<ul><li><keyword id="248051" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Bhasin" source="Orion">Ashish Bhasin</keyword> will be the ex-officio member of the new AAAI Executive Committee.</li><li><keyword id="232445" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prasanth-Kumar" source="Orion">Prasanth Kumar</keyword>, CEO, Group M Media India, was re-elected as Vice-President of the Association.</li></ul><keyword id="937472" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anupriya-acharya" source="Orion">Anupriya Acharya</keyword>, CEO- South Asia, <keyword id="226149" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Publicis-Groupe" source="Orion">Publicis Groupe</keyword>, has been re-elected as President of the <keyword id="137213" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Advertising-Agencies-Association-of-India" source="Orion">Advertising Agencies Association of India</keyword> (AAAI) for the year 2021-22 at the AAAI's Annual General Body Meeting, held on 30th September 2021. Prasanth Kumar, CEO, Group M Media India, was re-elected as Vice-President of the Association. Other elected members of the Executive Committee in alphabetical order are: Ranadeb Barua (Havas Worldwide India Pvt Ltd) Mohit Joshi (Havas Media India Pvt Ltd) Kunal Lalani (Crayons Advertising Pvt Ltd) Rohan Mehta (Kinnect Media Pvt Ltd) Vivek Srivastava (Innocean Worldwide Communication Pvt Ltd) Immediate Past President, Ashish Bhasin will be the ex-officio member of the new AAAI Executive Committee. On this occasion, Anupriya Acharya, President AAAI, said “It’s a privilege to be re-elected for another term as the President of AAAI and I thank all the AAAI members for placing their trust in me and for their strong support. This past one year, given the pandemic backdrop, our key priority has been to assist our members in navigating the challenging times. Our Executive Committee has been steadfast on this and despite virtual meetings, it made tremendous progress. We have also taken multiple initiatives to pivot to the new Normal, make the association future-ready and drive inclusivity. In fact, I am delighted to share that beyond creative and media, now digital agencies too are taking keen interest and are becoming full-fledged members of the Association. With the markets opening up, the EC and I look forward to driving these initiatives further.” The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) is a not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed trade association of advertising agencies, formed in 1945, to promote their industry interests so that they continue to make an essential and ever-increasing contribution to the nation. The AAAI today is truly representative, with a very large number of small medium and large-sized agencies as its members, who together account for almost 80% of the advertising business placed in the country.

Anupriya Acharya re-elected President of Advertising Agencies Association of India

<ul><li><keyword id="937472" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anupriya-Acharya">Anupriya Acharya</keyword>, Publicis Groupe’s CEO, South Asia has been elected as the President of <keyword id="137213" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Advertising-Agencies-Association-of-India">Advertising Agencies Association of India</keyword> for the year 2020-21.</li><li><keyword id="232445" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prasanth-Kumar">Prasanth Kumar</keyword> CEO, South Asia, GroupM was unanimously elected Vice-President of the Association. </li><li><keyword id="248051" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Bhasin">Ashish Bhasin</keyword> will be the ex-officio member of the AAAI Executive Committee for 2020-21 as its immediate past President.</li></ul> Ashish Bhasin, President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has handed over charge of AAAI to Anupriya Acharya, Publicis Groupe’s CEO, South Asia, who was elected as the President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2020-21 at its Annual General Body Meeting. Prasanth Kumar CEO, South Asia, GroupM was unanimously elected Vice-President of the Association. Other elected members of the Executive Committee in alphabetical order are: <ul><li><keyword id="7491447" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anand-Bhadkamkar">Anand Bhadkamkar</keyword>, <keyword id="6368370" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="dentsu-aegis-network">Dentsu Aegis Network</keyword> Marketing Solutions Pvt Ltd</li><li>Kunal Lalani, Crayons Advertising Pvt Ltd</li><li><keyword id="138476" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mohit-Joshi">Mohit Joshi</keyword>, Havas Media India Pvt Ltd</li><li>Pranav Premnarayen, Prem Associates Advertising &amp; Marketing</li><li><keyword id="1193084" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rana-Barua">Rana Barua</keyword>, Havas Worldwide India Pvt Ltd</li><li>Vivek Srivastava, Innocean Worldwide Communications Pvt Ltd</li></ul> Ashish Bhasin will be the ex-officio member of the AAAI Executive Committee for 2020-21 as its immediate past President. On this occasion, Anupriya Acharya, President AAAI said, “It’s a tremendous honour and also an enormous responsibility to be elected as the President of such a prestigious organisation. I am acutely aware that our industry, like the rest of the world, has just witnessed the most unprecedented times and it’s a difficult time for most. The pandemic has only underscored the relevance of the collective thinking and the heightened role that AAAI can play. I will strive to do my best to further the interests of the advertising industry and take AAAI to greater heights as we emerge into the new normal. Many top advertising professionals have contributed very selflessly and relentlessly to the AAAI, both with and without executive positions. And that is what inspires me immensely as I take on this position. Many thanks to Ashish Bhasin for his leadership in the last two years as President – he has made great progress in making the association more inclusive, diverse and future-ready. Also thanks to all the Executive committee members and the secretariat for all the learning they have given me in the past many years”. Outgoing President Ashish Bhasin stated, “I have had the privilege to lead AAAI for two years as its president, I wish to thank all my fellow executive committee members for their wholehearted cooperation and valuable support. I would also like to congratulate Anupriya Acharya on her election as President. Anupriya has been a key member of the Indian media and advertising industry for a long time. I’m sure she will play a stellar role in taking forward the Association and its work. I wish her the very best for this role.” The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) is the apex national organisation of advertising agencies, formed in 1945, to promote their industry interests so that they continue to make an essential and ever-increasing contribution to the nation. The AAAI today is truly representative, with a large number of small, medium and large-sized agencies as its members, who together account for almost 80% of the advertising business placed in the country.

Anupriya Acharya and Prasanth Kumar elected as President and Vice-President of AAAI respectively

<ul><li>The Advertising Agencies Association of India will be conferring the annual <keyword id="188611" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="aaai" source="Orion">AAAI</keyword> Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021 on advertising veteran <keyword id="129772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="arvind-sharma" source="Orion">Arvind Sharma</keyword>.</li><li> This is the highest honour to be given to an individual in India for his/her outstanding contribution to the Advertising Industry.</li></ul>The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) today announced that AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021 will be conferred on advertising veteran Arvind Sharma. This is the highest honour to be given to an individual in India for his/her outstanding contribution to the Advertising Industry. Arvind Sharma, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, has had a long and successful career in the Indian Advertising industry. What made him a true industry leader was the way he managed to make people achieve more than what they thought they were capable of. As a young leader, he was tasked with making a local agency, Chaitra, transition into the Indian arm of <keyword id="131262" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="leo-burnett" source="Orion">Leo Burnett</keyword> Worldwide. Over two eventful decades he created an organization that was both formidable and flexible. In doing this, he turned a safe and conservative agency into a creative power center. Soon, the agency’s work on Thums Up, Bajaj, Heinz, P&amp;G and many others saw it taking on the big guns in creative pitches as well as award shows, becoming one of India’s early winners at Cannes. Arvind has also been responsible for several incredible talents that have blossomed under his watch. Making the announcement, <keyword id="937472" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anupriya-acharya" source="Orion">Anupriya Acharya</keyword>, President, AAAI, said, “Arvind Sharma has been a true pioneer. Apart from singlehandedly making Leo Burnett a top agency and a force to reckon with he has also groomed some of the finest talents in our industry. But more than that he has made a tremendous contribution to our industry across both the art and science of advertising. He is truly deserving of this honour.” Chairman of the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award Selection Committee, Ashish Bhasin said, “Arvind is a deserving winner of this prestigious honor. Not only has he been a successful advertising professional, he has also contributed significantly to the industry in various capacities, including as President of AAAI and a key driver in launching Goafest. I am pleased to say that the entire committee was unanimous in conferring this award upon Arvind.” The AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has been a practitioner of advertising for twenty-five years and had been in the top management position; has been or continues to be an active participant in industry bodies and or made significant contributions in shaping the industry priorities which enabled the advertising industry to grow, prosper and become more professionalized; individual known for his integrity, ethical practice and leadership qualities; contributed to his Company/Companies growth by innovative thinking and taking them in newer directions; involved in projects of social consequence which is seen as a role model for the industry at large and had been an industry veteran. Some of the past winners of this award include <keyword id="2890590" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="subhas-ghosal" source="Orion">Subhas Ghosal</keyword>, <keyword id="2095" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="alyque-padamsee" source="Orion">Alyque Padamsee</keyword>, Mike Khanna, <keyword id="5579220" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="r-k-swamy" source="Orion">R K Swamy</keyword>, Piyush Pandey, <keyword id="32716" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sam-balsara" source="Orion">Sam Balsara</keyword>, Prem Mehta, <keyword id="3112513" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="roda-mehta" source="Orion">Roda Mehta</keyword>, Ram Sehgal, Madhukar Kamath and others. The full list is given in Annexure-I for reference. The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) is the national organisation of advertising agencies, formed in 1945, to promote their industry interests so that they continue to make an essential and ever-increasing contribution to the nation. The AAAI today is truly representative, with a very large number of small, medium and large-sized agencies as its members, who together account for almost 80% of the advertising business placed in the country.

Arvind Sharma to be conferred with AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2021

<ul><li>AAAI will now allow <keyword id="546950" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital-agencies">digital agencies</keyword> to become full-fledged independent members.</li><li>This will in particular benefit standalone, independent digital agencies which were left out from the AAAI as membership was only open to Creative, Media &amp; Full Service Agencies. </li><li>Membership to the AAAI will not only help protect their interests, and give representation on industry forums, but also benefit the larger digital marketing ecosystem.</li></ul> In a significant move, the <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising">Advertising</keyword> Agencies Association of India (AAAI), the official national organisation of advertising agencies, has opened its doors to digital agencies by allowing them to be full-fledged independent members. This will in particular benefit standalone, independent digital agencies which were left out from the AAAI as membership was only open to Creative, Media &amp; Full Service Agencies. Membership to the AAAI not only helps protect their interests, and gives representation on industry forums, but also benefits the larger digital marketing ecosystem. <keyword id="248051" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Bhasin">Ashish Bhasin</keyword>, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India and CEO APAC &amp; Chairman India Dentsu Aegis Network, said, “ In order to future proof AAAI it is absolutely essential to include the Digital Agencies as our members since digital is an important and ever increasing part of our industry. With this in mind, <keyword id="937472" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anupriya-Acharya">Anupriya Acharya</keyword> was nominated by the Executive Committee of AAAI to drive the Digital Media Forum, which has now resulted in the opening up of Membership for the Digital Agencies to become full-fledged members of Advertising Agencies Association of India, for the first time in our 75 years of history as an association. On behalf of AAAI, I welcome the Digital Agencies to our membership fold and thank Anupriya Acharya for driving this initiative” Says Anupriya Acharya, AAAI Vice-President and Publicis Media India CEO, “With digital advertising becoming so mainstream, there are many digital agencies operating in this space now. Hence, it is important that AAAI begins incorporating these too, to be truly representative of the current industry environment. In order to enable greater participation from the digital agencies, we created the first-ever Digital Agency Forum wherein we got key leaders from digital agencies of existing AAAI members to identify important areas that are unique to the digital agencies and find solutions to address some of their challenges and opportunities.” The Digital Agency Forum focuses on areas such as Account shift protocols, Viewability standards and audience metrics, relationships with digital bodies, Best practices, Commercial norms, Talent &amp; training, to begin with, but will expand its role as it grows. The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) formed in 1945, is representative today of small, medium &amp; large-sized agencies. It is the Apex body of agencies in India and the spokesperson for the Advertising industry on all forums.

AAAI opens its doors to Digital agencies

<ul><li>Calls for the industry’s creative minds to design inspiring behavior change campaigns</li><li>Announces a special award ‘<keyword id="8665774" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-red-abby">The Red Abby</keyword>’ for the winning campaign that will be amplified across media channels ensuring reach and impact. </li></ul><keyword id="3051440" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Advertising-Club">The Advertising Club</keyword> (TAC) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (<keyword id="188611" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="AAAI">AAAI</keyword>) is calling the industry’s creative minds to design inspiring behavior change campaigns at <keyword id="8279044" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="goafest-2020">Goafest 2020</keyword>. The communication program will aid the fight against violence towards women. The winning campaign will be crowned with the newly instituted special award ‘The Red Abby’ that pays a tribute to the women of our country and their spirit. <div type="image" title="Creative _Goafest 2020_ Communication program to fight violence towards women" msid="73693472" hostid="261"></div>

 Speaking about the initiative, Ashish Bhasin, President AAAI, said, “Violence against women is an issue that has been a significant area of concern. It is critical that we as an industry that is responsible and renowned for driving awareness and building perceptions, use our collective capabilities for the betterment of society. We hope that this initiative will help us put together a high impact campaign that will empower women and help change mindsets.” Partho Dasgupta, President - The Advertising Club President, added, " Addressing the Indian Merchants Chamber, I spoke on this very critical issue and committed the support of the Advertising Club to try and see how communication can be a force for good and help change things for the women in our lives. I strongly believe that it is imperative that everyone from the industry comes together and leverages our circle of influence to bring about positive social change. “ The most effective and impactful campaign will be recognised through a special award at ABBY’s 2020. Leveraging the media linkages of The Advertising Club and AAA’s of I, the winning campaign will be amplified across media ensuring reach and impact.

Goafest 2020 calls for campaigns to fight violence against women; best creative to win The Red Abby

<ul><li>Organized by Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) &amp; The Advertising Club (TAC), the event will be held from 7th to 9th April, 2022.</li><li><keyword id="8989426" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jaideep-gandhi" source="Orion">Jaideep Gandhi</keyword> has been elected as the Chairman for the <keyword id="135079" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="goafest" source="Orion">Goafest</keyword> 2022.</li><li><keyword id="1193084" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rana-barua" source="Orion">Rana Barua</keyword> is the Chairman of the Awards Governing Council to the coveted <keyword id="138019" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="abby" source="Orion">ABBY</keyword>’s 2022.</li></ul>After a hiatus of 2 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Goafest is back for its 15th edition. The event that recognizes consummate industry talents is curated by Advertising Agencies Association of India &amp; The Advertising Club and is set to be held in Grand Hyatt, Goa from 7-9 April, 2022. The three-day grand event will be helmed by Jaideep Gandhi as the Chairman of the Goafest 2022 Organizing Committee. Rana Barua has been elected as Chairman of the Awards Governing Council for the renowned ABBY Awards 2022. Being organized from the last 50 years, ABBY Awards is a prestigious, one-of-its-kind ad award show which is attended by more than 1500 to 1800 professionals from the marketing, advertising, media, research and PR fraternity. Speaking about the 15th edition of Goafest, <keyword id="937472" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anupriya-acharya" source="Orion">Anupriya Acharya</keyword>, President, AAAI, said, “Goafest is the definitive festival for the advertising, media and marketing industry in the sub-continent. This time the festival is coming after a gap of two years and so one can imagine the anticipation the industry professionals will have! We also expect a lot of first timers this time given a lot of new young talent has joined in these two years. Goafest 2022 will be a good platform to celebrate our industry’s resilience as well as the potential.” On Mr. Jaideep Gandhi’s appointment as the Chairman, she further added, “Jaideep is a seasoned industry professional with vast experience on Goafest. Certainly, it will translate into a delightful and engaging festival experience for all.” Speaking about the return of the prestigious event, Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Goafest Organising Committee, said, “It’s the illustrious return of Goafest 2022, with its 15th edition, where recognition, innovation, collaboration and celebration all happen under the same sky. Ensuring all safety protocols that’re necessary in a post-pandemic world, I believe it’s time for the industry to rediscover the power, joy and magic of connecting once again in the real world. I’m grateful to the previous Chairmen ‘Mr. <keyword id="1635027" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nakul-chopra" source="Orion">Nakul Chopra</keyword>, Mr. Ashish Bhasin’ for the learnings I received from them and thankful to the President of AAAI - Ms. Anupriya Acharya for her continuous support and encouragement.” Ecstatic on the return of the premier event, <keyword id="274365" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="partha-sinha" source="Orion">Partha Sinha</keyword>, President, The Advertising Club and President, Times of India said, “The return of ABBY and Goafest not only mark the return of normalcy in the advertising, marketing and media landscape of India but it also underlines the reason for which most of like this profession – the celebration of excellence. The ABBYs is the highest honour in this country for excellence and we wanted to ensure that we bring the big one back with all its glory. We have used the hiatus to our advantage and the award will witness some big forward movements in this Goafest. Watch this space for more details.” On Mr. Rana Barua’s appointment as the Chairman, he added, “Rana has first-hand experiences of organising and winning both creative and media awards. His experience will be hugely beneficial as the Chairman of the Award Governing Council. It’s a complex job and we had to entrust the right person with that job.” Speaking about the forthcoming ABBY’s, Mr. Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India and Vice President, The Advertising Club and AGC Chairman, said, “After 2 extremely tough years for the industry, I am extremely happy to say that ABBY’s is back. ABBY’s has always been recognized as the best in creativity for our industry and winning Abby’s will continue to be an inspiration and motivation for the new generation of marketers, agencies and brand custodians. Since the period of entries will be from 16th February, 2019 to 15th February, 2021, I encourage all to come forward and celebrate their best work.” The Awards Governing Committee for ABBY’s Awards includes: Rana Barua, (AGC Chairman), Group CEO, Havas Group India Jaideep Gandhi, (Chairman – Goafest Organising Committee), Founder, Another Idea Partha Sinha, President, Times of India Shashi Sinha, CEO-India, IPG Mediabrands Ajay Kakar, Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Capital Limited Ajay Chandwani, Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club Malcom Raphael, Senior Vice-President, Times Response Anupriya Acharya, CEO South Asia, Publicis Groupe Prasanth Kumar, CEO-South Asia, GroupM Media (India) Pvt. Ltd. <keyword id="32716" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sam-balsara" source="Orion">Sam Balsara</keyword>, Chairman and Managing Director, Madison Communications Pvt. Ltd. Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman &amp; CEO, FCB Group India Hephzibah Pathak, Vice Chairperson &amp; Chief Client Officer India, Ogilvy &amp; Mather Pvt. Ltd. Presented by the Advertising Club and AAAI, the Goafest 2022 will once again see the entire advertising and marketing fraternity to come together in Goa from 7th to 9th April, 2022.

Goafest to be held in physical form between April 7-9

<ul><li>The <keyword id="3241635" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="asian-federation-of-advertising-associations" source="Orion">Asian Federation of Advertising Associations</keyword> at its General Body Meeting held on 1st December 2021, elected <keyword id="330918" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="srinivasan-swamy" source="Orion">Srinivasan Swamy</keyword> as its Chairman for a term of four years. </li><li>Swamy, a doyen of advertising, who is well known as the Chairman of R K SWAMY HANSA group, has held leadership positions in many industry bodies at a national and global level.</li></ul>The Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA), at its General Body Meeting held on 1st December 2021, elected Srinivasan Swamy as its Chairman for a term of four years. Swamy, a doyen of advertising, who is well known as the Chairman of R K SWAMY HANSA group, has held leadership positions in many industry bodies at a national and global level. He has been Chairman and World President of the <keyword id="1534752" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-advertising-association" source="Orion">International Advertising Association</keyword> (IAA), Chairman Confederation of Asian Advertising Agency Associations (CAAAA), President Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), IAA India Chapter, Chairman Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), President <keyword id="148548" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="all-india-management-association" source="Orion">All India Management Association</keyword> (AIMA), to name a few. Says Swamy, "This is a privilege not just for me but for the Indian marcom community at large. The AFAA not just hosts the prestigious AdAsia conference, but is also connected with AdStars, and runs the widely acclaimed FastTrack program where young professionals are trained and transformed in a three-day program. I look forward to making a meaningful contribution to the communications industry in Asia, as well as seeing how AFAA can work along with other global industry Associations and further the cause of professionalism." India gave AFAA two distinguished Chairmen in the past – <keyword id="12647838" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gautam-rakshit" source="Orion">Gautam Rakshit</keyword> and <keyword id="711507" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pradeep-guha" source="Orion">Pradeep Guha</keyword>. Unfortunately both of them passed away recently. AFAA is represented in India by the Advertising Council of India (ACI) whose members are The Advertising Club, Advertising Agencies Association of India, the India Chapter of International Advertising Association, <keyword id="12647839" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-broadcasting-and-digital-association" source="Orion">Indian Broadcasting and Digital Association</keyword> and the <keyword id="32717" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-society-of-advertisers" source="Orion">Indian Society of Advertisers</keyword>.

Srinivasan Swamy elected Chairman of The Asian Federation of Advertising Associations

<ul><li>After a hiatus of 2 years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, <keyword id="135079" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="goafest" source="Orion">Goafest</keyword> is back for its 15th edition.</li><li>Organized by <keyword id="137213" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising-agencies-association-of-india" source="Orion">Advertising Agencies Association of India</keyword> (AAAI) &amp; The Advertising Club (TAC), the event will be held from 5th May to 7th May.</li></ul>Goafest Organizing Committee today announced the change in dates for <keyword id="12725462" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="goafest-2022" source="Orion">Goafest 2022</keyword>, postponing it from April 7th - 9th to the 5th- 7th May 2022. This change will also facilitate extra time for the prestigious ‘One Show’ which has collaborated with the <keyword id="137220" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="abbys" source="Orion">Abbys</keyword>. Also, with Omicron cases on the decline, the committee truly believes that agencies and organizations will be more enthusiastic to participate in this iconic festival after a gap of two years. On the rescheduling of dates, Goafest Chairman Jaideep Gandhi said “Ad Club joining hands with ‘One Show’ will truly take the Abbys - India’s premier and longstanding tradition of creative excellence, to the world. However, keeping in mind the ongoing pandemic situation, we believe the celebration of this unique, game-changing partnership would be better experienced with the 15th edition of Goafest scheduled in May, 2022. After all, a celebration of creativity and innovation gets even better when the world around us is safer.” Speaking on the tie-up, <keyword id="937472" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anupriya-acharya" source="Orion">Anupriya Acharya</keyword>, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India said “I would like to congratulate <keyword id="322477" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ad-club" source="Orion">Ad Club</keyword> for the tie-up with ‘One Show’. The One Show is one of the most reputed advertising shows globally and further adds to the significance and the excitement around the festival that is returning after two long, eventful years. And similarly, the 2022 edition of Goafest provides a perfect platform for the redefined Abbys. There is much for everyone to come together and share at the festival.” Goafest is the definitive annual festival for the advertising, marketing and media industry - it attracts over 2000 people from across India. At the heart of this unique festival is an eclectic platter of knowledge, recognition, networking and of course, celebration that makes each day at this 3-days event a remarkable experience.

Goafest to now be held between May 05-07 in a physical form

<ul><li><keyword id="248051" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashish-Bhasin">Ashish Bhasin</keyword>, President of AAAI has sent a detailed set of recommendations on behalf of the members of AAAI, to the Union Minister of Information &amp; Broadcasting <keyword id="119642" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prakash-Javadekar">Prakash Javadekar</keyword>. </li><li>AAAI has asked by way of IT &amp; GST refunds from Government &amp; PSUs for their advertising bills to be settled immediately.</li><li>The recommendation has also asked for a direction to banks and the industry's debtors to provide the much needed cashflow to pay salaries and meet other essential expenses.</li></ul>Everyone has been witnessing with growing alarm the spread of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> across the globe and in India. Our country has been on a lockdown for a few weeks now and governments, both Central and the States, have taken many effective steps to reduce the impact of this pandemic. But all this is coming at a huge economic cost. The Advertising Agency business, like many other businesses have been seriously affected. The bulk of the agency’s costs are fixed in nature, be it salaries, rent, electricity, communication, upkeep, media audience measurement reports, etc. The income and cash flow has been in serious stress in the last month and unless there is some intervention, many businesses will either file for bankruptcy or will have to undersize considerably. INS and IBF, the media associations representing the interest of Print and TV respectively, have been kind enough to permit AAAI members to pay monies they have collected from their clients and not insist on what is due to them on the due dates. But the continuity of the Agencies business cannot be for long without the help of the Government of India. In this regard, Ashish Bhasin, President of AAAI has sent a detailed set of recommendations on behalf of the members of AAAI, to the Union Minister of Information &amp; Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar. In this he has stressed the importance of advertising industry for the accelerated revival of the economy. “What we have asked the Government is very reasonable. We want principally money that is owed to us by way of IT &amp; GST refunds, and dues from Government &amp; PSUs for our advertising bills to be settled immediately. We have also said that any payment made to us should not suffer any TDS deduction going forward, since there is unlikely to be any significant profit for the year. Further we have sought a direction to banks and our debtors that they provide the much needed cashflow to pay salaries and meet other essential expenses, etc,” said Bhasin. “These do not lead to any revenue loss to the Government. They just need to show a kind heart. The timely help they will provide actually is the help they are providing to the people of India, since advertising is a critical input that can provide a ripple effect in reviving many sectors of the economy,” added Bhasin. One other recommendation made is to treat advertising expenses as an investment and have this cost amortised over the next three years. AAAI believes this will encourage larger advertising outlay which will help revive the economy faster. In the same vein, AAAI also suggested that advertising expenses could be given weighted deduction while computing taxes. The suggestion was that every Rs 100 spent on advertising, should be treated as Rs 200, while computing the taxable income. Here is the complete list of recommendations: 1.0 Advertising is an investment: 1.1 Advertising or brand-building expenses should be treated as an asset and be allowed to be amortized over the next three years. Many companies recognize the enduring benefits of advertising and this will encourage them to invest without fear of considerable decline in profits. This will no doubt spur enhanced consumption thereby accelerating the economic activity. 1.2 The advertisers can also be given an option to account the expenditure on a weighted scale. A Rs 100 expense could be allowed to claim an expenditure of say twice that amount (Rs 200), while computing income tax. This may encourage a higher level of expenditure by profitable companies, which again will accelerate the revival of the economic activity. 2.0 Government dues to be paid 2.1 The TDS on advertising agencies have always been significantly more than the profits they make. Several Crores of Rupees of IT refunds are due to each one of the agencies. Can this be immediately refunded for the past years, including for the Assessment Year 2019-2020? 2.2 Many of the advertising agencies have substantial dues from Government of India, as well as from the Central Government controlled PSUs. Can these be ordered to be released within the next few days? 3.0 Income Tax and GST 3.1 Since profitability and cash flow is going to be poor this financial year, TDS should not be deducted when agencies bills are being paid by advertisers. In any event, Advance Taxes will be payable if applicable as per Income Tax deadlines. 3.2 GST should be allowed to be paid on collection of bills by agencies, as against by 20th after the month of billing. If a firm date is indeed needed, this should be after 60 days from the current due date. 3.3 Government should not block the utilization of GST credit and release all credits blocked so far immediately. 3.4 Government should stall all e-invoicing programs till further notice. This could add to the disruption of the economic revival. 3.5 Transfer of accumulated GST input credit - allow establishments for utilization of accumulated ITC having the same PAN across all the registrations in different States. This will result in free flow of working capital and ease of doing business. 3.6 Speed up all the refund of GST applications within 2-4 weeks. 4.0 Business Credit related 4.1 Our industry is unique in that our credit terms with media owners are pre-fixed, while advertisers are under no legal pressure to pay us on the due date. May we request that the Advertising Service be categorised as an essential service, given the potential it has to revive the economy? And consequently, direct the advertisers to settle agencies’ bill within 45 days of receipt? 4.2 Media houses are much larger entities and therefore there should be a directive to provide additional credit to agencies, should the contra-payment be not available from advertisers. The agency cashflow is fragile and the business could come crumbling down in the absence of such a protection, at this time of economic revival. 4.2 Advertising Agencies, after significant drop in revenue, are struggling to match the cashflows. We would request you to get the banking sector to allow an additional 33% cash credit limit for at least one year, at prime lending rates, without any additional security. The additional cashflow will permit them to steady their business.

Advertising Agencies Association of India reaches out to Government for business continuity

<ul><li>Twitter is testing a new feature that will prompt users to read an article before they tweet it out to their followers in order to “promote informed discussion”.</li><li>Kayvon Beykpour, product lead at Twitter believes that retweeting content without reading it first “can be powerful but sometimes dangerous”.</li><li>This is the social networking platform’s third feature in the last year to try and curb misinformation and fake news. </li></ul>Not everyone on Twitter reads an article before sharing it with their followers, especially when there’s a powerful or clickbaity headline involved. As a result, sometimes those articles can go viral for all the wrong reasons. To “promote informed discussion,” Twitter is testing a new feature to prevent just that. Before users can retweet a particular article, the social networking platform will nudge them with a prompt, asking them if they would like to open it first. <div type="twitter" handle="TwitterSupport" handlename="Twitter Support" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1266884366279471105/OTps6MBS_normal.jpg" favoritecount="39762" retweetcount="7856" status="Sharing an article can spark conversation, so you may want to read it before you Tweet it.To help promote informe… https://t.co/OLPniG81xI" createdat="1591813380000" id="1270783537667551233"></div> Right now, the feature is only being tested among a limited subset of Android users using English settings in the US but it is expected that the feature will be rolled out to a wider audience in the near future — if successful. “This can be powerful but sometimes dangerous, especially if people haven’t read the content they’re spreading,” said Kayvon Beykpour, product lead at Twitter. Obviously, no one is obligated to read an article that they’re retweeting — but it does force them to take a second look at what they’re putting out over the world wide web. Headlines make the news It’s not exaggerating when someone says that people retweet content only based on the headline. A study by the <a href="https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01281190">Columbia University</a> in 2016, found that 59% — nearly two-thirds — of links were shared on social media without users opening the articles that they were sharing. “People are more willing to share an article than read it,” study co-author Arnaud Legout said in a statement. “This is typical of modern information consumption. People form an opinion based on a summary, or a summary of summaries, without making the effort to go deeper.” Just last month, Twitter was struggling to keep a conspiracy documentary called Plandemic from going viral. During the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the company issued a number of misinformation warnings to curb fake news from being picked up — including one against US President Donald Trump. A move that led to Trump issuing an executive order from the White House targeting social media companies. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="76097687" title="Trump's feud with Twitter, explained in 30 seconds" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> As long as bots exist, misinformation is unlikely to go away This isn’t Twitter’s first attempt to spot the spread of misinformation. Like Facebook and other social networking sites, it has come under a lot of scrutiny for the kind of content it promotes. In September 2019, Twitter introduced the option to hide replies. More recently, in May, it launched a feature allowing users to pick and choose who gets to reply to their tweets. However, the central issue remains — bots. According to a paper published in AAAI, “Increasing evidence suggests that a growing amount of social media content is generated by autonomous entities known as social bots.” The paper estimates that between 9% to 15% of active Twitter accounts are bots — that’s nearly 49.5 million of its 330 million users. The new feature will make it harder for bots to simply retweet content. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/ad-tech/news/twitter-introduces-fleets-for-users-to-share-their-momentary-thoughts/articleshow/76297079.cms">Twitter introduces 'Fleets' for users to share their momentary thoughts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/twitters-ex-ceo-stepped-up-the-silicon-valley-beef-and-attacked-facebook-for-being-a-hotbed-of-anti-vaxxer-bill-gates-conspiracy-theories/articleshow/76091104.cms">Twitter's ex-CEO stepped up the Silicon Valley beef and attacked Facebook for being a hotbed of anti-vaxxer Bill Gates conspiracy theories</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/foreign-actors-and-extremist-groups-are-using-disinformation-on-twitter-and-other-social-networks-to-further-inflame-the-protests-across-america-experts-say/articleshow/76160128.cms">Foreign actors and extremist groups are using disinformation on Twitter and other social networks to further inflame the protests across America, experts say</a>

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Anupriya Acharya re-elected President of Advertising Agencies Association of India

BI India Partner

Anupriya Acharya and Prasanth Kumar elected as President and Vice-President of AAAI respectively

BI India Partner

Arvind Sharma to be conferred with AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2021

BI India Partner

AAAI opens its doors to Digital agencies

BI India Partner

Goafest 2020 calls for campaigns to fight violence against women; best creative to win The Red Abby

BI India Partner

Goafest to be held in physical form between April 7-9

BI India Partner

Srinivasan Swamy elected Chairman of The Asian Federation of Advertising Associations

BI India Partner

Goafest to now be held between May 05-07 in a physical form

BI India Partner

Advertising Agencies Association of India reaches out to Government for business continuity

BI India Partner

'Read it before you tweet it' — Twitter is testing a new feature that will prompt you to read an article before sending it out to your followers

Prabhjote Gill