MAM
Aaren Initiative bags Tata Indicom’s MP & Chattisgargh circles
MUMBAI: Aaren Initiative, the outdoors arm of Lintas India’s Integrated Marketing Action Group, has clinched the outdoor business of Tata Indicom’s Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh circles. Aaren Initiative earlier this year also won the Tamil Nadu circle.
Tata Indicom is is amongst the largest out-of-home advertisers in India. Other agencies in the fray were RMG David and Prime Time; the latter being the incumbent.
Tata Indicom officials confirmed the development to Indiantelevision.com, stating that the first phase of activity would involve a one month focussed tactical campaign. The competitiors in the MP & Chattisgarh circle being Reliance, Idea and Airtel.
Aaren Initiative managing director and IMAG director Ashish Bhasin states,”We won the account as we focussed on innovation as well as due to the Aaren initiative of transparency, better rates and better planning.”
Bhasin further added that Aaren Initiative would be looking at very high levels of service, speed of response and innovations to add value to Tata Indicom in MP & Chattisgarh. “The investments Aaren Initiative has made in professionalising the outdoor industry and introducing planning softwares like AiPT and AiMS for the first time in India, is now standing us in good stead.”
The brief from Tata Indicom is very clear – To ensure high impact visibility and be cutting edge in these circles. The overall Tata indicom account is pegged at Rs 300 million.
AiMS (Aaren Initiative Media System) is a proprietary planning tool developed by Aaren Initiative that claims to provides error free and efficient operations in the outdoor field.
AiPT, another proprietary planning tool, lists more than 9,000 out of home options in nine cities, along with different angles of photographs, access maps and a unique rating system and visibility score.
In 2005, Aaren Initiative has expanded its operations to handle out of home operations in more than 126 cities and towns, for blue chip clients like LG CDMA, Pantaloons, Big Bazar, Mont Blanc, Motul Lubricants, The Hindu, Bilt, Thai Airways Sutherlands, CNBC Group, Indus League and Dena Bank, to name a few.
Aaren Initiative is a member of Lintas India’s Integrated Marketing Action Group which also has Linterland (Rural), dCell (Strategic Design), Lin Opinion (PR), Advent (Events), Lintas Personal (CRM & Direct Marketing), Lintertainment (Entertainment Marketing) and Lintas Healthcare as its members.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
