MAM
Times of India creates roadblock for Volkswagen brands
MUMBAI: Taking advantage of the economic slowdown, advertisers have worked out a new formula in what they term as a roadblock strategy.
Television channels were the first to benefit from this with HUL blocking out all ads on Star and Zee network channels so that its brands maximise their exposure and, hence, impact.
The print is catching on to this trend as advertisers pay a premium to let only their brands find commercial space on that “roadblocked” day.
The Times of India (TOI) has created the first print roadblock for German car manufacturer Volkswagen across its edition of 11 November.
Volkswagen has spent around Rs 100 million for the one- day roadblock, as per industry estimates.
As part of the roadblock, all Volkswagen brands including Jetta, Passat and Touareg have been advertised on all editions of TOI today.
This is Volkswagen‘s first India campaign which MediaCom, the media agency for the car brand, has crafted for the region.
TOI claims that the idea behind the roadblock is to co-create a single-engagement proposition for Volkswagen, thereby creating a huge impact.
Earlier in September, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) blocked an entire day on Star and Zee networks and consumed the entire advertising airtime.
Ads of 20 HUL brands ran across 10 channels of the Star network including Star Plus, Star One, Star Gold, Star Utsav, Star Movies, Star World, Channel [V], Star Jalsha, Star Pravah and Star Vijay on 17 September.
On 24 September, a similar exercise was repeated on the Zee network with HUL running ads across 25 Zee channels.
HUL repeated the roadblock on the Star network channels on 29 October.
MAM
Gurpreet Singh named President of DishTV Alumni Network
Former Dish TV executive to lead community building and collaboration.
MUMBAI: Back to the dish, but this time it’s about connections, not channels Gurpreet Singh is returning to familiar territory with a new mandate that swaps subscribers for relationships. Singh has been appointed President of the DishTV Alumni Network, a move aimed at strengthening ties among former employees and building a more engaged professional community around the Dish TV ecosystem. The initiative reflects a growing trend among large organisations to formalise alumni networks as platforms for collaboration, mentorship and business opportunities.
The appointment draws on Singh’s deep-rooted history with Dish TV, where he held multiple leadership roles over nearly a decade. As National Business Head between June 2019 and September 2020, he oversaw profit and loss as well as operations, managing revenues of Rs 6,000 crore and leading a team of around 1,250 employees across the country. His tenure included working alongside two regional business heads and 16 circle heads, underscoring the scale of operations he handled.
Prior to that, Singh served as Executive Vice President and National Head for Sales and Revenue from 2016 to 2019, and earlier as Senior Vice President and National Head for Sales and Revenue. He also briefly led international operations as Country Head for Sri Lanka, further expanding his exposure across markets.
His broader career spans leadership roles across telecom and consumer businesses, including a stint as Chief Operating Officer at Bharti Airtel’s Malawi operations, senior leadership roles at Reliance Communications, and earlier positions at Hindustan Sanitaryware and Kodak India, where he spent over a decade.
In his new role, Singh is expected to focus on reconnecting former employees, fostering collaboration, and building a structured alumni ecosystem that leverages shared experience and industry networks. As companies increasingly recognise the long-term value of their extended workforce, the DishTV Alumni Network appears set to turn nostalgia into a strategic asset, one connection at a time.
