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Category: Brands

  • FIFA World Cup 2022: Vivo announces its partnership as official sponsor

    FIFA World Cup 2022: Vivo announces its partnership as official sponsor

    Mumbai: Vivo announces its partnership with the most prominent international football tournament, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, as the official sponsor and the official smartphone.

    Vivo aspires to connect fans around the world with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Through this partnership, Vivo will leverage its rights to the FIFA World Cup 2022™, including the emblem, official brand identities, and run unique promotions to connect with passionate football fans globally.

    Expressing excitement about the partnership, Vivo India’s director-brand strategy Yogendra Sriramula said, “This collaboration with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ is a defining moment for Vivo. Football, termed as the ‘Beautiful Game’ , has the power to bring joy to billions around the world and bring them together regardless of their age, race, gender, culture, or nationality.”

    “Indeed, it has a truly global reach, and has the ability to influence and inspire billions across the globe, making the iconic FIFA World Cup™ an ideal stage for Vivo, as we expand our presence across more than 60 countries and regions across the globe. This partnership reflects our inherent value of promoting sports that help inspire joy among millions and provide a unique experience for consumers worldwide,” he added.

  • Digital Refresh Network wins the social creative media mandate for Sunstone

    Digital Refresh Network wins the social creative media mandate for Sunstone

    Mumbai: The creative and digital marketing solutions company, Digital Refresh Networks, wins the digital mandate for Sunstone. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch and will be looked after by the agency’s Mumbai team. 

    The mandate includes the overall planning and creative requirements across digital and also priming up the e-commerce presence of the brand. With an experience of a decade in the digital marketing industry, Digital Refresh Networks has worked with some of the leading brands and businesses across FMCG, consumer goods, automobile, E-commerce, Lifestyle, Health, and other sectors. 

    Sunstone’s head of marketing Alekhya Chakravarty said, “Our association with the team at Digital Refresh Networks is sure to help us organise and scale our digital content ecosystem. In today’s world, having a holistic digital presence is highly crucial to not only boost the brand’s footprint across digital but also to drive business growth for each category. We look forward to DRN’s ability to think the content in every possible form across channels that delivers brand building as well as business growth.”

    Digital Refresh Network Co-Founder & CEO Barin Mukherjee said, “It is an honour to be associated with a brand like Sunstone. With our expertise in understanding content across channels/ formats and regions, would be of great value to deliver on building Sunstone as a strong engage in brand enhance the visibility of the institution.”

  • P&G to make brand advertising accessible to people with impairments

    P&G to make brand advertising accessible to people with impairments

    Mumbai: Procter & Gamble (P&G) India on Tuesday announced its commitment to improve the accessibility of brand advertising to people with sight and hearing impairments by 2024.

    “The initiative will make P&G brands more inclusive and accessible to all members of our community. P&G also announced that it will sensitize students pursuing advertising and marketing courses on accurate portrayal and representation of women in advertising,” the company said in a statement.

    P&G will partner with leading marketing and communication colleges to shape the next generation of marketers and advertisers. Along with this, P&G also reinforced its commitment to continue leveraging the voice of its brands to have conversations that bust myths, break biases & shatter stereotypes.   

    P&G’s chief marketing officer Sharat Verma said, “At P&G, we want to step up and use our voice to be a force for growth and force for good. We have made strong progress in the role our brands are playing to drive social and cultural change. Not only that, but we are also committed to enabling equal opportunities for women in the advertising creativity and production industry.

    “It is important that we make equality and inclusion a sustainable part of creativity. Therefore, we are seeking to work with the next generation of marketers and advertisers, to drive holistic change in imagery, and in turn, society. We are deliberate in our actions to advance equality and inclusion, so that we can accelerate the pace of change,” he added.

  • Brands betting big on IVM Podcast, share Amit Doshi and Kavita Rajwade

    Brands betting big on IVM Podcast, share Amit Doshi and Kavita Rajwade

    Mumbai: Fueled up by the pandemic and unprecedented lockdown, the audio industry has grown massively over the past two years. According to a listener survey by IVM Podcasts, around 96 per cent tuned in via their phones and saw more women than ever listening to podcasts. 80 per cent of listeners prefer to listen to episodes that are more than 20 minutes long, and serious listeners get about seven-eight hours of listening per week.

    According to a KPMG study, podcast consumption increased by 29.3 per cent in the first year of the pandemic. A survey by Spotify and YouGov says that as of 2021, 50 percent of Indians prefer listening to at least one episode of a podcast every week.

    The PWC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2020 study also predicted that India’s podcast listening market, the third-largest globally, is expected to reach Rs 17.61 crore by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 34.5 per cent.

    Following the trend, branded podcasts have emerged as a favorite of advertisers across industries.

    In a conversation with IndianTelevision.com, Pratilipi owned IVM podcasts head Amit Doshi shared why brands should go for a branded podcast. Along with him, IVM co-founder Kavita Rajwade also joined in to highlight the increasing number of advertisers on the platform.

    The growth trajectory of IVM

    Industry estimates show that the podcast industry has grown immensely during the pandemic. Highlighting the growth of IVM, Doshi said, “Like the entire podcast industry, IVM too has grown enormously.”

    “Right now we create content for thirty-five advertisers and are aiming to garner a hundred brands by the end of 2022,” he revealed.

    He added, “during the initial months of the lockdown, IVM registered a drop in listenership but soon audiences were saturated with regular entertainment channels like television, OTT, etc., which led them to discover podcasts.”

    “As soon as they realised that the medium is a perfect resort for infotainment, they couldn’t take a step back which helped the medium grow,” Doshi added.

    Except for FMCG, brands across categories show interest

    At present, IVM has thirty-five advertisers in its bucket. Doshi said, “We have a variety of advertisers working with us. However, we are not specific to a particular niche of brands. We have all kinds of advertisers including fintech, edtech and e-commerce. However, FMCG is one category that is still very hesitant to invest in branded podcasts.”

    Explaining the reason behind the low-interest rates of FMCG brands, he said, “FMCG brands are usually targeting all classes of the society, whereas, the podcast is still not a mass medium. Branded podcasts are limited to educated people, millennials and Gen Z, hence FMCG brands are not open to experimenting in the podcast ecosystem.”

    Audio is no more limited to music only

    Gone are the days when audio was synonymous with music only. Now, audio for Indian listeners is a lot beyond music.

    “There was a time when audio was only about music. Songs were the only option to fill our everyday commutes, long lines at the bank, early morning walks and awkward carpools with insightful and funny stories,” Rajwade said. “But now when it comes to audio-based entertainment, listeners look for podcasts, audiobooks, editorials and other audio options,” she added.

    Content experience is more important than content creation

    Rajwade thinks that it is the content experience that helped them to grow consistently. “To provide the right solutions to the brands, we focus on providing better experiences to our listeners rather than just creating content,” she said.

    “Content creation is our primary job but we focus more on how our content makes the listener feel, because no one remembers the content after listening to it, what stays with them is the experience and feel they get while listening to a particular content,” she explained.

    Immense room for growth

    According to an analysis by market research firm RedSeer, only 12 per cent of the Indian population “had ever listened to a podcast” till 2021. The number indicates that there’s “immense room for growth.”

    In his concluding remarks, Doshi said, “As India has finally started seeing a notable surge in the number of podcast listeners, I see a great opportunity for growth in this industry.”

  • Shoppers Stop ropes in Sanya Malhotra as brand ambassador for private labels

    Shoppers Stop ropes in Sanya Malhotra as brand ambassador for private labels

    Mumbai: Fashion and beauty brand Shoppers Stop has roped in Bollywood actor Sanya Malhotra as brand ambassador for select private brands, to further emphasise on the continued focus on its private brands as an important strategic pillar. This is in sync with Shoppers Stop’s strategy to strengthen engagement with women shoppers and simultaneously build its private label portfolio.

    “Sanya’s cheerful, warm, welcoming, and vibrant personality resonates well with Shoppers Stop’s brand positioning. Sanya’s social presence, her playful and cheerful personality coupled with her style quotient, will help Shoppers Stop connect better across various geographies via its private labels,” said the statement.

     “Private brands continue to be a strategic pillar for Shoppers Stop. We maintain a significant emphasis on increasing our private brands share,” said Shoppers Stop MD and CEO  customer care associate Venu Nair. “We are confident that having Sanya Malhotra for our private brands will help create a better resonance with our consumers. She beautifully fits in with the brand’s ethos and has a great persona to connect with the customers across geographies.”

    Speaking on the brand association, Sanya Malhotra said, “The endeavor of my first ever association with Shoppers Stop for its private brands, is to authentically connect with my fans with the style that I believe in. This is a brand I have grown with and loved. I look forward to showcasing their best collection for the year.”

  • GUEST COLUMN: How performance marketing helps brands maintain their digital presence

    GUEST COLUMN: How performance marketing helps brands maintain their digital presence

    Mumbai: Performance marketing today holds tremendous control over brand expansion and growth in terms of revenue and brand recognition. Before we dive into the benefits of performance marketing, let’s take a second to understand the term performance marketing better. Performance marketing is a marketing strategy that is centered around data-driven results. This means that the performance marketing agency is paid based on how users interact with the content presented by the brand. This is a measurable feature that makes the marketing technique ideal for companies or brands which are looking to reach their audience directly.

    Today, digital marketing is a field that has long surpassed all traditional methods of advertising. It is quite safe therefore to suggest that without a strong digital footprint, it is near impossible for brands to grow and expand without a strong digital plan in place. According to Statista, the world digital advertising spending, which was approximately $455.3 billion in 2021, will steadily increase to about $646 billion by 2024.

    As per McKinsey, investments in performance marketing tripled considering the figure from $900 million in 2018 to $2.6 billion in 2022. These figures are suitable for summarising the methods of digital marketing for the audience and the brands which are looking forward to growing.

    Directly affects ROI

    Through performance marketing, it is easy for brands around the world to connect and attain new clients and generate a loyal customer base. This is possible because agencies working on performance marketing already have their own established audiences, helping brands increase traffic for their site. Since the model of performance marketing allows for results to be measured in real-time, it directly impacts the ROI. Brands are able to increase their ROI as their content often generates more results under performance marketing.

    Brands can have a wide audience and grow exponentially abroad as well as locally by opting for performance marketing. As per the study conducted by YourStory, brands have seen their marketing profits increase by nearly 30 per cent without having to increase their marketing budget, making this marketing technique a win-win for the brands.

    Helps maintain a strong customer base

    Performance marketing is goal-oriented strategies that aim to increase conversions and sales. For instance, positioning your e-commerce business with a credible influencer allows the customer’s brand to leverage some of that credibility towards your brand or product.  mHere, the payments made are dependent on the content generated through performance marketing that is interactive and conversational with customers. This is how performance marketing helps brands reach their customer base better, through retailers and merchants, and builds a closer connection with the customer. This makes the customer consider the brand more whenever they are making any purchase of goods or services resembling the ones the brand produces.

    As per the research, when brands use performance marketing, they are able to increase their brand retention by 20 per cent. Along with this, they were able to generate their marketing-driven gross by 15 per cent. Performance marketing also has a direct impact on the advertising for the brand. The same search is seen via the optimising channels, resulting in a 14 per cent increase in advertising impact on the sales they make.

    Performance marketing is a need of the hour for businesses around the world and around the corner. Many brands are moving towards performance marketing looking for its promising returns as the revenue generated helps the brands. According to the study conducted by Spiralytics, out of the 2,300 marketers examined, around 62 per cent of the brand and enterprise’s marketing budget was directed towards performance marketing. This is mainly because of the promising results and the numerous benefits that performance marketing offers.

    The most advantageous marketing techniques have already taken off around the world. The figures mentioned above are only set to rise as the world moves forward toward a shift that is dominated by digital marketing. It is safe to say that without investing in performance marketing, brands cannot compete with their counterparts who have a strong digital presence.

    (About Author: Vatsal Rajgor is the co-founder and CEO of Digimaze)

  • Ixigo onboards Rahul Gautam as group CFO

    Ixigo onboards Rahul Gautam as group CFO

    Mumbai: Travel app ixigo has announced the onboarding of Rahul Gautam as group chief financial officer. He will replace former group CFO Ravi Gupta, who has resigned due to personal reasons.

    Rahul brings considerable experience in capital markets, corporate finance, and business advisory and will be leading the finance function for ixigo with a specific focus on corporate finance and corporate development, mergers and acquisitions, public markets and investor relations, growth, risk management and financial reporting.

    Rahul has held various leadership roles, most recently serving as senior vice president – finance at PVR Ltd, where he was responsible for various roles including corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to this, he has worked with organisations such as SBI Capital Markets Ltd, Religare Capital Markets Ltd and Deloitte Haskins and Sells. 

    Rahul holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce (honours) from the University of Delhi. In 2004, he also became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

  • pTron India unveils new logo to redefine corporate brand identity

    pTron India unveils new logo to redefine corporate brand identity

    Mumbai: pTron India has unveiled a new brand logo and announced a new bold and futuristic brand identity that will be strengthening the vision of its brand to reach consumers across the value chain of economy, mainstream and premium segments.

    The new logo marks the birth of a new pTron both inside and out, which is a modern interpretation of brand’s classic ‘P’ insignia carrying the same passion and zeal to keep making technology accessible to all, said the brand in a statement.

    “This new visual identity is in line with the brand’s overall mission, which will be carried out across packaging, branding, and marketing communications. The logo perfectly compliments with the product packaging, providing fresh energy and vibrancy to multiple touch-points,” it added.

    These new changes come at a time when the company is also evolving its product offering and services to cater to the youth in major cities of India.

    Commenting on the insight behind the new identity, pTron founder and CEO Ameen Khwaja said, “Over the last three years, we did something which is vibrant, connecting, reliable, and of course, gives a sense of being aspirational. Throughout the journey, we have remained true to our core values, even as we continually transform to keep pace with the changing needs of our end consumers.”

    “While our name remains the same, our logo & packing have changed significantly to better represent who we are and better connect with our consumers. With our wide Online and offline presence and an extensive Made in India range, we intend to be the preferred choice of the Indian youth looking for tech-savvy gadgets across income-classes. Our belief #BeLoudBeProud lends new meaning to our core purpose of accelerating access to affordable and innovative products,” he added.

  • Nike India onboards Siddhant Narayan as head of marketing

    Nike India onboards Siddhant Narayan as head of marketing

    Mumbai: Sportswear major Nike India has onboarded Siddhant Narayan as its marketing head. Prior to this, Narayan was chief marketing officer at Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus – a position he quit in May 2021.

    Sharing the news on his LinkedIn, Narayan wrote: “Excited and humbled with this wonderful opportunity to inspire every athlete through the power of sport.”

    This would be Narayan’s second stint with the sportswear brand, having previously worked at the organisation for seven years between May 2008 and October 2015, in various roles such as sports marketing specialist (May 2008 – Dec 2010), product marketing manager (Jan 2011 – Feb 2012), and brand manager (Mar 2012 – Oct 2015) respectively.

    During the period, Narayan is credited with co-creating the impactful 360 brand campaign ‘Bleed Blue’ which went on to become a popular campaign at the Cricket World Cup in 2015, among others.

    An alumnus of MIT School of Business, Pune, Narayan has also worked with brands such as Daniel Wellington and Reliance Jio in positions of leadership in the past. 

  • Adani Wilmar buys Kohinoor brand

    Adani Wilmar buys Kohinoor brand

    Mumbai: Adani Wilmar Ltd announced the acquisition of several brands including Kohinoor brand – domestic (India region) from McCormick Switzerland GMBH for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will give Adani Wilmar exclusive rights over the brand Kohinoor basmati rice along with ‘ready to cook’ and ‘ready to eat’ curries and meals portfolio under the Kohinoor brand umbrella in India.

    “The addition of Kohinoor’s domestic brand portfolio strengthens Adani Wilmar’s leadership position in the food FMCG category by augmenting a strong product basket with premium brands along with potential to scale value added products,” said the statement. “It also leverages the reach of Kohinoor brand to drive synergies for Adani Wilmar across geographies and complements the reach of its flagship brand ‘Fortune’ in the food FMCG domain.”

    “The acquisition will fuel the next level of growth to Adani Wilmar and widen the portfolio to cater to premium customer segments across rice and other value-added food businesses,” it added.

    The Kohinoor brand portfolio comprises ‘Kohinoor’ for premium Basmati rice, ‘Charminar’ for affordable rice and ‘Trophy’ for HORECA (Hotel/Restaurant/Catering) segment.

    “Adani Wilmar is pleased to welcome the Kohinoor brand to the Fortune family,” said Adani Wilmar managing director and chief executive officer Angshu Mallick. “Kohinoor is a trusted brand which represents the authentic flavours of India and is loved by consumers. This acquisition is in sync with our business strategy to expand our portfolio in the higher margin branded staples and food products segment. We believe the packaged food category is under-penetrated with significant headroom for growth. The Kohinoor Brand has a strong brand recall and will help accelerate our leadership position in the Food FMCG category.”