MAM
Nick launches ‘The SpongeBob SquarePants’ movie contest
MUMBAI: Speaking about contests-based channel promotions, the kids’ channel Nick is now next in the league after Hungama TV introducing a Kids’ Ka Kamaal contest. Nick and the Singapore Tourism Board are looking for a family of four to win an all-expense paid trip to Singapore.
The winner family will be able to attend the Asia premiere of The SpongeBob SquarePants movie on 30 January at Sentosa Island.
According to a company release, the participants will have to tune into Nick from now until 10 January. The contestants can also log onto www.nicksplat.com/spongebobmovie for contest details.
A family of four will be chosen each from India, Indonesia Korea, Malaysia, Philippines and Japan and will fly to Singapore on 28 January to enjoy a four day and three night holiday.
The premier of The SpongeBob SquarePants movie will be celebrated over two days on Singapore’s Sentosa Island through a beach party filled with bikini bottom-themed games, a sand sculpting competition, a SpongeBob SquarePants toon-a-thon, prize giveaways, meet and greet activities with SpongeBob, Patrick and Squidward, informs the media release.
“The phenomenon of SpongeBob SquarePants has hit Asia and the much-anticipated movie has finally arrived on our shores. The Asia premiere of The SpongeBob SquarePants movie could only be experienced on a beach, amongst palm trees and marine activity, choosing Singapore and Sentosa Island was a natural choice for us to host such an important event,“ said Nickelodeon Asia, VP marketing and communications Lucy Young.
Produced and directed by Stephen Hillenburg, the full-length animated feature is based on a story and the series created by Stephen Hillenburg. The movie charts out simple, quiet life of the underwater paradise, Bikini Bottom, get a little wild when SpongeBob SquarePants and his dimwitted best friend Patrick set out on an epic quest to reclaim King Neptune’s stolen crown and save Krabs’ life.
Singapore Tourism Board director, lifestyle and events and director, brand management Ken Low as quoted in the release as saying, “Singapore is very happy to host the Asian premiere of The SpongeBob SquarePants movie and the two-day beach party that will be great fun for the whole family. This is indeed a very entertaining event that will add to the unique blend of colourful events and vibrant performances that Singapore has to offer our visitors from overseas and Singaporeans alike,”
The Asia premiere is supported by Singapore Tourism Board, and sponsored by Sentosa, United International Pictures and Orchard Parade Hotel.
MAM
‘You packed my parachute’: Avinash Kaul’s farewell salutes Network18’s unsung thousands
The outgoing chief’s LinkedIn post skips the boardroom tributes and goes straight to the security guards, drivers and office boys who kept the machine running
MUMBAI: Most farewell posts by senior media executives follow a familiar script: gratitude to leadership, a nod to the team, a hint of what lies ahead. Avinash Kaul’s is not that post.
Writing on LinkedIn on his last day at Network18 Media & Investments, where he spent nearly 12 years rising to chief executive, Kaul bypassed the boardroom entirely and directed his most heartfelt words at the people furthest from it: the security guard who greeted him before the building was fully awake, the fleet staff who drove him to airports at ungodly hours, the office assistants, the housekeeping teams, and the administrators who, as he put it, “held ten thousand invisible threads so the rest of us could look organised.”
“You packed my parachute,” he wrote. “Every day. Without fanfare, recognition, or ever asking for it.”
It was a striking note from a man who leaves behind a considerable operational record. Kaul joined Network18 managing three channels and exits with responsibility for 20, alongside a publishing business, a growing connected television footprint, and what he says is the highest revenue and highest channel share in the group’s history. He was quick to deflect the credit. “Not because of me. Because of 4,000 people who showed up, every day, in every department, across the country.”
To content teams across India, he issued a reminder that carries some weight given the pressures Indian news media currently faces. “Keep being custodians of trust for 700 million people. That is not a small thing. That is the whole thing.”
To colleagues in revenue and ratings who found him relentless and hard to satisfy, he was unapologetic but generous. “There was never a single moment of ill intent in my heart. Everything I pushed you towards came from one belief – that you were stronger than you knew, and I was not willing to let you settle for less than your real capability.” Those who believed him, he said, flew. Those who did not taught him to be a better communicator. He was grateful to both.
On what comes next, he offered a hint wrapped in metaphor. Something is being built, he said, prepared for “the way you pack a bag before a long climb. Not out of restlessness. Out of readiness.”
In a media landscape that rarely pauses to acknowledge the people who keep the lights on, it was, at the very least, a different kind of goodbye.
