By Rahul Dubey
Winners will be awarded at an exclusive function at the Blue Frog in Mumbai on April 16
The final round of judging more than 500 entries for the Indian Digital Media Awards 2012 (IDMA) instituted by the exchange4media group is complete and jury members have locked their decision about the best online Indian media work. The awards will be given out to the best talent from the digital industry at a function in Mumbai on April 16.
The judges finally picked 126 most deserving entries submitted by the top digital agencies and advertisers of India. The entries were shortlisted by an eminent jury led by Shashi Sinha, CEO of Lodestar UM and Mahendra Swarup, Chief Mentor, Smile Interactive Group. Ninety best entries from this pool will be awarded in 27 different subcategories of the awards. The jury has also chosen the IDMA Person of the Year and Digital Start-up of the Year, 2012. Top brass of the Indian digital industry including advertisers, media veterans and digital & mobile solution providers took part in brainstorming sessions and arrived at a conclusion to judge seven categories and close to 27 sub-categories for the IDMA. Some leading advertisers in the shortlisted nominees are Tata Docomo, M TV, Airtel, Mahindra Auto, Hindustan Unilever, Kamasutra Condoms, American Express, Hero Moto Corp among others.
The jury members for the awards are Alok Agarwal, COO, South West Asia, Cheil Worldwide; Anuj Jain, Marketing Head, Nerolac; Anuradha Narasimhan, Category Director, Health & Wellness, Britannia Industries; Arnab Mitra, National Director - Digital, Starcom Mediavest Group; Badri Sanjeevi, COO, Mauj Mobile and Group CFO, People Group; Madan Sanglikar, CEO, AD2C; Rajesh Mehta, Director - Marketing, Western Union; Sandip Tarkas, CEO - Future Media and CEO - Future Telecom, Future Group; Sanjay Behl, CEO - Reliance DTH and IPTV, Reliance Communications; Neville Taraporewalla, Country Director - Advertising and Online, Microsoft India; Dharini Mishra, Global Head of Brand, Suzlon; G Sanjay, Head- Marketing, Hover Automotive; Arif Ali, Head Brands, Communications and Insights, Loop Mobile; Hari Krishnan, Country Manager, LinkedIn; Jwalant Swaroop, COO, Lokmat Media Group; Elizabeth Venkataraman, SVP - Marketing, Kotak Life Insurance; Ch Venkata Ramana, Chief and Co-Founder, Value Pitch; Ravi Rao, Leader - South Asia, Mindshare; Shekhar Sharma, National Director, GroupM Interaction and Vivek Bhargava, MD, Communicate2.
The number of entries received this year is significantly higher than last year. In 2011, some of the major winners of the IDMA Awards included Deep Kalra, Chairman and CEO, MakeMyTrip.com, who was adjudged IDMA Person of the Year. Interface Business Solutions was declared Digital and Social Media Agency of the Year, while Tata Docomo walked away with the Digital and Social Media Advertiser of the Year Award. The Indian Digital Media Awards was instituted by the exchange4media Group in 2010 to recognize, celebrate and encourage the work being done in the ever-growing advertising and marketing communications space in the digital media world. This year, a part of the entry fees collected from entries will be donated for a social cause.
SHASHI SINHA
CEO, LODESTAR UM AND JURY CO-CHAIR
“Kissing is not in our culture. I wouldn’t want to see an India angle in this. If it were upon me, I too wouldn’t have done anything which won’t go down well with the people.”
DHARINI MISHRA
GLOBAL HEAD OF BRAND, SUZLON
The quality of entries was good. While we can see that the industry has grown significantly and so has the quality of entries, the presentation of entries could have been better.
MADAN SANGLIKAR
CEO, AD2C
Apart from the social media category, the quality of entries was superior and the jury was very clear at the end that the best entry has won.
ELIZABETH VENKATARAMAN
SVP, MARKETING, KOTAK MAHINDRA OLD MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE
The judging process was democratic and by and large judges agreed on winners of all categories, especially for the Hall of Fame Awards, IDMA Person of the Year and Start-up of the Year.
Feedback: rahul.dubey@exchange4media.com