MAM
Parle weaves threads of empathy, prayer and charity with new digital film
Mumbai: In an effort to celebrate solidarity and hope, Parle Products, India’s leading biscuits, confectionery & snacks & bakery manufacturer, has kicked off #EkBadiDua Ramzan campaign digitally during the holiest month in Islam to engage with Muslim audiences. The campaign aims to meaningfully build long-lasting consumer connections and drive growth.
Ramzan is a sacred month marked by fasting from dawn to dusk, an emphasis on charity, sharing meals with loved ones and preparing for Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month. It is also the time of increased consumerism and elevated attention to shopping. However, Ramadan 2020 is faced with a pandemic that has disrupted movement, supply chains and businesses around the world. The pandemic has revealed the capacity and shortcomings of every nation. While daily wagers are struggling to make ends meet, we are seeing unemployment, salary cuts, enforcement of unpaid leave and significantly increased work hours of frontline workers that has made people more aware, empathetic towards others and conscious about safety.
The campaign #EkBadiDua urges people to participate and highlight their efforts of goodwill to spread joy and positivity during these challenging times. The digital film showcases a father explaining to his son that no dua (wish) is small and this is a difficult time for everyone around us. The father wants to imprint his values of compassion, gratitude, empathy, and charity in his son.
Parle Products senior category head Krishnarao Buddha said: “The Holy Month of Ramadan is a time when people reflect on what truly matters: health, family, wellbeing and human relationships. Today, we pray for the sick, the frightened, those who have died, and those who grieve. Through this digital film, we would also like everyone to lend a helping hand for those in need. At Parle, it has always been important for us to connect with our consumers, maintain open lines of communication and keep them informed at this challenging time.”
The film will be released on social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and O.T.T Platforms. To view the video: Parle #EkBadiDua
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
