MAM
Franklin Templeton to be the investment partner for all Procam distance running events in india
MUMBAI: Procam International, pioneers of distance running events in India, announced its partnership with Franklin Templeton, one of India’s largest* fund houses, as Investment Partner for all their four world-class running events. The association is slated to start with Tata Mumbai Marathon on January 19, 2020.
Franklin Templeton aims to use a digital first approach to engage the runner community, with innovative offerings towards increased financial security.
Today, running is the fastest growing participative sport in India. Procam running events have played a pivotal role in this transformation – from starting a health & fitness revolution that spawned over 1400 races in the country, to creating a springboard for Indian long- and middle-distance runners. Re-enforcing bonds with civil society, these events have become a beacon of humanity and compassion.
The road has been a great leveler and distance running has transcended boundaries to become a Sport for All – beyond politics, religion, race, colour and gender.
Franklin Templeton believes that investing is not a 100-meter dash, but a marathon. There are many similarities in skill, character and attitude between a successful marathon runner and a successful investor. When one speaks about a marathon runner, the quality that repeatedly finds mention is physical stamina and when it comes to investing as well, it’s about the mental and emotional stamina that is needed to navigate the ups and downs of the market.
Franklin Templeton released a campaign called the “Marathon of Life” that helps the viewer draw inspiration from nine real life stories of marathon runners. It highlights important traits like being resilient, stepping up, having a goal, starting early, taking risk, diversifying efforts, power of compounding, importance of a guide and the importance of starting the journey anytime irrespective of your age. These resonate with principles of successful long-term investing.
Mr. Sanjay Sapre, President, Franklin Templeton – India, on the association said, “The growing focus on fitness, health and wellness is evident and certainly a step in the right direction. It is equally important for people to focus on their financial health and wellness. Our partnership with Procam as an ‘Investment Partner’ is an ideal match, as we find a lot of common ground between long-distance running and investing. This includes many aspects like coaching, discipline, resilience, and the ability to master one’s emotions. We encourage investors to participate and excel in their own Marathon of Life.”
Speaking on the partnership, Anil Singh, Managing Director, Procam International, said, “The support of our sponsors has been instrumental in the accelerated growth and success of distance running. We have always believed in cementing long-term partnerships, beyond return on investment. It is our pleasure to welcome aboard the globally renowned Franklin Templeton as our Investment Partner starting from TMM 2020. Franklin Templeton draws a synonymous co-relation with running marathons, life and investments. We are privileged with this visionary approach and as partners, we look forward to providing runners across the globe a new experience.”
The partnership is set to kick off through one of the Franklin Templeton’s key campaign for all TMM 2020 – My Journey Video. It captures a runner's performance across the duration of the Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020 and highlights key statistics of their pace, and split timings.
Tata Mumbai Marathon 2020 is scheduled to take place on 19th January 2020 and the 17th edition is expected to witness over 50,000 participants on the streets of Maximum city.
AD Agencies
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.
