MAM
R K Swamy BBDO instrumental in Indian Airlines makeover
MUMBAI: The complete identity change of Indian Airlines to ‘Indian,’ which was carried out on 7 December, has been handled by R K Swamy BBDO.
The makeover encompasses everything from the new brand name and logo to a change in the livery of all its aircraft, beginning with the arrival of the brand new A319 Airbus.
Signifying continuity with change, the new look of the airline communicates a bold, striking, progressive and distinctive image for the airline. It is a contemporary graphic representation inspired by the wheel of the Sun Temple at Konark, which symbolises timeless motion, convergence and divergence. It also embodies the solidity and trust that has stood the test of time.
“It was a major challenge to us, to capture the essence of the brand, and to deliver a distinct and bold look. The result is there for all to see. We had a resounding appreciation from the entire top management of Indian Airlines when the graphics were unveiled,” said R K Swamy BBDO executive director Ajit Shah, who led the team on the project.
All existing aircraft will be painted with the new livery over a period of 12-18 months along with the airport signages, tickets and boarding passes, and all contact points between the customer and the airline.
The identity change exercise was assigned to R K Swamy BBDO in September, after a pitch amongst the empanelled agencies of Indian Airlines. Thereafter, a design team led by Pranvir Mann and Ajmer Pratap Singh, creative directors in the agency’s Delhi office, explored numerous options based on the brief that the new look should be quintessentially Indian, yet signify a modern and contemporary image for the airline.
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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.
