MAM
Promax & BDA: NBC’s ‘The Agency’ dominates
MUMBAI: The Promax, 2005 BDA Awards and 2005 Promax &BDA world gold awards, a combined ceremony which took place at the Marriott Marquis hotel in New York saw the MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann, being recognized for his role as host of the hit nightly newscast, Countdown.
The highlights from the awards show were as follows:
Alfred Greenberg and Tom Dawson were honoured by a standing ovation as two of the original founding fathers of Promax &BDA. Mary Kellogg, Mike Mischler and Martin Lambie-Nairn were inducted into the Promax Hall of fame.
NBC’s The Agency dominated the North American categories, taking home an unprecedented 28 Promax Awards. The creative services agency picked up 19 golds and nine silvers for everything from copywriting to program promotion across various genres to marketing presentation, sound design and music package. The 2005 Aerodrome Rocket Award, which recognises the work of an outstanding producer, marketer or designer with four or less years of experience in promotion, marketing or design, went to Adam Swaab of Blur Studios.
Other big winners in the North America division were Voom, with 12 golds and 11 silvers, and Canadian-based Alliance Atlantis with 14 golds and four silvers. Direct TV picked up eight gold and six silver; while the combined wins of WB Television Network (four golds and seven silvers), The WB100+ Station Group (seven golds and two silvers), Warner Brothers (three golds and one silvers), Warner Brothers International Television (one gold and one silver) and Warner Brothers Domestic Cable Distribution (one gold), gave the group a family win of 27 Promax Awards. WNBC, the NBC affiliate in New York City, was the big individual station winner, picking up five golds and three silver PROMAX Awards.
Among the international world gold Promax Award winners, BBC Broadcast led the way with 21 awards, earning 13 Gold and eight Silver. Star India took home nine golds and six silvers, while Fox International Italy picked up eight golds and six silvers. Two companies tied with a total of 12 awards each. BSkyB picked up four golds and eight silvers; while Seven Network Australia took home five golds and seven silvers World Gold Promax Awards.
Asia’s Star Group picked up the most World Gold BDA Awards with six golds, eight silvers and 12 bronzes. BSkyB picked up a total of 13 World Gold BDA Awards, with six Gold, three Silver and four Bronze. Close behind was Mexico-based OnceTV, which picked up six Gold, five Silver and one Bronze for a total of 12.
On the North American front, Fox Sports dominated with a total of 23 BDA Awards, with eight Gold, ten Silver and five Bronze. Turner Classic Movies had a total of 16 awards with 12 Gold, three Silver and one Bronze; while Comedy Central four Gold, three Silver and five Bronze for a total of 12 BDA Awards.
Promax &BDA CEO Jim Chabin paid special thanks to Joe Revello for producing the show. Following the festivities, Paramount sponsored Entertainment Tonight, the post-awards show party in the Broadway Lounge of the Marriott Marquis.
Brands
Nodwin Gaming appoints Sonal Varma as global director of live events
Former Comic Con India VP to scale global gaming and pop culture experiences
MUMBAI: Nodwin Gaming has appointed Sonal Varma as global director of live events, bringing on board a seasoned architect of fan communities as the company accelerates its global push in gaming, esports and youth culture.
Varma steps into the role with more than 15 years of experience creating large-scale fan experiences and cultural platforms. She is best known for her long stint at Comic Con India, where she most recently served as vice president and helped transform the convention into one of the country’s most recognisable pop culture gatherings.
At Nodwin Gaming, Varma will lead the strategy, design and execution of the company’s global live event initiatives. Her mandate includes expanding flagship intellectual properties and developing new formats that bring gaming communities together across emerging markets.
Over the years, Varma has been closely associated with building and scaling community-led events such as Comic Con India, Geekly and the Indian Cosplay Championship. Her work has focused on turning niche fandoms into thriving cultural ecosystems by blending entertainment, creator culture and brand partnerships.
Her appointment comes at a time when Nodwin Gaming is expanding its international events footprint through properties such as DreamHack India, NH7 Weekender, Comic Con India and the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series. The company has also been growing its presence across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa through esports tournaments, gaming festivals and fan conventions.
Nodwin Gaming co-founder and managing director Akshat Rathee, said Varma’s experience in building fan-centric platforms would play a key role in the company’s next phase of growth.
“Sonal brings a deep understanding of how live experiences can bring communities together around gaming and pop culture. As we expand our global live events footprint, her experience will help us create experiences that feel authentic and meaningful for audiences across markets,” he said.
Varma said the scale of opportunity at Nodwin Gaming made the move particularly exciting.
“Joining Nodwin Gaming at this moment feels incredibly exciting because the canvas is so large. There are new audiences, new markets and new formats waiting to be explored. I’m looking forward to working with teams across the network to create live experiences that celebrate gaming culture while staying rooted in the communities that power it,” she said.
Over the past few years, Nodwin Gaming has built an ecosystem that stretches across competitive gaming, creator communities, music festivals and youth culture platforms. With Varma now leading global live events, the company is looking to further expand its flagship properties while experimenting with new formats that blend gaming, entertainment and fandom for audiences around the world.
