At Kyoorius, we’re dealing with the coronavirus situation with the seriousness it deserves.
Therefore, we’re doing what can be done remotely while keeping our followers informed on all that is happening in the world of media, advertising and marketing.
Consequently, till things improve, Melt in a Minute will change a bit.
The format will change from all video to a text-based post. A little more difficult to consume, but it’s the best we can think of under the circumstances.
All of you, stay safe.
And stay informed with posts like this one.

Today’s Top Headlines:

1. Omnicom top execs take pay cuts, also implements furloughs

Omnicom Group’s CEO John Wren is letting go of his salary and the group is reducing the salaries of its senior leadership team by approximately a third as a result of COVID-19, Marketing Interactive reports. The company has also implemented a hiring freeze and planning on making furloughs rather than permanent staff reductions. This comes as other networks such as WPP, Publicis Groupe, and Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) have also implemented cost reduction measures to weather the COVID-19 storm.

2. Essel Propack appoints Sudhanshu Vats as CEO and MD

Essel Propack Limited has appointed Sudhanshu Vats as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, effective 16 April 2020. Exchange4media reports that the board has further appointed Vats as Additional Director of the Company. He has also been designated as key managerial personnel pursuant to the Companies Act 2013.

3. NBA asks FM to do away with 18% GST on broadcast media or reduce it to 5%

The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) urged the government to do away with 18% GST on broadcast media advertisements or take it down to 5 %, at par with the print media to help the sector deal with the economic disruption brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. As seen on Economic Times report, NBA has sent out a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, emphasising on the importance of advertisements for news broadcasters’ revenues. It also stated that consumer companies had either cut or deferred their ad spends creating major cashflow problems for broadcasters.

4.Rajiv Singh, Head, Digital Ad Sales and Monetization, SPN India moves on

Rajiv Singh, Head, Digital Ad Sales and Monetization, at Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) has moved on from the network according to exchange4media. Singh who was with SPNI’s OTT platform SonyLiv, will join PCCW Media, a multi-billion dollar company owned by Hong Kong-based telecommunications, media and IT solutions company – PCCW Limited. He will be based out of Indonesia where his new role will be VP-Sales.

5.More than 5 lakh hacked Zoom accounts up for sale on Dark Web

Data of around 5,00,000 Zoom users went on sale on dark sale for rates lower than Rs 1, as reported by Livemint. According to US cybersecurity firm Cyble, some of these account details belonged to companies or institutions including Chase, Citibank, and various universities. Also, these accounts were hacked via credential stuffing attacks. The hackers use the leaked data to access various accounts. The accounts that are successfully logged into are then compiled and sold to other buyers.