MAM
Piyush Pandey to receive 2012 Clio Lifetime Achievement Award
MUMBAI: The Clio Awards, an awards competition honouring excellence in advertising, design and communications, has named Piyush Pandey as the recipient of the 2012 Clio Lifetime Achievement Award.
Pandey, the executive chairman and creative director of South Asia for Ogilvy & Mather India, will be the first person from the region to receive the distinction.
With an ad career spanning three decades, Pandey is often revered to as “the godfather of Indian advertising” by peers. He will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 53rd annual Clio Awards ceremony, taking place on 15 May in New York.
The Clio Lifetime Achievement Award recognises the outstanding creative contributions of an individual who leads the advertising community forward.
Clio director Karl Vontz said, “Piyush truly embodies the spirit of this award. He not only possesses wonderful creative vision, but he is a great leader who motivates everyone around him with his enthusiasm and passion. We look forward to celebrating his body of work and his ongoing contributions in the field of advertising.”
Pandey, the recipient of the 2010 Advertising Agencies Association of India Lifetime Achievement Award, has won five CLIO Awards to date. Under his leadership, the Economic Times, India‘s leading business newspaper, has rated O&M the number one advertising agency in the country eight times in a row. The paper also named Pandey the most influential man in Indian advertising for eight straight years. With more than 600 international awards to its credit, O&M India is ranked among the most creative offices in the entire O&M network.
Under Pandey‘s stewardship, O&M India weathered the storm of the 2009 worldwide financial crisis and won Media Magazine‘s Office Of The Year Award. In the same year, Pandey unveiled mobile service provider Vodafone’s popular ZooZoo characters, a social phenomenon that swept India.
Clio established its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Pandey will join the ranks of such previous honorees as director/cinematographer Tony Kaye (2001); Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO co-founder David Abbott (2002) and former Ogilvy & Mather and WPP worldwide creative director Neil French (2003).
MAM
BLR Airport Launches ‘Connections’ Service to Ease Transit Travel
New initiative targets smoother transfers as Bengaluru hub traffic rises 30 per cent.
MUMBAI: Missed connections may be a traveller’s nightmare but Bengaluru is trying to make them a thing of the past. Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (BLR Airport) has rolled out ‘Connections by BLR’, a new transfer programme designed to take the friction out of connecting journeys. Built around three pillars ease, efficiency and experience,the initiative aims to simplify what is often the most stressful leg of air travel.
The move comes as transfer traffic at BLR Airport climbs sharply, up more than 30 per cent year-on-year. Transfers currently account for around 15 per cent of total passenger traffic and are projected to touch 20 per cent by 2026, signalling a clear shift in how the airport is positioning itself within airline networks.
At its core, the programme focuses on making navigation intuitive and downtime more comfortable. Dedicated transfer desks have been set up across terminals, supported by colour-coded wayfinding blue and yellow signage designed for quick recognition. Inter-terminal movement is being streamlined through complimentary shuttle services with predictable wait times, while designated transfer zones aim to reduce passenger confusion.
Beyond logistics, the airport is leaning into experience. Travellers in transit now have access to a wider choice of lounges, curated retail and food and beverage options, as well as sleeping pods for short stays. For longer layovers, transit hotels in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 offer boutique in-terminal accommodation, an increasingly sought-after feature as global travel patterns evolve.
The timing is strategic. BLR Airport now connects to 114 passenger destinations 80 domestic and 34 international with key routes spanning Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune domestically, and Singapore, London Heathrow, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur internationally. Recent additions such as Hindon, Bidar and Silchar within India, alongside Dammam, Hanoi and Riyadh overseas, are further expanding its reach.
Infrastructure is also catching up with ambition. Developments including the West Cross Taxiway, Terminal 1 refurbishment and Terminal 2 expansion are laying the groundwork for higher capacity and smoother operations critical for any airport aiming to become a serious transfer hub.
Bangalore International Airport Limited chief operating officer Girish Nair framed the initiative as both a response to demand and a forward-looking play. He pointed to the growing depth of the airport’s network and the opportunity to build a more reliable transfer ecosystem that benefits both passengers and airline partners.
In an era where travel is as much about transitions as destinations, BLR Airport is betting that a seamless connection might just be the journey’s most important upgrade.
