MAM
Suhaana replaces Anandi in Ormax’s character study
MUMBAI: Suhaana, the protagonist of Star Plus’ popular show Sauraal Genda Phool, has replaced Balika Vadhu’s Anandi to become the most popular character among the Hindi general entertainment channels (GEC) audiences.
This finding has come from the media research and consulting firm Ormax Media’s sixth edition of Characters India Loves (CIL) study.
Since CIL’s inception in August 2009, this is for the first time that a character has dislodged Anandi from her No 1 position. Surprisingly, Anandi is not even featuring among the top 10 list and is now on number 11.
As per CIL, Suhaana’s share among the fiction characters has grown by 66 per cent in the last three months.
Meanwhile, Jethalal (Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashma) continues to maintain the second position followed by Pratigya (Pratigya), Archana and Maanav (Pavitra Rishta) at third, fourth and fifth place respectively.
This sixth track of the study was conducted during December last year and January. The interviews were conducted among 2,600 respondents in six cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Indore and Jalandhar, among 15-44 males and females, in SEC ABC.
CIL is a quarterly study to measure the popularity of characters on Indian television. The report lists the top fiction and non-fiction characters across gender, age, SEC and market segments. Further, a section of the report illustrates reasons for likeability of the top characters.
AD Agencies
WPP Media elevates Dipti Gulati to vp, client growth for APMEA
Singapore-based executive to commercialise AI-powered solutions business across the region
SINGAPORE: WPP Media has promoted Dipti Gulati to vice president, client growth, handing her the mandate to lead the commercialisation of its solutions business across APMEA.
Based in Singapore, Gulati steps up after serving as senior director, client growth, where she drove expansion across APAC spanning programmatic, search, social, CTV, DOOH and cross-channel offerings. Now, she is tasked with translating advanced AI, data and technology ecosystems into scalable growth strategies for global brands across FMCG, luxury, F&B and financial services.
“I commercialise the future of media — at scale, across APMEA,” Gulati said, announcing her appointment. She added that she turns advanced data, AI and technology ecosystems into real commercial outcomes, shifting the conversation “from a pure media play to owning business outcomes”.
Her brief is unapologetically future-facing: addressable, accountable and AI-powered media. She will work with cross-market teams across APMEA, bringing together diverse perspectives and cultures to accelerate growth and build what she calls the “future of media”.
Gulati’s rise caps nearly two years at WPP Media and follows a six-month stint as regional director of growth, APAC, at Mindshare, where she led new business development and expanded capabilities for existing clients. Earlier, as global account director for integrated marketing communications on the Unilever business, she drove communications strategy for multi-million dollar beauty and wellbeing brands across Southeast Asia.
Before that, Gulati spent close to two years as associate director at Warner Bros. Discovery in Singapore. She also served as director, strategic partnerships and market development at TrustSphere, leading go-to-market and growth initiatives across Asia and evangelising relationship analytics to C-level executives. TrustSphere, credited by industry and Harvard Business School case studies as a pioneer in relationship analytics, became a springboard for her deeper engagement with data-driven growth.
Her board and evangelist roles at the Asia Cloud Computing Association and its Asia Analytics Alliance further sharpened her regional policy and analytics credentials. Earlier chapters include marketing consultancy at Blockchain Foundry and a seven-year run at Warner Bros. Discovery in India, where she led ad-sales and business development for HBO and WB across north and east India, delivering record billings. She began her career at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd and Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd..
From ad-sales floors in Delhi and Mumbai to boardrooms in Singapore, Gulati’s arc mirrors the industry’s own shift — from selling spots and slots to engineering outcomes through data and AI. At WPP Media, the brief is clear: scale smarter, move faster and turn algorithms into advantage.
