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While English continues to be the dominant language in the Internet space, several large sites have been introducing content in Hindi and other Indian languages, even in email, which now have language options. exchange4media finds out from industry players about how language content can drive the Internet, especially the emerging mobile Internet space.
Robin Thomas Apr 6, 2009 8:09 AM
Guruji.com, touted as India’s first local Internet search engine, aims to consolidate its existing offerings, including the recently-launched online ad networks – AdGuru and AdYantra – and an increase in monetisation this year. Anurag Dod, CEO and Co-founder, Guruji.com, speaks exclusively with exchange4media regarding growth plans for 2009.
Robin Thomas Apr 2, 2009 8:52 AM
Smaller FM stations are finding allies in like-minded larger FM players to expand their base, especially through consolidation of sales forces, which give the former an opportunity to reach out to national clients.
Robin Thomas Apr 2, 2009 8:51 AM
Percept Talent Management (PTM) and Hansa Research have unveiled the first six-monthly wave result, CelebTrack, a currency on talent management which aims to help brands know which celebrity is actually popular and also help the celebrities evaluate themselves. exchange4media seeks to find out if the time is ripe for a credible currency in talent management.
Robin Thomas Apr 2, 2009 8:35 AM
The Indian mobile gaming industry, worth over Rs 100 crore, is awaiting the rollout of 3G services in the country, which will take the mobile industry to the next level with heavier games, good quality and faster downloads. exchange4media speaks to some industry players on the way ahead for mobile gaming and the trends to look out for.
Robin Thomas Mar 31, 2009 7:47 AM
The third panel at the India Social Media Summit 2009, held in held in Mumbai on March 27, attempted to find out whether media planners have understood and invested enough in social media. The case study for this session was presented by Nautanki.tv’s Sunil R Nair, while the session was moderated by Krishna Kumar, Editor Dare Magazine.
Robin Thomas Mar 30, 2009 8:08 AM
The second panel at the India Social Media Summit 2009, held in held in Mumbai on March 27, focused on whether there was a critical mass in social media or whether it was an ‘elitist phenomenon’. The case study was presented by Pinstorm’s Mahesh Murthy, while the panelists included Ajay Kakar of Aditya Birla Group, NDTV Media’s Raj Nayak, CEO NDTV Media, Yudhishter Gopalkrishna, and Interactive Avenues’ Ratish Nair.
Robin Thomas Mar 30, 2009 8:06 AM
State of the online advertising industry was discussed in detail at the Digital Download - Behind the Headlines summit, held by the International Advertising Association (IAA) in Mumbai on March 26. Industry experts spoke about ways to grow online advertising in India and the various challenges and opportunities before it today.
Robin Thomas Mar 27, 2009 7:43 AM
The IPL Season 2 might have shifted to South Africa, but the various franchises are going ahead with their marketing activities and strategic tie-ups. The latest is Havas Sports, which has roped in energy drink Cloud 9 as principle sponsor for the Chennai Super Kings for a substantial amount. Havas Sports will be taking a 360-degree approach and the campaign is set to launch in April.
Robin Thomas Mar 27, 2009 7:41 AM
The tenth anniversary celebrations to honour Subhas Ghosal saw the official launch of the book ‘Brands under Fire’ edited by Post Ivan Arthur and Kurien Mathews and published by Penguin Portfolio. Prasoon Joshi, Executive Chairman and Regional Creative Director Asia Pacific, McCann Erickson, delivered the Subhas Ghosal Lecture on the occasion, which was held on March 24 in Mumbai.
Robin Thomas Mar 25, 2009 8:10 AM
Sanjay Behl has been elevated to CEO, Big TV and IPTV. Earlier, Arun Kapoor had held the post of CEO, Big TV, who had put in his papers on November 7, 2008 after a short stint with the company. Prior to this elevation, Behl was Head of Brand and Marketing at Reliance Communications.
Robin Thomas Mar 24, 2009 8:04 AM
The IPL Season 2 has been seeing more twists and turns than a Balaji serial. With the BCCI now deciding to hold the tournament outside India, South Africa, England and New Zealand are emerging as the likely destinations. While fans in India are unhappy about this move, the IPL franchises are still planning their next moves following this latest development.
Robin Thomas Mar 23, 2009 8:17 AM
The going is proving to be tough for sports marketing agencies in India. Some of sports marketing arms of media agencies, such as VGC Sports and to an extent, even Ogilvy Sports, have closed shop around December-end 2008. Is it the slowdown effect or lack of talent or some other factors that have hit the sector? exchange4media finds out. Earlier today, our story had incorrectly mentioned that Havas Sports has shut shop. Havas Sports is operational under the leadership of Anand Yalvigi, who is the General Manager of the business in India.
Robin Thomas Mar 20, 2009 8:30 AM
The BCCI spat with Multi Screen Media (MSM) was at its peak on March 18, 2009 when both the MSM and NDTV were fighting tooth and nail for the IPL telecast rights. On March 18 it appeared that MSM had lost the IPL telecast rights completely. However, the battle was not over till then.
Robin Thomas Mar 19, 2009 8:17 AM
After a nine-year stint with Star India, Viren Popli has decided to put in his papers as Senior VP and Head of Mobile Entertainment. Popli is currently serving his notice period and will be in office until the first week of May 2009. Speculations are rife about his joining Mahindra & Mahindra Entertainment, which Popli refused to comment on.
Robin Thomas Mar 18, 2009 8:22 AM
The Bombay High Court is expected to give its verdict on whether Sony would retain its telecast rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) on March 18, 2009, according to an industry source. Meanwhile, as per the revised schedule, Delhi, Jaipur and Visakhapatnam have been dropped as IPL venues for Season 2.
Robin Thomas Mar 18, 2009 8:17 AM
Ignitee and IAMAI jointly hosted a roundtable conference on ‘Digital Media: From Experimentation to Practice’ in Mumbai on March 16, 2009. The panelists included V Ramani and Atul Hegde of Ignitee Digital Solutions; Prashant Mehta of Komli Media; Debadutta Upadhyaya of Yahoo! India; Sumeet Mehta of Zee Learn; and Vishal Jhunjhunwala of TCS. The session was moderated by Suman Srivastava, CEO, Euro RSCG India.
Robin Thomas Mar 17, 2009 8:10 AM
As if the clash of IPL matches with poll dates was not enough, now, according to industry sources, Sony has got an injunction to stop the League from discussing telecast rights with other channels. However, in a conversation with exchange4media on Saturday, Rohit Gupta had stressed that the relationship between Sony and BCCI was positive.
Robin Thomas Mar 16, 2009 9:18 AM
Starcom MediaVest Group’s (SMG) plans to launch the MediaVest brand in India are near fructification. It is learnt that SMG will launch MediaVest Worldwide in India by April 15, 2009. It is also understood that SMG has found an internal candidate to head the business. Sources suggest that Dinesh Singh Rathore, who has so far been heading FutureWorks for the agency, would be heading MediaVest in India.
Robin Thomas Mar 14, 2009 8:30 AM
After completing nearly a year with Radio One, Raj Gopal Iyer has quit the FM station as Station Head - West. He is setting up his own advertising, media, marketing and HR consulting firm, Blue Ocean Consulting, which would be mainly into manpower search, training and team building activity.
Robin Thomas Mar 10, 2009 8:06 AM
Will it, won’t it be held? Will it be moved outside India? After days of intense speculations, all uncertainties regarding the Indian Premier League Season 2 were finally removed on Friday, March 6, 2009. The IPL will go ahead as scheduled – from April 10 to May 24, with a few matches being rescheduled. All’s well that ends well.
Robin Thomas Mar 7, 2009 7:11 AM
In the first part of the ad networks report, exchange4media had explored the role of ad networks in India and its maturity stage. The second part of the report seeks to finds out the current challenges in this medium and how to overcome them, besides the trends to watch out for in 2009-10.
Robin Thomas Mar 5, 2009 7:41 AM
Pegged at 5-7 per cent of the total advertising market, ad networks in the country are still at a nascent stage. It will take India at least a year for ad networks to become mainstream media vehicle vis-à-vis the US, which has a well established network. exchange4media speaks to some industry players on the growth challenges and opportunities.
Robin Thomas Mar 4, 2009 7:43 AM
Chennai Super Kings in IPL Season 2 plans to focus more on their on-ground activities. Though the team is yet to decide on its radio partner, Chennai Super Kings has retained its earlier partners like Aircel, which is its title sponsor, and Salt Creatives, which is its creative agency. exchange4media finds out more about its marketing activities.
Robin Thomas Mar 3, 2009 7:49 AM
Gearing up for IPL Season 2, Delhi Daredevils is launching its on-ground, online and ATL campaigns, which are scheduled to be launched in the first week of March. The 360-degree campaign has been in-house creativity, while Hero Honda has been roped in a principle sponsor.
Robin Thomas Mar 2, 2009 6:54 AM
MEC Access, which launched its India operations in April 2008, remains as upbeat and optimistic about the Indian market a year later, the economic slowdown notwithstanding. exchange4media caught up with Mike Jackson, MD - Asia Pacific, MEC Access, and Stephen Li, CEO South and Southeast Asia, Mediaedge:cia for an exclusive conversation.
Robin Thomas Mar 2, 2009 6:50 AM
Sameer Sainani, COO, Alternate Brand Solutions, will replace Kaushik Ghosh as National Sales Head of Radio Mirchi from April 1, 2009. Sainani has been with Entertainment Network India Ltd (Radio Mirchi) for six years.
Robin Thomas Feb 28, 2009 7:29 AM
The Indian gaming industry may be still at a nascent stage in India, but it is poised to grow at about 33.3 per cent, as per the FICCI-KPMG report for 2009. exchange4media spoke to a few industry players on the way ahead for the Indian gaming industry and how best to grow this industry.
Robin Thomas Feb 25, 2009 7:17 AM
‘Managing Bottomlines’ was the second panel at the Pitch-Madison Media special session on ‘The Road Ahead for Indian Media’, which was held in Mumbai on February 20. The panel probed whether media owners attempted to control or reduce costs in order to maintain profitability, given that the outlook for increasing topline was not bright.
Robin Thomas Feb 23, 2009 6:49 AM
Cricket is no longer a sport in India, but an entertainment, and probably for this reason, even an MS Dhoni haircut gets much more coverage than any other individual from other sports. One of the Day Three sessions at FICCI Frames 2009 discussed the role of media in sports promotion and whether it really supported sports other than cricket.
Robin Thomas Feb 20, 2009 7:05 AM
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