MAM
CNN launches SMS marketing promotion for Indian viewers
MUMBAI: International news channel CNN has entered into an alliance with wireless marketing solutions provider, Mobile2Win (M2W) for an SMS marketing promotion. The channel will offer its viewers an opportunity to participate in the Your World Today promotion through SMS and win exciting prizes.
Aimed at driving additional viewership to CNN’s primetime programme Your World Today, the channel urges Indian viewers to participate in a contest by simply text messaging CNN to 8558. Players will then have to answer a question with multiple-choice options. One winner will be picked for one new questions every week.
The news programme, Your World Today is a four-hour news wheel featuring the latest news breaks, global news, sports, business and weather information.
An official release quoted Turner Broadcasting System- Asia Pacific’s vice president of corporate communications and marketing Grace Wong as saying, “Through initiatives like this, we hope to create more interactivity between our viewers and the CNN brand, to educate them about CNN in a fun way, and to encourage them to keep tuning into CNN.”
M2W’s vice president (sales and marketing) Rajiv Hiranandani was quoted as saying, “The wireless promotion undertaken by CNN is sure to add new levels of interactivity to Your World Today. M2W is ideally placed to deliver this exciting solution to CNN.”
M2W was set up in China last year. It has to its credit some of the world’s largest mobile SMS promotions, including a Coca Cola summer campaign in China.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook to step down after 15 years, John Ternus to take over
Leadership shake-up sees long-time hardware chief step up from September
CUPERTINO: Apple has confirmed that chief executive officer Tim Cook will step down from his role and transition to executive chairman, with senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus set to take over as CEO from September 1, 2026.
The transition, approved unanimously by the board, marks a carefully planned leadership shift at one of the world’s most valuable companies. Cook will remain CEO through the summer, working closely with Ternus to ensure a smooth handover before moving into his new role, where he will continue to support Apple and engage with policymakers globally.
In a memo to employees, Apple CEO Tim Cook reflected on his 15-year tenure, recalling the moment Steve Jobs asked him to step into the role. “It was an emotional and challenging moment for all of us at Apple,” he wrote, adding that the company’s core values, from simplicity and innovation to a commitment to improving lives, remain unchanged.
Explaining his decision, Cook said the company’s strong roadmap and future outlook made this the right time for a transition. “I have never been more optimistic about Apple’s future,” he noted, while announcing Ternus as his successor. He described Ternus as “a visionary in his own right” with “remarkable integrity” and the right leader to guide Apple into its next phase.
Cook said, “John Ternus has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honour.”
Ternus, in his own note to employees, struck a steady, execution-focused tone. Ternus said, “It has been such a privilege to lead the hardware engineering team… I still plan to be very hands-on,” signalling continuity rather than a strategic reset.
As part of the leadership reshuffle, Ternus will step away from leading hardware engineering, with Tom Marieb taking over the role. Marieb will report to Johny Srouji, who assumes an expanded position as chief hardware officer, aligning hardware development more closely with Apple’s silicon and technology teams.
Cook also used his memo to thank employees, calling them “the most remarkable people in the world” and crediting them for building Apple into what it is today. A town hall has been scheduled at the Steve Jobs Theater to discuss the transition further.
The leadership change also sees Arthur Levinson move to the role of lead independent director, while Ternus joins Apple’s board.
Cook’s tenure has been defined by massive growth and expansion, with Apple’s market value rising from around $350 billion in 2011 to $4 trillion, alongside the launch of new product categories and a booming services business. Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran, has played a central role in shaping the company’s hardware roadmap, from iPhone and Mac to newer innovations in materials and sustainability.
The transition signals a generational shift, but not a dramatic change in direction. If anything, both memos point to continuity, discipline and a belief that Apple’s next chapter will be built on the same values that shaped its last.
