MAM
MediaCom India bags Roche Diagnostics media AOR
MUMBAI: MediaCom India has won the media mandate for Roche Diagnostics India following a multi-agency pitch.
The agency will handle all traditional and digital media for the company and its flagship brand Accu-Chek. Roche Diagnostics will be managed out of the west region. The pitch was led by MediaCom Mumbai GM Deepa Jatkar.
MediaCom India MD Debraj Tripathy said, “We are delighted to partner with Roche Diagnostics in India and look forward to contributing to their growth. Our team is excited and is looking forward to working on building the brand.”
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strength in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.
The company’s India and neighbouring markets’ business unit head Sidhartha Roy said, “We are happy to work with MediaCom. We are keen on partnering with MediaCom as we think their strengths in analytics and planning will add value to our business and is in line with our brand requirement.”
Brands
Buffett bets on The New York Times, cuts Amazon stake
Berkshire invests $352 million in NYT, trims tech, and backs insurance, energy and consumer stocks.
OMAHA: Warren Buffett is famously a creature of habit, but his latest portfolio shake-up suggests even the world’s most patient investor knows when to change the channel. In a move that has sent the media world into a frenzy, Berkshire Hathaway has officially checked into The New York Times while largely checking out of Amazon.
Buffett’s firm snapped up roughly 5.1 million shares in The New York Times Company, a stake valued at a cool $352 million. The Buffett effect was immediate: shares in the publishing giant jumped more than 10 per cent as investors scrambled to follow the leader.
While Buffett offloaded his traditional local newspapers back in 2020, this isn’t a nostalgic trip to the printing press. The New York Times is now a digital powerhouse, fueled by a buffet of subscriptions covering everything from breaking news to Wordle and recipes. It seems the sage of Omaha still has an appetite for businesses with pricing power and a loyal following.
Berkshire slashed its holdings in Amazon by nearly 75 per cent during the final quarter of the year. Once a rare foray into the world of big tech for Buffett, the firm now holds a relatively modest 2.3 million shares. The pruning did not stop there, as other household names also saw a haircut. Apple was reduced to a 1.5 per cent position, while Bank of America was trimmed to 7.1 per cent, signalling a broader pullback from some of its large financial and technology bets.
So, where is the money going? It appears Buffett is heading back to basics, favoring sectors that can weather a storm. Berkshire boosted its positions in Chubb, doubling down on the steady world of insurance; Chevron, fueling up on energy; and Domino’s Pizza, a classic consumer bet that delivers even when the economy doesn’t.
By pivoting toward resilient industries and subscription-heavy media, Berkshire is returning to its roots: finding companies that people simply cannot live without, whether they are hungry for a slice of pepperoni or the morning headlines.
