MAM
Starcom appoints Anil Shankar as vice president, digital media solutions
MUMBAI: Starcom India has announced the appointment of digital leader Anil Shankar as its vice president, digital media solutions.
Shankar has more than 16 years of experience in digital marketing and technology working across digital media platforms. He most recently served as lead of Programmatic Sales Nationally at Times Internet and has also worked with leading media companies such as WPP, GroupM and Affle. Shankar has a proven track record of building and developing high performing digital teams and solutions ranging from full funnel data-led planning to measurement, attribution and monetization. His experience spans across verticals such as consumer goods, financial services, telecommunications and E-commerce.
Starcom India CEO Rathi Gangappa says, “We are delighted to have Anil join us. He brings a wealth of digital expertise, strong leadership and new perspectives to Starcom and will lead our overall digital agenda, vision and offering. His extensive experience across agency, client and publisher ecosystems makes him an invaluable asset. Anil is passionate about Starcom’s Human Experience approach, future-facing work streams and culture of collaboration. He will add tremendous value to our clients.”
Shankar adds, “These are thrilling times. We have merely scratched the surface of digital possibilities. From banners to big data, big screens to mobile screens, even our smallest of towns are getting digitally equipped. This makes India the most exciting digital market in the world. I am confident that Starcom’ s robust client portfolio, talent, infrastructure with strong technology and programmatic solutions will surely help in further deepening the client’s confidence.”
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.
