News

The mobile phone sector is fast becoming the meeting point for those who want to do good and those who want to do good business, especially in the emerging markets. Cell phones are no longer just tools for communication, they are now also the medium for providing micro finance, healthcare services, business opportunities, and vital […]

In December, world leaders will meet in Cancun to talk about climate change (the “Conference of Parties 16/CMP 6 Kyoto Protocol” conference). Some see it as a chance to redeem the 2009 Copenhagen Summit that left several EU ministers weeping on the side of the hall; others think that it is likely to be a […]

Since 2009, the world has been witnessing an unexpected tussle between the government and civil society activists in Russia, a country that typically doesn’t allow its citizens much say in issues of public development. Thousands of people have been protesting against the razing of large parts of the Khimki forest to build an US$8 billion […]

“The Conversation Behind Closed Doors” – an inside-the-boardroom survey of attitudes toward corporate investment in Africa among leading U.S. corporations. The two-part, qualitative survey was conducted by Baird’s CMC in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The information was gathered between January and November 2008 in a series of closed door interviews with senior […]

By Mark Chataway Pharmaceutical Executive “It’s Déjà vu all over again,” as a great American thinker once said. I talk to clients about communications with end users and it sounds just like 1985, when I started working as a communications consultant to the industry. Back then, there used to be a whole series of excuses […]

By Mark Chataway Pharmaceutical Marketing Online “Difficult?” says the headline over an air–brushed picture of a muscular young man. “Well, we hope it’s got a little easier now that Glaxo SmithKline have combined two essential Aids medicines in one tablet”. And there, alongside the advertising blurb are pictures of the two essential medicines with a […]

By Aman Gupta Small chance! Just as radio survived dire predictions following the launch of television, the print media will ride the storm too. Although 2009 was Annus horribilis for the print media in terms of lower ad revenues and falling margins due to the global economic slowdown, there was a silver lining too. First, […]

By Aman Gupta As thought leaders with diverse political leanings debate the economic agenda India must adopt – against the backdrop of the rising Maoist menace – one point is beyond debate or doubt: India’s growth and prosperity must include the poorest of the poor. Like the rest of humankind, India today stands at the […]

By Mark Chataway, Agency Confidential Three years ago, I would have told you that the future lay in personalized news and ever-more sophisticated Web searches. Tell the New York Times that you are interested in breast cancer and it will flag every article published on the subject; list it as a Google Alert and you will […]

By Francois Baird Foreign Policy It’s the kind of conundrum that keeps some of the United States’ most senior executives stumped: Africa is the world’s last untapped market, but the continent’s reputation for corruption, lack of infrastructure, and instability make investment look risky. A steady stream of negative news from the continent doesn’t help. For […]