Tony Hertz to speak on the art and craft of radio advertising at Mirchi Kaan Awards

Introduced in 2004, the Mirchi Kaan Awards acknowledge and award the contribution of individuals and organisations that have led the way to create clutter-breaking radio advertising.

The jury met on April 10 to shortlist the winners for this year's Kaan Awards. The ninth edition of the Mirchi Kaan Awards will be held today at the Comedy Store in Mumbai. The theme for this year is 'Listen, Learn, Shine'.

The annual initiative has an added attraction this year, with renowned radio guru Tony Hertz conducting a seminar on the art and craft of radio advertising. The interactive session by Hertz will be preceded by a workshop by Neelesh Misra, well known Hindi script and lyrics writer, and also an interactive session by Radio Mirchi radio jockey, Mir.

The creative fraternity from the advertising industry met to select the best radio ads of 2011 for the 9th Mirchi Kaan Awards. The jury included renowned advertising industry professionals such as Ravi Deshpande, chairman and chief creative officer, Contract Advertising; Ramanuj Shastry, chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi; Prathap Suthan, chief creative officer, iYogi; Priti Nair, founder and director, Curry-Nation; Malvika Mehra, national creative director and senior vice-president, Grey; Manohar Nayak, managing director, Lingo India; Amit Akali, senior vice-president and national creative director, Grey; Josy Paul, chairman and national creative director, BBDO India; Tista Sen, national creative director, JWT Mumbai; Rekha Nigam, managing director, Vihaan Communications and Deepa Krishnan, president, creative, Lowe Lintas.

The focal point of this year is the promising response that the awards have generated from the advertising industry. There were an impressive 300 entries, a 50 per cent jump over last year. The number of agencies participating doubled, too. In all, 33 agencies submitted entries this time. And, the number of entries for the Best Use of Radio as a Medium saw a tripling of entries to 31. Entries were spread across 15 categories, ranging from food to cosmetics.

Introduced in 2004, the Mirchi Kaan Awards acknowledge and award the contribution of individuals and organisations that have led the way to create clutter-breaking radio advertising. The award was instituted to encourage continued creative focus on radio advertising and is now synonymous with excellence in creativity in radio.

The winners for this year will be felicitated at an awards function today at the Comedy Store, Phoenix Mills.

(afaqs! is the official online partner for Radio Mirchi Kaan Awards 2012).