Text 100 Public Relations today announced the launch of its Global Resource Optimization

Text 100 Public Relations today announced the launch of its Global Resource Optimization (GRO) service, based in Mumbai, India. The new service allows clients worldwide to tap into round-the-clock services and gives them opportunities for enhanced communications capabilities while lowering the cost of performing time-intensive activities.

GRO’s globally integrated communications and campaign management infrastructure allows clients to create 24/7 virtual account teams to manage time-sensitive projects. As the cost of business in India is considerably lower than most markets, clients will be able to leverage the world-class skills of Text 100’s award-winning team in India while extending their resources.

“GRO is able to significantly improve Text 100’s efficiency and quality of delivery,” said Aedhmar Hynes, CEO, Text 100. “We are offering clients a way to optimize their budgets and receive even better service by moving time intensive activity that can be done anywhere in the world to lower cost markets. The advantage to our clients is that our local teams can then devote a greater part of a budget in the high cost markets to PR tactics that require local knowledge and insight of the client’s industry, market and media.”

The first GRO center in Mumbai, led by Madhuri Sen, Managing Director – GRO, is currently focused on three categories of services that have been identified as best adaptable to virtual teamwork: a) account administration (e.g., online campaign management, analysis, report generation, information management, etc.), b) content (e.g., case studies, opinion articles, spokesperson bios; general editing, proofing and formatting) and c) secondary research to support client campaigns, reviews, pitches, messaging workshops etc.

The Indian team has the benefit of over a decade of experience with global leaders such as Cisco, Gartner, Lenovo, Microsoft, Nokia and Philips. Text 100 is the leader in technology PR across India and the first such PR agency to be CMS II (Competence Management Systems) certified by Det Norske Veritas, a globally recognized standards organization. This year it was also ranked as one of the 25 best employers in India across industries in a survey conducted by Hewitt: the only one in the PR industry to make it to that list. In addition to this list of achievements, Text 100’s track record in virtual teamwork made India a natural choice for the company’s first GRO location.

“Our industry must innovate to survive and GRO is an example of this as it challenges traditional notions about what a PR budget can buy,” said Ava Lawler, regional director, Asia Pacific. “PR campaigns are increasingly integrated worldwide andas the corresponding level of complexity rises, clients want to maximize their budgets as much as they possibly can.With GRO, we offer clients an enhanced service and greater flexibility without an increase in budget.”

Since the time the service was internally launched for testing early this year, several Text 100 clients have successfully adopted the GRO model.

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About Text 100

Text 100 is a global PR agency serving companies that use technology for competitive advantage. Built organically from the ground up, Text 100 uniquely offers the dedication of local agencies and the power and reach of a global agency, Text 100 represents leading brands in 31 offices around the world. Clients of the company include Fujifilm, IBM, Philips, Cisco, Sony and Xerox. Named New Media Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report and winner of PRWeek 's PR Innovation of the Year, Text 100 is at the cutting edge of emerging media technologies and public relations techniques. In August 2006, Text 100 became the first public relations consultancy to establish a presence inside Second Life. For more information about Text 100, please visit www.text100.com

The company announced today that the new user-friendly website have gone live to a worldwide audience.

The company announced today that the new user-friendly website have gone live to a worldwide audience. The new intuitive and intelligent navigation methods will allow customers to gain more information and insights effortlessly. Customers can now compare each and every feature of the product with its competitor products and prices before making a purchase decision. The website has been completely overhauled in terms of menus, ajax features, information architecture, functionalities etc. A list of new brands and product categories has also been added.

According to Arun Kapur, CEO of GadgetsGuru, "With this comprehensive top-to-bottom renewal of our company website, we have focused on consumer website experience, usability and product placement in an entertaining and interactive manner. I am sure it will be compelling enough for our customers to visit it again and again. I am grateful to the web development team for their hard work on this project."

He also added that “The Company has been giving away one Sony PSP for one lucky customer every month. We also have a profit sharing program, where we share a percentage of profit to the customer who refers his friends. We will be coming up with more interesting offers soon.”

The products listed in Gadgets Guru website include Digital Cameras and camcorders, Laptops, Mobile Phones, Technology accessories and peripherals, Car Stuff, Spy Gadgets, and Corporate Gadgets. Gadget Guru’s portfolio of well-known brands includes Apple, Nokia, Sony, Canon, IBM, Palm and Vertu.

The Santoor Legend and Music Composer Pandit Bhajan Sopori has been honoured with the highest civilian

The Santoor Legend and Music Composer Pandit Bhajan Sopori has been honoured with the highest civilian award of the State of Jammu and Kashmir by the Hon’ble Governor S.K. Sinha and Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for his lifetime dedication and contribution to the Jammu and Kashmir State at a function organized at SKICC Auditorium, Srinagar by Govt. of J&K.

Pandit Bhajan Sopori's has single handedly carried the culture and music of the State of Jammu and Kashmir on his shoulders, in not just taking it to international heights but even providing a respectable status in the Valley, due to his diligent and untiring efforts in nurturing the spirit across generations. The honour is in recognition of his lifetime service.

Pandit Bhajan Sopori is heralded as not just the 'pride of the State of Jammu and Kashmir' and also the 'pride of the country'. The mystic master has been the pioneer in establishing the Santoor on national and international platforms and has come long way since he created history by being the first person to play the Indian Classical music on the Santoor way back in the early 1950s. In his five decades of dedicated work he has explored various dimensions of the Santoor, carrying out many path-breaking innovations for which he is hailed as the ‘Saint of Santoor’ and the ‘King of Strings’. He has formally established the only authentic style of playing the classical Santoor known as the ‘Sopori Baaj’.

A composer of almost 5000 songs in various languages, Pandit Bhajan Sopori has used his Santoor and his compositions to highlight the concept of oneness and foster unity enshrining the idea of national integration, humanism and peace. His recitals and compositions bear the distinctive stamp of his virtuosity and erudition.

The quiet and unassuming maestro is the bearer of the rich musical legacy of the fabled ‘Sufiana Gharana’ of Kashmir, the exclusive Santoor family of the country. In fact what Sopori family has given to the world of music is the instrument Santoor.

For his contribution, he has received numerous awards and honours. Some of the honours conferred on him include Padmashri, Sangeet Natak Academy Award, Shiromani Award, Delhi Ratan Award, Delhi Telugu Academy Award, Shardha Samman, Kala Yogi Award, Golden Jubilee Celebrations Award (AIR-Srinagar) and other lifetime achievement awards like Sangeet Vibhuti, Raag Sagar, Pt. Gama Maharaj Samman, etc. He has also been honoured with the National Flag of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire leading Indian public relations consultancy Hanmer & Partners

Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire leading Indian public relations consultancy Hanmer & Partners. Hanmer & Partners employs some 350 professionals in 42 cities across India. This strategic acquisition, subject to the approval of the Indian government’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), is in line with Publicis Groupe’s commitment to expand its offering in high-growth emerging markets. Following this acquisition, Hanmer will be aligned with Manning Selvage & Lee (MS&L), one of the world’s most important public relations firms, and the Indian agency will be renamed Hanmer MS&L. This acquisition significantly strengthens MS&L’s presence and capabilities in India, while offering Hanmer & Partners’ clients access to a global network.

The consultancy specializes in public relations for a wide range of industries including consumer; lifestyle and hospitality; financial services; IT and telecom; media and entertainment; auto, aviation, engineering and infrastructure; and healthcare communications. It works in tandem with its specialized division Hanmer Reach, a unit that helps clients reach audiences across different geographies and diverse cultures. The firm also has several divisions including Hanmer Interactive, a multimedia division that focuses on web-based solutions; Hanmer Events and Hanmer Advertising. Its clients include ACC, Network 18 (CNBC), Bharti Axa, Emirates, Enam, General Motors, ICICI Bank, ICICI Prudential, ING Vysya, LG, Religare, Tata Sky, BPL Mobile, Henkel and Discovery Networks, among others.

Mark Hass, Global CEO of MS&L, said: “We’ve worked with Hanmer & Partners for several years, and we have a very successful history of collaboration. Sunil Gautam and his team will add significant new expertise and resources to the MS&L family in a region that is of growing importance to the public relations industry and MS&L’s global clients. This acquisition is an important component of MS&L’s aggressive growth plans for Asia, where the firm already enjoys a significant presence in China, Japan and Southern Asia.”

Sunil Gautam, managing director of Hanmer & Partners, said: “Partnering with MS&L gives us the opportunity to build our client relationships both inside and outside of India. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to join MS&L, and I think this will be a very fruitful and successful partnership for many years to come.”

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Hanmer & Partners

Hanmer & Partners, with a presence in 42 cities in India, offers a bouquet of services including strategic counseling, corporate image management, brand support, financial public relations, events and promotions, outreach, creative services, interactive services and crisis communications, apart from media relations. Hanmer & Partners employs nearly 350 communications professionals across 10 practice and vertical specializations bringing some of the most creative, yet robust campaigns to life everyday. The firm works with 150 businesses with an even mix of multinational and Indian corporations.

Web site: www.hanmergroup.com

Manning Selvage & Lee

MS&L is one of the world's leading global public relations firms. Headquartered in New York, MS&L has 60 offices throughout North America, Latin America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, as well as an extensive global affiliate network. The agency meets the needs of global and local clients by providing bestinclass services in consumer marketing PR, healthcare PR, corporate communications and technology communications, as well as industry-leading work in digital communications. MS&L won PRWeek's Best Use of Internet/New Media Award in both 2006 and 2007.

Web site: www.mslpr.com

Publicis Groupe (Euronext Paris: FR0000130577) is the world’s fourth largest communications group. In addition, it is ranked as the world’s second largest media counsel and buying group, and is a global leader in digital and healthcare communications. With activities spanning 104 countries on five continents, the Groupe employs approximately 44,000 professionals.

The Groupe offers local and international clients a complete range of communication services, from advertising, through three autonomous global advertising networks, Leo Burnett, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi and two multi-hub networks,Fallon and 49%-owned Bartle Bogle Hegarty; to media consultancy and buying, through two worldwide networks, Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia; interactive and digital marketing led by Digitas; Specialized Agencies

and Marketing Services (SAMS) offering healthcare communications, corporate and financial communications, public relations, CRM and direct marketing, event communications, sports marketing and multicultural communications.

Web site: www.publicisgroupe.com

The relentless activist-actor Vani Tripathi has done it again

She is at it again. The relentless activist-actor Vani Tripathi has done it again. She is now making a film on one of the most gruesome truths facing the country i.e. "Farmer Suicides".

Speaking passionately about it as she always does about most things, Vani says that the farmer suicide situation is a "BURDEN ON HER SOUL". Speaking on the topic at length she said I have been going to Maharashtra and its interior belts for number of years by now. I have seen the heart rending conditions that the farmers are facing and the incompetence of the present govt. Which has not been able to do anything about it.

More than a lakh of farmers have committed suicide in the past one year itself only in Maharashtra so you can well imagine what the condition would be all over the country.

Vani says she has nightmares about the farmer suicide situation and says that it is giving her sleepless nights. The entireshooting will happen in the interiors ofthe state and will be there for a month both in the vidarbha and the marathwada region of Maharashtra. Vani says its right time "The truth needs to be told ". And she has decided to take up this very strongly.

Her work with the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha is also in focus as she's addressing "Woman Issues" very convincingly all across the country.

She saysbeing a young national secretary of the youth wing of the party is a huge responsibility and she wants to do more advocacy for the issues relating to young women all across the country.

Talking about her acting work, she said more wants to be on a path which sheconnects to and also talk about the those truths also which we ignore. "My work has to reflect my ideas".

On being asked how she feels about being on aggressive speaker and a "star campaigner" for the BJP She says over "she feels passionate about the political path that she's on". She rejects the word "Star" and says we are all "Karyakartas" of the party and we have to do so much more as every activity has social accountability and she is very aware about it.

Way to go Girl! Hail Girl Power!

Diwali, Arzoo.com, India’s leading travel portal, today announced a special offer

On the festive occasion of Diwali, Arzoo.com, India’s leading travel portal, today announced a special offer where customers can avail guaranteed 10% discount on domestic airfare bookings on Go Air, Spicejet, Indigo, & Indian for travel anywhere within India. Similarly customers can also avail guaranteed 7% discount on International airline bookings to US, Europe and Gulf.

Commenting on this special offer, Mr. Sameer Patil, Head-Marketing of Arzoo.com said, “Diwali is one of the most Grand festival of India and therefore we have announced this special offer to provide 10% discount on 4 domestic airlines to our customers to celebrate, rejoice & travel more by taking benefit of this special offer”. This offer is valid for bookings done via any bank credit card or even by paying cash on delivery between 2nd Nov to 15th November, 2007 for travel on any date till 31st March 08.

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About Arzoo.com:

Through Arzoo.com, customers can book Domestic and International Flights, make Hotel Reservations, buy Domestic & International Holiday Packages, and find Exciting Weekend Gateways and also Service Apartments. Apart from offering amongst the best rates in all categories, the unique value proposition of Arzoo.com is that customers have a choice of multiple ways of making travel reservations via the Internet or Mobile Phones or by calling a Toll Free Number (1-800-22 21 20) for 24x7 assistance, or by simply sending an SMS to 567 67 55 mentioning brief travel requirements.

Arzoo also specializes in handling regular travel requirements of corporate customers, including group bookings. Through special deals with major hotels in all categories across India and overseas, Arzoo suits the budget and tastes of all types of customers.

Tagit, a Singapore based mobile commerce company, with its development base in India,

Tagit, a Singapore based mobile commerce company, with its development base in India, announced that Mobile phone users in India will now be able to book movie tickets in all Cinema Halls owned by AdLabs, the country’s largest chain of screens, using a unique solution called Mobile Box Office which enables users to book tickets, make payment and even select seats using their mobile phones!

All you need to do to block your seats for the latest releases like JAB WE MET and NO SMOKING, is to send an SMS to a predetermined number, download an application which guides you through the whole process, right up to blocking your seats. The system runs on GPRS, giving users a seamless and effortless way of navigating content which is being dynamically updated in real time from Adlab’s website. The confirmation of the booking is sent directly to the user’s phone in text form. Thus no more standing in queue, no more multiple trips to the cinema, and no more buying tickets in the black.

The Indian movie business is experiencing annualised growth rates of about 30 per cent. In 2006, Indian films grossed about USD 2 billion, up from USD 1.5 billion in 2004. A Price Waterhouse Coopers forecast expects revenues will leap to more than USD 4 billion over the next five years. About 30 to 40% of these revenues are from multiplexes, which makes mobile ticketing an attractive proposition.

“With the largest film industry and the largest number of mobile users, India is the ideal place to roll-out this solution,” says Shankar Narayanan, co-founder & president of Tagit. “The mobile phone is probably the one product that has successfully bridged the digital divide and solutions like ours, help the mobile users benefit from internet services, which were till now the preserve of only PC users”. Elaborating, he mentioned that the service has found ready acceptance among cinemagoers of another major cinema chain which has introduced the service. “Our solution enjoys over 55% market share in the burgeoning Mobile e-ticketing market”, he added.

Adlabs Cinemas, well known for its strategic deployment of technology to enhance customers’ cinematic experience, will make this service available across its 110 screens spread across 26 cities. “At Adlabs, we believe in innovation and customer convenience. The Mobile Box Office solution from Tagit empowers our customers and saves them time, effort and money, thus adding to the quality of the cinema-going experience. The response in the first week of its launch has been extremely encouraging”, says Tushar Dhingra, COO, Adlabs Cinemas.

"Adlabs is a premier brand and we are proud to be associated with them for their mobile ticketing platform. This is yet another milestone in our global thrust to be the leading service platform for entertainment, travel, hospitality, commerce and finance", informed Ranjan Kapur, Country Head, WPP India and Chairman of Tagit India.

Commenting on the future plans of the company in India, Narayanan says, 'Mobile internet usage in India will grow at a rapid pace and need-based services such as ticketing, bill payments and mobile government services will become the drivers for this growth, which will in turn lead to the growth of mobile advertising”. According to the latest figures released by TRAI, India has already crossed the 250 million user mark last year, much ahead of schedule. Of this, 25 million subscribers are in the city of Mumbai alone. Given the increasing adoption and ease of usage of GPRS, the community of mobile service users is bound to grow. Conservative estimates place the number close to 20 million in the next few years.

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About Tagit (India) Private Limited

Tagit is a mobile commerce company with a Development and Marketing office in Noida, India. It has innovated the ATM (Advanced Transactional Mobility) platform for mobile commerce which enables secure and seamless payments on mobile phones, and is able to adapt, transform and project online content onto hundreds of different mobile phone models rapidly and at low cost without the need for extensive reconfiguration of operating systems. Tagit has developed a suite of advanced mobile commerce applications for the entertainment , travel, financial and government sectors, and major international companies have already signed up for this unique solution.

About Adlabs Films

Adlabs, a member of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is one of the leading movie and entertainment companies in India with a dominant presence across the value chain: production of films and TV content, film processing and services, domestic and international distribution of content and a nationwide cinema chain. Adlabs currently has a market capitalization of over Rs. 2300 crores.

For more information, please contact:
Rohit Srivastava, MelCole PR Shankar Narayanan, Tagit
Phone: +91-11-29834428, 29833118 Phone: +91-9892853310.