Taco Bell, which has been leveraging influencer marketing, collaborated with youth icon and gaming enthusiast Rannvijay Singha in 2021 for the #CravingMeetsGaming experience through a virtual Game Session in the racing game Forza Horizon 4. In the same year, they also did #ISeeATaco campaign as well. 

Syed Zafar Islam former Rajya Sabha MP, and politician with the Bharatiya Janata Party has joined the enba Jury Panel.

He is the national spokesperson for the BJP and a former member of the upper house of parliament from the Uttar Pradesh constituency. He has previously been an investment banker and managing director at Deutsche Bank.

He was appointed as the non-official independent director of Air India 2017. Zafar Islam frequently writes opinion pieces on economic and political affairs in national publications like the Hindustan Times.

The enba jury this year will be led by Sunil Arora, a senior bureaucrat, and former Election Commissioner of India.

In the last editions, the ENBA jury was led by Sh. Harivansh Narayan Singh – Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Dr. Kiran Karnik – Former President – Nasscom, Dr. Nasim Zaidi - Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, S.Y. Quraishi – Former Chief Election Commissioner of India, N. Ram – Chairman, Kasturi & Sons Ltd., Former Editor–in-chief The Hindu and Group Newspapers, Sanjay Gupta – Managing Director – Star India.

exchange4media formulated enba in 2008 with the objective of recognizing the best in television news, and to reward industry leaders who are responsible for shaping the future of television broadcasting in India.

India has bagged its first Oscars for 2023 for the Netflix documentary movie ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ at the 95th Academy Awards for 'Best Documentary Short Film'. Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga the director-producer team behind the film have dedicated the win to India. SS Rajamouli's period action blockbuster 'RRR' also clinched a win for Original Song "Naatu Naatu."

The 40-minute documentary is centred on the bond between animals and humans and tells the story of a Tamil couple named Bomman and Belli who bring up an orphaned elephant named Raghu. The film reflects upon the struggles of the couple who fight against all odds to raise the elephant into a healthy juvenile. The film is set in the Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu.

The Telugu hit song was competing with "Applause" from "Tell It Like a Woman", "Hold My Hand" from "Top Gun: Maverick", "Lift Me Up" from "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and "This is a Life" from "Everything Everywhere all at Once."

Rohit Jawa is all set to join as the CEO designate and whole-time director for HUL from April 1, 2023, and will also take over as the president of Unilever South Asia. He will join the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE) on April 1, 2023.

Who is Rohit Jawa?

Rohit Jawa is presently the Chief of Transformation for Unilever in London since January 2022. Jawa started as a management trainee in 1988 and has worked in the company across India, South East Asia and North Asia.

He started his career with HUL as a management trainee in 1988 and has a proven track record of sustained business results across - India, South East Asia, and North Asia. As EVP for North Asia & Chairman for Unilever China, he led a significant transformation of Unilever China into a competitive, profitable, and consistent business, now Unilever’s 3rd biggest globally.

He was also the Chairman of Unilever Philippines where he led the business to become one of the top 10 markets for Unilever globally.

In a statement, HUL said, "Rohit’s ability to integrate the strength of traditional markets with digital technologies and future-fit business models, positions him well to take HUL into its next growth phase."

Having done a Bachelor of Science from St. Stephens College, Delhi and an MBA from Faculty of Management Study (1986-88), Jawa recently got an Executive Education Certificate in Advanced Management Program, Business Administration and Management, General from Harvard Business School.

In 1988, Jawa started his career with HUL as a management trainee and has a proven track record of sustained business results across - India, South-East Asia, and North Asia. In June 1988, he became General Manager for the Western Region in-charge of the sales and operations.

After staying in the role for nearly 16 years, he became Vice President for Unilever Vietnam from May 2004 to Oct 2006. He was Head of the Home Care business and Marketing function for Unilever Vietnam.

Jawa, throughout his marketing career, has contributed to the industry in the Asian region, including serving as an expert speaker and judge in several regional advertising and marketing forums. Internationalist Magazine recognised him as one of 'The Asia 50' marketers in 2013. He was also awarded the 'CEO Excel' Award for 2015 by the Philippines chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators for leadership in business communication.

Mobile commerce and engagement platform Rezolve has secured $250 million in capital commitment from private alternative investment group Yorkville Advisors in the form of a share subscription facility.

Under the terms, Yorkville will invest $250 million in equity capital for a 36-month term following a public listing of Rezolve’s common stock. While Rezolve will not be obligated to draw the full $250 million, it can do so in part or in whole at its own discretion.

The timing and amount of all the drawdowns will be controlled by Rezolve, which will issue stock to Yorkville on each drawdown. The proceeds will go into working capital and corporate purposes.

“The Yorkville facility will provide significant access to capital upon the closing of our planned merger with Armada,” commented Dan Wagner, Founder and Chairman of Rezolve.

“Rezolve is an exciting and fast-growing business with a global appeal. They have developed impressive technology that can make a real and sustainable impact in the markets they serve,” commented BJ Arnold, Managing Director Yorkville Advisors.

exchange4media has learned that Pallavi Chakravarti, Nishant Saurabh, and Anand Murty, who quit DDB Mudra last year, have come together to launch their own creative agency, ‘Fundamental’. The three co-founders will lead the agency as CCO, CEO, and CSO, respectively.

‘Fundamental’ is three traditional, yet non-conformist minds, pooling in two decades of experience each to ‘make advertising great again’. ‘Basics’ are at the core.

Confirming the development, Pallavi Chakravarti, Co-founder and CCO, Fundamental says, “We’re looking to make advertising that serves the brand and not its makers alone. Unfashionable? Perhaps. But necessary? Absolutely! And we’re hoping that when people see the magic at work, they’ll rediscover that creativity in advertising is a basic necessity – right up there with roti, kapda, makaan and WiFi, and not an indulgence.”

Chakravarti brings to the table two decades of creative insights gathered while leading brands such as Marico's Set Wet, Unilever, J&J, P&G, Diageo, Star Sports, Cipla, Myntra, Meesho, Acko, Aquaguard, Uber, Instagram, Pepsi, McDonald's, The Times of India, and more. Most recently, she was Creative Head - West for DDB Mudra.

Nishant Saurabh has worked across networks and geographies to nurture and grow brands such as Asian Paints, Coca-Cola, Nescafe, Tata Docomo, Microsoft, Mastercard, Greenlam, Maaza, Minute Maid, Nissan, Airbnb, Gillette, Pantene, Raymond, Meta, Instagram, Meesho, Acko, Stayfree, and Oral-B among others. True to the idea behind ‘Fundamental’, Saurabh who was recently the Head of Business at DDB Mudra is a believer in the power of simplicity and creativity, and a nagging skeptic at the same time. Explaining the reason behind launching their own agency, he says, “We keep hearing about how good old advertising will die soon. Truth is, it is alive and kicking, because of some of the people in it. We’re looking to work with just those people. Ones who aren’t afraid to argue and question, to laugh at themselves and to roll up their sleeves in the quest for the answers that work the best. And while we’re at it, we’re hoping to bring some madness and love back to this business.”

Having switched from leading sales to strategy function, Murty is a blend of business logic and creativity. “Sometimes, you have to start right at the beginning. The big ideas and the devastatingly simple insights come from engaging with the complexity and nuance of businesses and the lived existence of people. It’s therefore important to spar, intensely engage with clients and partners and each other so we solve the right problems and not fall prey to easy pronouncements and generalisations,” he states.

Anand Murty was the National strategy head at DDB Mudra. His experience ranges across brands such as Reckitt, Voltas - where he reframed the category with ‘Murthy’, Sprite, Set Wet, Dulux, Honda, Airwick, Smartwater, Hayu, Meesho, Instagram, Veeba, Unilever, Amex
and Meta, to name a few.

PhonePe, the Walmart-owned digital payments company, has awarded its media duties to Mindshare India. The mandate was won following a competitive multi-agency pitch called by the brand. The account was earlier with Lodestar UM. The account billing is expected to be around Rs 400 crore.

While PhonePe refused to comment on the story, Mindshare’s response is awaited. However, the news was confirmed by highly placed industry sources.

“PhonePe called for a pitch a few months ago, and after a highly competitive pitch, the duties were awarded to Mindshare India. The mandate will include traditional, digital and outdoor,” said a source close to the development.

As per sources, PhonePe is planning to raise funds through an initial public offer. The digital payment company is reportedly seeking a valuation of $ 8-10 billion.

The digital payments app claims to have over 380 million users, driving over 3 billion monthly transactions adding up to $830 billion in Annual TPV run rate. The company has also digitised close to 30 million offline merchants, covering 99% of PIN codes in the country.