Yatish Rajawat on the power of Indian language media

exchange4media’s Swapna Rahul Shah interviews K Yatish Rajawat

K Yatish Rajawat is the Editor-in-Chief of Business Bhaskar, published by the Dainik Bhaskar Group of Publications. Business Bhaskar’s growth has been phenomenal. Today, it is the largest Indian language business newspaper. Rajawat conceptualised, developed and rolled out Business Bhaskar in more than 17 cities, seven editions and six states in a record time of just three months.

He has a rich and diverse professional experience, along with the privilege of working with leading media conglomerates in India. Prior to joining Business Bhaskar, Rajawat had worked with Businessworld as an Associate Editor and with The Economic Times as Editor - Knowledge & Technology. He had also worked with The Hindu Business Line. An authority in his industry, Rajawat has bagged several awards, including the IT Journalist of the Year (2003) and Top Five Achievers in India Award (2004).

“As the center of gravity in the world is shifting globally from the US and Europe to Asia, there is a shift in India, too, especially on the media front,” said Rajawat. “Foreign multinationals have started understanding India much better now, and as their penetration rates increase, they are encountering the Indian language media.

Pradeep Guha to pump up digital advertising

Komli Media, which runs an online ad network, has appointed Pradeep Guha on its advisory board. He will be the fourth person to join Komli Media as advisor, reports afaqs.com

Guha has more than 30 years of experience across media and entertainment companies. He is currently a director of the International Advertising Association and a venture advisor with Nexus India Capital, a venture capital firm. He is also on the advisory board of Mukta Arts, Future Media and Whistling Wood International, a film training institute.

Earlier, Guha has worked with Zee Entertainment Enterprises as Chief Executive Officer and with the Times of India Group as President and Director.

In 2008, Komli Media roped in Greg Stuart, former head, Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB); Munjal Shah, chief executive officer and co-founder, Like.com (a visual search engine); and Greg Coleman, president, Platform A, AOL’s advertising business, on its advisory board.

Prashant Mehta, Chief Operating Officer, Komli Media, says, “I believe that the growth of online advertising will be led by a greater degree of integration of the digital medium with the traditional media and a shift of the advertising budget from traditional to digital media. Since Guha understands the traditional media well, his presence on board will actually help us to grab a greater share of the online advertising pie, which will get a boost because of the integration of digital and traditional media in the near future.”

Mehta feels that the share of online advertising in the overall ad spends will increase from the current 2 per cent to 5-10 per cent in the next three to five years.