MAM
Shahrukh Khan’s KBC 3 debut draws strong ratings
MUMBAI: Shahrukh Khan seems to have cast magic on the ratings as he played host for the first time in the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, replacing megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
Putting all anxiety to rest for the broadcaster Star Plus, KBC 3 opened with a market share of 24.36 per cent in the Hindi speaking segment of NWE (north, west, east) India, according to aMap’s overnight TV rating system.
In comparison to the previous Mondays of 2007, iin which Star Plus garnered 12.4 per cent, this is not only a much larger share but almost double of the average ratings.
The actual number of viewers that were reached by KBC 3 in NWE India is 9.16 million. On an All India Level 10.29 million people were reached. And with Tamil general entertainment channel Star Vijay also adding up the audiences, 11.3 million people were reached on an All India level.
aMap highlighted a key trend of the programme on its opening day that indicates that ‘King Khan’ managed to retain the viewers after every break taken. The ratings kept on increasing after each break, and the last sequence got the highest ratings.
The show managed a jump of 91.5 per cent for the ratings per cent of Star Plus and almost all Star channels and genres got impacted due to the show.
In fact, 1.3 million people switched on their TV sets just to watch KBC, in NWE India. In terms of SEC, SEC A and B got higher numbers than the others. The ratings show that the more affluent target groups watched a lot more of KBC. Target groups like graduates, businessmen, self-employed professionals got the highest numbers.
Additionally, people living in small households, four and below, got more ratings than people staying in households with five more people.
Also, among the 20 brands that advertised on the show, Motorola’s Motophone advertisment was rated the highest.
Analysts are, however, cautious, saying that the ratings have to be watched over a longer period to arrive at any conclusions.
AD Agencies
Omnicom Advertising Asia assembles new regional leadership team
The group is betting that a blend of creative talent, cultural intelligence and AI-driven data can help brands stay relevant in the world’s most complex marketing region.
Asia has long been the market that humbles the overconfident. Omnicom Advertising Asia is determined not to be among them.
The group announced on Monday the formation of a new regional leadership team of six senior executives, reporting to Sean Donovan, president of OA Asia. The structure is designed to help brands navigate a fragmented, fast-moving consumer landscape and build what Donovan calls “long-term cultural relevance” — the kind that survives a news cycle, a platform shift and an algorithm update.
The team
The six appointments span creativity, innovation, strategy, intelligence, business development and marketing, covering the full arc from brand idea to commercial outcome.
Peter Khoury takes on the role of chief creative officer for OA Asia, Melissa Daniels becomes chief innovation officer, and Emmanuel Sabbagh steps up as chief strategy officer. All three take on expanded regional responsibilities while retaining their leadership positions at TBWA\Singapore.
Andreas Krasser broadens his remit to chief client partner for OA Asia, continuing simultaneously as chief executive of OA Hong Kong. Ellie Brocklehurst joins as chief growth and marketing officer, drawing on her previous stint as chief marketing officer for Asia at TBWA. Rounding out the team is S. Subramanyeswar, known in the industry as Subbu, who was appointed chief knowledge officer for OA Asia alongside his role as chief strategy officer of OA India, a position that followed the close of Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG.The pitch
The team will work in close collaboration with leadership across TBWA, McCann and BBDO throughout the OA Asia network, with a brief to cut through the noise of today’s consumer landscape and deliver creative solutions that, in the group’s framing, prove short-term performance while building long-term brand health.
Underpinning the new structure is OMNI, Omnicom’s AI-driven marketing intelligence platform. The platform draws cultural intelligence from across the group’s agency brands, with the stated aim of ensuring that data is not merely accurate but grounded in context — reflecting how people actually think, feel and behave, rather than how a spreadsheet might prefer them to.
Donovan frames the proposition in straightforward terms. “Asia is one of the most complex regions for marketers, but the opportunity here is immense,” he says. “We’ve built a team that simplifies the landscape, combining top talent with an Asia-first, future-focused mindset, and unprecedented access to resources.” The model, he adds, is designed to be plug-and-play, responding to client needs in collaboration with agencies and markets across the region. “More than expertise, it’s about giving clients the perspective, ambition and access to think beyond the next campaign.”
The new structure also strengthens connections across the broader Omnicom family, including its media, production and PR operations — a post-acquisition suite of capabilities that the group is evidently keen to deploy as a single, coherent offering.
In a region where consumer attention is fractured across dozens of platforms, languages and cultures, the real test will not be the org chart. It will be whether six smart people with the right tools can actually make brands matter. Omnicom is putting its money on yes.
