MAM
FCC firm on political ad rate proposal
MUMBAI: The Federal Communications Commission has defended its proposal that requires stations to post online the rates they charge politicians for commercials.
The proposal has not gone down well with broadcasters who fear that disclosing commercial rates online would hurt them competitively.
Speaking at the National Association of Broadcasters, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said broadcasters who resist the move are “against technology, against transparency and against journalism.” He noted that estimates put broadcast political ad spending at $3 billion in 2012.
Genachowski said the FCC will vote on the proposal later this month.
Congress requires TV stations to make public information. However, the idea of moving from the file cabinet to the Internet is bothering the broadcasters.
“Despite the proud history of broadcast journalism and the many innovative products broadcasters deploy today to harness digital technology to inform, explain as well as entertain, broadcasters and a few others have strongly resisted online disclosure,” Genachowski told the audience at a NAB event.
“Congress explicitly requires broadcasters to maintain, and make available for public inspection, a complete record of a request to purchase broadcast time that is made by or on behalf of a legally qualified candidate,” he added.
The new rule, if passed, would go into effect by late summer or early fall at the latest, still in time for the 2012 US general elections.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
