MAM
Dentsu Aegis Network wins big at Asian Customer Engagement Forum Awards
MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network exhibited enormous dominance at the Asia Customer Engagement Forum (ACEF) awards that were held on 25 April at Taj Lands End in Mumbai.
While Dentsu Aegis Network’s iProspect Communicate 2 was named the Most Admired Agency in digital marketing, Carat Media Services India/psLive was named the Most Admired Agency in events and promotions.
Posterscope India bagged the award for the Most Admired Agency in out-of-home media as well as the Most Admired customer-engaging agency in retail touch points & merchandising.
Additionally, Posterscope APAC regional director Haresh Nayak was honored with the Outdoor advertising professional of the year award.
Posterscope India bagged a total of 27 awards including eight golds, 12 silvers and five bronze metals along with the agency titles. It was their work for clients such as Mother Diary, Philips, Nissan, Disney, Mattel, beam Suntory, Datsun and Movies Now, which brought home the awards in the following categories – effectiveness, creativity and successful use technology in retail, outdoor and ambient spaces.
Carat was awarded a total of seven wins- five Gold and two Bronze. The Philips Aquatouch ‘New way to shave is here’ campaign was awarded Gold for Promotion using Events.
Philips LED lights ‘Change karo save karo’ campaign won Gold for successful use of technology. The overall activation was done in tandem with their sister concern PSLive, which is into all things activation.
Philips Trimmers bagged Gold for Best use of Celebrity Endorsement. The Philips Airfryer campaign added yet another Gold to the tally under Creativity on Television category. The fifth Gold came in the form of The Most Admired Agency for Events and Promotions.
Carat also won two Bronze metals for Philips Kerashine Range and Preethi Blue Flame Gas Stove launch campaigns.
iProspect Communicate 2 picked up a total of four metals across various categories. The Big Bazaar ‘Everything for Nothing’ campaign was awarded a Gold metal for ‘Promotion using Digital Marketing’.
The agency also picked up two awards in the Successful Use of Technology category, a silver and a bronze for their Cleartrip and Koovs campaigns, respectively. In the Online Media category, iProspect Communicate 2 picked up a bronze medal for its work for HDFC Bank.
Amongst the other Dentsu Aegis Network agencies, Isobar India won the Silver in the promotions category for Digital Marketing for its work on Microsoft Lumia. Vizeum won a Gold for Viacom 18’s MTV Campus Diaries under the events category.
Dentsu Aegis Network chairman and CEO, South Asia Ashish Bhasin said, “I am thrilled to know that the Dentsu Aegis Network has been able to achieve such recognition at a pan-Asia level. Sustaining customer engagement in this competitive market is a key task for our clients and I am happy that all our Dentsu Aegis Network companies have worked together to achieve this.”
“It is a further testimony to our unique one P&L operating model, whereby we are able to provide our clients all the benefits of specializations without the hassles of dealing with silos. Heartiest congratulations to iProspectC2, Posterscope, Carat, psLive, Isobar, Vizeum and to Haresh Nayak for their respective wins. This further strengthens our position as the only network in India that can provide all marketing communications and media services, of world standards, under one umbrella,” added Bhasin.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
