ITV

Category: Brands

  • Irrfan Khan is Mastercard’s first Indian brand ambassador

    Irrfan Khan is Mastercard’s first Indian brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: American brand Mastercard has roped in Indian actor Irrfan Khan as its new brand ambassador.

    The actor has already put India on the global map with the kind of films he has been doing internationally and is now set to be the first ever Indian actor to be named as the card’s ambassador.

    Irrfan has also shot for the Mastercard ad campaign in the Pink City of Rajasthan that will be rolled out soon.

    Mastercard connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Irrfan’s credibility, versatility, wide appeal and authenticity are hard to rival and that resonates with Mastercard’s value which empowers its customers to access a world of unlimited opportunities. Being a self-made man, his connection with the masses makes him an ideal choice to be the brand ambassador.

    Mastercard is said to be encouraged by the ‘Digital India’ initiative that recommends Indian consumers to make digital payments in their daily lives and is looking to tap Bollywood film launches as part of its marketing campaign.

    Earlier this month, Mastercard roped in Manasi Narasimhan as vice president for its marketing and communications.

  • Mondelez launches 5Star 3D in India

    Mondelez launches 5Star 3D in India

    MUMBAI: Mondelez India has launched its new innovation Cadbury 5Star 3D, a premium offering in the countline segment. Cadbury 5Star 3D comes in a crunchy, chewy, chocolaty bar that promises the consumers to ‘get lost at a different level’.

    Mondelez India director of marketing chocolates segment Prashant Peres says, “Cadbury 5Star has been one of our strongest brands under the Indian portfolio and has consistently experimented and revamped itself. After launching the exciting brand Cadbury Fuse last year, we are extremely delighted to bring in Cadbury 5Star 3D, which is a great milestone in our premiumisation journey and will further strengthen our market leadership in the countline segment. ”

    The brand will continue to use their eccentric and quirky characters Ramesh-Suresh who have been synonymous with Cadbury 5Star to further aid the brand generate strong cut. Mondelez India’s Cadbury 5Star has been an Indian favourite for almost 5 decades.

    Cadbury 5Star 3D will be first available at Big Bazaar, followed by other modern trade and traditional trade stores and will be priced at Rs 30 for a 45 gram offering.

  • Premier Badminton League assigns digital mandate to Columbus India

    Premier Badminton League assigns digital mandate to Columbus India

    MUMBAI: Premier Badminton League (PBL) has assigned its digital mandate to Columbus India, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network.

    Managed by Sportzlive, it is India’s highest prize money tournament in the world of badminton leagues. The league goes live this season from 23 December 2017 till 14 Jan 2018.

    Sportzlive founder Prasad Mangipudi says, “This relationship will help Sportzlive & PBL to get media engagement services from Columbus’ unique ‘Media Engagement Framework’, enabling the event to reach millions of digital audiences in India & abroad.”

    Sportzlive managing director Atul Pande adds, “Digital is going to be a focus area of our marketing spends as our viewers are majorly online enabling us to build a larger sporting community across all sporting events managed by SportzLive.”

    Columbus India CEO Anurag Gupta mentions, “Columbus’ unique digital media services framework will allow real-time reporting on not just engagement but also on the buzz to help Sportzlive communicate with its audience in real time, this will be our second sports media engagement account after successfully working with Sportzlive for #CueSlam earlier this year.”

  • Cipla hands over media duties to OMD Mudramax

    Cipla hands over media duties to OMD Mudramax

    MUMBAI: Following a multi-agency pitch, OMD Mudramax has bagged the media duties of Cipla Health.

    OMD Mudramax will be partnering with the brands under Cipla Health in its consumer engagement initiatives across mass media / digital and below-the-line promotional efforts. The account will be managed out of the agency’s Mumbai office.

    Cipla Health is working towards fulfilling its vision of becoming the most preferred consumer healthcare company in India. In its quest to create innovative health solutions for consumers, it has launched many consumer-need-centric healthcare products.

    Cipla Health CMO Himava Nath says, “We at CHL aspire to have exponential growth in the consumer healthcare OTC segment in the coming years. We needed an agile agency partner who can work closely with our brand marketing team to facilitate much greater consumer traction for our brands. We feel that OMD MudraMax can help us achieve this goal.”

    OMD MudraMax president Sathyamurthy Namakkal adds, “This is a prestigious win for us and we love to work with clients who embrace agencies as their partners. Working with good brands and a great set of people at CHL, we look forward to creating impactful business solutions through interesting customer initiatives”.

  • VIP launches contest for best RJs

    VIP launches contest for best RJs

    MUMBAI: VIP Industries will be undertaking a multi-media campaign with radio as a lead medium for ‘VIP RJ of Radio Station’. The contest is an intra-station and inter-city competition amongst popular RJs from Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata.

    This first ever competition will have RJs participate from various radio channels like Radio City, Big FM, Fever 104, Radio Nasha, & Radio One. RJs like Archana from Radio City, Ruchi from Fever, Shelee from Radio One, Rani from Big FM, Akriti from Radio Nasha and popular ones from the other participating channels of each city will post their stylish selfies with VIP luggage on their social media handles.

    For the first time ever listeners will get a close view of their favourite RJs and finally be able to put a face behind the voice they listen to on air every day. Each network’s RJs would further invite their listeners to visit the VIP Facebook page and post selfies. The winning listener will be selected by lucky draw and will win gift vouchers worth Rs 10,000 from VIP.

    VIP Industries senior vice president of sales, marketing and service Sudip Ghose says, “Through this radio contest, we aim to reach out to a wide audience of listeners across cities and offer them another reason to continue to associate with brand VIP. We are confident that this one of a kind contest will retain the customers’ attention.”

    The RJ from each network with maximum likes, comments and social media share across cities will be announced the winner. The winning RJ will be given VIP bags along with a trophy, and will be adjudged as ‘VIP RJ of the Radio Station’.

    Also, the winning RJ can select a listener from their list through a lucky draw.

  • Hitachi’s new automated service platform

    Hitachi’s new automated service platform

    MUMBAI: Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic, system integrator and a specialist in managing end-to-end IT infrastructure solutions and services, has announced the launch of an automated service delivery platform Hawkeye 3.0, which aims at enabling organisations to increase productivity and efficiency. The automated service delivery platform helps in simplifying IT service management through automation and empowers organisations to swiftly respond to customer needs and market changes. Through this offering, Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic has created an ecosystem that leverages the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and machine learning to proactively manage IT systems and offer fully integrated solutions to customers.

    Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic managing director Tarun Seth says, “The exponential growth of technology advancement requires organisations to embrace digital transformation to become more efficient and sustain their competitive edge. A key aspect of this digital transformation will be maturing IT service delivery methods and increasing use of automation of service delivery. The launch of automated service delivery is in-line with Hitachi’s vision to develop world class, robust and secure service delivery products and solutions based in India. We are confident that automation in service delivery will emerge as a major growth driver for the company.”

    Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic is steadily emerging as a leading system integrator in India that is preferred by CIOs because of the company’s agility, quick turnaround time and robust technical capabilities. Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic’s IT services and solutions address customers’ needs throughout the lifecycle of systems ranging from consulting to system integration, operation & maintenance. These solutions and products fuse Hitachi’s extensive expertise in a diverse range of business fields that leverage advanced information technology.

    “The comprehensive business intelligence technologies will help audit customers’ IT infrastructure, prevent IT system failures and even interact with customers on a real-time basis and resolve issues. We believe that with the launch of automated service delivery platform, Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic is uniquely positioned to capitalise on the ubiquitous automation of service delivery,” adds Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic COO Rajan Bhandari. 

    The company supports the longstanding India-Japan partnership. It believes the new wave of digital transformation will generate tremendous value for customers, improve existing services, accelerate development and create new areas of growth. Its portfolio of solutions has been carefully designed to digitally empower government, citizens as well as large and small organisations. This will be achieved by enabling these stakeholders to build, innovate and transform – while witnessing the real business impact and experiencing results faster.

    Recently, Hitachi Systems Micro Clinic established a Global Operations Centre in Gurugram to provide offshore IT operations support to companies worldwide. Furthermore, it has announced a global standard 24×7 NOC (network operations center) to assist clients’ business process automation agenda and offer a dedicated team to drive end-to-end development operations. The service is available on hourly, monthly or contract-basis flexible hiring models.  

  • Paisabazaar aims Rs 1500 cr mutual fund AUM by 2018

    Paisabazaar aims Rs 1500 cr mutual fund AUM by 2018

    MUMBAI: Paisabazaar has announced that assets under management (AUMs) garnered through its mutual funds products crossed Rs 1000 crore mark last month. The organisation says it is confident of reaching Rs 1500 crore of AUM by March 2018.

    The fin-tech company launched mutual funds on its platform in April 2016 and has over 20 partners, which includes India’s top asset management companies (AMC) on board. This department provides investment solutions to retail consumers as well as specialised advice to HNIs and institutions.

    Paisabazaar.com CEO and co-founder Naveen Kukreja says, “Paisabazaar.com has created a complete spectrum of financial products to cater to all personal finance needs of our customers. While we are the market leaders for lending products, our investment portfolio too has witnessed over 3X growth since launch.

    Since last year, the mutual funds AUM has grown by over 30 per cent with customers from over 650 cities and towns. The aim is to get more than 4000 new customers and over 6000 SIPs every month and the focus will remain on creating a seamless investment experience for consumers.

    Paisabazaar.com director of mutual funds Manish Kothari adds, “Our mutual fund customers benefit from cutting-edge features and hassle-free digital processes. Along with varied fund choices from top AMCs, we also provide assistance from an expert investment team that assists you to create a customised portfolio according to your needs and profile. Customers may also transact and track their investments on the go on a real-time basis through a personalised dashboard, which is also available on our mobile app.”

    ICICI Prudential AMC SVP and head of marketing, digital and customer experience Abhijit Shah believes that Paisabazaa, in a short span, has established itself as agile, trustworthy and customer friendly online financial marketplace. It has emerged as one of ICICI’s most valuable online partners.

    It is the only financial player to disburse loans worth Rs 2500 crore in the financial year 2016-17. The company is targeting a 3X growth and aims to cross Rs 6000 crore annualised disbursal run rate by the end of this financial year. It plans to touch annualised disbursal of Rs 25000 crore by 2020.

  • Blackberrys gives digital mandate to FoxyMoron

    Blackberrys gives digital mandate to FoxyMoron

    MUMBAI: Menswear fashion brand Blackberrys has assigned its digital mandate to FoxyMoron after a multi-agency pitch. The account will be managed from the agency’s north office.

    As per the mandate, FoxyMoron will be managing the digital creative, media, search engine optimisation as well as website maintenance and development duties. This entails strengthening the brand’s digital presence by showcasing their dynamic apparels and building a distinct brand personality.

    Blackberrys vice president brand experience Ramesh Kaushik says, “As a brand we stand committed to our consumers, and hence need partners who are common to us in this cause. With a strong belief in good, relevant and useful content, our digital strategy is to break away from one-way disruption and engage consumers in co-created platforms. Just like Blackberrys wardrobe solutions, the heart of our digital strategy is in being ahead of times yet relevant, engaging our consumers in their journey towards success.”

    FoxyMoron to us is a right fit since they have established credibility in the industry with their disruptive and differentiated approach, and have in depth knowledge of digital ecosystem. Given our clear focus on content and a two-way engagement, we are confident of FoxyMoron’s high-level understanding of Indian consumer, their tastes and preferences. They are aware of what our business needs with change in focus, scope and what is best in terms of engagement, measurements and sustainable approach,” he adds.

    FoxyMoron creative director of north Gokul Pillai mentions, “Knowing that they are in the business of making men look good, it is going to be interesting working on this brand! We not only look forward to building the brand, but have strong vision and values to back the motive. We are determined to align our expertise to steer the brand towards its goals.”

    FoxyMoron business head of north Prachi Bali adds, “To be their partners at a time when the brand is redefining itself and to be able to disseminate this message to an ever-changing digital audience is a job which requires a great deal of agile thinking and trust. We’re excited about the possibilities for the brand when it comes to chalking out a holistic strategy in terms of digital creative, media, technology, web and search.”

  • NBA partners Jabong to operate official online store

    NBA partners Jabong to operate official online store

    MUMBAI: The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Jabong, India’s fashion and lifestyle e-commerce platform – today announced a multiyear partnership extension that will provide fans access to authentic NBA merchandise in more than 730 cities across India. 

    The NBAStore.in is powered by Jabong which will offer authentic merchandise, including player jerseys, fanwear apparel, performance and casual footwear, backpacks, caps, and a host of other accessories.

    As part of the partnership extension, Jabong will also serve as a partner for the recently launched NBA daily fantasy game on NBA.com, Dream11.com and the Dream11 app, providing players with the opportunity to win NBAStore.in gift cards. Jabong will continue to be a key partner of select NBA events in India. 

    NBA India MD Yannick Colaco said, “Since the launch of our online store four years ago, sales have grown fivefold, so we are thrilled to extend our partnership with Jabong to continue providing our fans in India with the latest NBA gear.” 

    “We have always strived to partner with leading international sports brands, and with the launch of NBAStore.in in 2014, we addressed the growing demand for NBA merchandise in India,” said Jabong CEO Ananth Narayanan.“We have witnessed significant growth in NBA merchandise sales over the last four years, and we look forward to continuing our association with the NBA to provide a destination for fans in India to celebrate their passion for basketball.”

    The NBA now has 12 international e-commerce sites.

    Also Read:

    Mairu Gupta and the art of building the NBA in India

  • Coca-Cola launches Maaza Gold

    Coca-Cola launches Maaza Gold

    MUMBAI: Coca-Cola India has announced the launch of ‘Maaza Gold’, a premium mango drink made from the choicest of mangoes.

    The new variant of Maaza offers consumers an indulgent, thicker and smoother mango drink. This product innovation is in-line with the company’s steadfast commitment to provide more choices to consumers.

    Launched in the 1970s, Maaza has an impressive heritage and has been the most loved mango juice drink in the country. The launch of ‘Maaza Gold’ builds on the love and faith that consumers have had for Maaza for years, and that has helped make Maaza the largest selling juice drink brand in the country.

    Coca-Cola India and South West Asia director marketing Juices Srideep Kesavan says, “We are always listening to our consumers and with the launch of Maaza Gold the company is expanding its product portfolio in-line with consumer tastes. The company at the same time is also accelerating Maaza’s journey towards becoming a homegrown billion-dollar brand by 2023.”

    Maaza Gold comes in a unique one-litre tetra pack packaging that comes with metallic laminate to make the product stand out. Consumers can purchase Maaza Gold from the modern retail outlets, select grocery stores and online stores.