AD Agencies
Media Mantra wins PR mandate for Archies
Mumbai: Media Mantra on Monday bagged the PR mandate for Archies to drive its corporate communications strategy in the country.
Media Mantra, as a PR partner, will take the responsibility of aligning regional communications and reinforcing Archies’ market leadership in India. They will work on Archies’ corporate reputation and awareness, amplifying its visibility, strategic communication counsel, and overall public relations and media relations.
Media Mantra will also be instrumental in developing effective stakeholder engagement strategies, brand positioning, and external communication management. Archies’ latest appointment is in line with its vision to inject new inspiration and creativity into the renowned brand, foraying into emerging markets and extending its long history of success in the country.
Media Mantra founder and director Udit Pathak said, “It’s a matter of great pride for Media Mantra to partner with a legacy brand like Archies. Acting on our role as strategic advisers, we intend to apply our vast knowledge and expertise to execute innovative, disruptive, and high-impact PR campaigns that will create a positive impact on Archies’ business in India.”
“With our 10th anniversary around the corner, Media Mantra has carved its own niche as a leading multi-practice and full-service PR and digital media agency across sectors. D2C is one of our strong practice areas, and the current mandate will help consolidate this practice even further. We are excited to support Archies in its bid to enhance their visibility, credibility, and prominence in the media ecosystem at large, and amongst their target audience in particular,” he added.
Archies’ executive director Varun Moolchandani said, “From a firm that just sold cards, Archies has come a long way to establish itself as a full-fledged social expression enterprise. We’ve been the trailblazers of India’s gifting ecosystem for 44 years on the back of our ability to keep innovating and improving our offerings.”
He further added, ” Building on the same vision, we’ve roped in the services of Media Mantra to help us reposition our brand and amplify our presence in the country. We look forward to a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship with them.”
Founded in 1979, Delhi-based Archies has been in a league of its own, with its chain of offline and online stores being synonymous with greeting cards and popular for special occasion gifting. Having begun by selling greeting cards and gifts, the well-established company has only grown with the modern culture, increasing urbanisation and improving standards of living. It currently operates with over 250 franchises and 230+ exclusive outlets, named Archies Gallery, which are spread across 120 cities and six countries.
With sentimental value driving its brand appeal to all age groups and demographics, Archies has now reduced its dependence on greeting cards, diversifying into new categories. The firm, currently, boasts a diverse portfolio comprising different and unique products like artificial jewellery, crystalware, chocolates, soft toys, perfumes, grooming products, and their recent foray into the skincare and beauty segment.
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.
