MAM
Fierce competition for Zee accounts
NEW DELHI: It seems to be boom time for the advertising agencies. Some of the top agencies are vying for various Zee channel accounts said to be worth approximately Rs. 400 million.
Those in fray for the accounts include Rediff DY&R, FCB Ulka, Lowe, Contract and Leo Burnett. According to advertising industry sources, various agencies, including existing ones, made presentations yesterday for the accounts up for grabs at Zee’s office in Mumbai. Efforts made to elicit a response from Zee Telefilms proved futile.
Though the official budget is not known, but industry sources indicated that Zee’s account, collectively, is one of the largest accounts in the media world. It is also estimated that the total account would be approximately Rs. 400 million.
At present, Rediff DY&R, along with Contract and other medium sized agencies handle Zee’s creatives. Rediff’s PR division also used to handle Zee TV’s publicity, which it had bagged during the time Sandeep Goyal was the group broadcasting CEO. Earlier this year the PR contract came to an end and was not renewed.
Zee News recently signed on Leo Burnett as its creative agency, which was behind splashing a new look across Zee News logo and channel promotion with the tag `Hakikat Jaise, Khabar Waise’. The ad pitches are being made as Zee, led by the flagship channel Zee TV, has lined up various programming and marketing initiatives that kick off with the festive season in October.
One of the marketing and communication initiatives also include coming out with a new-look FPC (fixed point chart) for the main Zee channels, excluding the Alpha regional channels and the third-party ones like Trendz.
The FPC chart that now comes, beginning October, in the form of a magazine not only has the timings of various programmes, but highlights and pictures from serials and movies to make the experience of rummaging through pages more pleasant.
Brands
Thomas Cook India, SOTC and Booking.com team up for smarter corporate stays
Global hotel choices meet Indian corporate controls for seamless business travel
MUMBAI: Business travel just got a major upgrade. Thomas Cook (India) and its group company SOTC Travel have joined forces with Booking.com to offer Indian corporates world-class accommodation options with a side of convenience.
The collaboration brings Booking.com’s vast global inventory, more than 31 million listings across 220 countries, straight into Thomas Cook and SOTC’s corporate booking platforms. From luxury hotels and resorts to homes and apartments, business travellers now have an unprecedented range of choices, all while staying within company travel policies.
Thomas Cook and SOTC president & group head of global business travel Indiver Rastogi said, “Today’s business travellers want more choice, flexibility and transparency. By linking Booking.com’s extensive inventory with our managed corporate tools, we’re delivering exactly that: policy control, price clarity and service support that businesses can trust.”
The offering is designed with the Indian corporate traveller in mind. Key features include transparent pricing with GST-compliant invoices, curated hotel options for SMEs to large enterprises, coverage across 2,500 plus Indian cities, verified traveller reviews, essential business amenities, and integrated policy control for approvals, budgets and credit limits.
Booking.com VP partnerships Mark van der Linden added, “Corporate travellers in India want the same seamless experience they enjoy in personal trips, with the right corporate guardrails. This partnership makes our global accommodation inventory enterprise-ready, combining choice, flexibility and localised support.”
With real-time booking access on desktop and mobile, enterprise-specific rates, loyalty benefits, and future integrations into Thomas Cook’s TravelOne platform, the partnership promises to make corporate travel smoother, safer and smarter than ever.
