Month: January 2023

Media Mavens: Work-life balance is passé, what one does today is work-life integration, says Carat India’s Anita Kotwani

Kotwani says, "I do see a lot of my female peers leading other operating companies, and I personally feel very proud that the media industry has been able to drive this change. It’s the belief of the leaders at those operating companies where they have rewarded meritocracy and have chosen leaders that are able to drive the organization’s goal."

Anita Kotwani, CEO of Carat India, talks about the big trends of 2023, leadership mantras, work culture and more.

Edtech Advertising: ASCI’s report on bad practices in edtech ads points to deeper issues

The industry body states in the latest report that like traditional education ads, edtech ads overemphasise marks and ranks, with mathematics and science dominating the subjects depicted in advertisements. (Representative Image: Ahmed Hindawi via Unsplash)

ASCI flagged off edtech brands for ads full of tall claims, stereotypes, over-emphasis on marks/ranks, perpetuating an unhealthy view of education.

Edtech ads: ASCI flags off edtech brands’ advertising for tall claims, stereotypes, focus on marks and ranks

ASCI's report states that while the marks-linked narrative is not unique to EdTech, spending crores of rupees in perpetuating this narrative can be considered undesirable for society at large. This pattern is seen as problematic by several experts and parent groups that are able to look beyond the immediate impact of advertising promises. (Representative image: Compare Fibre via Unsplash)

ASCI released EdNext a study to spotlight edtech brands’ bad practices and attempts to lay down a responsible approach to edtech advertising.

Piramal Finance’s Jairam Sridharan on the brand’s maiden ad campaign: Our aim is to create awareness

"In financial services there are a lot of ads that look nice and pretty. Customers laugh merrily over a table of pizza in a restaurant which almost looks like a social media profile of customers, as opposed to their customers' real lives. We wish to show the real customers in the real situations, not their social media personas," says Jairam Sridharan in an exclusive interview with Storyboard18.

Jairam Sridharan, MD, Piramal Finance, talks about the genesis of a new campaign, building brand Piramal Finance and creating awareness through muti-media platforms.

Ex-Sharechat exec Ajit Varghese joins Disney Star as head of network advertising sales

He would also be looking at developing the long-term vision and defining the strategic direction of the sales organization in his new role, said an official statement from the television network. Varghese would be reporting to K Madhavan, president and country manager, Disney Star

Ajit Varghese was the chief commercial officer at ShareChat and Moj. Prior to this, he headed WPP’s Wavemaker as the global president.

DY Works appoints Ashish Bahl as CEO

Bahl has spent over 25 years in advertising, marketing & media. He has worked with SABMiller India (now AB-Inbev) Neo Cricket & Sports, Mccann, Contract, JWT, Leo Burnett and O&M, where he’s worked with over 100 iconic global brands including Pepsi,Coca-Cola, MasterCard, Nestle, ESPN, SABMiller, Hero-Honda and many more

Bahl takes over from Tresa Paul who has moved out to pursue new opportunities.

upGrad’s CEO Arjun Mohan resigns

In 2022, the entire focus was on digital. Digital media spends of the company went up by 20 percent. Television took a complete backseat in the company’s marketing playbook. In fact, after their partnership with Shark Tank India, upGrad had zero spends on television between March and December

Mohan joined the company in April 2020 from competitor Byju’s where he last served as the chief business officer.