Mumbai: Jewellery retail brand Senco Gold & Diamonds has signed Bollywood actor Kiara Advani as its brand ambassador.
The brand also unveiled its new campaign titled ‘Now is the time’ featuring the actor and it will be run across print and digital mediums.
“Senco Gold & Diamonds is proud to associate with Bollywood youth icon Kiara Advani as the new face of our brand,” stated Senco Gold & Diamonds CEO Suvankar Sen. “Kiara is an inspiration for today’s young women and personifies the spirit of ‘Now is the time’.”
The new campaign reminds everyone to make the most of ‘Now,’ and not miss out on opportunities waiting for the so-called ‘Right Time.’ It inspires one to start something new and to discover the best version of oneself, said the brand in a statement.
“Jewellery holds a very special place in every girl’s life, hence, choosing the right one is very important,” said Advani on the association. “I am delighted to be associated with a brand like Senco Gold and Diamonds who have gained the trust of its customer over the years, renowned for its exquisite and unique jewellery designed by its famous karigars. ”
Mumbai: Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) has forayed into the baby care category with its new launch – ‘goodnessme’, a premium range of ‘toxin free’ certified products made from organic ingredients for baby skin.
Meant for the little ones between 0-2 years, ‘goodnessme’ consists of a range of personal care and home care products for babies that are Certified COSMOS Organic by ECOCERT, France – one of the world’s largest organic certification organisations, the brand announced on Wednesday.
The range includes a variety of products in multiple SKU’s like baby soap, baby oil, baby lotion, multipurpose baby cream, baby head-to-toe wash, and so on- all certified organic, affirmed the brand
“There are baby care brands that offer safe, no toxins, natural approach, but none of them offer the higher-order benefit of ‘organics’, a clear white space,” said GCPL CEO – India & SAARC, Sunil Kataria on this launch. “As we foray into baby care space with ‘goodnessme’, our brand stands out from the rest. From ingredient sourcing to product formulations, to manufacturing processes, to even our product labels, the new skincare range has gone through the most rigorous certification process laid down by ECOCERT.”
Being a digital-first brand, it has launched the new products only on online portals including the brand website, and across online marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, and FirstCry.
Mumbai Homegrown wearable brand Fire-Boltt has brought on board cricketer Virat Kohli as its new brand ambassador ahead of its global debut.
The Indian skipper will participate in different marketing ad and endorsement campaigns of the brand, said the statement. “Both Fire-Boltt and Virat Kohli embody an exuberant-yet-strategic approach to emerge as winners and this is what makes the collaboration a natural unison,” it added.
“Virat Kohli is a role model for not just Indians but cricket lovers around the globe. His mention alone can inspire millions to chase their dreams and aspirations, and we decided to join hands with him in sync with our vision of an evolved lifestyle for all countrymen ushered in by lifestyle devices such as a smartwatch,” said Fire-Boltt co-founder Arnav Kishore. “Just like a cellphone in every hand is a reality today, we want a smartwatch on every wrist in wake of the new normal. People need to keep a tab on their health even while on the go and there can be no better enabler than smartwatches.”
“Fire-Bolttas a brand personifies energy, dynamism, and vibrancy, all of which has actually been a driving force in my sporting as well as a life journey,” said Kohli. “The fact that the company is at the helm of history being scripted in the Indian wearable space makes me proud as an advocate of Vocal for Local and Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
Mumbai: Crypto exchange platform CoinDCX has brought onboard superstar Amitabh Bachchan as its first-ever brand ambassador.
Through this collaboration, CoinDCX wants to increase awareness around crypto and popularise crypto as an emerging asset class. Bachchan will be the face of the brand’s new campaign, which will focus on popularising crypto as an asset class, said the company in a statement.
“Being a crypto investor himself and having launched his own NFT (Non-fungible token) recently, Mr Bachchan is well-versed with the crypto space,” said CoinDCX co-founder and CEO Sumit Gupta. “His knowledge will prove valuable in building trust and credibility amongst new users. We are certain that his association with CoinDCX will help bring greater visibility to the world of crypto and develop a strong brand recall for us.”
The crypto market is worth more than $ two trillion in India and this is set to increase with more and more Indian investors exploring new investment opportunities and adopting crypto asset class as an option that is futurist and can provide good returns. CoinDCX wants to ensure that crypto is accessible to everyone, said the statement.
“Mr Bachchan has always been way ahead of his time, whether doing movies or making investment decisions, his personality perfectly resonates with our brand values. With this campaign, we aim to reach out to a wider audience and educate the masses about crypto as an asset class,” Gupta further said.
Mumbai: Dabur India Ltd on Monday announced the signing of Bollywood actress Disha Patani as the new face of its skincare brand Dabur Gulabari. The company has also unveiled its improved packaging for the product.
“Dabur Gulabari is built on strong equity of natural ingredients which matches with Disha Patani’s natural beauty. She is not only the perfect personification of the brand’s values but an inspiration to young teenage girls who dare to dream,” said Dabur India Ltd vice president-marketing Abhishek Jugran. “We are delighted to welcome her to the Dabur Gulabari family and are confident that this association will help us build a better connect with our current users and also make the brand more relevant to the young and teenage audience.”
As a part of the association, the Bollywood star will appear in multiple campaigns which will run across platforms, said the company in a statement.
“Dabur Gulabari has been the most preferred beauty brand for millions of young girls for decades now. As a market leading brand that has been constantly innovating in terms of product, packaging, and communication, Dabur Gulabari has always recognised and strived to meet the ever-evolving beauty care needs of our consumers,” stated Dabur India category head – skin care Ajay Gandhi.
“Like with every other girl in the country, Dabur Gulabari was my first beauty care brand as a teenager,” said Patani on the brand association. “To me, it stands for both beauty and the unadulterated teenage spirit. I am excited to help define what natural, rose-like glow means to a whole new generation of girls.”
Mumbai: Brands have been paying a symbolic tribute to the father of the nation to mark the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, with the symbols that the Mahatma is identified with the world over viz his spectacles, his ‘Charkha,’ the famous Dandi March and, of course, most significantly- the learnings from Bapu’s life.
MotherDairy
The milk & milk products major and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has rolled out a digital film on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti 2021, urging consumers to reduce the use of plastic whenever and wherever possible from their daily lives. The digital film titled #Swachhtagrah- presumably inspired by Gandhiji’s ‘Satyagraha’- stresses on the fact that how unknowingly we have imbibed the use of plastic in everyday activities.
The film featuring actor Tisca Chopra subtly puts forward one such action point for its viewers – switch to products that avoid the use of plastic in its packaging with Mother Dairy’s Token Milk vending system, which offers an environmentally friendly, plastic packaging free milk on a wide scale.
The digital film urging consumers to join the #Swachhtagrah movement has been rolled out across all social media handles of Mother Dairy including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Taneira
The women’s ethnic wear brand from the house of Tata launched an exclusive Khadi collection on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti to commemorate the father of the nation. Revered as a symbol of our nation’s heritage and pride, Khadi is known to be one of the earliest forms of fabrics woven in the ancient age which went on to become the symbol of independence in the Swadeshi movement. This limited-edition collection is a unique amalgam of various indigenous crafts integrating together from different parts of the country to present the essence of the best of India under one roof, said the brand.
Many brands remembered Mahatma Gandhi via creative moment marketing posts on their social media handles paying odes to the leader’s teachings and words of wisdom.
CadburyDairyMilk
The confectionary brand saluted the powerful messages advocated by the Mahatma through peaceful means with a testimonial saying: Remembering the one whose life was truly his message- ‘The one who showed us we can gain everything by sweetness- truth, freedom, non-violence, equality, self-sufficiency.’
The fast-food company drew a symbolic ‘Charkha’ with its menu in its creative: ‘This year on #GandhiJayanti, we’re revisiting history! (order history included ) What about you?’
The delivery app took on the social media trend of attributing false quotes to great people of yore by sticking a random quote to their pic with a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Mahatma: ‘Wisdom Na Milegi Dobara.’
Fevicol
The glue brand known for its witty marketing was on-point, as always with the heartwarming message: ‘Some teachings will stick around forever.’
Mumbai: Ed-tech startup 90+ My Tuition App on Friday announced that it has brought Indian wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant on board as its national brand ambassador. In continuance of his association with the company, Pant has launched the CBSE syllabus all over India.
According to a statement, this association will build a strong brand resonance and top-of-the-mind recall for the start-up among its potential customers – students and parents. “The partnership comes at an opportune time when the start-up is in a business expansion mode across key cities in India,” it added.
“Rishabh Pant is the rising star of cricket and personifies grit, determination, and hard work, qualities that we would like to inculcate in all the students using our app,” said 90+ My Tuition App co-founder and CEO Smijay Gokuldasan. “As cricket unites India, our CBSE syllabus launched by Rishabh will provide a unifying experience to the students on our app.”
“I wish I had an app like 90+ My Tuition App during my school days. It would have made studying math and science so much more fun. With the launch of the CBSE syllabus, the learning curve of the students on the app will be further enriched,” said Pant.
90+ My Tuition App provides digital tuition to 8th-12th standard students of CBSE and state education boards. Recently, the start-up secured $ five million investment in a series A round for market expansion, brand building, and new product development.
MUMBAI: Consumers today expect brands to take responsibility towards following sustainable practices, while being more aware of their choices. And they expect action, not just empty promises on sustainability, according to a recent BBC Global News study which revealed that 80 per cent of consumers in the Asia Pacific region agree that demonstrating a commitment to sustainability adds value to the brand. But where do brands stand on sustainability today?
A virtual webinar – ‘Taking the Sustainability leap’ organised by BBC News in collaboration with Indiantelevision.com on Thursday gave some valuable insights into innovative and sustainable marketing practices adopted by some of the leading brands who have taken the sustainability plunge.
“The rise in global consumption levels over the last decades has been accompanied by a persistent increase in resource depletion and pollution, putting serious pressure on the environment well above its regenerative capacities,” said BBC Global News, SVP Commercial Development, Alistair McEwan as he initiated the discussion. “Without a significant change in current consumption and production patterns, the world will face strong environmental and economic costs such as those caused by projected climate change.”
The event that shared case studies from sustainability leaders across the globe kicked off with a panel discussion on ‘Leading with Innovation and Inspiration’ led by The R Collective founder and CEO Christina Dean, Climate Force founder Barney Swan, The Fabrick lab founder Elaine Yan Ling Ng, and Sophie’s BioNutrients co-founder and CEO Eugene Wang.
Other key speakers at the event included Maruti Suzuki India, assistant vice president-sustainability and carbon neutrality G P Chaddha, Godrej Group, head-environmental sustainability Ram Vaidyanathan, Tata Consultancy Services, head of sustainability marketing, Preeti Gandhi, Lenovo, head of communications, Asia Pacific, Geneviene Hilton, and Honasa Consumer Pvt Ltd (MamaEarth) vice-president marketing Sambit Dash. The discussion was moderated by BBC News senior journalist Devina Gupta.
Shooting down the notion that sustainability and business profitability cannot go hand-in-hand, Godrej Group’s Ram Vaidyanathan pointed out that companies with stronger sustainable principles and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) practices have far out-performed the other companies on pure financial indicators as well. “80 per cent of sustainable initiatives are actually cost-saving, simply by being more efficient in the way we use resources,” he added, highlighting that from an investor’s perspective too it makes sense as strong ESG performance and processes are de-risking investments.
“The current situation in India is that we’re still trying to make companies ESG-compliant. There’s a bit of regulatory pressure too,” said Maruti Suzuki’s GP Chaddha, adding that while production came to a virtual standstill during the pandemic, sustainable practices helped the company to bounce back quicker than others.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)’s Preeti Gandhi talked about the low carbon emissions observed across the country and globally during the pandemic due to the prevalence of WFH and minimal commutes. “It is important for us to continue these reductions over the long term as we come back to work and return to normalcy,” she said, citing some of the efficiency measures the company has implemented over this period such including the hybrid working initiatives like ‘25 by 25’ wherein only 25 per cent of its employees will commute to work by the year 2025. “This would hopefully ensure that we continue to see the environmental resilience to continue, even post-pandemic.”
Lenovo’s Geneviene Hilton underlined the fact that sustainability needs to be ingrained into the entire business from the start, for it to be truly effective. “Consumers today are also keen to know about the environmental, social, and governance measures that companies undertake,” she said.
Taking the belief of embedding environmental sustainability into the business’ foundation, Mamaearth’s Sambit Dash talked about the PETA-certified brand’s vision about being a purpose-led brand wanting to make a good impact on the environment as well as society. “We recycled more plastic than we produced from the beginning. Therefore, at a time when other brands are trying to be ‘plastic neutral,’ we have been ‘plastic positive’ right from the start,” shared Dash.
GP Chadhha referred to Maruti’s tagline of “Petrol khatam hi nahi hota” as evidence of its fuel-efficient cars. “There’s a need to increase incentivisation for brands and customers to start moving in the sustainable and carbon-neutral direction,” he said.
According to Godrej’s Ram Vaidyanathan, the Customer is the biggest stakeholder when it comes to deciding the kind of products that any company makes, so that’s a big driver when it comes to sustainable products. He believes packaging should be the biggest area where those companies must focus on to create maximum impact.
Gandhi also threw light on the role of media in championing the cause of sustainable consumerism and de-mystifying the eco-labels. “When it came to creating systems and platforms for eco-friendly collaborations, it must be led by the policy thinkers and changemakers across the board towards specific goals in driving sustainable development for all,” she noted.
The event also saw BBC Future Planet editor Martha Henriques shedding some light on how BBC is doing its part of the sustainability of the planet. BBC Future Planet is the first major online publication launched in 2020, with a sole focus on climate change that also aims to be as close to zero carbon as possible. BBC StoryWorks APAC director Nicola Eliot discussed how brands are partnering with the BBC to tell their stories on forging an effective sustainability journey.
Mumbai: Lifestyle brand Noise has brought on board Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu as brand ambassador for the smart wearable category. The actor will be a part of the upcoming brand campaigns wherein she will promote its smartwatches including the next brand offering – ColorFit Brio, said the statement.
With this announcement, Noise said it aims to reinforce its positioning as the leading homegrown smartwatch brand and liaison a deeper connect with fitness enthusiasts and millennials. “Taapsee’s persona blends with Noise’s core belief in listening to the noise within and belief in oneself,” it added.
“Our products are carefully designed keeping in mind the requirements of fitness and lifestyle enthusiasts who listen to their ‘Dil Ka Shor’ and dare to carve a new path,” said Noise co-founder Gaurav Khatri. “Noise’s smartwatches and Taapsee, both motivate individuals to take up new challenges every day. With her strong persona and our commitment to offering unparalleled experience, we want to strengthen the trust of Noisemakers.”
“I constantly strive to accomplish new fitness goals every day to be ahead in the game, likewise Noise. I have witnessed that more than ever, people are now conscious of the thriving fitness significance. Noise’s smartwatches act as the health pattern that consistently helps me to connect with my true self,” said Pannu on the association.
Noise is set to roll out new brand campaigns and launches in the next few months.
Mumbai: The total value of the world’s top 50 most valuable luxury and premium brands has declined by five per cent year-on-year, according to the Brand Finance Luxury & Premium 50 2021 report. As the world grapples with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, these brands witnessed a downturn from $227.1 billion in 2020 to $219.5 billion in 2021, it said.
Apparel brands dominated the ranking, with 30 brands featuring and accounting for 62 per cent of total brand value, but brand values suffered, nevertheless, due to Covid-19. German auto giant Porsche retained the top spot with a brand value of $34.3 billion, considerably ahead of second-ranked Gucci (brand value down 12 per cent).
French leather luxury goods brand Celine bucked the trend to emerge as the fastest growing brand, up by an impressive 118 per cent, according to the report. Despite the pandemic’s impact on travel and tourism industry, two hotels managed to check into the ranking for the first time, with Shangri-La in 29th and Intercontinental in 35th position in the report.
American luxury design house Coach, specialising in handbags, luggage, accessories, and ready-to-wear has recorded the biggest drop in brand value this year in the apparel subsector, falling 31 per cent to $4.7 billion. While performances across the board have been impacted by the pandemic, with the majority of brands recording a brand value loss this year, the brand’s sales and profits have taken a hit over the previous year. Coach’s parent company, Tapestry, has however, cited that forecasts across its brands are looking more positive than anticipated thanks to triple-digit e-commerce growth and a strong rebound across the Chinese market.
In addition to measuring the overall brand value, the report also evaluates the relative strength of brands, based on factors such as marketing investment, customer familiarity, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation. According to these criteria, Ferrari (up 2 per cent to $9.2 billion) is the world’s strongest luxury & premium brand – and the second strongest brand in the world. The auto-maker reacted proactively to the pandemic, initially shutting down production and then reopening with a focus on creating a safe working environment. This both minimised disruption and reinforced the brand’s reputation as a high-quality and responsible firm, as per the report.
Sitting behind Ferrari as the second strongest luxury & premium brand is Rolex, up by one per cent to $7.9 billion. Despite the challenges of the last year, the market for luxury watches has shown remarkable resilience to the pandemic turmoil, with demand remaining stable, demonstrated by Rolex’s website traffic experiencing a surge over the previous year.
“As predicted, the Covid-19 pandemic has damaged brand values across the luxury & premium sector with the total brand value of the world’s top 50 most valuable down five per cent year-on-year,” says Brand Finance valuation director Alex Haigh.
It is not all doom and gloom though, he notes, adding that the pandemic can be used as a catalyst for change across the industry, through growing e-commerce channels or through brands’ responses to the increased consumer demand for social and sustainable action.
German automaker Porsche, for instance, is striving towards pushing the boundaries and redefining the future of the sportscar. As part of the brand’s ‘Strategy 2025’, the auto giant aims to maintain the traditional aspects that the brand is known for, as well as undertaking the shift towards sustainability through the launch of the Taycan. Porsche celebrated strong sales of the Taycan, which totalled over 20,000 units sold last year, despite a six-week pause in production due to the pandemic. This impressive result means that over 10 per cent of Porsche’s sales are now from its EV models.
As holidays are cancelled and people are instructed to work from home, the hospitality industry has reached an almost complete standstill both from tourism, as well as corporate travel and hotel brand values, have suffered as a result. Home to five-star luxury properties with elite postcodes and addresses across the Middle East, Asia, North America, and Europe, Shangri-La – despite the challenges – is the highest-ranked hotel brand in 29th position. The hotel recorded an encouraging recovery across mainland China over the last year with demand being supported by an uptick in domestic leisure travel.
Shooting down the notion that sustainability and business profitability cannot go hand-in-hand, Godrej Group’s Ram Vaidyanathan pointed out that companies with stronger sustainable principles and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) practices have far out-performed the other companies on pure financial indicators as well. “80 per cent of sustainable initiatives are actually cost-saving, simply by being more efficient in the way we use resources,” he added, highlighting that from an investor’s perspective too it makes sense as strong ESG performance and processes are de-risking investments.
In addition to measuring the overall brand value, the report also evaluates the relative strength of brands, based on factors such as marketing investment, customer familiarity, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation. According to these criteria, Ferrari (up 2 per cent to $9.2 billion) is the world’s strongest luxury & premium brand – and the second strongest brand in the world. The auto-maker reacted proactively to the pandemic, initially shutting down production and then reopening with a focus on creating a safe working environment. This both minimised disruption and reinforced the brand’s reputation as a high-quality and responsible firm, as per the report.