Week at a glance: From patriotic highs to corporate squabbles...

The week (August 14-19) saw two holidays – Janmashtami and Independence Day – and a lot of activities and brand campaigns around these two occasions. Patriotic fervour and gratitude towards our armed forces was in full display amid the ground realities of the Doklam stand-off between India and China and the repeated conflicts with Pakistani forces and terrorist intrusions in Jammu and Kashmir. 

The week ended with the acrimonious exit of Vishal Sikka, MD and CEO of IT major Infosys, who cited “increasingly personal attacks” as the reason for quitting the company. Sikka’s exit has once again turned the focus on venerable Indian corporates, after the fiasco at the top management of the Tata Group not so long ago and the clash between Vijaypat Singhania and his son Gautam Sighania at the Raymond Group. 

Vishal Sikka quits as Infosys MD & CEO citing “personal attacks”

Independence Day is turning into a lucrative time for brands, albeit with a patriotic flavour. Even as retail outlets and e-commerce portals come out with their special sale offers, brands, too, go on an overdrive with their marketing and advertising efforts. Campaigns are especially created keeping in mind the sentiments of the nation, where the defence forces are saluted and also celebrated is the march of a confident India. 

Patriotism, empowerment, inclusion power brand campaigns for I-Day

India’s tele stars show their patriotic colours this Independence Day

Sameer Nair, who quit as Group CEO of Balaji Telefilms in July this year, has been roped in for Applause Entertainment, the production company of Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group. Birla is all set to revive Applause, which has been dormant for close to 10 years. The company had produced Amitabh Bachchan starrers – ‘Black’ and ‘Dev’. 

Kumar Mangalam Birla ropes in Sameer Nair to helm Applause Entertainment

Leo Burnett India has strengthened the senior leadership in its North operations. The agency has appointed Saraswathi Laxman and Gaurav Dudeja as Executive Vice Presidents. Based in New Delhi, the duo will report to Samir Gangahar, President - North, Leo Burnett India. Their last stint was as marketers – Laxman comes in from ABP News, where she was the Marketing Head; while Dudeja’s last role was as Head of Brand and Marketing at Fortis Healthcare. 

Leo Burnett India ropes in Saraswathi Laxman & Gaurav Dudeja for Delhi ops

Asheesh Malhotra, who recently quit as President, Bates CHI & Partners, has joined GolinOpinion, the PR division of PointNine Lintas, as Executive Director. Responsible for a national mandate, Malhotra will be based out of Mumbai. 

PointNine Lintas appoints Asheesh Malhotra as Exec Director, GolinOpinion

Season 7 of the very popular series, ‘Game of Thrones’, is turning out to be as dramatic in real life as the conspiracies and conflicts on screen. After the hack of HBO software and leak of Episode 4 of GOT (as it is popularly known), where it was found that Star India was the source of the leak, four people connected with Prime Focus Technologies, the technology vendor for Star India, have been arrested. What’s more, HBO Espana and HBO Nordic ‘accidentally’ aired Episode 6 ahead of its telecast date. 

4 associated with Prime Focus arrested for Game of Thrones S7 Ep 4 leak

Life OK, the second Hindi GEC from Star India, is in for rebranding. The channel, that had started life as Star One, was rebranded as Life OK in December 2011. Now, the channel is being rebranded yet again as Star Bharat and is reportedly set to go air by the end of this month. 

Life OK set to don new avatar as Star Bharat; unveils campaign

Broadcast Editors Association (BEA), the apex body of editors of national and regional television news channels across the country, on Monday elected Supriya Prasad, Managing Editor of Aaj Tak and India Today, as its President, India TV Managing Editor Ajit Anjum has been elected as General Secretary. Along with this, Dibang of ABP News and Republic TV's Arnab Goswami have been elected as Vice-Presidents, while Ajay Kumar of News Nation is the new Treasurer. 

Supriya Prasad is new President of Broadcast Editors Association

W+K Delhi has bagged the creative mandate for Dalmia Cement, a leading Indian cement manufacturer, following a multi-agency pitch. The agency will work on the strategic planning and creative duties of the brand as a part of the mandate. 

Wieden+Kennedy Delhi wins creative duties for Dalmia Cement

Langoor, a full-service digital-first agency, has won the digital creative mandate for Tata Sky following a multi-agency pitch. The agency is tasked with creating affinity for the brand on the digital medium with content assets and platforms. 

Langoor appointed for Digital creative mandate of Tata Sky

Following intense criticism on social media against ‘Pehredaar Piya Ki’ on Sony Entertainment Television and Union I&B Minister Smriti Irani’s directive to take necessary action against the show, the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) has asked Sony to move ‘Pehredaar Piya Ki’ from the prime time slot (8.30 pm) to a later slot (10 pm). Earlier, Shashi and Sumeet Mittal, Producers of the show, were Live on Facebook to respond to the controversies regarding the show. 

BCCC asks Sony to move ‘Pehredaar Piya Ki’ to 10 pm slot

We’re not planning to change the plot of Pehredaar Piya Ki:Show producers

GroupM has announced the global rollout of viewability standards to support continued investment in digital media. Viewability is a measure of a digital ad’s opportunity to be seen, and since 2014, GroupM has championed the highest standards for the measured viewability of digital advertising. Key clients are supporting the demand for enhanced viewability and measurement in digital advertising. 

GroupM ups investment in digital with rollout of viewability standards

Raymond Group has strengthened its FMCG presence with full ownership of Brand Kamasutra. The group has acquired Ansell’s stake in a joint venture entity known as JK Ansell Pvt Ltd. This acquisition will pave the way for Raymond to further scale up the FMCG Business and unlock the immense potential of Brand KamaSutra globally. 

Raymond Group acquires Ansell’s stake in Brand Kamasutra

Majestic Research Services and Solutions Ltd (MRSS) has acquired 100 per cent stake in Singapore-based market research company Market Probe Asia Pacific Pte Ltd from its US parent - Market Probe Inc. for Rs 3.1 crore in an all cash deal from the internal accruals of the company, that is, without any dilution of shareholders stake. Market Probe Asia will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of MRSS. 

MRSS completes acquisition of market research firm, Market Probe

This week’s The W-Suite column on India’s leading women business leaders features Tripti Lochan, CEO, VML Southeast Asia and India. 

The W-Suite | Women are judged constantly: Tripti Lochan

Our regular column, ‘Offbeat’, this week reveals the little known facets of Megha Tata, COO, Business Broadcast News. Read about what she was as a child, her biggest fear and how she faces it, hidden skills, lessons from life, and much more. 

Offbeat: Megha Tata - Adrenaline junkie and undercover Yogi

 

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