· The company targets a leadership position in the premium cookware segment in the country over the next 3-5 years

· Amway India to use demonstrations as a key strategy to promote Amway Queen’s ability to enable almost zero oil and less water cooking possible to ensure both health and taste.

Amway India, the country’s leading direct selling company, has expanded its product portfolio and entered into the domain of consumer durables with the launch of Amway Queen, a premium cookware range. Amway India sells more than 130 products across Nutrition, beauty, home care and personal care categories. This is the first time that Amway India is launching a product in the consumer durable segment in the country.

The premium quality Amway Queen Stainless Steel Cookware is both elegant and convenient. Amway Queen offers superb cooking performance, versatility and a look that will last for years to come. It comes with a VITALOK™ technology that helps locks in the moisture which helps to preserve the taste and nutrition of the food. Amway Queen enables cooking with much less water as compared to a conventional cookware range. Further, the OPTITEMPTM technology helps in improving heat distribution on every kind of cooktop. Its multi-layer structure and OPTITEMPTM base makes almost Zero Oil cooking possible. The food cooks evenly and quickly over medium to slow temperature, saving time and energy. Amway Queen is backed by 30 years warranty.

The 5 piece Amway Queen Cookware set has been created especially for the Indian market keeping into the consideration the culinary palate & food habits of Indians. The aesthetically designed Amway Queen Cookware set comprises of a 4 liter stock pot with lid, a 2 liter Saucepan with lid, and 1.5 liter Sauté Pan with lid, and an extra lid & Stock pot steamer as accessories.

Amway is targeting to take a leadership position in the premium cookware segment currently pegged at INR 250 crores and growing rapidly by 35% per annum.

Speaking on the occasion, Anshu Budhraja, CEO, Amway India, said, “Globally, Amway is one of the leading players in the premium durables category. We have identified Amway Queen as our first durable to be launched in the Indian market because the research indicated that there is a latent demand for premium cookware which enables low oil, low water cooking while ensuring taste. We look upon Amway Queen as a key growth driver as it fits well with our direct selling model where the sale happens through the power of demonstration. Our target is to ensure that durables as a category contributes more than 10% of our turnover in the next 3 years.”

Sundip Shah, Chief Marketing Officer, Amway India, said, “Amway Queen is unique as it allows healthy cooking of delicious dishes with almost no oil and less water. Our strategy is driven by impactful cooking demonstrations to bring this benefit to life for our direct sellers and consumers. We are equipping our direct sellers with appropriate tools and demos so that they can showcase the efficacy of the Amway Queen to a prospective customer. Besides massive focus on cooking demo sessions, we have also launched a series of online videos demonstrating how one can use Amway Queen Cookware to cook delicious Indian dishes in a healthy way (like ‘Dal Makhani’ without ‘Butter’)”

Amway is spending a significant portion of its marketing budget on cooking events for direct sellers and consumers where a team of chefs led by Chef Sanjay Pawar are doing demonstrations across the country. A total of 200 events are being held across the country to promote the range.

Z Living Network delivers a Healthy Dose of Entertainment in New Prime time Reality Block premiering January 2017 in the US

· Engaged Couples Vow to Lose Weight Before their Wedding Day on “Altar’d” at 8 pm

· Seth Casteel Pairs Adoptable Pups with the Perfect Owners on “Finding Fido” at 9 pm

· Ordinary People Overcome Extraordinary Obstacles on “POPSUGAR Presents: Conquered” at 9:30 pm

Leading Health Entertainment Network, Z Living is premiering three new series in an all-new primetime programming block kicking off January 2017 in the US.

Speaking on the new programming line-up, Rajeev Kheror, President - Content & Strategy, International Business, ZEEL said, “More than two years ago, in October 2014, we created an entirely new category – ‘Health Entertainment’ in the US with the launch of the Z Living Network. This January, the Z Living Network takes another momentous step as we further strengthen the original programming with the launch of our three new series - ‘Altar’d’, ‘Finding Fido’ and ‘POPSUGAR Presents: Conquered’. These programs which embrace our positioning, will further define Health Entertainment to the world.”

All three original shows evoke Z Living’s mission of creating content focused on all aspects of healthy living, including food, fitness, family, relationships, lifestyle and more.

Altar’d airs at 8 pm ET/PT, followed up by Finding Fido, featuring award-winning photographer and New York Times Best-Selling Author Seth Casteel (“Underwater Dogs,” “Pounce”), at 9 pm ET/PT and POPSUGAR Presents: Conquered at 10 pm ET/PT. New episodes for all three series will air weekly on Tuesday nights.

Altar’d captures the journeys of six engaged couples who are determined to lose weight and adopt healthy lifestyles before saying “I do.” Three months prior to their nuptials, the future bride and groom are paired with acclaimed fitness trainers Chris Marhefka and Erin Stutland to shape their transformations. However, in a twist that none of the participants see coming, the couples will be separated, unable to see each other for the entire 90 days until they are reunited for an incredible and emotional reveal at the altar. While the arduous process brings many of the couples closer together, it offers others a newfound clarity that could prompt them to re-evaluate their anticipated walk down the aisle. Altar’d is produced by Bodega Pictures. Josh Ackerman and Benjamin Nurick are executive producers. Tim Krubsack serves as executive producer for Z Living.

In each episode of Finding Fido, Casteel plays matchmaker to hopeful pet owners-to-be and dogs in need of homes. After meeting with prospective “pet parents,” he gets to know their environment, assesses their health, wellness and lifestyle needs, and then locates three potential canine candidates. The future owners spend time with each dog – at home and in public – before finally determining their perfect match. Throughout each episode, Casteel also demonstrates quick and easy dog behavioral tests that can help evaluate a specific canine’s personality and demeanor. Finding Fido is produced by 3 Ball Entertainment. Todd A. Nelson, Ross Weintraub, DJ Nurre, Jeff Altrock, Tim Krubsack and Jay Bluemke are executive producers.

From POPSUGAR Studios, Conquered unveils unique and uplifting stories about people – from the everyday to the influential – who have broken boundaries and conquered obstacles in order to achieve their goals. Each half-hour episode will explore such themes as physical achievement, career, personal relationships and health, among others. POPSUGAR Presents: Conquered is produced by POPSUGAR Studios. Executive producers for POPSUGAR are Nicole Lucas Haimes, Ted Haimes, Jordan Allen and David Grant. Tim Krubsack executive produces for Z Living.

Dentsu One, Harper Collins join hands to celebrate Harper Collins’ 25 years in India

Harper Collins India celebrates 25 years in India through a film that celebrates books. The campaign consists of a film that shows the journey of a novel. The novel titled 'Journeys Never End’ exchanges hands through the film.

The film starts with an old man holding the novel whilst traveling in a bus. As the bus stops at a church, he forgets the novel behind. A young man notices the book and picks it up to give it to him but the bus leaves. We see a young woman board the same bus and take the seat adjacent to the young man. She notices the book in the young man’s hands. Seeing her interested in the book, the young man hands it to her and leaves as his stop comes.

What she finds written on the first page of the novel gives the film an unexpected twist.

The film ends with supers, “Stories create books. Books create stories” and the HarperCollins India logo.

The campaign was launched at the Jaipur Literature Festival, 2017. The film launches on social media on January 20.

Says Ananth Padmanabhan, CEO HarperCollins India, “We made this short film to celebrate our lifelong passion for storytelling. Something that simply reaffirmed the power of stories and the fact that books open up a world of unimaginable possibilities. And in Dentsu One we found the perfect partner. Narayan's love for the written word and Titus' spontaneous creative impulse were the perfect combination. We all have a story and we love stories - and we thought that this was a great way to say it!”

“In the advertising business, we keep talking about how we are all story-tellers. Here was an intriguing brief that had us create a story about stories, without the story-teller intruding. When we asked Ananth ‘What do you want to happen as a result of this?’ he said, “The outcome I want is for the viewer to say ‘I want to pick up a book now!’ after seeing the film.” The insight was—in retrospect—very simple. Each of us is a story-creator, sometimes not knowing that’s what we are, mostly not knowing what triggers await us around the corner. That’s the basic reason books appeal to us: they tell the stories we believe we could have created. After all, our lives are a series of stories,” said Narayan Devanathan, group executive and strategy officer, Dentsu India.

“HarperCollins is such an iconic brand with about 200 years of history. It was a great experience to work on this brand. Ananth’s brief took me back to my literature days. Books contain stories. But I thought there are stories that exist outside the books as well. That’s how the line came up. Books create stories. Several stories emerged from this line. We just decided to break the campaign with the Firoza one,” said Titus Upputuru, NCD, Dentsu One.

Credits

From HarperCollins

Chief Executive Officer: Ananth Padmanabhan
Sonali Singh: Head – Marketing and Corporate Communications

From Dentsu One

Group Executive and Strategy Officer: Narayan Devanathan
President: Harjot Narang
National Creative Director: Titus Upputuru
Senior Vice President: Sunita Prakash
Agency Producer: Dawa Lama

From Absolute Productions

Executive Producer: Prafull Sharma
Director: Srinivas Sunderrajan
DOP: Jay I. Patel
Music: Arijit Datta
Art Director: Sumayya Shaikh
Editor: Shahnawaz Mosani

The 2017 New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards is now open for entries.

World-wide since 1982, New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards honors the World’s Best Radio Programs℠, receiving entries from radio stations, networks, and independent producers from over 30 countries around the globe.

“From hard-hitting investigative journalism to breath-taking theater of the mind, radio today engages listeners as never before across a growing spectrum of genres and platforms. Storytelling, the power of the individual voice, and the immediacy of the medium - all testify to the universal language of radio,” said Rose Anderson, Executive Director, New York Festivals Radio Program Awards. “And so, every year we augment our categories not only to be in sync with the industry but in order to stay ahead of the curve as visionaries around the world raise the bar of what is possible.”

Always in step with the every-evolving nature of the radio industry, NYF added additional categories this year that address the breadth of radio programming emerging in today’s marketplace. NYF’s category roster includes the following category updates: Best Live News Special and Heroes Documentary.
With more listeners enjoying programming via their smartphone or tablet, listeners are attracted to podcasts as entertainment on the go. NYF responded to the explosive expansion of podcast consumption as a disruptive force within the radio industry by adding two more Podcast categories for Music and Personal Lives.

New York Festivals Radio Awards Advisory Board is comprised of prominent international executives recognized as thought-leaders in the radio broadcasting industry.

These individuals function as a sounding board for the competition’s executive director, offering suggestions for category updates and sharing ideas, trends, and other concerns that impact radio broadcasting. Their guidance insures that the competition is relevant and in step with the ever-changing radio industry.
This year, NYF is proud to announce 2 prominent radio industry executives to the Advisory Board. “With the addition of Michael Harrison and Todd Stack to our Advisory Board, NYF benefits from their extensive hands-on knowledge of two areas of great growth: talk and podcasts,” said Ms. Anderson.

Michael Harrison is Editor and Publisher of Talkers, a major trade publication that has served the talk radio, talk television and talk internet industries since 1990. Mr. Harrison is one of America’s leading authorities on radio, communications, and public opinion as it is expressed in the media. He is host for PodcastOne’s “Up Close and Far Out” with Michael Harrison” a weekly podcast geared to “media freaks” around the world. Todd Stack is VP/Talk Production & Operations at Sirius XM Radio, the largest radio company measured by revenue with more than 30.6 million subscribers. Mr. Stack brings over 15 years of broadcast production experience to his Advisory Board role.

New York Festivals Radio Awards enlists jurists from all over the world to become members of the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury includes some of the most recognizable voices and captivating programming producers in the industry. Entries are judged on production values, organization, presentation of information, creativity, and use of the medium.

In 2016, there were three Grand Trophy Winners: “A New Life in Europe,” (BBC) for their intimate account of one Syrian family’s journey as they crossed the Aegean to seek refuge in Europe; “The Battle of Britain at 75” (TBI with Snappin’ Turtle Productions) for their live program with a complex musical undertaking; and “The Kinder Letters” (Athena Media Ltd.) for their documentary which captures a rare glimpse of post-war Europe through the microcosm of a beloved children’s book.
Since 1990, NYF and the United Nations Department of Public Information have offered the opportunity for the competition’s entrants to be awarded the United Nations Department of Public Information Award. This coveted award honors radio that best exemplifies the ideals and goals of the United Nations.
Join New York Festivals Monday June 19, 2017 as we honor the World’s Best Radio Programs at an awards ceremony at in New York City. To view the 2016 World’s Best Radio
Program Ceremony Gala, please visit: http://www.newyorkfestivals.com/media/rp/2016/
The deadline to enter the 2017 World’s Best Radio Programs competition is March 17, 2017.

Delhiites gear up for this carefully curated festival with host of entertainment acts on 18 and 19 February 2017

Red FM, India’s leading FM network today announced the revised dates for its new IP ‘Riders Music Festival’ which was postponed due to demonetization. Earlier scheduled for 3rd and 4th December 2016, the festival will now take place on 18th and 19th February 2017 at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium Grounds, Delhi. The festival will enthrall audiences with live performances by some of India’s most iconic and popular artists such as Amit Trivedi, Lucky Ali, Kenny Sebastian, Kanan Gill, Hari & Sukhmani, Kutle Khan, Voctronica, Local Train and many more to keep Delhiites excited all throughout the weekend. The weekend pass is very attractively priced at INR 1000, while the Saturday and Sunday Passes are priced at INR 499 and INR 750 respectively. The tickets are live on Insider.In, Bookmyshow, PAYTM, Cleartrip and JustDial.

Commenting on the announcement of new dates for Rider’s Music Festival, Nisha Narayana, Red FM COO said, “In our endeavor to offer newer experiences to our listeners, we are thrilled to announce the new dates for Rider’s Music Festival. We are optimistic that by February the monetary situation in the country will improve enabling the crowd to relish the festival to its true potential. Delhi should look forward to a festival that represents freedom, celebrates individuality and passion with an audience which believes in Living it up.”

The festival packs in numerous attractions to entertain one and all from the non-biking community with an exciting line-up across genres;

* Kenny Sebastian – Raised across different cities in India helped Kenneth Sebastian develop a keen sense of observation of culture, people and stereotypes, all of which have found its way into his comedy

* Amit Trivedi - Composer, singer, and lyricist, known for his work in Bollywood for movies like Dear Zindagi, Udta Punjab, Shandaar, Dev D, Wake Up Sid, Lootera etc. will woo the audience with his melodious voice. He was featured in MTV's popular music show, Coke Studio, which eventually went on to become a rage

* Hari Sukhmani - Sukhmani Malik is a trained Hindustani classical vocalist and performer and Hari Singh is a multifaceted producer, vocalist, and audio engineer. They have been globe-trotting as a band since 2009. The band's regular appearances on TV shows and radio broadcasts have made them a popular act among diverse audiences

* Kanan Gill - Stand-up comedian, musician, writer, and blogger will land you in laughter, stomach aches and tears with his witty one-liners and powerful punches. His is sense of humor truly makes him unique and his charismatic presence on stage makes him a complete performer

* Kutle Khan – A multi-talented folk musician from the rich and vibrant land of Rajasthan, Kutle Khan is a versatile composer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist. His performances are full of energy and verve

* Lucky Ali – Best known for his soulful but strikingly simple ballad-style singing and melodious voice, his songs carry nostalgia and emotions that only hearts can feel. His song 'O Sanam' is considered by some to be one of the best indie-pop songs ever

* The Local Train - The Local Train is the four member band from Delhi, India. Founded in 2009, they have performed all around India and are very popular among the youth. Their fresh original tracks went viral online taking them to the top of the Indie circuit and even beyond

* Voctronica - Voctronica is India's first all-vocal ensemble. The band was set up by world-renowned beatboxer, Shlomo (UK), along with MC Testament (UK), Sony Music India and British Council India. It is a melodious blend of beat-boxers, Indian Classical, Pop, Blues and Rock vocalists who collectively bring to you the real power of the human voice

Riders Music Festival promises to be one helluva ride with scrumptious grub station and bar to excite palates. Leisure activities including bike wash, paint job, tattoo, graffiti, arm wrestling, paintball, gaming zone, flea market and many more attractions promise to make the festival a worthwhile experience.