Whirlpool India has appointed Contract Advertising to handle their business categories that are being identified for the next phase of the company’s growth strategy. Whirlpool would be spending Rs 70 crore on advertising and promotion, with 40-45 per cent of this amount kept aside for ATL activities. Contract Advertising will work along with Draft FCB Ulka, with whom Whirlpool has had a long relationship.  more...

Music channel 9X M, though just a few months old, has been rising up on the ratings chart. 9X M officials are all set on the road ahead on counts like marketing, and have chalked out a differentiated sales strategy for the channel, which would see six advertisers co-owing the channel.  more...

On the second day of the ninth Auto Expo 2008, Tata Motors unveiled its much-awaited peoples’ car – Tata Nano. The standard model of the car has been priced at Rs 1 lakh excluding transportation and VAT. The company also showcased two deluxe variants of the Nano, whose prices were not disclosed.  more...

The Dr Vijay Mallya-owned Force India F1 Formula team has announced its plans for the year ahead. Along with the new team hands, India’s first F1 team will also try and increase the presence of this sport in the country through its 360-degree marketing initiatives.  more...

Balasubramanium V, who recently put in his papers as Global CEO of Meritus, the data analytics firm of WPP Group, is all set to join Reliance ADAG as Group Knowledge Management Head. The Knowledge Management initiative is to extract more consumer insights for efficient strategy through analytics.  more...

BAG Films & Media Ltd has roped in Rajesh Jathar as Regional Head-West and South, for Corporate Advertising Sales. Jathar has joined the broadcasting arm of the company.  more...

Lodestar Universal has announced the appointment of Alistair Martin as Media Controller. Martin comes in from Cadbury where he was Media Manager. At Lodestar, he will report to COO Nandini Dias, and will be responsible for accounts like Amul, LIC, Westside and Diageo.  more...

Out of Home Media (India) Pvt. Ltd has tied up with The Mumbai Festival (TMF) 2008 as its exclusive out-of-home TV partner. From January 17-February 3, the festival comprises an array of musical, dance, cultural, sports and art events, including the Mumbai Marathon.  more...

The third edition of the two-day India Digital Summit kicked off in the Capital on January 10. The Summit, being held in partnership with Intel, is the annual flagship conference of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Issues of privacy and individuality were dealt with during the session, ‘Empowerment of the user and humanisation of the online world’.  more...

The post-lunch sessions of the Indian Digital Summit 2008, being held in Delhi, focused on bridging the digital divide and reaping digital dividends. Experts spoke about the scope for growth of Internet advertising in India and growth of digital media in general.  more...

Yankelovich Holdings Inc. has signed an agreement with WPP to merge with Henley Centre HeadlightVision. Henley Centre HeadlightVision is the consumer trends and futures research and consultancy business of WPP and a unit of Kantar, WPP’s information, insight and consultancy division.  more...

Disney Publishing Worldwide (India), a division of The Walt Disney Company (India), has entered a licensing agreement with Popular Prakashan to publish Disney Storybooks in Indian languages. Already eight titles have been launched in Hindi and Marathi, while a title would be launched in Malayalam in March this year.  more...

The IIM Lucknow is conducting a session on the entertainment and media industry at the Annual Business Conclave, ‘Manfest 2008’, on January 11. The moderator of the session will be Anurag Batra, CEO and Editor-in-Chief, exchange4media Group.  more...

Interactivity is something more than getting your target audience to fill in a form, whether to file a complaint, send a query, make a suggestion, or book an order. It includes all these, but they really belong to the old direct marketing routine. The blogosphere is the main highway of interactivity.   more...