Road Safety Week is organised annually to promote awareness on road safety measures and rules. This year the Mumbai Traffic Police has teamed up with &TV for an awareness campaign starting January 11-17, 2023. &TV’s immensely popular and beloved bhabhis, Angoori (Shubhangi Atre) and Anita (Vidisha Srivastava), will reinforce numerous road safety measures like wearing helmets, seatbelts, no drinking and driving, among others. Both the bhabhis kicked off the public awareness drive, urging Mumbaikars to follow the rules in their unique style, characteristic of their on-screen personalities.

Talking about Road Safety Week, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Pravinkumar Padwal, said, "Road safety is one of the most important goals for the Mumbai Traffic Police and it is our constant endeavour to create safer streets for the citizens of Mumbai. In continuation of this endeavour, we are happy to partner with &TV to spread awareness of various safety measures and traffic violations. Through the use of their popular characters, we hope to positively influence Mumbaikars to take road safety very seriously, for themselves and the safety of others.”

On joining forces with the Mumbai Traffic Police for Road Safety Week, Vishnu Shankar, Chief Cluster Officer, &TV, Zing, Big Magic and Anmol, said, “The Mumbai Traffic Police has always been at the forefront when it comes to road safety and their campaigns have been outstanding. We at &TV are honoured to partner with them on the occasion of Road Safety Week and keep our roads and communities safer together. Angoori Bhabhi and Anita Bhabhi, who enjoy tremendous love from their fans, will be seen urging Mumbaikars to follow the safety rules in their unique style. Apart from the on - ground campaign in Mumbai, we have developed a microsite where people across the country can send personalised road safety videos to their loved ones.”

Adding to this, actor Shubhangi Atre, aka Angoori Bhab hi of Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai, said, “I am delighted to be a part of a campaign that generates awareness about road safety. Understanding and following traffic rules are imperative to avoid endangering your life and others’ lives. My fans can click on andtvroadsafety.zee5.com and send my safety message videos to their loved ones.” Vidisha Srivastava, aka Anita Bhabhi of Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai, adds, "Kudos to the Mumbai Traffic Police for their consistent efforts on educating and sensitising commuters on road safety. Let us all do our bit to make our roads safer for everyone.”

At the One Asia Creative Awards 2022, Ogilvy Mumbai picked up Best of Show, two Best of Disciplines, and the Cultural Driver Award for “Shah Rukh Khan-My-Ad” on behalf of Cadbury Celebrations, and ranking as 2022 ONE Asia Agency of the Year.

The work, created with Wavemaker Mumbai, Rephrase.ai Bengaluru and The Pack Mumbai, won Best of Discipline in Experiential & Immersive and Public Relations, three Golds (one each in Experiential & Immersive, Public Relations, and Social Media), a Silver in Social Media, and three Merits. 

Ogilvy Mumbai, working with Vanilla Films Mumbai and Ronin Labs Pune, also won the ONE Asia Sustainable Development Goals Award for “Memory Karaoke” on behalf of MTV and ARDSI.

Based on cumulative points for awards won, Ogilvy Mumbai is ranked as ONE Asia Agency of the Year, “Shah Rukh Khan-My-Ad” is the Highest Ranked Work of the Year, Cadbury is Client of the Year, and Kainaz Karmakar, Sukesh Nayak and Harshad Rajadhyaksha are tied for CCO of the Year.

Other wins for India were as follows.

Bronze:

• Ek Type Mumbai “Anek Multi-script” for Google Font in TDC Typography Discipline
• Ogilvy with Wavemaker, both in Mumbai, “Perk Disclaimers” for Cadbury Perk in Integrated
• Ogilvy with Vanilla Films, both Mumbai, and Ronin Labs Pune, “Memory Karaoke” for MTV and ARDSI.

Merit:

• Byju's Bangalore with Dora Digs Mumbai for its own “Master Ji” in Brand-Side
• Byju's Bangalore with Dora Digs Mumbai for its own “Master Ji” in Film & Video Craft
• Ogilvy India Gurugram with Vikas Maurya Films New Delhi and Gameplan West Bengal, “The Legacy Project - Indian Handcrafted Textiles” for Pernod Ricard India in Print & OOH Craft

Other Best of Discipline winners were Ogilvy Singapore with Ogilvy Kuala Lumpur for “Flags of Generosity” on behalf of Cadbury in Design, Ogilvy Group Thailand with Illusion CGI Studio, both Bangkok, for Live Long Life Company/Googo Green “No Pests Allowed” in Print & Out of Home, and Dentsu with (Tsuzuku) and Dentsu Craft, all in Tokyo, for Suntory “Tennensui Endless Dawn” in Film & Video Craft.

The Green Award was won by Innocean Worldwide with Planit Production, both in Seoul, for “Hydrogen Garbage Truck” on behalf of Hyundai Motor Group. 

Top 10 ONE Asia 2022 Agency Ranking:

1. Ogilvy Mumbai
2. Special New Zealand Auckland
3. Ogilvy Group Thailand Bangkok
4. Innocean Worldwide Seoul
5. Ogilvy Singapore
6. (Tsuzuku) Tokyo (tie)
7. Dentsu Tokyo (tie)
8. Ogilvy Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
9. BBDO Bangkok
10. TBWA\Media Arts Lab Singapore

Other top rankings for ONE Asia 2022 include the following.

• Independent Agency of the Year: Special New Zealand Auckland
• Brand-Side/In-House Agency of the Year: LIFULL Tokyo
• Client of the Year: Cadbury
• Production Company of the Year: The Post Office Auckland
• Music & Sound Company of the Year: Resonance Sonic Branding Sydney
• Agency Network of the Year: Ogilvy Group
• Agency Holding Company of the Year: WPP
• Highest Ranked Work of the Year: “Shah Rukh Khan-My-Ad” by Ogilvy Mumbai with Wavemaker Mumbai, Rephrase.ai Bengaluru and The Pack Mumbai for Cadbury Celebrations
• CCO of the Year (tie): Kainaz Karmakar, Sukesh Naylak, Harshad Rajadhyaksha, all Ogilvy
• ECD of the Year (tie): Jonathan McMahon and Lisa Fedyszyn, both Special New Zealand Auckland
• Creative Director of the Year: Arnya Karaitiana, Special New Zealand Auckland
• Art Director of the Year: Kimberley Scott, Special New Zealand Auckland
• Copywriter of the Year: Anh Nguyen, TBWA\Media Arts Lab Singapore

Overall, there were 18 Gold, 19 Silver, 28 Bronze and 56 Merit ONE Asia winners for entries from Australia, Mainland China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan-China, Thailand and Vietnam.  The top five countries were Thailand with 31 winners, India and New Zealand with 17 each, Japan with 16, and Singapore with 12.

A jury of more than 70 top creatives from 19 APAC countries and regions — as well as a handful of international creative leaders — judged this year’s entries. 

After years of running The One Show Greater China, The One Club Asia, part of The One Club for Creativity, expanded the scope of the awards last year to include all of Asia Pacific as ONE Asia. 

Eligible countries and regions for ONE Asia are Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Greater China (Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan), India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Starting this year, ONE Asia is now part of The One Club’s renowned Global Creative Rankings for 2022.  ONE Asia award wins now gain international recognition for agencies and brands, and contribute as appropriate to network and holding company global rankings totals.  The final One Club Global Creative Awards recap for 2022, incorporating points from ONE Asia, will be announced on January 17, 2023.

The One Club Greater China office was founded in 2000, hosting a series of youth events in China, and added The One Show Greater China Awards and related Creative Week programming eight years ago.  In the past 20 years, the team has focused on promoting creativity in the APAC region, and greater communications between Greater China and the global industry.  This expanded focus prompted the office to rebrand as The One Club Asia.

Political analyst and marketing strategist P.K.D. Nambiar’s book -’You Too Can Be a Brand’, was recently launched in the Capital.

The book launch  had it all, a power packed panel to discuss a rather interesting topic -“political branding” as his book is about the art of brand management. 

 The launch of ‘You Too Can Be a Brand’ had Dilip Cherian give the introductory speech. The panel discussion had Shashi Tharoor, ICCR chairman Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and PKD on the dais and was moderated by Priya Sahgal, Sr. Executive Editor, NewsX.

 Dr Sahasrabuddhe was of the view that “branding only helps you showcase your virtues and qualities. It cannot help one appear what he/she is not.” However, Tharoor pointed out that “brand consciousness is very reflexive, people hear a name and immediately some association props up in their minds. The problem is that the association is not always what the person wants you to associate with them. In my own case there are people who have had a very negative association which was built up by my critics and enemies; and others who have a positive association based on what they have seen of me.” 

Amongst other things Tharoor was probably referring to the witch-hunt that followed after his late wife’s death until he was cleared by the courts. But as Sahasrabuddhe summed up very aptly, “in the end it’s the real self that matters and which always stands out”. It was a lively discussion with some banter and a conversation that branded the evening as a success.

The Business Today Banking & Economy Summit 2023 returns with an exceptional line-up of policymakers and regulators, top executives from banking and financial services, fintech start-ups, tech corporations, aggregators, card companies, and other key stakeholders. The summit, which will be hosted on January 13 at the St. Regis Hotel (Imperial Hall) in Mumbai, will discuss significant trends and concerns relating to the evolving business and operating environment in the banking and financial services sector.

The agenda for Business Today Banking & Economy Summit 2023 has been meticulously set against the backdrop of the global economy facing extraordinary challenges, such as tremendous unpredictability in demand; an economic slowdown; supply chain disruption; rising inflation; and interest rate hikes. This annual intellectual summit will feature panel discussions and fireside conversations where eminent speakers discuss how, despite these obstacles, the Indian economy is in better form than most other emerging economies and the global economy, but is yet not immune to the global crises' repercussions.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways will speak on Investing in Infrastructure to Drive Economic Growth, while Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Minister of State, Ministry of Finance, will dwell on the topic Serving the nation – Reinforcing the Backbone of India’s Economy. Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India will address delegates on The Economy & Banking: Riding the Storm.

Speaking on the topic Banking on a High: The Big Turnaround & Challenges Ahead will be Amitabh Chaudhry, MD & CEO, Axis Bank. Top bankers and executives who will participate in a much-sought-after discussion on the Banking on the Economy include Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Advisor, SBI; D.K. Joshi, Chief Economist, CRISIL; Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda; and Shubhada Rao, Founder, QuantEco.

The discussion on Banking in the Digital Age will have Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, BharatPe and Former Chairman, SBI, R. Subramaniakumar, MD & CEO, RBL Bank; and Murali Ramakrishnan, MD & CEO, South Indian Bank in attendance.

Discussing Banking & Fintech: A New Partnership, the rise of Fintech, market-based financial intermediation, innovative financial goods, and services will be CSB Bank MD & CEO Pralay Mondal, TamilNad Mercantile Bank MD & CEO S Krishnan, A.K. Purwar, Chairman, IIFL Finance and Former Chairman, SBI; A.P. Hota, Independent Director, Federal Bank and Former MD & CEO, NPCI; Anirban Mukherjee, CEO, PayU; and Sanjay Doshi, Partner, Head – Financial Services Advisory, KPMG in India

The NBFC angle will be deliberated by Ramesh Iyer, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra Finance; Umesh Revankar, CEO & MD, Shriram Transport Finance Company; and Manish Shah, MD & CEO, Godrej Capital.

Green is the flavour of the season, and a panel will deliberate on Sustainable Finance in the Green Economy. The participants are Vineet Rai, Founder and Managing Partner, Aavishkaar Capital; Ankur Khurana, Managing Director, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking, India, Standard Chartered Bank; and Vijay Nirani, MD, MRN Group.

A discussion on the relevance and outlook for small finance banks and payments banks will be taken on by Rajeev Yadav, MD & CEO, Fincare Small Finance Bank; Anubrata Biswas, MD & CEO, Airtel Payments Bank; Rishi Gupta, MD & CEO, Fino Payments Bank; and Sanjay Agarwal, MD & CEO, AU Small Finance Bank

The Chairman of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development, K.V. Kamath, will discuss the Future of Banking in an Uncertain World. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Salesforce, will speak on the topic A Lifetime in Banking – Arundhati’s Story.

The opinions of Kaustubh Kulkarni, Senior Country Officer - India & Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific, JP Morgan; Hitendra Dave, CEO, HSBC India; Ashu Khullar, CEO, Citibank India; Sanjiv Chadha, MD & CEO, Bank of Baroda; V. Vaidyanathan, MD & CEO, IDFC First Bank; and Piyush N. Singh, Senior Managing Director, and India Business Lead, Accenture, will be presented through a discussion on Banking on the Competitive Edge.

The Business Today-KPMG Best Banks & Fintech Awards presentation ceremony will wrap up the summit's conclusion. The Business Today Best Banks Awards are the most sought after in the industry because they combine quantitative ranking utilising the most comprehensive set of parameters with qualitative ranking based on bank inputs examined by a super-eminent jury panel. The jury panel was led by K.V. Kamath.

Brands these days use all kinds of content to tell their story and engage with their customers. Talk shows are not new in that sense. What’s probably new in “Under The Money Plant” is that the agency behind the new podcast series is also in front of the camera. The show features EFGH’s founder Emmanuel Upputuru talking with their client JJTax’s founder Jambukeswaran.

‘Under the Money Plant’ podcast is yet another interesting creation from EFGH Brand Innovations, which helps in simplifying the finance industry for people who have very little knowledge of it. The show claims it will discuss financial issues that are relatable to the average follower.

In its first episode called “Rules: CA versus CD” the two founders debate how the tax consulting firm helps people follow the rules and how creative directors live to break rules to earn their income.

From the look of the teasers and the first episode the show promises to be a tongue-in-cheek yet informative session where the two heavyweights didn’t hold anything back. When we spoke to CA Jambukesarwan, Founder and Director JJ Tax about the new podcast, this is what he had to say, “Emmanuel has a big influence within the advertising industry and we wanted to leverage that. Through this podcast series we would like to reach both individuals and also the companies. Emmanuel comes across as a genuine person with common issues that people in the industry face. I didn’t know I could do this, but he made it look easy.”

Emmanuel is really thrilled about this new podcast series and this is what he had to say, “The idea of the show started out casually and then one day we were sitting in front of the camera. It was fun, we didn’t write any script. And guess what, the episode was shot in one take. I wanted to keep it as organic as possible. It was fun to partner with Jambu and do this. We don’t how many episodes we will do. We already have shot two, planning one around the budget. Let’s see how they are received.” 

EFGH Brand Innovations started last year has been producing some cool work for clients like Giving Tuesday, McCain Foods, JJ Tax, DCM and a few in the pipeline.

JJ Tax is a One Stop Solution that helps customers with their Filing Tax Returns, GST Returns, TDS Filing, Accounting, StartUp Services and a bunch of Compliances.

The 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Advertising Association of Nepal (AAN) was held under the chairmanship of Som Prasad Dhital. Dr Baikuntha Aryal, Secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology attended the program as the Chief Guest.

For the first time on this occasion, the Advertising Association of Nepal (AAN) of Nepal has felicitated advertising agencies and the key advertisers in the country with “AAN Samman”. AAN Samman is an honor by Advertising Association of Nepal for their key contributions in the industry.

Outreach Nepal has also been felicitated for their continuous outstanding achievements to bring international recognitions to Nepali advertising. Ujaya Shakya, Founder Managing Director receives AAN Samman from the Chief Guest of the program and the President of the association.

Receiving the greatest advertising industry honor in the large presence of representatives of government agencies, media, fellow agencies and key advertisers in the country, Shakya says, “I would like to thank my team, my clients, our extended partners and all others who have been directly or indirectly involved on this journey to keep transforming marketing communication ecosystem in Nepal”. Wunderman Thompson, popularly known as Thompson Nepal, also received the felicitation during the occasion. The key advertisers in the country –Ministry of Health and Population, Ncell, Dabur, Coca-Cola, NIC Asia Bank Limited, Chaudhary Group and Shankar Group also receives felicitation on the same occasion.