Prices are soaring day by day, not only in grocery store but also in the entertainment industry. Sun TV, India’s largest media conglomerate with twenty channels and a viewership of approx 95 million households in India, recently announced the hike in ad rates is Telegu, Kannada and Malayalam channels. The move will come in force from Jan. 2010.

Ajay Vidyasagar, chief operating officer, Sun Network, primarily three reasons are responsible for the hike in advertisement rates for the channels. He says, “Firstly, the last hike in advertisement rates was two and half years ago. Secondly, our channels continue to be strong performers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. We are No.1 and No. 2 GEC (general entertainment channel) and movie channels respectively in these markets. Thirdly, the move is in line with the immense value that we deliver to our advertisers.”

Vidyasagar also added that the hike in ad rates for Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada channels has been announced after keeping all stakeholders in mind, after a fair degree of dialogue to decide the percentage of increase in the rates.

The ad hike rates are as follows:

• Telugu Channel and Gemini TV will range between 6-16 percent
• Kannada channel and Udaya TV is estimated at 10%
• Malayalam offering and Surya TV up to 5 per cent

The average annual revenue growth is expected to be 15-20 per cent with ad rate hikes across its network.

After the introduction of Tata Nano (the smallest and the cheapest car in India by far), Tata group has ventured into the purifier market. Tata group has announced the launch of Tata Swach, the world’s cheapest water purifier.

Tata Swach would be a direct competition to Unilever’s Pureit (which was recently in news for its massive advertising campaigns). Swach will be promoted through Tata’s well established distribution network. The purifier has been jointly developed by Tata group companies including, Tata Chemicals, TCS and Titan. The investment in the project is estimated to be a whooping Rs. 100 crore for the manufacturing itself.

At the time of the launch, the chairman of the Tata Group, Mr. Ratan Tata said, “The quest is not to create the cheapest products. Our focus is on accessing the largest number of people.”

Tata group officials further added that the purifier is aimed at curbing the water-related diseases. Tata aims to provide affordable safe drinking water to 3 million households across India, during the coming five years.

Speaking more about the purifier, Tata officials said, “Tata Swach is Built around a bulb-like water purifier, made of natural elements such as rice husk ash filled with nano-silver particles, which is designed to function without electric power or running water. The cartridge bulb can kill bacteria and disease causing organisms with the help of a purification medium. It can purify up to 3,000 litres of water, after which the cartridge stops water flow. The Company has filed fifteen patents for the technology and product.”

Grey Public Relations, India has appointed Tara Kapur as its new VP. She will be heading Grey PR, India and will be responsible for agency’s national business, strategy and client servicing operations across branches. She was earlier working with Euro RSCG, where she spent eight years. Tara will report to Jishnu Sen, COO, Grey India.

Confirming the news, Sen added, “A strong PR offering is a critical part of any integrated communication solution. Grey delivers in integration and it has been the cornerstone of our success story. Tara is a fabulous professional with immense reputation. Her coming on board is a key part of our long term plans.”

Speaking on her appointment Kapur said, “I am excited about the new mandate at Grey India and the road ahead. The complex business and media environment of today calls for ‘strategy-based’ innovative PR campaigns that help our clients meet their business objectives or address specific challenges. I look forward to working on innovative strategies for our clients.”

Tara has 20 years of industry experience in marketing and PR. Starting her career with Good Relations, followed by Ogilvy PR (where she led the Mumbai team), she has also worked with McCann Erickson India and Euro RSCG in the past.

The seventh season of Roadies has kick started, but one thing that’s on everyone’s mind is, will it sustain, will it be a hit without the soul of Roadies. No points for guessing, we’re talking about Raghu Ram, the mind behind the successful Roadies series. What is he doing now? Is he still with MTV? Has he joined Channel V? …Phew…we’ll take that one by one 🙂

For starters, Channel V is going to air this new reality show The Player, the promos of which have Raghu in the spotlight. But guess what, the man behind the show is Rajeev (his twin brother, who also featured with him on MTV Roadies and MTV Connect) and not Raghu. Rajeev will host as well as produce the new show for Channel V under his production house Colosseum Media (which also has Splitsvilla to its credit).

So how does it feel to venture out of the MTV camp? Rajeev tells us, “I had quit MTV some three years ago. My production house Colosseum Media was associated with the channel in the business aspects and we will continue that. My relationship with MTV is emotional than just business. MTV also provides shows outside the channel, so can we.”

Meanwhile Raghu has confirmed his split with MTV. He further added that he left MTV in May, 2009 and has been travelling since. Speaking about Roadies, he said that MTV Roadies is about a journey and not about an individual crew member.

With Raghu exploring the Roadies spirit on his break…guess it’s time to move on…

TVS Srichakra Tyres has appointed Mediacom to handle the media duties for the brand. The agency has won the account after a rigorous pitching process. This is the first time TVS has hired an agency to communicate the brands message across its target group.

TVS Srichakra, initiated in 1982 is a part of the TVS Group, manufactures tyres and tubes for mopeds, motorcycles, scooters and three wheelers under its brand, TVS Tyres.

The media spend and the mediums will that the brand will focus on will be discussed later.

Aaj Tak, the 24-hour Hindi news television channel run by TV Today Network Ltd witnessed a breaking news. The channel won the Indian Television Academy Award for Best News Channel in Hindi. This is the ninth time the channel has been awarded with the honor.

Confirming the news, Aroon Purie, Chairman and Managing Director, TV Today, commented, “It is a proud moment for Aaj Tak and the entire TV Today team. Winning the ‘Best News Channel Award’ for nine years in a row reflects Aaj Tak’s leadership position and demonstrates the faith the viewers have reposed in us. Our passion for news and the impact we create is unmatched not only back home but also internationally.”

G Krishnan, CEO and Executive Director, TV Today, added, “This is indeed an extraordinary achievement for Aaj Tak. The strength of a news brand is based on credibility and consistency and winning the Best News Channel award for nine consecutive years

Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), one of the leading financial services groups in India has appointed LINopinion as its PR agency. Linopinion is the public relations division of Lowe Lintas. LINopinion will be responsible for Religare’s Indian market and will continue to establish it as a global brand in the financial services sector.

Mr. Subhrangshu Neogi, Director, Brand and Corporate Communications, REL said, “Several top Indian agencies were invited to pitch and we graded them on various parameters including understanding of the sector, strength and credibility. LINOpinion were the clear winners. Given the diverse nature of Religare’s business it was crucial to select an agency which has both depth and width to handle the full suite of our products and services.”

Ameer Ismail, Executive Director, LINOpinion further added, “LINOpinion is delighted to be working with Religare in India. It is our mandate to continue to build awareness of one of India’s most dynamic financial companies and we are confident of delivering the best. We hope our relationship with Religare proves to be a longstanding one.”

The team of 3 Idiots is leaving no stone unturned for the promotion of the their latest movie. The makers of the movie have tied up Zapak.com to create digital buzz in the online world. Zapak has designed and developed the website for 3 Idiots. The site is a refreshing change from the usual sites that tell you more about the movie.

The site is an interactive one with stories of genius’ like Albert Einstein, Aryabhatta and others. Also, to engage the visitors is a contest which could win you a premier ticket of 3 Idiots.

Zapak Digital Entertainment COO Rohit Sharma said, “We are delighted to partner with one the most prestigious Production houses – Vinod Chopra Films. This coupled with the fact that Aamir Khan is an extremely creative marketer, we have created the first of its kind digital strategy for any Bollywood, which we believe fits very well with the theme of the movie and will connect with the Youth of India.”

Amir Khan also added, “Internet and mobile are increasingly becoming the preferred destinations for the youth of Today. With over 50% of India below the age of 25 years, I believe that it is imperative for movies to have a strong and concerted Digital strategy. In this association with Zapak we have jointly created the most clutter-breaking and innovative movie website.”

Check out the site and become a part of Idiots Academy 🙂