K R Skandraaj joins Dinamalar as GM marketing

The Tamil newspaper Dinamalar has roped in K R Skandraaj as its general manager, marketing. He will now oversee the marketing initiatives of the publication, and will report to L Adimoolam, chief marketing officer, Dinamalar.

Talking about his new responsibilities at Dinamalar, Skandraaj says, "With six decades of publication history behind it, Dinamalar has a media standing that can be matched by very few media houses in the country. I consider it an honour to be part of the team that is poised to change the way brands start utilising the marketing possibilities that the oldest news dissemination medium has to offer."

In an official communique, Adimoolam, says, "Skandraaj has been instrumental in changing the marketing landscape for Tamil dailies, and has done some of the most pioneering branding initiatives. Having him on board is certainly good for our publication. It cannot be a more opportune time, since Dinamalar has exciting new branding options for advertisers, which will now gain an insightful new dimension with Skandraaj joining the ranks."

Prior to this appointment, Skandraaj was with Sovereign Media Marketing, the marketing division of Malar Publications, as the COO (chief operating officer), space marketing, for Daily Thanthi and its group publications. Malar Publishing also owns Rani and Rani Muthu weekly, and the monthly magazine Gokulam Kathir, an evening daily Mallai Malar, a cable channel AMN TV, and the FM channel titled HelloFM.

Skandraaj, who has over 22 years of experience, has been associated with Sovereign Media Marketing since May 2005, and has been responsible for the development of the brand Sovereign Media Marketing, playing a key role in increasing the advertising revenue. He was also responsible for strategic consulting including business plans and sales strategy development of the daily.

During his tenure with Sovereign Media Marketing, Skandraaj also worked as chief manager, marketing and as national head, for advertising, marketing, brand communication, and branding activities.

Skandraaj left the company in May, 2011.

Prior to Sovereign Media Marketing, he was with the ABP Group as regional manager for a little under two years. Skandraaj also worked with Deccan Herald for six years. He left the company as assistant general manager (advertisement).

Skandraaj started his career with Getit Yellow Pages as sales executive in July 1988. He was with the company for about three years, and was responsible for selling the yellow pages concept across categories. From there, he moved on to The Indian Express Group as business executive, and was with the company until October 1994. At The Indian Express, he was instrumental in commencing the company's computer publication in Chennai (then Madras), which resulted in the growth of revenue by 40 per cent in the first year itself.

Skandraaj later moved to The Hindu as assistant regional manager, where he spearheaded operations for special features and the colour magazines of the group. During his tenure as head of the special features cell, his team came out with more than 34 special features, with revenue worth Rs 2.5 crore.

Skandraaj, a B.Com graduate from Madras University, also holds a diploma in Automobile Engineering, and has done an executive development programme from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. He has a Management Diploma in Business Administration from Symbiosis, Pune, as well.