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Tag: EVP

  •  Top notch marketer Lara Balazs joins Adobe as CMO & EVP

     Top notch marketer Lara Balazs joins Adobe as CMO & EVP

    MUMBAI: She’s found her corporate abode in Adobe. The cutting edge software firm today announced that former Intuit chief marketing officer (CMO) & general manager, strategic partner group, Lara Balazs  has joined it as CMO & executive vice president. She will be having a direct reporting line to Adobe chair & CEO Shantanu Narayen.

    At Intuit, Lara was really into it, re-imagining the company’s brand and go-to-market activities to support its AI-driven financial technology platform and elevated its brand awareness and reputation to new heights.

    Balazs will lead the global marketing organisation responsible for Adobe’s renowned brand, Adobe.com, the company’s industry-leading events, campaigns, communications, social media and its best-in-class media operations and marketing insights.

    “As Adobe continues to deliver industry-leading product innovations across content creation and digital marketing, Lara’s unique experience across B2C and B2B industries and deep insights as an Adobe customer will help us engage our growing universe of users more effectively while expanding Adobe’s brand reach and impact,” voiced Narayen, 

    Balazs’ marketing career spans key leadership roles at some of the world’s most respected brands such as Amazon, Visa and Nike, delivering innovative customer-centric marketing strategies that propel transformational growth. Among her notable achievements are driving the growth of Amazon Prime and Visa globally and leading Visa into the era of digital payments, with the launch of mobile-first products such as Visa Checkout and Apple Pay. At Intuit, she led the protax group to its highest, most sustained growth in years and drove the company’s highest brand awareness and corporate reputation in its four decades.

    Named to Forbes’ list of the world’s most influential CMOs and a recipient of AdWeek’s CMO Vanguard award, Balazs is passionate about advancing the marketing profession and supporting the social impact of the industry.

    Balazs holds a bachelor of arts degree in pre-law from the university of Washington and a master of business administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

  • Sandeep Ranade joins Hansa Research as EVP & quantitative research head

    Sandeep Ranade joins Hansa Research as EVP & quantitative research head

    Mumbai: Hansa Research has appointed Sandeep Ranade as the executive vice president (EVP) and national head of quantitative research.

    Sandeep was working with Kantar as executive director and head of media in South Adia. He brings with him an experience of 27 years of working in the research industry. He has extensive experience in FMCG, telecom and the media sectors across brand, creative and media domains. He has also led teams across locations to help clients build their brands and solve their critical business issues.

    In his professional journey, he has led multiple global studies including developing a windows-based software for analyzing NRS (National Readership Survey) 1995 data with a team of software developers. He was also the team lead for setting up a panel for monitoring lubricant usage in trucks (2003-2004) and also transitioned customer satisfaction study for a large telecommunication client in Africa (across sixteen countries).

    Commenting on Sandeep Ranade’s appointment, Hansa Research CEO Praveen Nijhara said, “We are pleased to welcome Sandeep to our organization. His vast experience will further help advance our research expertise and deliver more valuable insights to our clients. I’m confident he will play an important role in Hansa’s growth in the coming years.”

    Speaking on his new role Ranade said, “I am excited to be a part of the Hansa Research Group. Being the largest consumer insights company in India, Hansa is known in the research industry for its innovative and path-breaking studies. I look forward to working with the team who has pioneered some benchmarks in the market research industry.”

    Having completed his education in PGDBM (Marketing and Finance) from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS), Pune and B.E. Mechanical with Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Sandeep has many awards to his credit for his exceptional contribution to the research industry.

     

  • Viacom18 appoints Siddharth Sharma as EVP – sports

    Viacom18 appoints Siddharth Sharma as EVP – sports

    Mumbai: Viacom18 has appointed Siddharth Sharma as executive vice president (EVP) – sports.

    Previously, Sharma was with The Walt Disney Company-owned Star Sports network as senior vice president. He joined Star Sports as AVP in 2013 and was elevated to the position of vice president – head of Kabaddi (content and production) in 2015. “As I end my 8.5 years journey at Star Sports, I reflect with humility and thank my mentors, co-conspirators and team members who have massively contributed in making my work look good,” Sharma wrote in a LinkedIn post.

    Prior to Star Network, Sharma worked with ABP News as sports editor for almost 11 years. His past stints also include Zee News.

    Viacom18 is looking to expand its presence in the sports broadcasting segment. The media and entertainment network recently announced a multi-year partnership with The National Basketball Association (NBA) to deliver live NBA games and programming to fans in India across television and over-the-top streaming.

    NBA, Viacom18 announce multi-year broadcast and streaming partnership in India

    Viacom18 is building its team ahead of the launch of its first sports channel.

  • Signature Masterclass provides a stage for aspiring filmmakers to MAKE THEIR MARK

    Signature Masterclass provides a stage for aspiring filmmakers to MAKE THEIR MARK

    Bengaluru: India is a country of a billion people and a billion stories. These stories are real, imagined, perfect, imperfect and most of the times unique. Signature Masterclass in its fourth season is providing a stage to the country’s aspiring filmmakers to pitch these stories live to their favorite celebrities and stand a chance to bring their story to life as a short film.

    Signature Masterclass powered by Signature Packaged Drinking Water is a unique platform that has over the years celebrated the world of films though artists, filmmakers and their stories. In its fourth edition, the platform has partnered with celebrated artists like Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao and Tamannah Bhatia. During the event, the artists will share their most honest and personal stories on how they made their mark in the industry in front of a live audience hosted by Kubbra Sait, post that the filmmakers will get to pitch the stories to the artists.

    Speaking about Signature Masterclass Season 4, Amarpreet Anand, EVP & Portfolio Head, Marketing, Diageo India, said, “Signature Masterclass has always celebrated real-life success stories and over the years the platform has inspired people to follow their dreams and make their mark. We are thrilled to now take it a step further by being enablers to these story tellers & aspiring filmmakers. It is exciting to have some of India’s most talented artists help us on this journey”

    “Content today is getting more and more democratized. It is in this spirit that we wanted to take the romance between Signature Masterclass and Films a step further by converting it into a platform that enables a filmmaker’s journey. Even we had a bit of fun on this journey as we got to create unique stories inspired by popular films of our celebrities,” adds Khushboo Benani, Head of Content, Influencer Marketing and Brand Advocacy at Diageo India.

    Signature Masterclass this season even brings together the blockbuster duo in the hero film. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana and is directed by Amar Kaushik, the two recently collaborated on the hit film ‘Bala’ and continue to bring the magic on screen.

    The Signature Masterclass events are being held in Pune, Kolkata, Guwahati and Hyderabad over January and February 2020 and filmmakers can submit their stories on www.signaturemasterclass.co.in to be a part of the campaign. This edition of Signature Masterclass has been curated by VICE Media in association with Kommune and India Film Project.

  • Dentsu Webchutney appoints Anil Kumar as EVP

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Webchutney has roped in Anil Kumar as EVP and branch head. He will be based out of Delhi and will report to Dentsu Webchutney CEO and co-founder Sidharth Rao. Kumar will lead key accounts like Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Canon, Tetra Pack, Hike, Payback, DS Group and ITC amongst others.

    Rao said, “Digital is fast moving from a creative-communication arena to being a business-enabler. Anil, with years of mainline advertising experience coupled with extensive hands-on marketing experience, presents a combination that can help our teams appreciate the real-business issues more holistically and recommend solutions that can positively impact our client’s bottom lines. We look forward to Anil steering our largest branch to next levels of growth and recognition.”

    Kumar is a seasoned marketing professional with over 18 years of work experience with India’s leading advertising agencies – FCB, Grey, TBWA, Contract and Lintas. This long stint was followed by another five years as executive director, Millennium Spire, a Singapore based FDI fund that he helped grow from $20 million to a $1 billion operation. This success fuelled his passion for nurturing start-ups and led to co-founding of inQbis – a boutique business consulting firm focussed on providing strategic and marketing direction to early-growth ventures in infrastructure, agri-products, retail design and e-com sectors.

    He added, “I am seriously inspired by the impact of Digital, both as a medium and a technology, on our day to day lives. It is fast changing the human behaviour itself. For a marketing professional, Digital is the ultimate delight because of its tremendous ability to sharply identify and establish the shortest route possible to the target audience; and what better place than Dentsu Webchutney, the pioneers in digital, to immerse oneself into this arena and explore.”

  • Sony Entertainment TV plans to expand its early prime time to 6pm

    Sony Entertainment TV plans to expand its early prime time to 6pm

    MUMBAI: With the launch of its new offering Peshwa Bajirao, Sony Entertainment Television has entered the 7.30 pm time slot. The channel has expanded its prime time to 7.30pm, and plans to expand it further to 6pm time band in coming 12-18 months.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Sony Pictures Network India CEO NP Singh said, “With this show, we begin our prime time to 7.30pm, and soon we will have a show at 7pm time-band. Our objective is to start prime time at 6pm in 12 to 18 months’ time.”

    Singh further added, “Sony TV’s weekend shows are running successfully. We are focusing on the growth and reach of viewership of our weekday property and that will happen by launching the new slots on the channel and the launch of new shows on those channels.”

    Sony Entertainment Television EVP and business head Danish Khan said, “The intention is to expand the prime time from 6pm to 11.30pm but one thing at a time. 7.30 pm time slot we are opening now, and, hopefully by April, we will open the 7pm time band. The programming philosophy for Sony is novelty, variety and quality. We are working on banking a writing script in advance also we are shooting in advance. Like we are launching Peshwa Bajirao on Monday with 20 episodes in bank that is to drive the quality. Also we are hoping that we will bring some novel concept.”

    Firstly, it was Star Plus which opened the early prime time slot and later followed by other Hindi GECs entered the space but most of the channels failed to get the positive ratings in those early prime time specially 6pm and 6.30pm. But 7pm and 7.30pm time band became the prime time for all the channels and the space become more competitive with time.

    “There are seven Hindi GEC channels, and India is a huge country with a different set of audience fragmentation. It’s important to have a variety in GECs. In small towns, the prime time starts early, whereas in urban India people watch television slightly late. The overall HSM numbers might not look very big but, in the sub groups of geography, some shows are blockbusters. I think there is huge appetite for early prime time,” informed Khan.

    Well, how successfully Sony is able to encash the expanded prime time, only time will tell.

  • Sony Entertainment TV plans to expand its early prime time to 6pm

    Sony Entertainment TV plans to expand its early prime time to 6pm

    MUMBAI: With the launch of its new offering Peshwa Bajirao, Sony Entertainment Television has entered the 7.30 pm time slot. The channel has expanded its prime time to 7.30pm, and plans to expand it further to 6pm time band in coming 12-18 months.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Sony Pictures Network India CEO NP Singh said, “With this show, we begin our prime time to 7.30pm, and soon we will have a show at 7pm time-band. Our objective is to start prime time at 6pm in 12 to 18 months’ time.”

    Singh further added, “Sony TV’s weekend shows are running successfully. We are focusing on the growth and reach of viewership of our weekday property and that will happen by launching the new slots on the channel and the launch of new shows on those channels.”

    Sony Entertainment Television EVP and business head Danish Khan said, “The intention is to expand the prime time from 6pm to 11.30pm but one thing at a time. 7.30 pm time slot we are opening now, and, hopefully by April, we will open the 7pm time band. The programming philosophy for Sony is novelty, variety and quality. We are working on banking a writing script in advance also we are shooting in advance. Like we are launching Peshwa Bajirao on Monday with 20 episodes in bank that is to drive the quality. Also we are hoping that we will bring some novel concept.”

    Firstly, it was Star Plus which opened the early prime time slot and later followed by other Hindi GECs entered the space but most of the channels failed to get the positive ratings in those early prime time specially 6pm and 6.30pm. But 7pm and 7.30pm time band became the prime time for all the channels and the space become more competitive with time.

    “There are seven Hindi GEC channels, and India is a huge country with a different set of audience fragmentation. It’s important to have a variety in GECs. In small towns, the prime time starts early, whereas in urban India people watch television slightly late. The overall HSM numbers might not look very big but, in the sub groups of geography, some shows are blockbusters. I think there is huge appetite for early prime time,” informed Khan.

    Well, how successfully Sony is able to encash the expanded prime time, only time will tell.

  • Sony strengthens weekday programming; launching four shows by July ’17

    Sony strengthens weekday programming; launching four shows by July ’17

    MUMBAI: After strengthening the weekend programming with Super Dancer, Sony Entertainment Television is all set to bring one of its iconic shows — Indian Idol — back.

    “Sony has traditionally done very well as far as the weekend is concerned. So, when we started rebuilding this channel a year ago, the aim was to make Sony the number one weekend destination. I am happy to say that we have achieved that. Weekday programming is where we are going to focus now. We have launched Beyhadh which received a good opening. Weekday is a habit which will take time to be cultivated, and can’t happen in one go,” said Sony Entertainment Television EVP and business head Danish Khan.

    Khan added, “There are three-four launches between January and July in 2017, and, in July, people will see a very healthy weekend. It will be gradual, step by step, but, like you have seen in the weekend, you will see weekday of Sony fulfilling expectation of the audience very soon.” Sony’s much talked about historical drama Peshwa Bajirao is slated to launch in January.

    Indian Idol is the first step in bringing back the old iconic shows of Sony. The show will be aired from 24 December on Saturday and Sunday at 8pm.

    The channel has roped in Vivo as the title sponsors, and KUV 100 and Quick Heal as the ‘Co-powered By’ sponsors. According to sources, a 10-sec ad rate for the show has been sold for Rs 1 lakh each.

    This season also marks the comeback of its original trio of judges, Farah Khan, Sonu Nigam and Anu Malik, which has come together on the platform once again, after 12 years. Their chemistry and unique style of interaction with the participants holds promise — to make this season an ultimate entertainer on the Indian television.

    While the contestants impress viewers with their talent, the judges will also mark them on three most important factors that define the Indian Idol platform – Riyaaz, Awaaz and Andaaz. The legendary singing sensation of India, Sonu Nigam, will focus on the contestants’ ‘Riyaaz’, the maestro Anu Malik will be keenly observing their ‘Awaaz’, and known for her distinguished style, Bollywood’s ace choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan will judge their ‘Andaaz’.

    The show will begin with audition episodes from across the country; episodes that witnessed lakhs of talented singers competing to make it into the top 110. Hosting the ninth season will be the charming Karan Wahi and Paritosh Tripathy.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Sony Pictures Networks CEO NP Singh said, “It’s an authentic talent hunt show with authentic talent. Indian Idol is a show which broke new ground a few years ago, and in many ways changed the landscape of reality shows in India. It worked really well for us.”

    Post the fantastic success of its most popular show Super Dancer, the channel now brings to the fore one of its biggest properties — Indian Idol. Khan informed, “We have created a dedicated time of 8pm on weekends that will continue to bring unseen talent to our viewers. Super Dancer saw some amazing dancers and now, with Indian Idol, we intend to take this legacy ahead. The original trio of judges is a wonderful combination in the world of music and their chemistry coupled with outstanding singers will surely create magic on screen.”

    Said FremantleMedia India business head Vidyuth Bhandary, “The global phenomenon of the Idol format — launched in 52 territories worldwide and rated as the No 1 show 48 times — has been watched by half a billion viewers globally, making it one of the world’s most loved shows. We are proud of our strong partnership and collaboration with Sony Pictures Networks India, and happy to announce the launch of the 9th season of Indian Idol. It’s been 12 years since the first season of Indian Idol was launched on SET making it the longest-running reality show in India with unprecedented participation.”

    The channel will soon bring back all its iconic shows such as — KBC and Dus Ka Dum.

    “Indian Idol has been a torch-bearer of sorts in terms of the non-fiction programming slate for Sony, and has proved to be a war-horse when it comes to TVR numbers. Thus, it’s great news for Sony that the show is making a return after a rather long hiatus and what’s better is that they have gone back to the earlier panel of judges, which allows the audience to find an instant connect from the word go. What’s worked for the show earlier is the platform that it has provided for stars of the future, but the fact that the show wasn’t around for four years has allowed other shows like ‘The Voice’ to create ample room for competition. It will be a great battle to be witnessed between Indian Idol’s return along with a new format in Colors’ Rising Star on the small screen in the coming days,” said a senior media planner.

  • Sony strengthens weekday programming; launching four shows by July ’17

    Sony strengthens weekday programming; launching four shows by July ’17

    MUMBAI: After strengthening the weekend programming with Super Dancer, Sony Entertainment Television is all set to bring one of its iconic shows — Indian Idol — back.

    “Sony has traditionally done very well as far as the weekend is concerned. So, when we started rebuilding this channel a year ago, the aim was to make Sony the number one weekend destination. I am happy to say that we have achieved that. Weekday programming is where we are going to focus now. We have launched Beyhadh which received a good opening. Weekday is a habit which will take time to be cultivated, and can’t happen in one go,” said Sony Entertainment Television EVP and business head Danish Khan.

    Khan added, “There are three-four launches between January and July in 2017, and, in July, people will see a very healthy weekend. It will be gradual, step by step, but, like you have seen in the weekend, you will see weekday of Sony fulfilling expectation of the audience very soon.” Sony’s much talked about historical drama Peshwa Bajirao is slated to launch in January.

    Indian Idol is the first step in bringing back the old iconic shows of Sony. The show will be aired from 24 December on Saturday and Sunday at 8pm.

    The channel has roped in Vivo as the title sponsors, and KUV 100 and Quick Heal as the ‘Co-powered By’ sponsors. According to sources, a 10-sec ad rate for the show has been sold for Rs 1 lakh each.

    This season also marks the comeback of its original trio of judges, Farah Khan, Sonu Nigam and Anu Malik, which has come together on the platform once again, after 12 years. Their chemistry and unique style of interaction with the participants holds promise — to make this season an ultimate entertainer on the Indian television.

    While the contestants impress viewers with their talent, the judges will also mark them on three most important factors that define the Indian Idol platform – Riyaaz, Awaaz and Andaaz. The legendary singing sensation of India, Sonu Nigam, will focus on the contestants’ ‘Riyaaz’, the maestro Anu Malik will be keenly observing their ‘Awaaz’, and known for her distinguished style, Bollywood’s ace choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan will judge their ‘Andaaz’.

    The show will begin with audition episodes from across the country; episodes that witnessed lakhs of talented singers competing to make it into the top 110. Hosting the ninth season will be the charming Karan Wahi and Paritosh Tripathy.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Sony Pictures Networks CEO NP Singh said, “It’s an authentic talent hunt show with authentic talent. Indian Idol is a show which broke new ground a few years ago, and in many ways changed the landscape of reality shows in India. It worked really well for us.”

    Post the fantastic success of its most popular show Super Dancer, the channel now brings to the fore one of its biggest properties — Indian Idol. Khan informed, “We have created a dedicated time of 8pm on weekends that will continue to bring unseen talent to our viewers. Super Dancer saw some amazing dancers and now, with Indian Idol, we intend to take this legacy ahead. The original trio of judges is a wonderful combination in the world of music and their chemistry coupled with outstanding singers will surely create magic on screen.”

    Said FremantleMedia India business head Vidyuth Bhandary, “The global phenomenon of the Idol format — launched in 52 territories worldwide and rated as the No 1 show 48 times — has been watched by half a billion viewers globally, making it one of the world’s most loved shows. We are proud of our strong partnership and collaboration with Sony Pictures Networks India, and happy to announce the launch of the 9th season of Indian Idol. It’s been 12 years since the first season of Indian Idol was launched on SET making it the longest-running reality show in India with unprecedented participation.”

    The channel will soon bring back all its iconic shows such as — KBC and Dus Ka Dum.

    “Indian Idol has been a torch-bearer of sorts in terms of the non-fiction programming slate for Sony, and has proved to be a war-horse when it comes to TVR numbers. Thus, it’s great news for Sony that the show is making a return after a rather long hiatus and what’s better is that they have gone back to the earlier panel of judges, which allows the audience to find an instant connect from the word go. What’s worked for the show earlier is the platform that it has provided for stars of the future, but the fact that the show wasn’t around for four years has allowed other shows like ‘The Voice’ to create ample room for competition. It will be a great battle to be witnessed between Indian Idol’s return along with a new format in Colors’ Rising Star on the small screen in the coming days,” said a senior media planner.

  • NBC-Universal buys ‘paranormal’ series from Bomanbridge

    NBC-Universal buys ‘paranormal’ series from Bomanbridge

    MUMBAI/ SINGAPORE: Bomanbridge Media, a Singapore-based content distribution and production agency, announced a series of paranormal series programme sales to NBC-Universal’s Syfy and Celestial.

    NBC Universal’s Syfy acquired the iconic series A Haunting – a paranormal anthology television series that depicts eyewitness accounts of possession, exorcism, and ghostly encounters. They also acquired RIP Files a series that follows paranormal investigators, based in Washington DC, who use their psychic abilities and their deep knowledge of metaphysical techniques to interact with the entities they encounter at haunted locations. These investigators encourage the spirits to share their stories in their own words through amazing EVPs and other evidence that is bridging the gap between the worlds of science and spirituality.

    Celestial, Thrill channel, took another season of the long-running Most Haunted series. The multiple award-winning paranormal investigation series seeks the truth into whether ghosts really do exist. The team, led by Yvette Fielding, spends 24 hours investigating infamously haunted locations to uncover mysteries and bring an honest account of reported paranormal activity. Most Haunted has been shown in more than 80 countries, reached over 200 thrilling episodes and is one of the UK’s longest-running and most successful series.

    “Bomanbridge carries great paranormal content within the catalogue and with the expansion of paranormal genre and channels in Asia, we hope to maintain our edge in this entertaining genre,” said Bomanbridge Media CEO Sonia Fleck.