MAM
Viacom Digital Media partners with Autobytel for automotive portal
MUMBAI: The Viacom Television Stations Digital Media Group has partnered with the California-based internet automotive marketing services company Autobytel to bring automotive information to its newly designed station websites as part of the previously announced “Always On” digital media initiative.
Autobytel will provide comprehensive vehicle information, state-of-the-art research tools, video test drives, reviews, reports and more to each of the Viacom Television Station’s websites.
Visitors to each of the newly designed and re-launched websites will now have access to automotive information on the local station’s homepage. In addition to reading articles and reviews, users will have the ability to choose a vehicle, submit a request to buy a new or used vehicle and receive a no haggle price quote from Autobytel member dealers in their local market. Autobytel’s content, stories and updates will be supported by each television station’s broadcast and broadband video creating a very unique and powerfully informative local automotive portal, stated an official release.
“Autobytel is pleased to have been selected to provide online services to one of the largest media companies in the world,” Autobytel president & CEO Rick Post said. “The new auto channel, which is designed to help Viacom’s visitors make smart, confident car-buying decisions, is another example of Viacom’s focus on providing the best Internet resources for its vast consumer audience.”
“The combination of our local station’s content and Autobytel’s auto research and car buying platform provides our local market users with instant access to the very popular online automotive category,” Viacom Television Stations Digital Media Group president & GM Jonathan Leess said. “The database and local inventory that Autobytel provides to our television websites helps to enhance the goals we’ve set for the ‘Always On’ initiative.”
The group will be re-launching websites for all of its CBS stations, including wcbstv.com (New York) the week of August 1, kyw.com (Philadelphia) on September 13 and wbz.com (Boston) on September 19. The station websites in Salt Lake City (kutv.com), Minneapolis (wcco.com), Denver (cbs4denver.com), San Francisco (cbs5.com), Chicago (cbs2chicago.com), and most recently, Baltimore (wjz.com), have already launched. In total, 17 CBS stations will re-launch their websites in 2005, followed by UPN stations in 2006, the release added.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
