MAM
Lipton’s Bangalore International Marathon Run on May 15
MUMBAI: Sports event managers Crossover and I-Congo (Indian Confederation of NGOs) have roped in Hindustan Lever’s Lipton, Dell, Titan, Ten Sports, Radio City Bangalore, the Karnataka Government, Karnataka Athletics Association (KAA) and Hotel Royal Orchid for the first ever International Marathon to be held in India’s Silicon and Garden City-Bangalore on 15 May.
The entire marathon would be held to promote philanthropy for social justice and social giving for one’s favorite cause through I-CONGO. I-Congo is a first of it kind national collective of over 155 credible, transparent and accountable NGOs working on social causes nationally like child rights and education, community welfare, environment, wildlife and animal rights including stray dogs, cancer patients, disability and various causes.
Encapsulating the highest standards of sportsmanship, grit and resilience, the event is geared up to see participation from Bangaloreans and several national and international marathon runners.
The entire Marathon covering 42.195 kms, the 21.1 kms semi-Marathon and the seven km Celebration Run would be the options available for the expected 30,000 plus participants to the event.
A registration fee is expected to garner around Rs 4.5 million at Rs 150 per person, while around 1000 NGOs are expected to bring in at least Rs 15000 each from sponsors to total Rs 15 million.
The complete event would cost around Rs 30 million. The prize money would be Rs 1 million this year, however Crossover head sale and marketing Darshan M is confident the success of the event would definitely call for a higher amount during the next edition of the race, which is likely to be an annual event.
Lipton is the presenting sponsor, Dell the associate sponsor, supported by the Government of Karnataka and the event will be held under the aegis of the KAA. Hotel Royal Orchid are the official hosts, Titan the official timers, and Ten Sports and Radio City Bangalore the official Media Partners.
Live reports will be broadcast on Radio City Bangalore and the event is likely to be telecast a week later on Ten Sports.
Lipton general manager P Krishnamurthy who has been a participant as a runner in the Marathons held elsewhere in India, said, “Lipton stands for natural vitality. A marathon also symbolises vitality, as demonstrated in the spirit, grit and resilience of a runner; it is therefore befitting that Lipton associate with the event. Today’s hectic lifestyle leaves little space for people to take time out for good things-to be with themselves/the outdoors/nature, to connect with the world around them. The marathon is a good opportunity to do this, and running in particular helps people feel good, look good and get more out of life, which in essence reflects the Unilever mission. Lipton is proud to bring the event to the city.”
To make the event truly international, and to hold it as per global standards, Bob Braid, an international class rated measurer who also measures for events such as the Olympics would be inspecting and ratifying the race route as per international standards. Athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, Bangladesh and Pakistan are likely to participate in the marathon, as are a number of celebrities from all walks of life.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
