MAM
Media Mantra launches Digital Innovation Hub
Mumbai: PR and communications firm Media Mantra has announced the launch of its Digital Innovation Hub. The firm’s latest offering will cater to its ever-growing portfolio of clients for their digital communication requirements. The Digital Innovation Hub will offer services under four core pillars-creative hub, social media and publishing strategy, digital expansion and studio – to support clients for their specific requirements.
The division will be headed by Hemant Varma, who has joined Media Mantra as the head of strategic campaigns, as the organisation takes yet another pivotal step in strengthening its presence as a complete integrated communications agency.
Media Mantra founding director Udit Pathak said, “We are currently undergoing a very exciting phase of growth. Our latest offering—Digital Innovation Hub—is a testimony to our persistent efforts to consistently expand our service offerings in our bid to become India’s leading integrated communications firm. The digital practise will leverage the expertise of our strong and hardworking team of digital marketing strategists, SEO specialists, social media experts, and creative designers to create amazing client experiences and transform the way C-suite decision-makers approach business in the ever-competitive digital era.”
While Creative Hub will ensure a strategic approach to connecting with targeted groups at multiple touchpoints, clients will be able to amplify their reach and initiate engaging conversations through social media and publishing strategies. With digital expansion, Media Mantra will now offer exclusive services including website development, SEO, app development, paid campaigns, PPC, and lead generation, among others. At the behest of its studio, the new digital practice will aid clients in innovative storytelling via engaging static and motion graphics.
Media Mantra CEO Rahul Mehta said, “In recent years, Media Mantra has laid a strong foundation to enter the next phase of its strong growth journey. We have a proven track record of executing award-winning campaigns for clients, and the launch of our digital practise will only help us serve our clients in a more robust and diversified manner. With Digital Innovation Hub at the forefront, Media Mantra will now offer a spectrum of highly customisable services including digital marketing strategy and consulting, social media marketing (SMM), search engine optimization (SEO), video and animations, user experience and interface design, branding and much more.”
Varma said, “Having worked on multiple award-winning campaigns throughout my career, I would like to use my expertise to create some data-driven, meaningful campaigns with purpose at the core of them. With the launch of the Digital Innovation Hub at Media Mantra, we intend to provide integrated communications strategies to our esteemed clients. From SEO to branding strategy, creating websites, apps, paid campaigns, influencer partnerships, publishing strategy, and digital campaigns, our team is well-equipped and super excited to start this new journey.”
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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.
