MAM
DDB MudraMax Media wins media mandate of Athena Life Sciences
MUMBAI: A start-up in the space of cosmoceutical and therapeutic beauty treatment, Athena Life Sciences has appointed DDB MudraMax Media as its media agency.
The agency will be responsible for all media activities viz. planning, buying and implementation.
Athena Life Sciences is a relatively new organization and hence its association with DDB MudraMax Media becomes crucial since the agency has become the brand’s first ever media agency.
For their maiden campaign, the company will focus on building awareness for D’Free, an overnight anti dandruff lotion.
On appointing DDB MudraMax Media, Athena Life Sciences CEO and MD Prabhu Karthikeyan said that startup dynamics are so different from established businesses – budget constraints, faster changes, narrow focus and much more.
“DDB MudraMax Media gave us the comfort of a large planning and buying house, strong FMCG/consumer mindset, and yet brought in the kind of attention, collaborative thinking that a startup deserves,” Karthikeyan added.
DDB MudraMax Media associate vice president Navin Kathuria said, “It is an interesting assignment to deploy our consumer planning and holistic implementation skills, with ideas at the centre of the consumer engagement. We are very delighted to partner with Athena Life Sciences in their journey towards building a cutting edge Consumer Products Business.”
Brands
Hemlata Sharma joins ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer
Former Zee Media distribution head to steer growth, partnerships and strategy
MUMBAI: Hemlata Sharma has joined ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer, bringing with her more than three decades of experience across television, telecom and media distribution.
Sharma most recently served as head distribution, research & CRM at Zee Media Corporation Limited, where she worked closely with editorial and senior management while overseeing distribution, consumer research and customer relationships for 14 news channels including Zee News, WION, Zee Hindustan and Zee Business, along with ten regional state channels.
In that role, she led nationwide distribution across platforms such as DTH, Hits, IPTV, cable networks and DD Free Dish. She also drove consumer research and strategic insights on a pan India scale, analysing content performance, anchor impact, programme slots and audience behaviour to guide editorial decisions and programming strategy.
Her portfolio also included managing one of the largest alliances with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and overseeing the global distribution monitoring of Wion across North America, Mena, Europe, Africa, APAC and Australia.
Earlier, Sharma briefly served as head sales and distribution at Triplecom Media Pvt Ltd, an engagement driven OTT platform bringing together content, gaming, music and advertising for the entertainment distribution ecosystem.
Her earlier career includes a senior vice president stint at Ten Sports Network, where she played a key role in relaunching the sports broadcaster as an independent bouquet comprising Ten Sports, Ten Cricket, Ten Action and Ten Golf following the Zee takeover. During this period, she moved from vp west to head strategy for cable and dth and later national head retail distribution, helping build the network’s retail distribution vertical across India and launching dedicated golf and football channels.
Before that, Sharma spent over six years at Bharti Airtel as general manager operations for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. She initially led marketing and corporate communications before moving into sales leadership, where voice sales grew by 86 per cent and revenues by 96 per cent. She later headed business operations, expanding annual business volumes to Rs 100 crore while significantly reducing operational costs.
Sharma began her long association with the media distribution ecosystem at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited as regional head sales and distribution for central India. During that period, she played a role in the early rollout of pay television channels including Zee Cinema, HBO, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, while also contributing to the launch of Siti Cable in key central Indian cities.
With her new role at ONEOTT Broadband, Sharma is expected to focus on strengthening business strategy, expanding partnerships and driving growth across the company’s broadband and digital distribution ecosystem.
