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Panasonic wins Dentsu Advertising Grand Award
MUMBAI: Panasonic Corporation has been named as the winner of the Dentsu Advertising Grand Award, taking the highest honor in the Japanese advertising industry.
The independent body – Dentsu Advertising Awards Screening Committee, announced the recipients of the 68th Dentsu Advertising Awards.
This was the 31st time that Panasonic has received the Dentsu Advertising Grand Award, but the first time since the company changed its name from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. to Panasonic Corporation on 1 October, 2008. The last time that the company won the award was in May 2008.
The winners of the top awards at the 68th Dentsu Advertising Awards are as follows:
Dentsu Advertising Awards:
Newspaper: IHI Corporation
Magazine: Suntory Holdings Limited
Radio: Panasonic Corporation
Television: POLA INC.
Outdoor: Panasonic Corporation
Digital: 3M Japan Limited
Sales Promotion: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
Integrated Campaign Award: Kirin Beverage Company, Limited / EZAKI GLICO CO., LTD. collaboration
The final selections were made at the general meeting of the Dentsu Advertising Awards Screening Committee, which convened on 29 May, 2015 at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.
Winners were selected in the seven categories of newspaper advertising, magazine advertising, radio advertising, television advertising, outdoor advertising, digital advertising and sales promotion advertising for the Dentsu Advertising Awards, Excellence Awards and Outstanding Awards. Also announced were the joint recipients of the Integrated Campaign Award.
Outstanding work in advertising in the three regions of Nagoya, Kyushu and Hokkaido was recognized through the Area Advertising Award and Area Advertising Associate Award.
The winners were selected from among advertisements that ran between 1 April, 2014 and 31 March, 2015. A total of 1,467 entries were submitted to the Screening Committee, with 363 of these being considered during the final selection phase.
Regional screenings were conducted in the five areas of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kyushu and Hokkaido beginning in April 2015. The works selected during this initial process were then narrowed down at a meeting of the National Final Selection Committee held in Tokyo from 25 to 28 May, and these were then presented at the General Meeting of the Dentsu Advertising Awards Screening Committee for determination of the final award winners. A total of 61 prizes were awarded.
The awards will be presented at the 68th Dentsu Advertising Awards Ceremony, to be held on 1 July, 2015 in Tokyo.
All of the award-winning advertising works will be exhibited at the Advertising Museum Tokyo in Shiodome, Tokyo from 6 August to 26 September.
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
