MAM
Initiative Media becomes media AOR for Urban Company
Mumbai: Online home service platform Urban Company has named Initiative Media, the full-service media arm of Mediabrands India as its media agency on record. The account was won following a closely contested multi-agency pitch and will be managed out of the agency’s Gurugram office.
According to a statement, the business mandate includes both online and offline media duties and will focus on providing comprehensive media solutions to augment business outcomes.
“We are extremely delighted by this association and prepared to position Urban Company as the country’s go-to platform for all of their listed services. Our approach is designed to deliver client-centric results and will ensure elevating the growth momentum for the brand,” said Initiative CEO Vaishali Verma.
Urban Company aims to rapidly expand its national footprint while also launching new products and services pan India, said the brand in a statement. “Initiative’s strategic and audience-first approach and understanding of their unique business model, aligns perfectly with Urban Company’s expectations for their future endeavours, making this a fitting partnership,” it added.
“We are stepping into the next phase of our evolution and expansion now and confident that Initiative will prove to be our trusted partner in this growth story,” stated Urban Company SVP Abhinav Tyagi. “The seamless combination of their superior strategic planning, the robust experience of managing new-age clients, backed by a passionate young team made the mark for us. We are looking forward to a great run together.”
MAM
Sameer Nair shares heartfelt note as he exits Applause Entertainment
After nine years building the streamer’s content engine, one of India’s best-known TV men is moving on
MUMBAI: Sameer Nair is out. The chief executive of Applause Entertainment, the content studio backed by Kumar Mangalam Birla’s media empire, has announced his departure after nearly nine years at the helm, closing the chapter on one of Indian entertainment’s more quietly consequential careers.
Nair, who built Applause from the ground up in its current avatar, oversaw a slate that spanned Indian originals and international adaptations, threading together a hub-and-spoke business model that partnered with streaming platforms, broadcasters and production houses alike. The results were uneven, as they always are in content, but the ambition was not.
In a post on LinkedIn, Nair was generous to his outgoing patron. He thanked Birla for being an “inspirational boss and a great patron of the arts,” and signed off with a cheerful “Au Revoir” and a promise to remain Applause’s biggest cheerleader. Whether that sentiment survives the next chapter remains to be seen.
No successor has been named. Applause Entertainment did not immediately comment.
Nair built the machine. Now someone else has to run it — and in a streaming market that is simultaneously consolidating and convulsing, that is no small ask.
