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Golden Key Awards unlock excellence in market research with top honours
MUMBAI: The world of market research and insights had its moment in the spotlight as the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) hosted the Golden Key Awards 2024 on 21 February in Mumbai. Recognising trailblazers, innovators, and rising stars, the awards celebrated excellence across research, analytics, and storytelling—shedding light on the game-changers shaping business intelligence.
From emerging talent to technological breakthroughs, the event honoured individuals and organisations that are redefining the way data drives decisions. Aadya Sinha (Third Eye Integrated Services) clinched the Best Researcher Under 30 title, while Datamatics Global Services took home The Most Humane Organisation Award for its people-first approach. Kantar made a double impact, winning Best Operations Team of the Year and Best Client Servicing Team of the Year, reinforcing its stronghold in research operations. Meanwhile, Flipkart & Myntra earned the title of Best Client Insight Team of the Year for their prowess in consumer analytics.
Adding strategic depth to the evening, Indian Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand took the stage in a riveting conversation with Shafali Arora (Hindustan Unilever Limited), drawing parallels between chess and leadership. Anand’s insights on decision-making, precision, and long-term vision offered the audience a masterclass in critical thinking.
The second segment of the awards, powered by ITC, recognised pioneering research and innovation. Ipsos & Ikea bagged The Most Effective Storyteller Award, while Metrix Research & Analytics took home Best Data Collection Innovation. Hindustan Unilever Limited secured Best Research Methodology Innovation, and Datamatics Global Services was awarded Best Use of Technology for its AI-powered research solutions.
A lifetime of contributions to the market research industry was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards presented to C.K. Sharma and Ashok Das, while Lalit S. Kanodia received a Special Award for his pioneering role in analytics and technology-driven insights.
The final category, powered by Kantar, saw Hindustan Unilever Limited emerge as a dominant winner, securing multiple titles, including Best Work in Emerging Sectors, Best Business Impact Through Analytics, and Best Business Impact Through Research. Ipsos was recognised for Best Developmental Research, while Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. clinched Best Communication Crafting Research for its excellence in shaping brand narratives.
With support from industry giants like Hindustan Unilever Limited, Nestlé, ITC, Amazon, Datamatics, NielsenIQ, and TATA Consumer Products, the 6th edition of the Golden Key Awards was more than a night of recognition, it was a celebration of research’s transformative power. As the market research field continues to evolve, MRSI remains committed to fostering innovation and excellence, ensuring that data-driven insights continue to steer the future of business strategy.
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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.
