.  The combined experience  and the expertise of the council is sure to ensure that  all aspects of the awards from jury selection  to jury deliberation and review and  winner announcement thereafter is conducted with the highest standards of due diligence.”       

    Speaking about the awards, Mr. Ashish Bhasin, President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) said, “ABBY Awards have always been  the highlight of the festival and a key plaform for  the young minds from the industry to showcase the pioneering work done by them through the year . The awards governing council council formed to conduct this marquee awards includes industry thought leaders and media mavens who will come together to deliver another inclusive , highly represented  and  successful  year of the ABBY’s.”

    Speaking about the AGC appointment, Vikram Sakhuja: President, The Advertising Club said “Winning an ABBY has always been a careed defining moment  for and the awards have year on year ensured that only the best in class campaigns that have showcased effectiveness and creativity are lauded. The newly appointed Awards Governing Counicl will ensure that the ABBYs continue to live up to its repute of being the ultimate industry awards that celebrate meritorious campaigns.”

    Mr. Nakul Chopra, Chairman – Goafest 2019 said “ Every year ABBY’s have  not just recognized the best in best work done by the industry but also encouraged individuals from the industry to innovate and push boundaries to deliver the best creative campaigns.  We are sure that this year too will see  a lot of innovative work entered that will be judjed by a renowned  jury panel curated by the eminent Awards Governing Council.”  

    Presented by the Advertising Club and AAAI the Goafest 2019 will once again see the entire advertising and marketing fraternity soon come together in Goa in April 2019.  

  • Lodestar UM name media agency on day 1 at ABBY Awards

    Lodestar UM name media agency on day 1 at ABBY Awards

    GOA: Goafest 2018, India’s foremost advertising, media and marketing convention felicitating creative thinking in India, kick-started its annual festival yesterday. This year, the festival is also celebrating 50 years of the prestigious Abby Awards, which have been handed out to creative geniuses over the years for their stellar work that has, today, put India on the global map where advertising, media and marketing is concerned.

    The industry conclave presented by Discovery marked the first session of the day with Baba Ramdev who enthralled the audience by speaking about building inclusive, sustainable, decentralised and just brands. He enlightened them about the philosophy behind the brand Patanjali and stressed upon the need for marketers to build an emotional connect with the consumer. His session was followed by a talk by Pepperfry chief marketing officer and head of new business Kashyap Vadapalli who stressed the importance of building trust amongst consumers.

    As the sun went down on day one, it was time for the presentation of the publisher and media Abbys which recognise the excellence in the use of media such as print, TV, cinema, outdoor, radio, events, digital and social media amongst others. A total of 38 media Abbys and 16 publisher Abbys were awarded. While Lodestar UM led the media Abbys with an impressive 10 awards including four gold medals, the highest number of gold, Jagran Prakashan, scored a total of five metals, thus taking a lead in the publisher Abbys. Other notable winners for the evening included Dentsu Webchutney in the media Abbys category with three silvers and one gold and Times of India that bagged two gold medals in the publisher Abby category.

    This year, twelve creative legends were roped in to form the master jury which had been entrusted with the task of screening all the entries received, across all the categories and verticals and then to identify those worthy of being shortlisted and receiving the award. The 2018 edition of the Abby Awards also saw a number of categories and sub-categories being rationalised, to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

    Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) president Nakul Chopra says, “We started Goafest all those years ago with the aim to bring together people from the world of advertising, media and marketing together to discuss and exchange exciting ideas. But today, this festival has grown into becoming one of the biggest congregations of some of the most brilliant creative minds in the country. It is these young people, who come here in droves to learn from and interact with the legends who paved the creative way for them, who make Goafest a festival worth attending. I am deeply grateful to the fraternity present here for making Goafest what it is today.”

    Discussing the Abby Awards to be handed out at Goafest 2018, The Advertising Club president Vikram Sakhuja adds, “Over the last 50 years, the awards went through a lot of changes. So, we spoke to heads of agencies, to industry leaders and more importantly, to the young creative workforce out there who came up with two key changes to the awards this year. The changes include the rationalisation of categories to stay relevant to today’s young and dynamic creative geniuses and the formation of a master jury made up of industry masters to guarantee effectiveness. And it gives me immense pleasure to see the industry not only embracing these changes with open arms but also supporting us in our endeavour to keep improving the quality of the awards being handed out.”

    Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) chairman of Goafest 2018 and vice president Ashish Bhasin mentions, “Goafest is always a great reminder of the amazing amount of creative talent we have in India. Seeing such young people brimming with energy, learning from the best in the industry and congregating together to exchange ideas is what enriches creative thinking. This year, we have upped the ante by bringing in a lot of technological changes and of course by sprucing up our speaker line up by bringing in stalwarts from varied backgrounds – be it advertising, marketing, music, film, yoga and much more.”

    Stay tuned for more updates from Goa.

  • GoaFest 2017: Winners of Day 3 Creative Abby Awards announced

    GOA: After three days of seminars and conclaves by industry experts, crazy parties, the last Abby awards evenings was filled with delegates screaming their throats hoarse in support of colleagues during the presentation in Goafest 2017. With a total of 421 metals given away this year across 11 categories, the event saw an increase in the number of gold and silver metals awarded this year as compared to last.

    The Advertising Club (TAC) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) felicitated the works of the advertising agencies with the Creative Abby Awards 2017 on Friday.

    Mobile Abby

    In the Mobile Abby category, JWT India – Bangalore bagged one gold and two silver metals, emerging as the winner in the category. The agency received a gold for their ‘The Hindu’s ‘#SpiritOfBangalore’ campaign in the Thumb-stopper Award.

    Apart from them, Taproot Dentsu- Gurgaon took home a gold metal for Airtel’s ‘Lifesaving Wallpapers’ campaign in the Mobile/Tablet App’d Cause related category.

    Film Craft

    Early Man Films came out as the winner in this category with five metals, including one gold and silver each and three bronze. It received the gold trophy for its ‘CAR’ campaign for Godrej Security Solutions. 

    Second winning agency is Breathless Films with four metals, including one gold for their Google Search’ ‘Google Shayari’ campaign in the Casting category.

    Film Single

    In this category, Taproot Dentsu received a gold and a silver metal each, taking its total for Day 3 to two metals. The agency bagged a gold for their ‘Odds by  Adidas’ campaign in the Clothing, Innerwear, Footwear and Accessories category. 

    Rishtey Cineplex bagged the majority of metals in the category consisting of one silver and two bronze metals.

    Design

    Open Strategy and Design bagged four gold and silver each and three bronze metals taking its total to 11 metals. The agency received two gold for their Tohsin Chocolaterie and Patisserie brand campaign titled ‘Masterstroke’ in the Corporate Brand identity and Best Integrated Design Category. 

    It won two other gold trophies for their Mumbai Press Club and Imaginarium brands for ‘In The News’ and ‘Think it. Print it’ campaigns, respectively.

    The second winning agency with one gold metal is Viral Pandya for their Osho’ ‘Unzip the potential’ campaign.

    Ambient

    Taproot Dentsu emerged as the leader in this category with one gold metal for its Lifesaving Wallpapers’ campaign for Airtel.

    Integrated

    In this category, JWT India bagged two metals, a gold and a silver. The agency received a gold for its NestAway’s ‘Homes That Don’t Discriminate’ campaign in the Business and Home Services. Star India won a Gold for its ‘Nayi Soch’ campaign in the Corporate category.

    Out Of Home

    Social Street emerged as the winner in this category with a total of 6 metals. It won two gold metals for Wildlife Conservation Trust in the Public Service, Appeals and Charity category.

    Second winning agency is JWT India with one gold, two silver and three bronze metals taking its total tally to six. It won the gold for their Apollo Tyres campaign in the Automatic Vehicles and Accessories category.

    Gender Sensitive

    Star India won a Gold for its Hindi Entertainment channel Star Plus’ for its famous ‘Nayi Soch- Cricket’ campaign. Cellar Door Productions and JWT India bagged a Silver metal for their ‘UrbanClap: Men’s Day’ and ‘My daughter will’ campaign, respectively.

    The Young Abby award this year goes to FCB Interfaces’ Ketan Sudhir Kadam and Adith Francis Fernandes for their ‘Ads that actually saved water’ for Drop Dead Foundation.

  • BARC India mulls client contract review & enforcing opt-out clause

    BARC India mulls client contract review & enforcing opt-out clause

    NEW DELHI: India’s TV audience measurement company Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC India) is contemplating a complete review and legal overhaul of contracts it signs with subscribers and also enforcing the opt-out clause mentioned in agreements with an aim to streamline the whole measurement process and safeguard against increased litigation.

    Indian broadcast industry sources, while confirming such a move is afoot, indicated the thinking within BARC India is that to bring about more transparency in the ecosystem and further boost credibility of the viewership audit, it’s imperative to legally “review and amend” the way in which the contracts are phrased so there’s more clarity.

    The sources pointed out that under the present agreement terms, BARC India can opt out of providing measurement and ratings services to any subscriber, especially those that it sees as “compromising” its position in the industry.

    According to the wordings of its sample client contract, BARC India shall have the right to terminate an agreement, of course by giving written notice, if a subscriber “commit(s) an act, which brings BARC into public disrepute, contempt, scandal (and) ridicule”. This clause is amongst several other such conditions stipulated in an agreement that BARC India signs with an organization that starts subscribing to the paid, full and detailed services of the ratings audit firm.

    Industry sources, familiar with wordings in an agreement, said a legal interpretation states BARC is not obligated or under compulsion to provide or continue to provide its ratings service to a client. “In fact the onus of renewing the annual contract lies on the (paid) subscriber and, while BARC has so far been proactive in renewing contracts under the terms of the agreement, it can leave it up to the clients to seek renewal,” a source explained.

    BARC India, which is  promoted jointly by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), in November 2016 suspended for four weeks the review of viewership of three TV news channels. Reason: alleged activities aimed at manipulating viewership.

    The news channels concerned subsequently moved the Bombay High Court that immediately granted them temporary relief, while one of the channels also sued BARC India for defamation, seeking financial damages. The appeal is still in  the high court in Mumbai, the jurisdiction area for a legal dispute involving BARC India.

    The review process of contractual obligations, deliverables and suspension is being undertaken by BARC India  at a time when it prepares to rollout its digital measurement services some time later this year or early 2018. It is also set to expand its people meter sample in the next few months.

    For this, it had sought global expertise through a process that has elicited interest from several existing measurement firms, including Nielsen. BARC India replaced TAM India, a joint venture between Nielsen and WPP-owned Kantar Media, for viewership measurement in India little over two years back.

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  • BARC India mulls client contract review & enforcing opt-out clause

    BARC India mulls client contract review & enforcing opt-out clause

    NEW DELHI: India’s TV audience measurement company Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC India) is contemplating a complete review and legal overhaul of contracts it signs with subscribers and also enforcing the opt-out clause mentioned in agreements with an aim to streamline the whole measurement process and safeguard against increased litigation.

    Indian broadcast industry sources, while confirming such a move is afoot, indicated the thinking within BARC India is that to bring about more transparency in the ecosystem and further boost credibility of the viewership audit, it’s imperative to legally “review and amend” the way in which the contracts are phrased so there’s more clarity.

    The sources pointed out that under the present agreement terms, BARC India can opt out of providing measurement and ratings services to any subscriber, especially those that it sees as “compromising” its position in the industry.

    According to the wordings of its sample client contract, BARC India shall have the right to terminate an agreement, of course by giving written notice, if a subscriber “commit(s) an act, which brings BARC into public disrepute, contempt, scandal (and) ridicule”. This clause is amongst several other such conditions stipulated in an agreement that BARC India signs with an organization that starts subscribing to the paid, full and detailed services of the ratings audit firm.

    Industry sources, familiar with wordings in an agreement, said a legal interpretation states BARC is not obligated or under compulsion to provide or continue to provide its ratings service to a client. “In fact the onus of renewing the annual contract lies on the (paid) subscriber and, while BARC has so far been proactive in renewing contracts under the terms of the agreement, it can leave it up to the clients to seek renewal,” a source explained.

    BARC India, which is  promoted jointly by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), in November 2016 suspended for four weeks the review of viewership of three TV news channels. Reason: alleged activities aimed at manipulating viewership.

    The news channels concerned subsequently moved the Bombay High Court that immediately granted them temporary relief, while one of the channels also sued BARC India for defamation, seeking financial damages. The appeal is still in  the high court in Mumbai, the jurisdiction area for a legal dispute involving BARC India.

    The review process of contractual obligations, deliverables and suspension is being undertaken by BARC India  at a time when it prepares to rollout its digital measurement services some time later this year or early 2018. It is also set to expand its people meter sample in the next few months.

    For this, it had sought global expertise through a process that has elicited interest from several existing measurement firms, including Nielsen. BARC India replaced TAM India, a joint venture between Nielsen and WPP-owned Kantar Media, for viewership measurement in India little over two years back.

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