MEDIA-I: Indiatimes.com campaign hits out at US rival

<p>NEW DELHI: Indiatimes.com has launched an aggressive ad campaign </p><p>that takes aim at a popular US rival. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It coincided with India's Independence Day and appealed to the country's </p><p>net users' sense of patriotism. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The full-page ad ran in India's dailies on India's anniversary of </p><p>independence from British rule. The tagline was "Quit USA, Enter India" </p><p>as the campaign was aimed at US portal usa.net. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Popular with Indian users, usa.net has moved to charging for its </p><p>service, which until recently was offered for free. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Owned by media house The Times of India Group, indiatimes.com faces </p><p>stiff competition from portals such as Rediff.com and sify.com. At the </p><p>same time, competition is also increasing from international portals </p><p>like Yahoo and MSN, which also offer Indian versions of their </p><p>services. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Indiatimes.com is hoping to capitalise on the strong brand name of the </p><p>Times Group, while leveraging its own content from its nationwide group </p><p>of reporters, who serve its numerous publications. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While Indiatimes.com has a name advantage over the other portals, it </p><p>also faces competition from indya.com, which was recently acquired by </p><p>the Star network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>