Tag: chief communications officer

  • Reddit appoints first chief communications officer

    Reddit appoints first chief communications officer

    MUMBAI: Reddit has announced the appointment of Adam Collins as its inaugural chief communications officer, a strategic move to sharpen the company’s narrative as it increasingly influences the AI landscape and serves a vast global community.

    Collins brings over two decades of communications experience to his new role, reporting directly to chief executive Steve Huffman. His mandate includes overseeing all internal and external communications, guiding senior leadership, and contributing to the company’s growth trajectory. “Reddit stands at the intersection of how people connect online today and how people will engage with the technology of tomorrow,” Collins stated, expressing his enthusiasm for helping the community expand.

    Before joining Reddit, Collins served as chief communications and corporate affairs officer at Molson Coors Beverage Co for more than six years, where he played a key role in shaping company strategy. His extensive background also includes nearly two decades in political communications, with notable stints as communications director for Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago police department, and as press secretary for Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle.

    A political science graduate from the University of Louisville, Collins is a fan of subreddits such as r/nikerunclub, r/CHICubs, and r/Habs. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys his children’s sporting events, sailing, and cheering for the Chicago Cubs.

    This appointment follows the departure of Anna Soellner, who was instrumental in establishing Reddit’s communications team and served as one of the company’s longest-serving executives for nearly nine years. Soellner played a pivotal role in bolstering Reddit’s reputation and navigating its most transformative periods.

  • Tata Sky to ‘un-box’ entertainment with new STB; launches digital ad campaign

    Tata Sky to ‘un-box’ entertainment with new STB; launches digital ad campaign

    MUMBAI: On the move video consumption is growing at an aggressive rate in India thanks to the lightning fast penetration of smartphones, tablets and other alternative screens. Addressing the growth, direct-to-home (DTH) operator Tata Sky is set to launch its new upgraded set top box (STB) – Tata Sky+ Transfer, which will enable users to transfer the recorded content onto alternative screens.

    While this service immediately raises concern of piracy and content security, Tata Sky has taken care of that aspect. Tata Sky chief communications officer Malay Dikshit says, “The content will be available on the app and will not be transferred as a video file, so sharing that file or uploading it for mass is not possible. Moreover, the content is self destructive, the duration of the content varies from broadcaster to broadcaster, but after a certain period the content will get destroyed automatically.”

    All that the new STB needs is a Wi-Fi connection. All other devices connected to the same Wi-Fi network can access the recorded content. Not only that, consumers don’t need to lose hefty chunk of their data (bandwidth) to get the recorded content transferred on their mobile devices. The content gets transferred through the wireless local area connection to the locally connected devices. To transfer 30 minutes of content, the preparation procedure takes 30 minutes of time. The resolution is automatically selected by the app as per the infrastructure of the device the content is viewed on. Thirty minutes of content occupies around 200 MB of storage.

    The STB, which is priced at Rs 9300, is targeted towards metro centric consumers. Existing Tata Sky customers, can purchase the new STB for Rs 7200.

    To generate awareness amongst the DTH subscribers, Tata Sky in association with Ogilvy One, will be orchestrating a digital campaign called Transferkars. The campaign will have one main film, which will be launched on 4 September. Three teasers will grab consumer attention until then.

    The campaign introduces Tata Sky’s latest product the Tata Sky+ Transfer, which enables the STB recording to be available on the subscribers’ tablets and phones.

    This campaign uses Tata Sky’s trademark style of using hyperboles and humor to drive home the product messages in an interesting manner. The protagonists Transferkars are a TV addicted family of six, each madly passionate about their shows. The campaign is a series of films that will bring alive the lengths that they go to carry their favourite TV shows with them. The commercial portrays Tata Sky+ Transfer as an innovative product, which solves these problems by enabling subscribers to transfer recorded content on their mobile devices and view it at their convenience. Hence, the campaign concludes with the sign off ‘Record. Transfer. Carry.’

    “We already have around 60,000 views in an hour and we are expecting to cross the 100,000 mark today itself. We want to have 400 million impressions for this campaign, which will run for next three months,” added Dikshit.

    Shedding light on the consumer behaviours that drove this innovative campaign, he said, “Today, time comes at a premium. The consumer is increasingly finding it difficult to be constrained by fixed timing and location for viewing even recorded content. Thus there is demand for convergence and portability of content. The rapid increase of Wi-Fi enabled homes open up new possibilities and potential for new offerings. The Tata Sky+ Transfer box delivers on this sweet spot allowing subscribers to use their connected homes to enjoy their space and identity. Our focused digital-approach with this new campaign along with the launch of an interactive micro-site would surely intrigue existing and prospective subscribers.”

    “It is just the beginning of our endeavours to un-box entertainment for our subscribers,” he added. 

    Talking about the campaign’s creative, Ogilvy One senior creative director George Kovoor said, “Tata Sky has once again set the benchmark through this unique digital first campaign. At the heart of the campaign is a family of obsessive TV show fans who not only engage the consumers but also demonstrate the Transfer product in a simple yet entertaining story. Fans can follow this family and their quirks on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and even an interactive microsite.”

    Differing on the perception that digital content has no production cost and comes free, Kovoor said, “We have used a lot of resources to bring the best out of the campaign. A lot has been spent on the campaign and I hope the creative piece makes a mark in the audiences’ mind.”

    “The task for us was to create a high impact campaign centered around digital devices like smartphones and tablets, demonstrating clearly and in in a memorable way how to and in what situations this product is used,” he said.

    Campaign Credits:

    · Creative Agency: Ogilvy & Mather

    · Creative Team: OgilvyOne Worldwide senior creative director George Kovoor & creative director Anand Gharat

    · Account Management Team: OgilvyOne Worldwide president Vikram Menon 

    · Production House: Corcoise Films

    · Director: Bhavesh Kapadia