Mumbai: India’s leading private radio and entertainment network, Red FM won ‘India’s Transformational Brand of 2023’ at the sixth edition of IDEAFEST, India’s Transformational Brands & Leaders 2023. Amongst some of the top leaders in India, Red FM & Magic FM director & COO, Nisha Narayanan was honoured with ‘Leader of the Year – India’s Transformational Leader 2023’.
India’s Transformational Brands and Leaders 2023 comes from the WCRCINT, global leaders in brand and leadership equity research and management. The tribute honoured some of India’s best brands and leaders who are transforming the nation with their leadership, innovations, branding, and product innovations that are transforming human lives. The mega event was held on 18 April 2023 at the Eros Hotel, New Delhi.
RED FM and Magic FM director & COO Nisha Narayanan said, “It is a privilege to be recognised by WCRCINT for Red FM’s contribution to the radio industry. The win is an acknowledgement of Red FM’s unwavering commitment to building communities, loyalties, and staying relevant. I dedicate this recognition to my team, who breathe life into visions and make all of it possible; they truly are the backbones of the brand. Over the years, Red FM has transformed itself by embracing digital technology, incorporating multilingual content, and recognising the force of the diverse linguistic landscape of India. Leading a brand that continues to set a standard of excellence in the industry has been a tremendous privilege, and I am proud to have been part of such a distinguished journey.”
At the event, there were renowned media personalities who were recognised for their significant contributions including Rajdeep Sardesai, Sonia Singh, Anjana Om Kashyap, Ashneer Grover and more.
Mumbai: In a major development, the original founders of Goosebumps Brand Solutions Private Ltd., Dhananjay Sharma and Ratan Kumar have taken back charge of the agency. The reunion of the original founders is expected to inject renewed vigour into the agency’s operations.
Goosebumps Brand Solutions was founded in 2011 by the duo as a boutique creative agency. A few years later, Ratan also set up Thinking Folks – a digital-first agency.
The strategic coming together of the founders and the agencies was necessitated to enable clients to get a one-stop solution for all their tech, digital and creative needs.
Thinking Folks CEO, founder & Goosebumps co-founder Kumar who would be heading both agencies said, “With both the teams now sitting out of the same office and working closely, we would be able to provide clients better strategic inputs and faster TAT. Both setups will benefit immensely from each other’s strengths. And of course, it will make the lives of our clients easier as they would now find all solutions in one place – be it tech, e-commerce, digital, performance, social or mainline creative.”
“With this coming together, we are now a 40-member team with offices in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, and Dubai. And with many new young talents on board in tech, digital and creative, we believe we will be able to create a great body of work for our clients and ourselves,” added Sharma.
It is learnt that the duo is planning to start operations in more cities outside India.
Thinking Folks also forged a tie-up with Bengaluru-based consulting firm LeapX.
Mumbai. Working hard to pursue their dreams is what defines this generation of high-performing individuals. They possess the inherent need to constantly achieve more and be the best. ITC Engage celebrates this intense passion and the zest for performance with the launch of its new range of deodorants, Engage Intense. Epitomizing this generational intensity of hard work, from grit to glory, is Shubman Gill, the new brand Ambassador for Engage Intense.
Engage Intense presents a range of masculine deodorants which complement the intense spirit to dream big, perform well & win. The long- lasting strong fragrances reflect this zeal to be better, raise the intensity of performance and accomplish one’s goals and aspirations. The scent profiles of leathery, woody and spicy, is designed to be a part of this journey of perseverance for young men.
Gill as the brand ambassador brings his intense preparation and game to the forefront for Engage Intense. Conceptualised by Ogilvy India and directed by Vijay Sawant, the film highlights rigour, commitment and passion of Men who dream to be the achievers of tomorrow. Shubman as the brand ambassador shares his own journey of dedication, faith and positivity through this visual and intense narrative. Engage Intense complements this journey of young India.
DITC Ltd. divisional chief executive personal care business Sameer Satpathy said, “It is indeed motivating to witness the changing attitudes towards success and achievement. Many young people are more willing to take risks and pursue their passion and dreams, even if it requires enormous hard work and facing uncertainties. It is this journey of the zeal for performance that Engage Intense celebrates. With Shubman Gill, Engage Intense celebrates the strength of performance not only metaphorically but also in the product promise.”
Gill stated, “I have huge respect for hard-earned success. I believe while hard-work and talent is interlinked, it is hard-work that often takes precedence. Performance is key and preparations to bring the A game always needs a lot of practice, patience and motivation. I am happy to partner with Engage to showcase this intensity that helps achieve the pinnacle of performance. I totally believe, jitni intense taiyaari, utna intense game!”
Engage Intense is available in two variants, Black Skies and Green Turf with a promise of long lasting, 24-hour fragrance profiles. It is available at leading retail outlets at Rs 230 for 150ml.
Mumbai: Tata CLiQ Luxury, India’s premier luxury lifestyle platform, has partnered with Zoya, the exquisite diamond boutique from the house of Tata, to launch its timeless jewels on the platform. Over the last 15 years, Zoya has built a reputation for its expert craftsmanship and distinguished design. Redefining the way jewellery is experienced in India, Zoya creates meaningful pieces of wearable art with the discerning, aesthetically astute woman as its muse. The fine jewellery portfolio on the platform features a curated selection of brands across various product categories. With the addition of Zoya, Tata CLiQ Luxury strengthens its existing portfolio, further bringing together two renowned luxury brands within the Tata Group.
The presentation includes some of the most versatile pieces, including Zoya’s autograph series Aeterna and Samave and includes earrings, rings, bangles, bracelets, pendants, and necklaces, all of which are noted for their versatility in design.
Aeterna is a contemporary collection of rare jewels inspired by ancient symbols of sacred geometry and a testament to the limitless feminine energy. The Flower of Life pattern, symmetrically balanced crossing circles highlighted in clean fractal patterns, and the sacred emblem of the Vesica Pisces, which represents a metaphoric vessel for sacred force, serve as design inspirations for the pieces. The visual language of this landmark collection juxtaposes a highly feminine palette of amethyst, pink sapphire, morganites, and rose gold with powerful abstract design to deliver a collection that is lively and stylish.
Samāvé celebrates the Zoya woman as she journeys through life, reconnecting to the source of her own feminine power and the relationships that nourish her. In keeping with Zoya’s peerless legacy of design innovation, the visual vocabulary of this collection masterfully crafts the heartfelt symbolism of architectural lore into futuristic design. With clean lines in rose and white gold, the new edition presents evocative masterpieces in a contemporary compendium of bangles and chain pendants as well as rings, and earrings that are ideal for daily wear and connect meaningfully with the inner world of the Zoya woman.
Commenting on this launch, Tata CLiQ Luxury chief business officer Gitanjali Saxena said, “We are elated to expand our fine jewellery category with the launch of Zoya on the platform. The brand has carved a niche for itself in the fine jewellery industry in the country. Known for its distinctive style, Zoya’s deep design stories are inspired by the elemental feminine craft jewellery in a way that elevates it to a work of art. Their signature collection, Aeterna, has been innovatively designed, which allows women to style the jewellery with any kind of attire. We are excited to offer this iconic brand to our customers.”
Zoya business head Amanpreet Ahluwalia added, “Zoya has always endeavored to craft a world that is truly meaningful for the Zoya woman. Proudly Indian at heart, Zoya translates India’s rich traditional legacy of artisanship into a design language that is contemporary and global in its outlook. Zoya being on Tata CLiQ Luxury is a moment of great pride and significance for us as it is two of the finest consumer-facing luxury brands from the House of Tata coming together. This intersection of excellence illuminates the way forward for luxury. “
Browse and shop from a curated range of fine jewellery from Zoya that can be effortlessly styled with any kind of look.
Mumbai: Inburg, a patent-pending merchants network that helps merchants gain new customers and retain them economically and efficiently, has announced its upcoming conference, “The Fashion & Lifestyle Retail Convention,” on 26 April, 2023, at Hotel Pride Plaza in Aerocity, New Delhi. This event is aimed at bringing together key stakeholders to discuss and develop a strategic roadmap for achieving profitability and growth in the fashion and lifestyle retail industry in India.
The conference will be an insightful platform for initiating a dialogue among industry leaders, including popular Fashion & Lifestyle brands, eCom & D2C founders, Investors, Brand Strategists, Enablers, Journalists, and other stakeholders of the Indian Startup Ecosystem. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from successful entrepreneurs and leaders who have built and scaled brands worth millions of dollars.
“We are excited for this conference on D2C brands, aimed at revolutionizing the e-commerce landscape,” said Inburg CTO Kalika Prasad. “At Inburg, we are committed to empowering Retail & D2C brands with advanced technology, data-driven insights, and seamless integrations, enabling them to excel in the highly competitive online marketplace.
It will cover various topics related to expanding fashion and lifestyle businesses in a rational and practical way, including identifying market opportunities given the change in consumer behavior, comprehending the significance, applications, and impact of product innovation & design, creating safer, secure, and seamless consumer experiences on a dependable network, finding best-fit distribution channels to reach digital natives, and mastering marketing strategies for e-commerce, D2C, and drop-shipping businesses in 2023 and beyond.”
Inburg recognizes the unique needs and challenges of D2C brands in the current retail landscape and is designed to address these pain points and provide a comprehensive solution that empowers D2C brands to excel in their online sales and marketing efforts.
Join Inburg at “The Fashion & Lifestyle Retail Convention” on 26 April, 2023, to learn, network, and explore new possibilities for your D2C brand in the dynamic e-commerce landscape.
Mumbai: Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the sixth largest jewellery retailer globally with 312 showrooms across ten countries, has signed Indian actress Alia Bhatt as their new brand ambassador. After making her debut in 2012, Alia Bhatt has quickly transformed into one of the most sought-after actresses in India, with a score of blockbusters movies under the belt. She has garnered praise for her versatility as an actress, her humble persona and stunning looks, representative of a new era of super talented actors hailing from India. She is also set to make her Hollywood debut in the movie, Heart of Stone, which is slated to be released soon.
The announcements come in the wake of the 30 anniversary of Malabar group, which began their operations in 1993. With an extensive retail network in India, UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA, the signing of Alia Bhatt as the brand ambassador will bring a new global outlook to the brand as they set their eyes on new markets such as the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Egypt, Bangladesh, Turkey and New Zealand as well as major cities in all states of India strengthen their presence in existing markets.
“I am delighted to be the face of a global brand such as Malabar Gold & Diamonds. Having witnessed first-hand their acceptance amongst Indians and Indian sub-continental audiences, the immense success they have reaped abroad should be a source of great pride for us and I am humbled to be a part of the Malabar family. As Malabar Gold & Diamonds gears up to execute their ambitious expansion plan, I earnestly look forward to working closely with them to further their reach amongst jewellery lover’s world-over”, commented Alia Bhatt.
“We are very excited to welcome Alia Bhatt into the Malabar Family. Over the years, our brand ambassadors have played an instrumental role in elevating our brand’s status in the eyes of our customers and we are looking forward to taking Malabar Gold & Diamonds to new heights with Alia Bhatt as the face of the brand. Our goal is to be crowned as the World’s largest jewellery retailer by crafting, promoting and selling jewellery that is an intersection of Indian art, culture, tradition, heritage and Alia Bhatt, both as an actor and as a person, perfectly represents what we are striving to achieve. Her impressive career in the highly competitive film industry resonates with our brand’s journey and ambition as a brand. As Malabar Gold & Diamonds celebrates its 30 anniversary, we are reaffirming our commitment to providing our loyal customers with the best jewellery shopping experience”, commented Malabar Group chairman, M.P. Ahammed.
Malabar Gold & Diamonds is globally renowned for providing an exceptional jewelry shopping experience with convenience and customer-friendly policies, known as the ‘Malabar Promise.’ This promise assures customers of unmatched quality, transparency, and service assurance. With more than 12 exclusive brands in gold, diamond, and precious gems, Malabar Gold & Diamonds presents the latest designs curated from 20 countries, catering to the diverse tastes and preferences of their vast, multicultural customer base.
Mumbai: Startek (NYSE: SRT), a global customer experience (CX) solutions provider, has announced the launch of a new visual identity to better reflect the company’s commitment to combining the latest technology and data-driven insights with its associates’ expertise to deliver memorable and personalized experiences for customers.
“I am excited to start a bold new chapter in the Startek story built around a strong set of values that inspire and drive us,” said Startek GLOBAL CEO Bharat Rao. “Our new visual identity reflects our company’s mission, vision and values and embodies our commitment to innovation and CX excellence. Launching our new visual identity completes the merger of Aegis into the Startek brand, creating a single unified identity across the globe.”
Since the merger of the Startek and Aegis brands in 2018, Startek has considerably strengthened its position as a global player and was recognized in 2022 as one of an elite group of providers with the capabilities necessary to effectively support global CX delivery.
The newly unveiled Startek visual identity and vision statement reflects the company’s focus on bringing brands closer to their customers through personalized experiences and showcases the Startek commitment to combining people, technology and data to deliver customer experience excellence for leading brands.
“We’re thrilled to launch our new look and feel. Startek and the clients we serve have developed since we started out almost 40 years ago and, today, our visual identity has evolved to better represent the company we have become and the solutions we offer,” said Startek CMO Rebecca Gautrey. “We are proud to be a global, digital-first CX solutions provider and our new visual identity reflects our mission to deliver customer experience excellence by combining our people, the latest technology and data-driven insights. We’re excited about the future and the value we bring to all our stakeholders.”
The new Startek visual identity is a significant step in the company’s evolution as a global CX solutions provider. The company is driven by its stakeholders, believing that it is by coming together to create value for its clients, opportunity for its people and profitable growth for its shareholders that the company can go further and do more. The power of positive experiences and the role of stakeholders in the brand’s long-term success is brought to life in the new Startek logo through the pink Stakeholder Bar.
The company’s new brand identity and vision statement will be showcased across its digital and physical channels, including its website, social media and marketing collateral.
Mumbai: Hrithik Roshan, an Indian Actor and fitness enthusiast, has unveiled his fitness brand HRX’s first store in Mumbai today. HRX is India’s first homegrown fitness brand, jointly owned by Roshan and Exceed Entertainment.
The Mumbai store is the city’s first standalone store spread over 2600 sq ft of real estate in Mumbai’s Phoenix Market City in Kurla. It has over 500 SKUs across Apparel, Footwear, Accessories, Fitness Equipment, Audio, Nutrition, and Personal Care selections for shoppers. The popular segments that HRX operates in include T-Shirts, Track Pants, Jackets, Sports Bras, Tights, and Footwear, which cover the latest fashion trends, fits, silhouettes, and seasonal colors, catering to the Gen-Z and Millennial cohorts.
The Mumbai store is the first of its kind. It is created to extend the HRX experience offline, promising an integrated shopping experience inspired by Roshan’s fitness journey to its active consumer base as well as everyday athletes who follow the brand. The concept is conceived as an attempt to express the core essence of HRX- Be the Best version of yourself. The physical ambience is designed as a condensed expression of an inspiring workout space, for body and mind. With Urban Scapes in context, this concept captures elements of both indoor and outdoor fitness regimes, expressed using differentiating textures, colors and relative elements.
Roshan on the Mumbai store launch said, “HRX was built a decade back as an online brand, offering comfortable and functional fitness apparel and accessories to encourage people across the country to pursue their everyday fitness goals. After a decade-long journey we have come this far and I am delighted to announce the launch of the Mumbai store, which is a translation of our online experience into a more personalized offline experience. The immense love & trust in the brand from the HRX community has enabled us to launch this store in Mumbai while continuing with the plans of launching many more. I hope shoppers will enjoy the HRX in-store experience and all our product offerings as much as they enjoy the experience on Myntra.”
HRX provides fitness enthusiasts with a functional, technological, and trendy product range that enables users to pursue their fitness goals. The brand is planning to launch 12 more stores in 2023 across cities like Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, and Pune.
Mumbai: UK based premium fashion brand hosted a one-of-a-kind celebration in Delhi to celebrate their community, the #Urbanicsquad. The media and influencers experienced ‘Good vibes and positivity’ through the Urbanic summer pool party event. The event was themed at the forefront of Urbanic’s ongoing campaign, ‘#UAre’.
The campaign highlights and encourages the influencers to spread positivity via displaying their creativity through content creation and overcome unwanted online trolling for creators. Urbanic aims to raise awareness via the slang, ‘Kill’em with kindness’. The hashtag is open-ended for anyone to overcome online hatred; such as #UAre- amazing/courageous/ high-spirited and more.
Urbanic presented the media and influencers with their new spring-summer collection. The collection is tailor-made for a memorable, fun and comfortable summer, just like a breath of fresh, breezy air. The colors selection is a mix of hues of pink and whites, ruling the summer season at Urbanic. Summer staples like basic tees and denims are a highlight for the customers.
The event was well embraced by the #Urbanicsquad with over 300 influencers, with names like Ishani Mitra, Shaily Srivastava, Shubhi Bharal and more who had a glam time and promoted the campaign behind the event, #UAre. The event was a no-hate zone and allowed inclusivity amongst influencers, via their campaign.
Urbanic India head of marketing Rahul Dayama said, “Urbanic has truly bridged the gap for our customers through trending collections at premium quality in India, it’s a pleasure for me to host a celebration that honors the #Urbanicsquad. The event is a reminder that Urbanic is a part of a larger community that celebrates good vibes and positivity, which is the theme and highlight of our event. Creators celebrate Urbanic, while we celebrate them”
Vaishali Srivastava, or popularly known as srivastav ji, a leading fashion and lifestyle influencer based out of Delhi mentioned, “I love Urbanic and the team so much, they literally throw the best parties. It’s such a fun and intimate event where you get to meet your friends and fellow creators followed by some really nice good food and music. The spring summer collection this time was so nicely curated I can’t wait to try them on and wear it this season.”
Neeta Basnet, one of the first members of #Urbanicsquad mentioned, “I have been part of the #UrbanicSquad since my early days of content creation. I love the community, as it has supported me throughout my journey and helped me become my best self. I always look forward to our community meet-ups, as it’s always so refreshing to interact with new creators and spend time with them. This summer beach house was fun, I got to meet my friends again and preview the new summer collection, which I am thrilled to add to my wardrobe.”
Urbanic’s summer pool party was indeed a memorable experience for media and influencers, and marked the celebration of their tribe, #Urbanicsquad.
Mumbai: Senco Gold & Diamonds has announced the appointment of renowned Bengali actress Ishaa Saha as its regional brand ambassador. The actress will be promoting Senco Gold’s bridal jewellery collection.
As part of the summer wedding jewellery campaign, Senco Gold & Diamonds has also unveiled a new music video titled ‘Lilabali’ starring Ishaa Saha. The music video showcases the beauty of the modern bride adorned in Senco Gold’s new bridal jewellery collection during various wedding rituals and events, including haldi ceremony, mehendi rasam, the joyful sangeet, the wedding itself, and the grand reception. The video features an old traditional Bengali folk song with a refreshing modern twist of Hindi hip-hop and rap, accompanying the beautiful moments of a traditional Bengali wedding.
Actress Ishaa Saha, who gained prominence for her roles in the movies ‘Projapoti Biskut’ and ‘Sweater,’ has been appointed as the fourth regional brand ambassador by Senco Gold & Diamonds. The brand has earlier roped various prominent actresses to promote its products in different parts of the country, including Tollywood actress Madhumita Sarkar for the Everlite collection in the East, Assamese actress Sunita Kaushik for the North-East, and Bengali actress Ditipriya Roy for the gossip collection. Jaya Ahsan, a leading Bangladeshi actress, also endorses Senco Gold & Diamonds’ bridal jewellery collection, while Bollywood actress Kiara Advani promotes the brand nationally. Former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly promotes the brand’s men’s jewellery collection called “AHAM,” and sports-star Dutee Chand endorses the brand’s Everlite and Pride collections.
Senco Gold & Diamonds also launched a new range of bridal jewellery collection titled ‘Rajwada 2023’ under Vivaha Collection, which offers a glamorous and stylish line of jewellery for the bride-to-be. The new Rajwada 2023 Vivaha Collection, where indigenous craftsmanship has been used to create jewellery that encompasses the rich culture and heritage of India, epitomizes nobility or grandeur with its exquisite work on filigree, ball and wire-work, antique, kundan, polki, meenakari & diamonds. The exquisitely handcrafted regal jewellery is designed to bring out the queen in every Indian bride, ready to rule in her new phase of life. Price of the new collection starts from two lacs onwards.
Senco Gold & Diamonds director Joita Sen said, “We are delighted to have leading Bengali Actress, Ishaa Saha as our brand ambassador for our bridal jewellery . Her appearance beautifully portrays the elegance of Bengali brides. We are confident that our valued customers will love and connect with the new ‘Lilabali’ campaign video due to Ishaa’s graceful presence in bridal attire besides its catchy tune on fusion of Bengali folk song with foot-tapping beats, and memorable vocals. The music video reflects how Senco Gold offers the perfect blend of tradition and modernity in its wedding jewellery, just as every Bengali wedding is a mix of both traditional and new-age elements.”
Speaking on the occasion, Senco Gold & Diamonds MD and CEO Suvankar Sen said, ‘As part of our ‘Hyperlocal’ approach, we are absolutely happy and excited to have renowned Bengali actress Ishaa Saha as our regional brand ambassador, to establish a deeper customer connect and enhance the visibility of our brand in east and north-eastern region of the country.”
Actress Ishaa Saha said, “It is an honour to be associated with a brand like Senco Gold & Diamonds, which has a legacy of over five decades in the jewellery business. This is my first brand endorsement in the jewellery category and it is my absolute honour to be on board with such an esteemed brand name, the collection of the brand is something that I personally like and I am more than happy to represent this brand. The campaign is beautifully planned and executed which brings out the essence of Bengali Wedding beautifully. ”
Regarding the campaign music video, Bang On Content director and cinematographer Piyash Ghosh said, “The experience of exploring the beauty and richness of Bengali wedding traditions through music was truly fulfilling for us.”