MAM
AAAI launches online copywriting course for students
MUMBAI: Advertising Agencies Association India (AAAI) has launched an online specialised course in Advertising Copywriting.
In keeping with the objectives of AAAI, the course is aimed at identifying, nurturing, and providing high quality creative talent to member agencies.
The duration of the online course is three months. It can be accessed by students anywhere, anytime, as long as they have internet connectivity. The curriculum covers everything a copywriter would need to know and work on in an agency from understanding the brief, to generating ideas, writing headlines, body copy, slogans or taglines, writing scripts for TV and radio, developing campaigns for digital media, etc.
The course has been developed by Omnivore Academy and consists of 18 modules and 20 exercises. There will around three hours of course work every week during the three month program.
AAAI president Dr M G Parameswaran said, “At AAAI training and development is a key part of our agenda and we are rolling out a series of initiatives under the banner ‘AAAI PROWESS’. The online copywriting course with knowledge partner Omnivore Academy is the first under this new banner. Since the course is run under the aegis of AAAI, we have powerful resources at work here the panel of advisors comprise highly respected people from the advertising industry. We are delighted to have Omnivore Academy as our Knowledge Partners as they bring on substantive and enriched learning into their unique curriculum.”
The course will start on 1 September, 2015, with the first batch of 30 students. Information about the course, including how to enroll, eligibility, fees etc., is available on the website www.omnivoreacademy.com
“We want to give talented young people from all over the country an opportunity to excel in a creative career. So we’re offering 50 per cent scholarship to candidates who pass the AdCAT (Advertising Creative Aptitude Test), and successfully complete the course,” Parameswaran added.
Omnivore Academy course director and MICA visiting faculty Rajan Nair said, “We are looking forward to commencing the course soon and are confident it would develop a great pipeline of copywriting talent for the industry.”
Parameswaran said, “We want the course to be a complete ‘incubation’ process from finding talented young people, to nurturing them, and finally giving them hands-on, practical experience. So we’re also endeavoring to offer a two month internship with member agencies. And if a student proves to be good, the agency may offer a job, too!”
Brands
Flipkart completes reverse flip to India ahead of IPO
Walmart-owned e-commerce giant shifts domicile from Singapore to Bengaluru
MUMBAI: Flipkart has completed its restructuring to move its parent company from Singapore back to India, marking a key milestone as the Walmart-owned marketplace prepares for a potential initial public offering on Indian stock exchanges, ET reported, citing people aware of the matter.
The move, often referred to as a “reverse flip”, relocates the company’s legal home to India and aligns its corporate structure more closely with its largest market. It also clears an important regulatory step for Flipkart as it explores listing plans.
As part of the restructuring, several Singapore-based entities have been merged into Flipkart Internet Private Limited, which will now serve as the main holding company for the entire group.
The consolidation brings a number of major businesses directly under the Indian parent company. These include fashion platform Myntra, logistics arm Ekart, travel booking platform Cleartrip, healthcare marketplace Flipkart Health, and fintech venture Super.money.
Under the new structure, global investors including Walmart, Microsoft, SoftBank, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will hold their stakes directly in the Indian entity rather than through an overseas holding company.
The redomiciliation required approval from the Indian government because Chinese technology company Tencent owns around a 5 to 6 per cent stake in Flipkart. Under Press Note 3, investments from countries sharing a land border with India require prior government clearance.
Flipkart had already secured approval from the National Company Law Tribunal in December. With the latest clearance from the central government, the company has now obtained all the regulatory approvals needed to complete the relocation, ET reported earlier.
Flipkart had originally shifted its holding structure to Singapore in 2011 to tap global capital more easily. However, as India’s capital markets have matured, several start-ups have begun returning their domiciles to the country ahead of public listings. Companies such as Razorpay, Groww, and Meesho have taken similar steps.
The company is now expected to move ahead with its IPO preparations and has begun early discussions with merchant bankers. According to people familiar with the matter, Flipkart could file its draft prospectus later this year, setting the stage for what may become one of the most closely watched listings in India’s e-commerce sector.
Flipkart has been majority-owned by Walmart since 2018, when the US retail giant acquired a 77 per cent stake in the company for $16 billion in one of the largest e-commerce deals globally.
