MAM
M&E thought leaders, HR heads to kick off first Media HR Summit
MUMBAI: The first edition of Indiantelevision.com’s Media HR Summit kicks off today with a stellar line up of thought leaders from India’s media and entertainment industry.
With ‘Building human capital in a disruptive world’ as its theme, the day-long conference is an endeavour to delve deep into the challenges the M&E industry faces today and understand how corporate and HR leaders are steering their companies into the future as they seek to attract, develop and retain talent.
The summit, organised in partnership with Zee, will comprise panel discussions, fireside chats and presentations.
“The Indian Media & Entertainment Industry is at an inflection point where convergence, consolidation and technological innovations are reshaping all parts of the M&E value chain. The oft-repeated cliché “what got us here, won’t get us there,” has never been more relevant. Talent capability & availability both are amongst the biggest challenges we need to address to successfully navigate the emerging landscape. It is imperative that we build and retain a workforce that is ready for a generational shift in skills. We are proud to partner with Indiantelevision.com’s 1st Media HR Summit that aims to address these challenges and help HR leaders across sectors to share thoughts and perspectives on building a dynamic workplace in a digitally transformative world,” Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd chief people officer Animesh Kumar said.
Some of the key themes that will be discussed at the Media HR summit will include culture and chemistry, emerging trends in HR, employee engagement models, building equity in the workplace, empowering a network of leaders, future-focused people strategies and changing nature of employment.
The summit will see speaker representation across the M&E spectrum – broadcasters, media agencies, and production houses – as well as veteran HR leaders.
Discovery’s Megha Tata, MullenLowe Lintas Group’s Heather Saville Gupta, Mondelez’s Priyadarshini Gupta, Publicis’ Nikhil Natekar, Dentsu Aegis Network’s Sunil Seth, Shemaroo Entertainment’s Jai Maroo among others will offer their insights into the changing HR dynamics during the conference.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
