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Tag: Taj

  • Infectious Advertising hires Divesh Mehta and Kiran Salkar for key roles

    Infectious Advertising hires Divesh Mehta and Kiran Salkar for key roles

    MUMBAI: Infectious Advertising has just doubled its dose of creative and strategic medicine and the side effect could be potent campaigns. The independent agency has onboarded two industry veterans: Divesh Mehta as associate vice president planning and Kiran Salkar as creative director for art, bolstering both its brand strategy muscle and design flair.

    Mehta, who clocks in nearly 15 years in marketing communications, was a founding member of an omni-channel apparel brand that shook up casual wear retail. His advertising innings have spanned BFSI, finance, hospitality, pharma and heavy industry, all with the belief that “the right strategic intervention can transform client business.” On his move, Mehta said Infectious’ work is “both rooted and refreshing the kind of energy I want to be part of.”

    Salkar also brings over 15 years of adland experience, leading campaigns for marquee brands like Lux, Sunsilk, BMW, Tata Motors, Parle, Taj, SBI and Orra. An illustrator at heart with a photographer’s sensibility, he’s known for marrying bold aesthetics with brand storytelling. “I’m excited to join Infectious and look forward to doing some kickass work,” he said, adding that he’s been following the agency’s work “for a while” and likes what he’s seen.

    Co-founders Nisha Singhania and Ramanuj Shastry called the duo’s arrival a shot in the arm: “Both bring the attitude and skill sets needed to take Infectious to the next level.” With Mehta’s strategic scalpel and Salkar’s visual sizzle, the agency looks set to turn more heads and maybe win a few more awards in the months ahead.

  • Adani tops growth charts with 82 per cent brand value surge

    Adani tops growth charts with 82 per cent brand value surge

    MUMBAI: The Adani Group has gone from strength to superbrand, topping the growth charts with a jaw-dropping 82 per cent spike in brand valuation — the highest among India’s top 100 brands in 2025, according to Brand Finance’s annual rankings.

    Brand Adani’s value has surged from $3.55 billion in 2024 to $6.46 billion (Rs 55,000 crore) this year, marking an increase larger than its entire 2023 valuation. That’s not just growth — that’s compounding on steroids.

    The jump has propelled Adani three notches up the rankings, landing it at No. 13 on the coveted list, up from 16 last year. The report attributes this leap to the Group’s strategic clarity, resilience in the face of global volatility, and commitment to sustainable growth — a rare trifecta in today’s corporate climate.

    Meanwhile, Tata Group cemented its throne as India’s most valuable brand, becoming the first Indian brand ever to breach the $30 billion mark. It continues to lead the pack on sustainability perception value, while Infosys tops the charts in positive gap value – a measure of consumer trust outperforming expectations.

    Luxury hotel chain Taj held onto its title as India’s strongest brand with a AAA+ rating and a brand strength index (BSI) score of 92.2/100.

    Food delivery major Zomato also made its debut in the top 50, riding on strong brand equity among urban consumers.

    The 2025 edition of the Brand Finance India 100 saw double-digit growth across the top 10 brands, including Infosys, LIC, Hdfc and Reliance, indicating that India’s brandscape is not just expanding – it’s accelerating.

    In a year where perception met performance, Adani’s sharp rise signals that brand value in India is increasingly built on scale, strategy, and sustainable swagger.

    Speaking on the same, Brand Finance’s MD Asia Pacific, Alex Haigh said, “Adani emerged as the fastest-growing Indian brand in 2025. In our assessment, brand Adani’s rise is underpinned by its strong financial performance coupled with high brand equity scores. It is a clear reflection of their investment in integrated infrastructure and the renewables sector.”
     

  • Manhattan Short 2014 to be held in India

    Manhattan Short 2014 to be held in India

    MUMBAI: Manhattan Short 2014, the international platform which showcases, celebrates and awards short films from across the world, is back for the fifth time in India.

     

    The three-day fest will be held in Mumbai from 3 -5 October. The festival will screen the 10 best short films that have been selected from USA, UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Australia, Netherlands, Norway, and England.

     

    The films deal with a range of subjects which includes romance to sci-fi, animation and a docu-short. These films have won multiple accolades at various festivals around the world and will be screened at Manhattan Short 2014.

     

    This film movement began in 1998 and has long established its global exposure by dedicating itself to the short film genre and witnessing hundreds of entries from across the world every year.

     

    This year Manhattan Short 2014 in India and its chief patron Vivanta by Taj conducted and named, ‘Vote for India’. This initiative saw filmmakers from across India send in their short film entries to vie for a spot in the global finalist list. The films were hosted on the India chapter’s website – www.manhattanshortindia.com where Indian audiences voted for three best movies. These three winners each have won a chance to create a short film for Vivanta by Taj.

     

    Manhattan Short 2014 in India will also present a few workshops for the youth and upcoming film makers by renowned artistes who will share their thoughtful insights with the audience.

     

    Commenting on the India chapter, India Festival director Anil Sadarangani said, “With Manhattan Short’s global reach, this is a dream come true for any filmmaker to be a part of. We hope to receive a great response from the city with the grand repertoires of short films presented at the festival.”

     

    Manhattan Short 2014 in India will kickstart with an interesting workshop on ‘The Short Film Industry: Boom!’ This session will have panelists like Shamiana Shorts Founder Cyrus Dastur, Pocket Films Managing Director Saameer Mody, renowned film maker Paromita Vohra and film-maker and Co-Curator of The FD Zone Avijit Mukul Kishore, who will share their insights on the growth of the short film industry in India.

     

    The festival  will also conduct various workshops with renowned industry veterans like- ‘Rainbow Stories – Queering Indian Shorts’ with Sridhar Rangayan from Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, ‘Joys of Film Editing’ workshop with Film Editors Dipika Kalra and Antara Lahiri, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ashvin Kumar will conduct one on making an Oscar-worthy short film at Manhattan Short 2014.

     

    The winner will be selected by the audience voting. Votes will be tallied at each participating cinema around the world and submitted to festival headquarters in New York City where the winner will be announced. Audiences can also catch the webcast live on www.vivantabytaj.com.

  • Ad club & JMC academy, Australia announce a tie-up to conduct workshops in India

    Ad club & JMC academy, Australia announce a tie-up to conduct workshops in India

    MUMBAI: As you all are aware that the Ad Club celebrates its 60th birthday this year.

     

    Keeping this momentous and celebratory occasion in mind we have already announced our popular program Ad Review in a new Avatar. This program will be conducted on Friday, 28th February, 2014 at Vivanta by Taj, Gurgaon, Delhi.

     

    We now take great pleasure in announcing that we have tied up with JMC Academy, Australia to conduct a series of workshops in India every year.

     

    We will fly a reputed speaker from JMC, Australia to conduct a workshop in India.  The frequency will be one workshop per four months.

     

    JMC ACADEMY OVERVIEW

     

    Established in 1982, JMC Academy is Australia’s leading creative industries education provider. It helps students to develop their creative skills and their business knowledge. Its lecturers have close ties with the entertainment industry.

     

    Academic programs

     

    JMC Academy delivers degrees, diplomas and training in Entertainment Business Management, Film & Television Production, Contemporary Music Performance, 3D Animation, Game Design and Audio Engineering & Sound Production.

     

    Also part of the JMC group of institutions are the International Film School Sydney (IFSS), and the Actors College for Theatre and Television (ACTT).  Both these colleges deliver vocational qualifications up to Advanced Diploma level.

     

    Students and campuses

     

    JMC Academy has a current enrolment of over 2,200 full-time Higher Education students over its three campuses, located in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Each campus is equipped with world-class facilities and equipment, providing students with the training necessary to be work-ready upon graduation.

     

    Entertainment Business Management

     

    JMC Academy’s renowned Bachelor of Entertainment (Business Management) attracts students from Australia and around the world, with the bulk of overseas interest coming from North America and Europe where awareness of the career potential in entertainment business management is greatest.

     

    International linkages and activities

     

    JMC Academy is active internationally and has a range of academic partnerships in place in the United States, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Netherlands.  It plays host to students from over 33 different countries.

     

    THE FIRST WORKSHOP:

     

    We kick start our joint venture with a workshop on Tuesday, 11th March, 2014 by Antony Waddington, Producer / Lecturer who will be joined by an Indian Stalwart from Entertainment / Event Industry.  The subject being Entertainment Business Management : Taking Indian creative content onto the world stage.

  • The Attacks of 26/11 leaves Shekhar Kapur haunted

    The Attacks of 26/11 leaves Shekhar Kapur haunted

    MUMBAI: The image of the burning dome of The Taj, the empty CST station, the bullet marks at Leopold Café and the peaceful candlelight march come flooding back when one talks about the terrible 2008 terror attacks.

    These images came flashing back to talented director Shekhar Kapur who recently watched ‘The Attacks of 26/11‘. He used the micro blogging site Twitter to express his feeling after watching the movie.

    He tweeted, “Tonight is gonna b a tough night 2 sleep. Just came out of a screening of Ram Gopal Varma‘s film on 26/11 @RGVzoomin.” He further went on to add, “Every1 will have a deeply personal reaction 2 Ram Gopal Varma‘s film on 26/11, but it left me haunted by d ghosts of those fateful days.”

    Recently even superstar Amitabh Bachchan who saw the first draft of the movie praised it. Ram Gopal Varma has done tremendous research on the subject as well as the characters and this can be seen in the reaction of everyone who has seen the movie. The promos and music of the film have been received well by the audiences. The movie is slated to release on 1 March.