MAM
Everest Brand Solutions wins Catch Spices creative biz
MUMBAI: The Dharampal Satyapal (DS) group has appointed Everest Brand Solutions to handle the Catch Spices business following a pitch held in the month of October that saw participation from agencies like McCan Erickson, Publicis Capital, Contract and Percept H.
The agency‘s Delhi office shall handle the business. IBD India was the incumbent agency on the account.
Catch Spices business is part of the foods division of the DS Group and is over Rs 2.50 billion business and includes Catch Kitchen Spices and Catch Sprinklers. The brand is aiming for major growth and expansion in the business and was looking for a strategic and creative partner to help meet their goals.
Though the company did not disclose the size of the account, it said that the advertising budget is substantial.
DS Group food division associate business head O P Khanduja said, “Amongst the various agencies pitching for this account, the approach of Everest Brand Solutions was most balanced across all categories and they have been very enthusiastic about getting this account. We feel they will put in the necessary effort to come up with the required creative and strategic initiatives for generating the required impact for our brands in the market.”
DS Group food division JGM marketing Archana Mukharji said, “Everest Brand Solutions came across as a young and energetic team and we felt that they will be a good match for us at this point of time since we are poised for substantial growth in market share and revenue in the spices industry. Hence we were looking for a team who could provide a new perspective and put in the necessary effort as a partner to take the brand to the next level.”
Everest Brand Solutions president Dhunji S Wadia said, “We were given a very detailed and specific brief. This helped the team in terms addressing the issues and working on interesting creative solutions. We are delighted to be their partners among the number of agencies that participated in this pitch.”
Everest Brand Solutions NCD Rahul Jauhari said, “The client team is clear, ambitious and highly motivated. We look forward to creating some exciting communication with them in the times to come.”
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
