MAM
Weekend Unwind with: Tanya Swetta CEO & co-founder of Id8 Media solutions
Mumbai : In this week’s edition of informal Q&As with industry execs through IndianTelevision.com’s Weekend Unwind series, we have Id8 Media solutions CEO & co-founder Tanya Swetta sharing her musings and nuggets on work and life.
With a passion for managing brands and the drive to deliver the best branding experiences in the industry, Tanya chalked id8 media solutions into reality in 2001. The groundwork for going global was laid on the East Coast of the US in 2018. Today, the agency is a full-service integrated marketing solution with a brick-and-mortar office headquartered in Mumbai and the first global office in New York. Having launched their agency in The Big Apple, Tanya also won the Indian Achievers’ Award for CEO of the Year recently. ‘Innovative’ & ‘unflappable’ is how she describes herself, even as she believes that there are no shortcuts to success.
So here goes…
A book you are currently reading/plan to read
I am currently listening to this amazing podcast “The power of your subconscious mind” by Weird Humming Bird on Spotify- it’s life-changing! Another book I just finished was the autobiography of Rafael Nadal. I am looking forward to reading about the life of Elon Musk
Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic
My fitness mantra has always been – a healthy body is a healthy mind. During the pandemic, especially the lockdown, I decided to put my focus back on yoga and meditation, with a strong focus on building core strength. Usually, my exercise routine consists of a mix of yoga, swimming, walking and meditation
Your comfort food is
Always chocolate! (Everything in moderation of course)
When the chips are down a quote/philosophy that keeps you going
Remember always: Life has its shares of ups and downs, it’s cyclical and always moving. My mantras are
1. Consistency is key
2. Practice makes perfect
3. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel
4. Just do it!
5. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger
Your guilty pleasure
A luxurious completely pampering spa treatment
When was the last time you tried something new?
Recently, tried my hand at the sport of skiing, it was exhilarating and amazing
A life lesson you learnt the hard way
Never burn bridges
What gets you excited about life?
The beauty of our planet earth, accomplishments and achievements, inspirational stories of real-life heroes and so on
What’s on top of your bucket list?
A visit to Hawaii
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Be wise, do not give out your trade secrets, always know that there is someone right behind you waiting to take your spot, so be bang on always
One thing you would most like to change about the world
How we as human beings treat our fellow living creatures and plants
An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times –
Listening to and reading inspirational stories, exercising, spending time with my family and my gal pals
What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
My two daughters and my husband- my soul mate
Your go-to stress buster
The movie “Zindagi na milegi dobara”
Your Mantra for life
Be kind
AD Agencies
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.
