UPGRADE

This is somewhere in 1995 or so. ITC Welcomgroup was looking to shoot a promotional TVC. Sanjay Sharma was the creative head and I the client servicing person on the brand at HTA. The film required a very wide heritage structured bungalow. The production team had identified a few at Bangalore. Sanjay and I were… Read More »

GOAFEST HIJACK

Tweet  Follow @s_kotnala Hijacking maybe a hard word to describe, what happened on 3rd April 2008. Jagdip Bakshi was Goafest ( Largest event for Indian Advertising and marketing fraternity) Chairman that year. Dainik Bhaskar Group well known across the Industry for highly innovative initiative and plans decided to take advantage of a schedule loophole (That has… Read More »

LOVE STORIES THAT TOUCHED MY HEART

Ravinder earlier two books- ‘I too have a love story’ and ‘Can Love happen Twice’ were really nothing much to talk about. They were simple- quite honest but lacked twist and the power to keep you glued on. So picking up ‘Love Stories That Touched My Heart‘ was definitely risky. Being an anthology with a… Read More »

JUHI EFFECT

Back to the time- my first visit abroad and it was the SUNCITY , the annual kickoff of HTA. “Two More’  shared earlier happened on the same city. So let’s get to the episode with minimalistic background information. There was enough drinks on the house along with enough OLD MONK bottles that the team had… Read More »

TWO MORE

In earlier times much before the fragmented and niche agencies came into being, when 15% commission and not retainer-ship was the norm, the large agencies used to have a huge annual incentive conclave. The cut was by designation. In 1993, if I am right about the year, I made the cut first time. That year… Read More »

ELEVEN MINUTES

This is the time I was with  HTA. Motorola was a new client. And Rahul Verghese (www.runningandliving.com fame) a different kind of client. Dead serious professionally and hugely funny beyond work. Rahul had five  simple rules to work when it came to meetings. On time. Rahul lived what he expected from others. I remember him… Read More »

THINK TWICE

THINK TWICE – Harnessing the power of COUNTERINTITUTION by Michael J. Mauboussin is a sharply focussed book. What makes it interesting is the way  it shows you the possible reasons : why you must THINK TWICE?. Then follows it with sharply defined MISTAKES you could be making in reaching your decisions inferences. At the end… Read More »

THE CHERRY WIN

Tweet Follow @S_kotnala It was my  second year in Lintas. It was like any other usual day.  I was in my small little cabin on the 8th floor of e Mohandev building. The phone rang and that was the   beginning of a small interesting episode. RECEPTIOIST AT DELHI OFFICE : Sanjeev call from PREM MEHTA’s office, shall I patch… Read More »