MAM
Divya Radhakrishnan launches Helios Media
MUMBAI: Divya Radhakrishnan, who had quit in February this year as president of TME, the media arm of Rediffusion-Y&R, has launched her own venture, Helios Media.
Helios Media, an integrated ancillary service company for television broadcasters, has collaborated with specialised partners to complement services in all allied areas. It has set up Sales, Marketing, Research and Traffic management verticals and will offer the services as a composite piece or as a stand-alone, based on the requirements of the broadcasters.
The company has set up offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.
The company has also roped in former business head of Zoom, Bala Iyengar as business director. He will lead the sales and content syndication function at the company.
According to the official communique, the vision of this company has been crafted on the premise that the increasing number of TV channels in India is facing a key business challenge. While content is the primary scope of these channels, a lot of effort has to be invested in creating a robust eco-system to run the business. This puts in a lot of stress on the channel business head, resulting in dilution of focus from the key delivery, which is content. Also, the proliferation will lead to further slicing of the revenue pie making the all-encompassing business model non-viable.
The company has already signed up two music channels — MTunes and Music Express — as clients. It has also partnered with World Media Connect (WMC) as its Asian arm. WMC markets Indian Channels to the ethnic population based in US and UK. The portfolio includes six channels of the Sun TV Network (Sun TV, KTV, Gemini TV, Udaya TV, Gemini Movies, Surya TV) and Punjjabi TV at present.
Helios Media said that with the above contracts already in place, it is in advanced stages of negotiations with four speciality channels coming into India.
Radhakrishnan has over 24 years of rich experience in the business of media management. She has worked with leading advertising agencies like Publicis and Rediffusion Y&R. In her last assignment, she headed the Contact Practice at Rediffusion Y&R wherein the Media company TME, Public Relations company Rediffusion PR and the Event Management company Showdiff Worldwide were under her leadership.
Meanwhile, Iyengar, who has over 14 years of experience, has worked with leading media networks like Times of India, Sony Entertainment Television, Star Network and MTV.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
