As part of the association, Amazon.in introduces a new Shoppers’ Choice Award

The Retail Jeweller India Magazine today announced Amazon India as their associate partner for the 11th edition of the Retail Jeweller India Awards (RJIA), 2015.

The 11th Annual Gemfields and Nazraana Retail Jeweller India Awards 2015 is India’s most prestigious and credible jewellery awards for the retail jewellery industry. With an eminent jury panel comprising of the who’s who from the jewelry, corporate, fashion, art, and entertainment industry, The Retail Jeweller India Awards 2015 is well established as the benchmark for industry excellence. The Jury Panel included Neha Dhupia (Actress), Michelle Poonawalla (Director, Poonawalla Group of Engineering Companies), Rouble Nagi (Artist Muralist), Ananya Banerjee (Artist), Vaishali Banerjee (Managing Director, Platinum Guild India), Shazia Khan (Vice President & Strategic Planning Director, JWT), Radha Kapoor (Founder & Executive Director, Indian School of Design and Innovation (ISDI) and Ashit Kukian (President & COO, Radio City 91.1 FM).

This year the awards received 1,165 entries across 12 jewellery categories including four Vivah and eight Non-Vivah jewellery categories. The winners of the jewellery categories at the Retail Jeweller India Awards are chosen through a rigorous and meticulous two-tier selection process – online judging followed by a physical judging round where the designs are displayed for the jury to evaluate. The entire selection process is supervised by the official process validator IMRB to bring in perfection of the highest level.

The prestigious awards witness participation from some of the most coveted jewellery houses across the country like Mirari, Hazoorilal & Sons, Anmol Jewellers, Kalyan Jewellers, Tanishq, Joyalukkas, Notandas & Sons Jewellers & many others who get together to  showcase world class precious jewellery designs. In line with the growing consumer trend online in precious jewellery, the RJI has taken a giant leap towards bringing an online leader to work in tandem with the industry to promote fine jewelry to and serve a wider base of consumers through convenient online shopping.

Commenting on the association, Soma Bhatta, Editor & Director, The Retail Jeweller India Magazine said, “Retail Jeweller India Awards has always remained at the forefront of pushing new concepts in the realm of design, retail and marketing. At this juncture, when more consumers demand a superior multichannel shopping experience, our association with Amazon signifies the new landscape in which businesses need to operate. We are glad to join hands with Amazon.in, India’s largest online store, considering the growing purchase of precious jewellery online”, said Ms. Soma Bhatta, Editor & Director, The Retail Jeweller India Magazine.

Speaking on the occasion, Vikram Raizada, Director, Category Management, Amazon India said, “We are delighted to be associated with RJIA. There’s definitely a significant potential that the Indian market offers in online business of fine jewellery and we have seen an increasing uptick in the segment since the launch of the category on Amazon.in. By associating with the most premium and prestigious platform of the Indian Jewellery Industry, we aim at bringing most progressive jewelers under one roof to meet the different tastes and styles of all our customers. We look forward to partnering with jewelers, designers and jewellery brands to leverage the power of technology and provide unique experiences to customers across the country and the globe in the digital economy”.

Amazon.in is also launching a special award category – Shoppers’ Choice Award on Amazon India’s website for consumers to vote for their favorite jewellery. The voting will be open from July 22 – July 31, 2015 for the RJI shortlisted Gemstone jewellery pieces on Amazon.in’s exclusive “Shoppers’ Choice Award” page. The 3 lucky winners, who participated in the voting process, will be awarded with Amazon vouchers worth INR 5000 each to enjoy a convenient and reliable shopping experience on Amazon.in.

“Each year, Retail Jeweller India Awards celebrates the highest achievers in India’s dynamic jewellery industry with one single yardstick. We being the frontrunners in the jewellery industry and Amazon.in being the leaders in their space, prove the association to be a perfect fit. This year, Amazon.in will showcase Coloured Stone Jewellery considering the rising demand of colour infused fashion amongst the Indian audience. We wish this association continues for years to come to ensure together we display a palette of creative designs to the discerning online consumers”, said Mr. Samit Bhatta, Associate Publisher, The Retail Jeweller India Magazine.

The 11th edition of the Retail Jeweller India Awards (RJIA) will be held on 8th August, 2015 at Grand Hyatt, Santacruz, Mumbai.

Zee Action, India’s Hindi action movie destination, aims to offer something special to its dedicated viewers this monsoon with the World Television Premiere of the action-romance film ‘Mausam’. On Saturday 25th July at 9 PM the channel stationed with adrenaline pumping action will present the association of legendary actor Pankaj Kapoor and his son Shahid Kapoor’s maiden project together for the first time on television screens.

Mausam is a brilliantly crafted narrative that uses real unfortunate events from communal riots to armed conflicts at the border as the backdrop to symbolize changing seasons of love. The film revolves around Harinder AKA Harry (Shahid Kapoor) who goes on to serve his country as an Indian Air Force Pilot and his arduous romance with Aayat (Sonam Kapoor).

Speaking on the premiere, Ruchir Tiwari, Deputy Business Head, Hindi Movie Channels, ZEEL stated, “Mausam marks the beginning of quality World TV Premieres on Zee Action every month. With Mausam we are now providing our audiences both action and romance packed in one blockbuster. The line-up of upcoming premieres include interesting titles like Gulaab Gang, Teen Patti & Issaq. Keeping our promise of providing action packed blockbuster movies, Zee Action has consistently delivered successful world television premieres in the last few months and has become the most preferred movie channel in the action genre.”

Tune in to Zee Action to catch the World Television Premiere of Mausam on Saturday 25th July at 9 PM

Zee Cinema, the world’s biggest movie theatre for Hindi movies, is all set for the World Television Premiere of Akshay Kumar and sultry Lisa Haydon starrer ‘The Shaukeens’ on 26th July, Sunday at 12:30 PM.

With top of the line comic relief, Honey Singh’s all new anthem – Manali Trance and Main Alcoholic Hoon, the film is an entertaining encounter of three old men on their bold and exciting adventure.

‘The Shaukeens’ ropes in three veteran actors Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor and Piyush Mishra and turns them into Wannabe ‘cool-dudes’ competing for the gorgeous Lisa’s attention. It’s a hilarious tale that depicts the unlimited desire of these three men to win a young woman. Another interesting facet about the film is disciplinarian Akshay Kumar taking a dig at himself by playing an alcoholic version of himself where in real life the man doesn’t even drink tea!

Speaking on the premiere of ‘The Shaukeens’ on Zee Cinema, Ruchir Tiwari, Deputy Business Head, Hindi Movie Channels, ZEEL stated, “Akshay Kumar is an extraordinary actor blessed with superb comic timing and we are delighted to present the film to our audiences. His universal appeal with films like Holiday and Entertainment has fetched us excellent ratings in the past and we look forward to another such success with The Shaukeens. ”

The actor and model - Lisa Haydon expressed her delight on the premiere of ‘The Shaukeens’ on Zee Cinema, “The Shaukeens turned out to be a blessing in my career and I am extremely happy that the movie will be airing on Zee Cinema.”

Tune-in to Zee Cinema to catch the World Television Premiere of  ‘The Shaukeens’ on Sunday, 26th July at 12:30 PM.

Appoints Baxter Jolly Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific

Appointments Strengthen Collaboration, Capabilities Across Regions to Support Growing Multinational Client Portfolio

Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s leading global public relations firms, announced today that Tim Sutton has been named chairman of Weber Shandwick EMEA and Constituency Management Group (CMG) EMEA. Sutton will continue to hold both positions in Asia Pacific (APAC).

The firm also appointed Baxter Jolly as chief executive officer of Weber Shandwick APAC. Both appointments, effective September 2015, continue to strengthen the firm’s collaboration and capabilities across regions as Weber Shandwick deepens its multinational client portfolio.

Sutton has served as chairman of APAC for Weber Shandwick and CMG since 2007. In his new role as chairman of EMEA and APAC for Weber Shandwick and CMG, Sutton will be based in London and responsible for helping to support strategic development and collaboration across brands in CMG’s portfolio. He will also play an advisory role in digital and analytics strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and all other cross-brand business development initiatives in the two regions. Sutton will partner with Colin Byrne, Weber Shandwick CEO of UK & EMEA, other EMEA-based CMG business leaders, and Jolly in APAC on strategic initiatives in both regions.

With more than 30 years in the industry, Sutton is regarded as one of the world’s most respected PR firm practitioners, highlighted by his experience in more than 40 developed and emerging markets. He is a renowned strategic communications advisor having directed corporate and brand development programs as well as public affairs issues campaigns for some of the world’s top companies and industries. Most recently, he was named PRWeek’s 2015 PR Agency Head of the Year in APAC.

“Tim offers deep knowledge of the business and communications landscape in both EMEA and APAC, which is hugely important to our clients. His expertise and leadership as chairman have elevated Weber Shandwick’s reputation and capabilities in both regions for more than a decade," said Andy Polansky, chief executive officer of Weber Shandwick. “As our industry and the needs of our clients continue to become more global and more integrated, Tim’s multi-regional expertise will certainly deliver high value to our firm and our clients.”

Jolly, previously vice chairman of Asia Pacific and managing director of Weber Shandwick Southeast Asia, has been with the firm for nearly 10 years. He has developed best-in-class practices and multinational client services, helping to achieve double-digit growth rates over the past five years since becoming vice chairman, as well as spearheading an integrated communications approach to drive business results for clients across the 10 markets in the region.

“Asia Pacific is a diverse, complex, high-growth region that demands tried and true experience guiding clients through the fast-changing business and communications landscape,” said Polansky. “Baxter’s cross-sector, cross-market expertise in the region is invaluable. He is an inspiring leader to our team and a trusted advisor to our clients, and we look forward to his continued leadership guiding our efforts in the region.”

Weber Shandwick has experienced strong growth and top industry recognition in Asia Pacific in recent years, with the business now encompassing ten markets and growing three-fold since 2009. The firm currently holds all four major APAC regional network awards, including The Holmes Report’s 2014 Asia Pacific Consultancy of the Year, PublicAffairsAsia 2014 Regional Network of the Year, PRWeek’s 2015 Asia Pacific Network of the Year, and Mumbrella’s 2015 Asia Pacific PR Agency of the Year.

In addition, the firm has gained significant local market recognition, including Mumbrella’s Greater China Agency of the Year, Southeast Asia Agency of the Year (Singapore) and South Asia Agency of the Year (India). Weber Shandwick was also recently named PR Agency of the Year in Hong Kong and Singapore by Marketing Magazine and received the PRISM Award for Overall Outstanding PR Consultancy in Singapore. The firm has also continued to grow the depth and breadth of its network in the EMEA region, expanding its EMEA operations into Turkey, Kuwait and South Africa in recent years. In 2014, Weber Shandwick acquired Prime, a leading creative PR agency in Sweden, and its business intelligence arm, United Minds.

18 Media agencies battled on a different turf at the BBC World News Football Connect 2015

Mumbai’s leading media agencies were involved in a pitch with a difference on Friday as they took part in the BBC World News Football Connect 2015 tournament.

Second annual tournament a hit as 18 teams battled to win 5-a-side championship

The 2nd annual 5-A-side competition took place at Mumbai’s Cooperage Football ground and saw 18 leading media agencies battle it out. More than 250 guests attended the event with agency heads, senior planners and CEOs present.

The tournament kicked off with a round robin format. Six teams then qualified for the super six stage from which the top two teams from each group made it to the finals. The final was contested by OMD-PHD ‘Chargers’ and Lodestar ‘Tigers’ with the Chargers winning the hard-fought final 2-1.

There was also a ‘Reach The Target with BBC Sport’ Cross Bar Challenge with all 18 teams nominating a player to represent the team.

The tournaments winners were:

• Best Goal keeper - Ritwik Yadav – Lodestar ‘Tigers’

• Top goal scorer - Selig Baptista – Madhouse ‘Sonics’

• Player of the tournament- Selig Baptista – Madhouse ‘Sonics’

• Winners of the crossbar challenge: Harshil Shinde – Mindshare ‘Ninjas’ and Kieran Baptista – DDB Mudra ‘Knights’

• Runner up team – Lodestar ‘Tigers’

• Winner of the BBC World News Football Connect 2015 – OMD-PHD ‘Chargers’

Vishal Bhatnagar, Sales Director Asia – BBC Advertising said “We are overwhelmed with the response. All the teams played with a lot of spirit and determination and they demonstrated some very high quality football. BBC World News Football Connect offers us a great platform to share with our associates our brand values and share and showcase our various offerings across World News, .com, mobile app and other platforms.”

The main action on the football field was complemented with a unique VIP fan zone where guests had the chance to engage with the brand in an innovative experiential marketing campaign the BBC World News 'Be Everywhere’ oculus experience.

Using the latest in virtual reality technology, BBC Global News Ltd recently launched a dramatic new interactive trade campaign to showcase how it delivers personal, portable and on-demand news for the digital age.

The 360 experience gave guests a behind the scene experience with Babita Sharma as she showcased the leading news brand’s digital products and the advertiser benefits, highlighting the BBC’s international news services’ position as a leader in digital innovation.