ITV

Tag: DNA

  • Umesh Shrikhande joins Taproot India as CEO

    Umesh Shrikhande joins Taproot India as CEO

    MUMBAI: Umesh Shrikhande has joined Taproot India as the new chief executive officer. The announcement was made by Dentsu India Group. Shrikhande, an advertising veteran with more than 20 years of rich experience, prior to this was the CEO of Contract India.

    The advertising veteran has worked closely with various divisions at Contract in the areas of design, direct and digital to enhance traditional advertising. Having worked with a variety of clients and brands such as HSBC, Cadbury, Asian Paints, Shopper‘s Stop, Philips, VIP, Bajaj Auto, BBC World, Aegon-Religare, Tata Indicom, Disney, Zoom, DNA and Grasim, Shrikhande is poised to take one of the most exciting creative boutiques in India – Taproot India, to the next level of growth and expansion. Taproot India, which now has a solid team of talented and capable professionals, will ensure that the company‘s creative quality creates new industry benchmarks.

    “I‘m delighted that Umesh has chosen to join us. Aggi, Paddy and I look forward to his partnership in this exciting new phase of growth at Taproot. Umesh is an industry professional I‘ve always had the highest regard for and now, I‘m happy to have this opportunity to work with him,” said Dentsu India Group executive chairman Rohit Ohri.

    Taproot will tap on Shrikhande‘s vast experience. “I am glad to have Umesh‘s vast experience on our side, which will be a guiding light for us as we scramble around doing what we think is the right thing. He is sharp, insightful and most important possesses great clarity on the way mass communication in the contemporary world works,” reiterated Taproot India co-founder and chief creative officer Agnello Dias.

    Speaking on his appointment as the new CEO of Taproot India, Shrikhande said, “Aggi and Paddy are not just immensely talented, they also happen to be wonderful people who have managed to build an attractive reputation for Taproot, despite of the huge competitive environment. I consider it a delightful privilege to get this opportunity to work with them and with their wonderful and energetic team.”

    Shrikhande along with the team will collectively endeavour to build on Taproot‘s innate strengths and culture to create a stronger organisation. “I hope that my understanding of strategy, people and relationships, helps me to make a difference,” he added.

    “With the kind of experience Umesh has and the number of youngsters Taproot has, it will be a wonderful blend,” said Taproot India co-founder and chief creative officer Santosh Padhi.

    Shrikhande, a management graduate from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies had started his career with Lintas (now Lowe Lintas & Partners), where he spent six years. Thereafter he was a core member of Team Contract that led the agency to great success, after which in 2008 he took over as the CEO of Contract India. After a successful spell of nine years at Contract India, he then joined Euro RSCG.

  • “Sab will be among the Top Three Hindi GECs”

    “Sab will be among the Top Three Hindi GECs”

    From being a copywriter, director to business head, the soft-spoken Anooj Kapoor has worn various hats. But what makes him different from others is the way he manages the work-life balance. He proudly claims that in his more than 20 years of career there has rarely been a day when he has been in office later than 6 pm. Even today, he leaves office at six in the evening and on weekends he switches off from work, unless required. Someone who believes in working hard hasn’t forgotten to live to the fullest too…

    Indiantelevision.com’s Meghna Sharma spoke to the executive EVP and business head of Sab Anooj Kapoor about the channel’s current plans,the reason for there being no other channel like Sab and the channel’s future plan. Excerpts:

     
    The channel underwent a revamp recently, was it really needed? 

    Nothing we do here is what everybody else does, starting from our programming which is totally differentiated from the rest in the GEC space. So, this revamp is not because others have done it too. All we have done is revamped the packaging of the channel. The last revamp was done almost six years ago, and we thought we have had a wonderful growth in the past five years. So we wanted the packaging to be more colourful. We have retained the old colours and added more colours to our package to convey freshness, more audience on the channel as well as more people sitting together to watch our shows. It can convey a lot of things, but essentially, we wanted a fresh look.

     

    You said you are adding more people who are watching your channel. So through the revamp and apps are you targeting youth now? 

    Asli maaza sab ke saath aata hai… has stood true for us. The entire family comes together and watches TV. We have a mix of audience, from males, females to kids. We also have a healthy mix of Sec A, B and C. So we are not trying to broad base our TG, it is already 4+.

    However, we cannot deny that new things always appeals to people. In the age-group of 4-14, we are the number one channel. In the last TAM rating, we were ahead of Star Plus. In the higher age-group, 15-24, we are fairly strong but we realised there is a need to engage audience on fresher platforms – facebook, comics, SABurbia and other apps. And the age-group after that, we keep appealing through our ads where the whole family comes together.

     

    Our other initiative ‘Sab ki Saafari’, is also first of its kind. The idea was to get people from smaller towns meet their favourite characters or watch a shoot. Through this initiative we get our loyal audiences to meet their favourite characters and also show them what goes on behind the camera. We have another loyalty program called SABprise wherein the more you watch the channel the more you get rewarded for it. We feel that today it has to be a two-way communication. If they have given us so much and helped us grow 600 per cent in five years then we should also give them something in return.

     

    With the awards season on, when can we get to see Sab ke anokhe awards? 

    We are coming back with Sab ke anokhe awards in August. The first round did well for us as we got a rating of 2.8 which I’m not going to compare with other award shows, but for a channel like ours which has a limited reach it is a very healthy rating. It was purely because of the uniqueness of the show. We came up with categories which went beyond the clichéd categories. This time we are going to add even more categories and try to be as anokha as possible. We will be sticking to our strategy of being different and innovative.

     

    What kind of weekend programming does the channel currently have? Any plans to introduce new shows?

    Currently, we have two silent comedies on Saturday – Guttur Gu and Malegoan ka Chintu. Guttur Gu has been recognised as the longest running silent show in the world by the Limca Books of Records, and then we have Waah Waah Kya Baat Hai which consistently rates among the top five shows in the non-fictional category on the weekend. So, we have fresh weekend programming. We might add new programs in the future wherein we will look at reality or mix of unique concepts like silent comedy but nothing is crystallised yet.

    “We touched our highest rating of 159 in February this year and now with digitisation when we are far better placed”

     
    SAB is the only comedy-centric Hindi GEC, wherein other networks have second GEC channels, why do you think there aren’t many players in this genre? 

    We are the number one comedy channel in the world. We are the only channel in the world which does daily comedy shows. If you will look at channels like Zee Café or Star World, the sitcoms they have are weekly and have seasons. We have Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah which has done 1200 episodes now, Lapataganj in its first avatar had done 850 episodes and FIR will be touching 1000 soon (in September). So while we have been able to be innovative, we have also done successful programming. All this while we know that there is a limited pool of comedy actors, writer, directors and producers.

    Also, before SAB, comedy wasn’t seen as an important genre by GECs. We have been able to reign in that limited talent and try to cultivate a few more. With the limited pool I don’t think there is enough talent for more than one channel to survive. And secondly, we have a DNA which has gotten us consistent success. There is no doubt that other channels have dabbled into comedy especially after seeing SAB’s success, but all the top three or four GECs have not been able to succeed. And, therefore they are apprehensive.

     
    Do you work with a certain set of production houses or open to others as well?
     
    We have always encouraged new producers, but at the same time we have certain set of producers that have consistently worked for us. We also have people who have never done comedy before and doing it successfully for us. For instance, Malegaon ka Chintu is produced by Deepti Bhatnagar Production which hasn’t done comedy in the past, Gutur Gu is done by Fireworks who have in the past done CID and Aahat. And of course, we have Asit Modi, JD Majathia, Vipul Shah and Ashwini Dheer. So, we have been able to mix both.

     
    You are also available in the US, UK and Europe, what has been the response there? 

    We are extremely popular abroad. In the UK we are the fastest growing channel.

    It is a fact that we have created almost 7,000 hours of original programming and when we compare data with other channels dedicated to comedy we are miles ahead of them. From the 70s, since DD started, no channel has claimed or can claim to be the number one channel based out of India but we can!

     
    It’s going to be a year now since digitisation took place. How has it helped the channel? 

    We have a business model which by definition doesn’t afford us very high rates and because we also have to keep our profits in mind, we couldn’t place ourselves where top three or four GECs could. This meant, we could not be well placed in the analog. However, with digitisation, we now fall in the GEC cluster. Now our sampling will soar up. We also strongly feel that our trial retention rate is high.

     
    Currently, which are the weak slots that you would like to strengthen?

    The difference between manufacturing and television is – that in manufacturing you can perfect a formula whereas in our industry, the same raw material will go to the same factory but the end product sometime works and sometime fails.

     
    Lastly, when do you see Sab among the top three? 

    We are well on our way. We have never stopped growing. We touched our highest rating of 159 in February, this year and now with digitisation when we are far better placed, I hope we will one day be among the top three.

  • Google acquires Waze for over $1 bn

    Google acquires Waze for over $1 bn

    MUMBAI: Google has acquired Israeli technology company Waze for an estimated $1.03 billion.

    Waze makes a crowds-sourced traffic app that uses input from drivers. It will complement Google‘s mapping capability. Reports add that the deal is seen by many as a defensive move by Google to keep Waze from being acquired by Apple or Facebook.

    Google says that the aim is to help drivers outsmart traffic. Drivers will be able to find the best routes from home to work, every day. The Waze product development team will remain in Israel and operate separately for now. Google Maps will be enhanced with some of the traffic update features provided by Waze. At the same time Waze will be enhanced with Google‘s search capabilities.

    Google adds that it will also work closely with the Waze community, who are the DNA of this app, to ensure they have what‘s needed to grow and prosper. Google notes that the Waze community and its dedicated team have created a source of timely road corrections and updates. The effort is to make a comprehensive, accurate and useful map of the world.

    Waze founder Noam Bardin said, “Larry Page, Brian McClendon and the Google Maps teams have been following our progress closely and are excited about what we‘ve accomplished. They share our vision of a global mapping service, updated in real time by local communities, and wish to help us accelerate. We are excited about the prospect of working with the Google Maps team to enhance our search capabilities and to join them in their ongoing efforts to build the best map of the world.”

    “Nothing practical will change here at Waze. We will maintain our community, brand, service and organisation – the community hierarchy, responsibilities and processes will remain the same. The same Waze people will continue to collaborate with you, and we will continue to innovate, our product and services, making them more social, functional and helpful for everyday drivers. Our employees, managers, founders and I are all committed to our vision for many years to come,” he added.

    He also wrote on his blog on why the company did not go in for an IPO. “Why not stay completely independent? We asked ourselves: “Will Waze still be a fun project to participate in, and a fun place to work, as a stand-alone public company?” He noted that choosing the path of an IPO often shifts attention to bankers, lawyers and the happiness of Wall Street. “We decided we‘d rather spend our time with you, the Waze community. Google is committed to help us achieve our common goal and provide us with the independence and resources we need to succeed. We evaluated many options and believe Google is the best partner for Waze, our map editors, area managers, champs and nearly 50 million ‘Wazers‘ globally.”

    He adds that Waze will continue to make a real impact on drivers globally, helping them save time and money while making everyone‘s daily commute a bit more efficient and fun.

  • Second phase of Tupperware’s ‘She Can You Can features’ Hina Shah

    Second phase of Tupperware’s ‘She Can You Can features’ Hina Shah

    NEW DELHI: Tupperware, which had last year launched the ‘She Can You Can‘ initiative last year, has now launched the second phase with another campaign featuring a real life role woman model that women from all walks of life can look to emulate.

    Living up to its philosophy ‘Enlighten, Educate and Empower‘, Tupperware had undertaken this initiative that began with a media campaign in 2012. The campaign was aimed at highlighting women achievers who had the zeal to think out of the box and go the extra mile to realize their dreams.

    The TVC for this has been directed by Shoojit Sircar (acclaimed Ad – filmmaker, Director and winner of the National award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Vicky Donor). Tupperware, known across the world as the ‘Confidence Company‘, also strives to make women more confident of their ability to start and lead a business. The second edition of the ‘She Can, You Can‘ campaign celebrates this spirit of entrepreneurship and empowerment.

    The face of the campaign for this year is Hina Shah, a well-known social entrepreneur from Ahmedabad who is one of the most fitting examples of what a woman can do for a society. She is the founder and director of ICECD and also a recipient of a presidential award ‘Stree Shakti‘ for her efforts in this field.

    Her story is truly inspirational and Tupperware is certain that it will encourage many women to take the first step towards realizing their own dreams.

    After the launch of the campaign in 2012, Tupperware had invited success stories of women entrepreneurs. This initiative garnered an overwhelming response and that success has laid the foundation of the launch of the 2013 campaign.

    The company believes that this is a long term initiative and the ultimate goal of this initiative is to ensure that women from across India feel Confident enough to start their own entrepreneurial ventures.

    In the words of Tupperware MD (Indian Subcontinent) Asha Gupta, “Our endeavour is to encourage the creation of future opinion leaders and inspire them to fulfill their destinies. After a successful first year, our thrust will be to encourage women more towards action and inspire them to chase their dreams and achieve them. Going further, we would want women achievers from across the country to come out and share their experiences, thus becoming role models for upcoming generations of achievers. Our endeavour is to present inspirational stories of women, who have not only achieved success for themselves but have also helped and inspired other women to achieve their own aspirations.”

    Tupperware India CMO Anshu Bagai says, “The women who are the driving force behind the sales and distribution of the products also deserve equal credit for the brand‘s success. Most of these women started as homemakers. But today their financial success outweighs many men. What‘s more is that they have also successfully changed the lives of many other women. This campaign celebrates their success and more importantly their spirit.

    Tupperware‘s zero investment opportunity gives the Consultants confidence to run their business on their own terms. It allows women to care for a family without having to compromise on their aspirations of having a good professional career. The second edition of the ‘She Can, You Can‘ campaign will celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and independence.”

    IBD Brands MD Rahul Gupta says what sets the ‘She Can You Can‘ campaign apart is its sheer simplicity and the fact that it‘s a story told straight from the heart. Tupperware‘s commitment towards ‘empowering women‘ is ingrained in its DNA and that‘s what this campaign celebrates.

    Jai Singh, Executive Creative Director, IBD Brands says, The first big challenge of taking the ‘She Can You Can‘ campaign forward was finding the right protagonist. Secondly, one had to take the story to the next level while remaining within the ambit of the overall ‘she can you can‘ idea. Finding Hina Shah put everything in place. Here was a confident woman who believed; why seek a job, when you can give one? So to start with, not only did she become an entrepreneur but also set up an institute where she mentors many more women to be like her. Quite a role model and a brand fit because Tupperware too creates women entrepreneurs. Shot across different locations, this year‘s campaign will inspire women to believe in themselves a bit more and motivate them to play a larger role in society.

    Sircar said, ‘After the success of the first phase, I was really looking forward to the next spots of Tupperware and I am really happy that it is Hina Shah. She empowered women to become entrepreneurs. This novel act of hers has helped so many women. She is an achiever. I felt humbled in her presence yet very happy for being associated with her. She really is a great inspiration. I appreciate that Tupperware is constantly associating and featuring these women achievers from the society. Hope you all enjoy and get inspired too watching this spot.

    A home maker, a classical dancer, an entrepreneur, a painter, an academician and the founder – director of ICECD, Hina Shah has in a man‘s world created a niche for herself with path breaking innovative ideas. In 1976, when Hina decided to become an entrepreneur, she faced several adversities. It was her determination and grit which helped convert these difficulties into opportunities, and led her in emerging into a successful entrepreneur in the field of plastic packaging.

  • Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    MUMBAI: By the time Zee News Ltd announces its financials this time next year, it could well be sporting a new name Zee Media Corp. It could well also have merged its news broadcasting business with Essel group publication DNA as proposed by its board (see Zee News-DNA: merger on the cards?). Additionally, it could well also have news and infotainment channels in Rajasthan and Bihar/Jharkhand on air (it plans to launch them in the first half this year) adding to the roster it already runs in Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, Zee News UP, Zee Tamil, Zee 24 Gantalu, and 24 Ghanta.

    That could well be good news for any Zee News watcher. But what is better news is the fact that the company has achieved a turnaround of sorts by reporting a profit in Q4-2013 of Rs 6.87 crore. That‘s despite a drop in ad and overall revenues in the quarter. Subscription revenues have, however, been buoyant in the period.

    Let us look at the Q4-2013 results as against corresponding Q4-2012

    Revenues for Q4-2013 stand at Rs 79.06 crore, a dip of 8.43 per cent from last Q4- 2012‘s Rs 86.34 crore. Of this, subscription revenues have increased to Rs 22.2 crore as against last quarter‘s reported Rs 20.8 crore. Ad revenues have declined to Rs 52.2 crore from Rs 56.3 crore.

    Operating costs have significantly dropped to Rs 14.15 crore as against last corresponding quarter‘s Rs 21.39 crore. However the overall expenses have surged to Rs 78.05 crore, a rise of over 9.6 per cent from Rs 71.02 crore of the last corresponding quarter especially with its employee benefit expenses rising to Rs 23.2 crore (a rise of 22 per cent annually).

    EBITDA for the quarter was disappointing at Rs 4.68 crore as against Rs 18.4 crore reported in the last corresponding period, a dive of over 74 per cent.

    PAT for the quarter (Q4-2013) at Rs 6.87 crore is a massive surge of 300 per cent from a reported loss of Rs 3.95 crore in the last corresponding quarter- Q4-2012..

    Let us look at the consolidated annual FY-2013 financials vs FY-2012

    While total revenues have slipped to Rs 303.81 crore in FY-2013 as against FY-2012‘s Rs 307.22 crore, subscription revenues for the full year have surged by over 13.5 per cent to Rs 84.27 crore as opposed to last year‘s Rs 74.27 crore. Subscription revenues contributed to 27.7 per cent of the total revenues indicating stronger viewer demand for the channels, while ad revenues standing at Rs 202 crore contributed a majority to the total revenue stream.
    Expenses have risen 5 per cent to Rs 278.23 crore from last year‘s Rs 265 crore, with its employee benefit expenses at Rs 87.7 crore increasing by over 17.4 per cent. EBITDA for the full year is reported at Rs 37.54 crore a drop of over 29.6 per cent from last year‘s 53.35 crore.

    Net profit for FY-2013 has ballooned 109 per cent to Rs 24.17 crore as against FY-2012‘s Rs 11.55 crore. The major reason for this surge is the pouring in of funds through sources apart from its core operations including the Rs 4.8 crore dividends it received from its subsidiary Zee Akash News Pvt. Ltd. Its interest cost has narrowed to Rs 8.79 crore as against last year‘s reported Rs 10.66 crore. Also the taxation costs have reduced by 3 per cent over the year.

    Its online property Zeenews.com has been doing well and gaining traction. Even its microsite for the India Vs Australia series generated close to 2.9 million page views while its Union budget site knocked up 1.3 million page views.

    Says Zee News managing director Punit Goenka,” Our subscription revenues have shown a double digit increase and have partially compensated for the revenue constraints from a tepid advertising response in the backdrop of a muted period of growth. Out constant endeavour to bring innovative, quality and unbiased content to the viewer will remain the cornerstone of our programming. We aspire to be the one-stop destination for news in the country by building seamless synergy among the group‘s TV, print and digital platforms. Our company is redefining itself in tune with the changing times, laying emphasis on the digital medium and addressing broader viewer tastes.”

    Adds Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal,” The Zee bouquet of news channels reached the highest number of people across the country touching over a 100 million viewers the last quarter of the fiscal. The network also had the highest relative share in the same period. It is a testimony to the fact that our viewer oriented and innovative programming has shown results. Our differentiated offering to business news viewers has resulted in Zee Business being a leader in five out of 13 weeks of the quarter. Also we are seeing a significant swing of viewers from English business news to Hindi business news. In the last quarter we expanded our footprint by establishing our presence in burgeoning central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with the launch of news and infotainment channel-Zee Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh.”

  • Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    Zee News sees improvement in profits in FY 2013 financials

    MUMBAI: By the time Zee News Ltd announces its financials this time next year, it could well be sporting a new name Zee Media Corp. It could well also have merged its news broadcasting business with Essel group publication DNA as proposed by its board (see Zee News-DNA: merger on the cards?). Additionally, it could well also have news and infotainment channels in Rajasthan and Bihar/Jharkhand on air (it plans to launch them in the first half this year) adding to the roster it already runs in Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee Punjabi, Zee News UP, Zee Tamil, Zee 24 Gantalu, and 24 Ghanta.

     

    That could well be good news for any Zee News watcher. But what is better news is the fact that the company has achieved a turnaround of sorts by reporting a profit in Q4-2013 of Rs 6.87 crore. That’s despite a drop in ad and overall revenues in the quarter. Subscription revenues have, however, been buoyant in the period.

     

    Let us look at the Q4-2013 results as against corresponding Q4-2012

     

    Revenues for Q4-2013 stand at Rs 79.06 crore, a dip of 8.43 per cent from last Q4- 2012’s Rs 86.34 crore. Of this, subscription revenues have increased to Rs 22.2 crore as against last quarter’s reported Rs 20.8 crore. Ad revenues have declined to Rs 52.2 crore from Rs 56.3 crore.

     

    Operating costs have significantly dropped to Rs 14.15 crore as against last corresponding quarter’s Rs 21.39 crore. However the overall expenses have surged to Rs 78.05 crore, a rise of over 9.6 per cent from Rs 71.02 crore of the last corresponding quarter especially with its employee benefit expenses rising to Rs 23.2 crore (a rise of 22 per cent annually).

     

    EBITDA for the quarter was disappointing at Rs 4.68 crore as against Rs 18.4 crore reported in the last corresponding period, a dive of over 74 per cent.

     

    PAT for the quarter (Q4-2013) at Rs 6.87 crore is a massive surge of 300 per cent from a reported loss of Rs 3.95 crore in the last corresponding quarter- Q4-2012..

     

    Let us look at the consolidated annual FY-2013 financials vs FY-2012

     

    While total revenues have slipped to Rs 303.81 crore in FY-2013 as against FY-2012’s Rs 307.22 crore, subscription revenues for the full year have surged by over 13.5 per cent to Rs 84.27 crore as opposed to last year’s Rs 74.27 crore. Subscription revenues contributed to 27.7 per cent of the total revenues indicating stronger viewer demand for the channels, while ad revenues standing at Rs 202 crore contributed a majority to the total revenue stream.

    Expenses have risen 5 per cent to Rs 278.23 crore from last year’s Rs 265 crore, with its employee benefit expenses at Rs 87.7 crore increasing by over 17.4 per cent. EBITDA for the full year is reported at Rs 37.54 crore a drop of over 29.6 per cent from last year’s 53.35 crore.

     

    Net profit for FY-2013 has ballooned 109 per cent to Rs 24.17 crore as against FY-2012’s Rs 11.55 crore. The major reason for this surge is the pouring in of funds through sources apart from its core operations including the Rs 4.8 crore dividends it received from its subsidiary Zee Akash News Pvt. Ltd. Its interest cost has narrowed to Rs 8.79 crore as against last year’s reported Rs 10.66 crore. Also the taxation costs have reduced by 3 per cent over the year.

     

    Its online property Zeenews.com has been doing well and gaining traction. Even its microsite for the India Vs Australia series generated close to 2.9 million page views while its Union budget site knocked up 1.3 million page views.

     

    Says Zee News managing director Punit Goenka,” Our subscription revenues have shown a double digit increase and have partially compensated for the revenue constraints from a tepid advertising response in the backdrop of a muted period of growth. Out constant endeavour to bring innovative, quality and unbiased content to the viewer will remain the cornerstone of our programming. We aspire to be the one-stop destination for news in the country by building seamless synergy among the group’s TV, print and digital platforms. Our company is redefining itself in tune with the changing times, laying emphasis on the digital medium and addressing broader viewer tastes.”

     

    Adds Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal,” The Zee bouquet of news channels reached the highest number of people across the country touching over a 100 million viewers the last quarter of the fiscal. The network also had the highest relative share in the same period. It is a testimony to the fact that our viewer oriented and innovative programming has shown results. Our differentiated offering to business news viewers has resulted in Zee Business being a leader in five out of 13 weeks of the quarter. Also we are seeing a significant swing of viewers from English business news to Hindi business news. In the last quarter we expanded our footprint by establishing our presence in burgeoning central Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh with the launch of news and infotainment channel-Zee Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh.”

  • Kirstine Stewart to oversee Twitter in Canada

    Kirstine Stewart to oversee Twitter in Canada

    MUMBAI: CBC senior executive Kirstine Stewart is leaving. She will oversee social media Twitter‘s operations in Canada.

    She said, “I‘ve had some of the happiest moments in my life at the CBC, and I‘ve been honoured to represent such an important name to Canadians.

    “I‘m proud of what we‘ve done together these past seven years. I will miss the CBC family dearly, but I know that even when one leaves the CBC, the CBC never really leaves you. It‘s in my DNA, and I‘m all the better for it.”

  • Jitesh Rajdeo to head sales of Zee News Ltd

    NEW DELHI: Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has appointed Jitesh Rajdeo as its chief sales officer to head the sales function of all the news channels of the company.

    Rajdeo will report to ZNL chief executive officer Alok Agrawal.

    “With Zee News Ltd’s mantra of ‘Soch Badlo, Desh Badlo’, we aim at building a network of persistent and consistent actions throughout the length and breadth of the nation keeping in mind consolidation of our leadership position. To put the words into action we have decided to aggressively take newer initiatives and hence want to ramp up our team”, said Agrawal.

    Rajdeo was earlier promoted to the position of Revenue Head of DNA in March 2011 from his profile of Network Head – Key Accounts in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel). He has been associated with the Zee Group since 2000, having worked in various capacities in the organisation. During his tenure with the group, he has worked as national sales head of Zee Cinema as well.

    In 2009, when Zee restructured its ad sales division to form two core clusters, Rajdeo was in charge of the cluster that included the regional GECs (general entertainment channels) and news channels of the group.

    “Rajdeo has been with Zee Group for the past 13 years and had a good track record across various group channels in different roles. This experience would be helpful in taking up his role in ZNL and in helping in our growth,” said Agrawal.

    Added Rajdeo: “This new role certainly is quite challenging. In my past profiles, whether it was integrating DNA with Zee culture or heading the Network team or even looking after the Regional Cluster of Zeel were major responsibilities. I am ready for the challenge and committed to deliver on the organisation‘s expectations.”

  • Zee TV is the most trusted Hindi GEC brand

    BENGALURU: Zee TV, despite a slide in its ranking, was ahead of all Hindi GECs in the third edition of The Brand Trust Report India Study 2013, a study of India‘s most trusted brands by the Trust Research Advisory (TRA).

    Zee TV fell six notches to 231 from last year’s 225. Star Plus saw a huge gain in ranking at 287 from 584 last year, but was still behind Zee TV.

    Tata Sky (DTH) moved up 156 places to rank 51 from last year’s ranking of 207. DISH TV (DTH) was ranked within the top 500 for the first time in 2013 with a ranking of 180.

    In entertainment, the most trusted brands are PVR (Cinema-Display) and Eros (Cinema-Other). The Times of India followed by DNA leads the Media – Print category.

    TRA says it expanded the scope of its study to 16 cities for the 2013 report with more than 13,000 hours of fieldwork which resulted in 3 million data points and 19,000 unique brands of which about 1,100 brands across 211 categories find mention.

    The top two contenders for Media-TV are Aaj Tak and ABP News (Hindi). Aaj Tak moved up 47 places to 121 in 2013 from 168 in 2012. ABP News (Hindi) entered the 500 most trusted brands list at 214. NDTV saw a fall of 41 places to 221 as compared to last year’s rank of 180. Discovery too saw a steep fall of 73 places to 278 as compared to last year’s 205 rank.

    For last year’s edition, TRA claims a readership of around 10,000 from about 400 copies of the 1000 copies published, each priced at Rs 10,000. This year TRA expects a readership of around 25,000, with the number of copies to be published undecided as of now. The price for the 2013 report has been enhanced by 40 percent to Rs 14,000 each. The target audience for the report is the brands who use the report in various ways, including improving upon the 61 attributes divided across 10 brand behaviors, the foundation of which lies on three fundamental layers of trust says TRA.

  • Scarecrow wins Reliance Mutual Fund’s creative biz

    MUMBAI: Scarecrow Communications has won the creative mandate of Reliance Mutual Fund (RMF) following a multi-agency pitch.

    Scarecrow with offices in Mumbai and Delhi handles brands like Nestle, Reliance Digital, DNA, DLF, Future Capital, Eristoff (Bacardi), B‘lue and Rupa Innerwear.

    A subsidiary of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, RMF offers investors a portfolio of products to meet varying investor requirements and has presence in 179 cities across the country.