MAM
Ex-Mindshare Ashok Lalla to join Infosys as global digital marketing head
MUMBAI: Ashok Lalla, who had quit Mindshare as South Asia leader – digital in May 2012, is all set to join Infosys as the global head of digital marketing.
Lalla is joining the IT services company on 4 October. He will be based out of Bengaluru.
He told Indiantelevision.com, “Yes, I am joining Infosys. I will be in charge of the digital marketing of the company worldwide.”
Lalla has close to 19 years experience in the industry and started his career in 1993 with Enterprise Nexus Communications (now Bates 141) as senior account executive.
After four years at the agency, he joined Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces as advertising manager in 1997. Two years later, he moved to Times Multimedia where he worked as senior product manager for a year before moving back to Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces in 2001 to take up the post of director internet marketing. He then moved to Euro RSCG as president – digital in 2009 before joining Mindshare in 2011.
MAM
Kerala election ads surged in 2026, with print nearly tripling and TV up 52 per cent
Political parties spent bigger and smarter this cycle, concentrating their firepower in the final weeks before polling day
KERALA: Kerala’s politicians discovered something in 2026 that seasoned marketers have known for years: timing is everything, and when in doubt, spend more. Political advertising during the Kerala Assembly Elections 2026 surged sharply across traditional media compared to the 2021 cycle, with print and television leading the charge, according to the latest analysis by TAM AdEx.
Print was the standout performer, expanding nearly 2.7 times compared to 2021, a striking jump that underlines its continued grip on targeted political communication in a state with some of India’s highest newspaper readership. Television was not far behind, with ad insertions rising 52 per cent, reflecting the enduring appeal of mass-reach platforms for shaping voter sentiment at scale. Radio held steady, mirroring television trends and reinforcing its role as a reliable supporting medium.
The pattern of spending was as revealing as the volumes. More than 85 per cent of all political ad insertions were recorded in the weeks immediately before polling, a concentration that points to a deliberate, last-mile strategy. Ad volumes peaked during weeks four and five in both the 2021 and 2026 cycles, suggesting that parties have settled on a consistent playbook of high-frequency messaging in the home stretch.
The contrast between media types was equally instructive. Print advertising maintained a relatively even spread across the campaign period, serving as a vehicle for sustained, detailed communication. Television and radio, by contrast, displayed sharp spikes in the closing weeks, deployed as blunt instruments for high-impact bursts at the precise moment voters are making up their minds.
What the 2026 cycle signals most clearly is a shift toward more structured, data-driven media planning. The increase in overall volumes, combined with sharper peaks in campaign intensity, suggests that political advertisers are beginning to think less like propagandists and more like performance marketers, balancing broad reach with targeted engagement and watching the returns closely.
Kerala’s election advertising has, in short, grown up. The question for the next cycle is whether digital finally gate-crashes a party that print and television have so far kept firmly to themselves.
