MAM
L&K Saatchi & Saatchi strengthens team
MUMBAI: L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has announced the appointment of Trishay Kotwal, erstwhile unit creative director, Lowe Lintas Mumbai, as its executive creative director. In his new role, he will be reporting to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi joint national creative director Kartik Smetacek.
Over the past fifteen years he has worked in New Delhi and Mumbai, across a number of creative agencies including, Lowe, McCann Erickson, and Draft FCB. With experience in varied sectors such as FMCG, automobiles, beauty and broadcast, some of the noteworthy brands he has handled are General Motors, Tata Motors, L’Oreal Paris, Sharp, Star Sports and Byju’s.
Trishay Kotwal commented on his appointment saying, “I was convinced by Anil and Kartik’s vision for the agency and felt it was the right time and that this is the right place. The opportunity at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi is immense and I look forward to contributing meaningfully to the agency’s creative output.”
Also, Arthi Basak erstwhile AVP, FCB Interface has joined L&K Saatchi & Saatchi as VP – strategy and planning. In her new role, she will be reporting to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi executive director-planning Snehasis Bose.
Her prominent work includes campaigns on Cadbury Oreo, Nivea, Nivea Men, Mahindra & Mahindra, Swaraj Tractors, Blue Star, Huggies, Monash University, Godrej Sara Lee.
Arthi Basak commented, “What struck me about LKSS is this rare combination of a network agency which also has the dynamism of an entrepreneurial setup. I look forward to opening up a new chapter in my career working at this young and energetic organisation.”
L&K Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and managing partner Anil S Nair said, “I am very excited to welcome two exceptional talents Arthi and Trishay to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi. Both have immense experience & fantastic skills in their respective fields which will be of great value to our wide range of brands across many categories. I look forward to them raising the bar even higher for us.”
Brands
Airtel, Jio, Vi quietly raise tariffs with tweaks ahead of major hike
Airtel, Jio and Vi test subscriber response with subtle plan changes
NEW DELHI: India’s top telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, are quietly reworking their prepaid plans in what appears to be a calculated run-up to a broader tariff hike expected later this year.
Rather than announcing headline-grabbing price increases, the operators are opting for subtle tweaks that are less likely to trigger immediate consumer backlash. Industry observers describe this as a “testing the waters” approach, where small changes help gauge subscriber sensitivity while gradually improving revenues.
Among the most visible moves is plan pruning. Airtel has discontinued its popular Rs 799 pack, widely seen as a high-value offering, while nudging up the price of its Rs 859 plan to Rs 899. The changes may seem marginal, but across millions of users, they translate into meaningful revenue gains.
Reliance Jio, on its part, has taken a sharper route by slashing the validity of its Rs 195 plan from 90 days to just 30 days. The price remains unchanged, but the value per day has dropped steeply, effectively raising costs for consumers without altering headline tariffs.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea is restructuring its “NonStopHero” packs, limiting unlimited data benefits to night hours in several circles. The move trims usage flexibility while keeping plan positioning largely intact.
Another common tactic is bundling. Operators are increasingly pairing plans with OTT subscriptions such as streaming services, framing price adjustments as value additions even when the core offering remains largely unchanged.
The broader goal behind these moves is to lift ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), a key profitability metric in the telecom business. Airtel is targeting an ARPU of around Rs 300, up from roughly Rs 250, while Jio is under pressure to demonstrate stronger revenue growth ahead of a potential IPO. For Vodafone Idea, the urgency is more immediate as it seeks higher cash flows to fund 5G expansion and manage outstanding dues.
Industry estimates suggest that these incremental changes are a precursor to a larger, industry-wide tariff hike of 15 to 20 per cent, likely towards the end of 2026. The delay in announcing a full-scale increase is partly due to macroeconomic concerns, including inflation and volatile fuel prices, which could dampen consumer sentiment.
The push to monetise 5G is also gathering pace. After investing more than Rs 3 lakh crore in next-generation networks, operators are expected to gradually phase out free 5G data and reposition it as a premium service.
For consumers, the impact is already visible in small but steady increases in monthly bills. For telcos, however, this is a carefully choreographed build-up, easing users into higher spending before the bigger pricing reset arrives.
