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Category: Brands

  • Baidu India to hold International university marketing competition

    Baidu India to hold International university marketing competition

    MUMBAI: Baidu’s India office today announced its participation in Baidu Inc.’s first International University Marketing Competition. The competition, which aims to empower the next generation of marketers, will be open to university students in India, China and Indonesia.The Indiaportion of the campaign will encourage local university students tocreateshort marketing videosfor a chance to intern at Baidu’s New Delhi office, and visit the company headquarters in Beijing.

    The competition was formally announced at an opening ceremony in Beijing on 16 May. In addition to India, the competition willalso be open to students in China and Indonesia.“The Internet is changing the world quickly, and there’sa huge need for digital marketing talent,” said Baidu’s Educational Business Unit general manager Zhang Gao. “The International University Marketing Competition is a platform for all students to put their best foot forward and showcase their creative ideas”.

    To participate in the India campaign, university students will first need to create a video on Baidu’s new video app Talebox. Outstanding videos will then be shared on Baidu’s app store MoboMarket and held to a public vote to select the final winners. The India competition will be held from August 1st to September 30th, 2016.

    The Baidu India team plans to visitup to 100 universities across India duringAugust and September to raise awareness for the campaign and engage with local students. The planned visits will cover universities inmany major Indian cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

    For more information on how to take part in the competition, please follow the Baidu India Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/baiduindia/

  • Baidu India to hold International university marketing competition

    Baidu India to hold International university marketing competition

    MUMBAI: Baidu’s India office today announced its participation in Baidu Inc.’s first International University Marketing Competition. The competition, which aims to empower the next generation of marketers, will be open to university students in India, China and Indonesia.The Indiaportion of the campaign will encourage local university students tocreateshort marketing videosfor a chance to intern at Baidu’s New Delhi office, and visit the company headquarters in Beijing.

    The competition was formally announced at an opening ceremony in Beijing on 16 May. In addition to India, the competition willalso be open to students in China and Indonesia.“The Internet is changing the world quickly, and there’sa huge need for digital marketing talent,” said Baidu’s Educational Business Unit general manager Zhang Gao. “The International University Marketing Competition is a platform for all students to put their best foot forward and showcase their creative ideas”.

    To participate in the India campaign, university students will first need to create a video on Baidu’s new video app Talebox. Outstanding videos will then be shared on Baidu’s app store MoboMarket and held to a public vote to select the final winners. The India competition will be held from August 1st to September 30th, 2016.

    The Baidu India team plans to visitup to 100 universities across India duringAugust and September to raise awareness for the campaign and engage with local students. The planned visits will cover universities inmany major Indian cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Kanpur, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

    For more information on how to take part in the competition, please follow the Baidu India Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/baiduindia/

  • Flipkart announces ‘Watch Exchange’ in partnership with Fossil and Goonj

    Flipkart announces ‘Watch Exchange’ in partnership with Fossil and Goonj

    MUMBAI: Flipkart has introduced India’s first-ever online exchange program for watches. This first-of-its-kind initiative is in partnership with leading watch brand Fossil and Goonj. The watches that are received through this exchange program will be contributed to Goonj—an award winning voluntary organization in India. Once the sale is over, the watches will be distributed by Goonj in the areas where they currently offer humanitarian services. 

    Customers can avail upto Rs.1500 off on watches under Fossil brand (Skagen, Emporio Armani, DKNY and Michael Korrs) in exchange of old watches till end of May 2016.The program is aimed at offering customers’ value for their old watches as well as a chance to upgrade to premium styles, designs and technology.

    Commenting on the latest exchange program, Rishi Vasudev, VP – Fashion, Flipkart, said, “Flipkart Watch Exchange, is the first-ever online exchange offer on watches in India which will help customers make a difference. With this new initiative, our focus is to offer customers an easy way to exchange and upgrade to premium models that they desired to buy next. Additionally, our partnership with Goonj will also help customers with the right channel to donate their watches. Last year, we launched our exchange programs for mobiles and appliances which has been a great success. Introduction of exchange program for watches is a first-of-its-kind effort that the Indian watch industry will see.”

    Rishi added, “Customers are increasingly browsing and shopping for watches online. Flipkart has witnessed tremendous growth in demand across budget and premium watch brands. With close to two lakh watches from across 50 brands, this is one of the fastest growing category under Flipkart lifestyle.”

     

  • Flipkart announces ‘Watch Exchange’ in partnership with Fossil and Goonj

    Flipkart announces ‘Watch Exchange’ in partnership with Fossil and Goonj

    MUMBAI: Flipkart has introduced India’s first-ever online exchange program for watches. This first-of-its-kind initiative is in partnership with leading watch brand Fossil and Goonj. The watches that are received through this exchange program will be contributed to Goonj—an award winning voluntary organization in India. Once the sale is over, the watches will be distributed by Goonj in the areas where they currently offer humanitarian services. 

    Customers can avail upto Rs.1500 off on watches under Fossil brand (Skagen, Emporio Armani, DKNY and Michael Korrs) in exchange of old watches till end of May 2016.The program is aimed at offering customers’ value for their old watches as well as a chance to upgrade to premium styles, designs and technology.

    Commenting on the latest exchange program, Rishi Vasudev, VP – Fashion, Flipkart, said, “Flipkart Watch Exchange, is the first-ever online exchange offer on watches in India which will help customers make a difference. With this new initiative, our focus is to offer customers an easy way to exchange and upgrade to premium models that they desired to buy next. Additionally, our partnership with Goonj will also help customers with the right channel to donate their watches. Last year, we launched our exchange programs for mobiles and appliances which has been a great success. Introduction of exchange program for watches is a first-of-its-kind effort that the Indian watch industry will see.”

    Rishi added, “Customers are increasingly browsing and shopping for watches online. Flipkart has witnessed tremendous growth in demand across budget and premium watch brands. With close to two lakh watches from across 50 brands, this is one of the fastest growing category under Flipkart lifestyle.”

     

  • FY-16: DB Corp revenue up marginally, My FM revenue up 12 percent

    FY-16: DB Corp revenue up marginally, My FM revenue up 12 percent

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported 2.1 percent increase in Total Income from operations (TIO) for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported consolidated revenue of Rs 2,051.87 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 2,009.57 crore in the previous fiscal.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    For the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-16, current quarter) TIO increased 5.6 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 514.28 crore as compared to Rs 485.60 crore, but declined 12.2 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) from Rs 585.89 crore.

    DB Corp’s PAT in the current year declined 6.2 percent to Rs 296.64 crore (14.5 percent PAT margin) from Rs 316.34 crore (15.7 percent PAT margin) in FY-15. PAT in the current quarter was almost flat y-o-y (increased by 0.4 percent) at Rs 64.24 crore (12.5 percent margin) as compared to Rs 64 crore (13.2 percent PAT margin), but declined 39.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 105.11 crore (19 percent PAT margin) in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Radio Segment – My FM

    DB Corp’s radio segment that has an FM radio network under the brand My FM reported 12.1 percent increase in TIO in FY-16 at Rs 107.50 crore as compared to Rs 95.87 crore in FY-15. The radio segment’s contribution to DB Corp’s overall revenue has gone up to 5.24 percent of TIO in the current year from 4.77 percent in the previous year.

    The radio segment’s operating profit increased 0.9 percent to Rs 31.52 crore in FY-16 from Rs 31.23 crore in the previous year. The radio segment’s operating profit in Q4-16 declined 5.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 9.4 crore from Rs 9.95 crore and declined 8.1 percent q-o-q from Rs 12 crore in Q3-16.

    Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment

    Print segment reported 0.8 percent increase in TIO in FY-16 at Rs 1,892.56 crore as compared to Rs 1877.70 crore in FY-15. The print segment’s operating profit declined 2.7 percent in the current year to Rs 476.96 crore from Rs 490.23 crore in FY-15.

    Digital Business

    DB Corps’ Digital business revenue grew by 33 percent to Rs. 12 crore from Rs. 9 crore of corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    Circulation and Advertising revenues

    Circulation Revenue grew by 16 percent in FY-16 to Rs 435.6 crore from Rs 375.5 crore in FY-15, largely driven by yield growth of 13 percent, primarily in legacy markets. Circulation Revenue increased 15.3 percent y-o-y in Q4-16 to Rs 113.6 crore from Rs 98.5 crore, primarily due to yield driven growth, largely coming from mature markets.

    Advertising Revenues was lower in FY-15 at Rs 1481.2 crore as against Rs 1516.6 crore during last year. Advertising Revenue in Q4-16 was at Rs. 360.0 crore as compared to Rs 354.3 crore in Q4-15.

    Total Expenditure (TE) in the current year increased 4.5 percent to Rs 1605.10 crore from Rs 1535.46 crore in FY-15. TE in Q4-16 increased 7.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 422.34 crore as compared to Rs 390.75 crore and was almost flat q-o-q as compared to Rs 422.32 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Raw material (RM) consumption in FY-16 declined 4.5 percent to Rs 618.67 crore from Rs 647.57 crore in FY-15. RM consumption in the current quarter increased 3.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 157.77 crore as compared to Rs 151.70 crore, but declined 5.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 166.46 crore in Q3-16.

    Company speak

    DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “Our performance this quarter continues to reflect sustained efforts to engage strongly with readers and advertisers. We continue to undertake several key initiatives to propel the company on a growth trajectory, since we have already laid a very strong foundation for the business that now has extremely strong fundamentals. Our strategic areas of focus are at the core of our growth and expansion roadmap and way forward, being led by print, digital and radio segments. This year we brought back the ‘Zidd karo’ campaign that resonates our operating philosophy – which has guided the group to report significant growth over the last few years. While we are implementing multiple efforts to increase reader engagement primarily driven through content, we are also focusing very intensely on advertiser engagement to help advertisers understand multiple ways of engaging with our readers since we know the preferences of our readers very well. On this basis, our yield strategy is gaining steady and strong acceptance. The key thrust areas going forward will centre on giving readers a well-rounded experience, our commitment to advertisers and associates, an enthusiastic and energised work environment for all staff and our responsibility towards stakeholders to deliver high shareholder value. We continue to be excited by the development of the radio and digital segments that have great growth capabilities and are on course. On an overall basis, Indian language print media holds tremendous potential and as the largest player in the industry backed by strong competitive advantages, we look forward to leveraging future opportunities.”

  • FY-16: DB Corp revenue up marginally, My FM revenue up 12 percent

    FY-16: DB Corp revenue up marginally, My FM revenue up 12 percent

    BENGALURU: DB Corp Limited (DB Corp), home to flagship newspapers Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, Dainik Divya Marathi and Saurashtra Samachar reported 2.1 percent increase in Total Income from operations (TIO) for the year ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported consolidated revenue of Rs 2,051.87 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 2,009.57 crore in the previous fiscal.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    For the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-16, current quarter) TIO increased 5.6 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) to Rs 514.28 crore as compared to Rs 485.60 crore, but declined 12.2 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) from Rs 585.89 crore.

    DB Corp’s PAT in the current year declined 6.2 percent to Rs 296.64 crore (14.5 percent PAT margin) from Rs 316.34 crore (15.7 percent PAT margin) in FY-15. PAT in the current quarter was almost flat y-o-y (increased by 0.4 percent) at Rs 64.24 crore (12.5 percent margin) as compared to Rs 64 crore (13.2 percent PAT margin), but declined 39.9 percent q-o-q from Rs 105.11 crore (19 percent PAT margin) in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Radio Segment – My FM

    DB Corp’s radio segment that has an FM radio network under the brand My FM reported 12.1 percent increase in TIO in FY-16 at Rs 107.50 crore as compared to Rs 95.87 crore in FY-15. The radio segment’s contribution to DB Corp’s overall revenue has gone up to 5.24 percent of TIO in the current year from 4.77 percent in the previous year.

    The radio segment’s operating profit increased 0.9 percent to Rs 31.52 crore in FY-16 from Rs 31.23 crore in the previous year. The radio segment’s operating profit in Q4-16 declined 5.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 9.4 crore from Rs 9.95 crore and declined 8.1 percent q-o-q from Rs 12 crore in Q3-16.

    Printing and publishing of newspaper and periodicals (Printing) segment

    Print segment reported 0.8 percent increase in TIO in FY-16 at Rs 1,892.56 crore as compared to Rs 1877.70 crore in FY-15. The print segment’s operating profit declined 2.7 percent in the current year to Rs 476.96 crore from Rs 490.23 crore in FY-15.

    Digital Business

    DB Corps’ Digital business revenue grew by 33 percent to Rs. 12 crore from Rs. 9 crore of corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    Circulation and Advertising revenues

    Circulation Revenue grew by 16 percent in FY-16 to Rs 435.6 crore from Rs 375.5 crore in FY-15, largely driven by yield growth of 13 percent, primarily in legacy markets. Circulation Revenue increased 15.3 percent y-o-y in Q4-16 to Rs 113.6 crore from Rs 98.5 crore, primarily due to yield driven growth, largely coming from mature markets.

    Advertising Revenues was lower in FY-15 at Rs 1481.2 crore as against Rs 1516.6 crore during last year. Advertising Revenue in Q4-16 was at Rs. 360.0 crore as compared to Rs 354.3 crore in Q4-15.

    Total Expenditure (TE) in the current year increased 4.5 percent to Rs 1605.10 crore from Rs 1535.46 crore in FY-15. TE in Q4-16 increased 7.5 percent y-o-y to Rs 422.34 crore as compared to Rs 390.75 crore and was almost flat q-o-q as compared to Rs 422.32 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Raw material (RM) consumption in FY-16 declined 4.5 percent to Rs 618.67 crore from Rs 647.57 crore in FY-15. RM consumption in the current quarter increased 3.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 157.77 crore as compared to Rs 151.70 crore, but declined 5.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 166.46 crore in Q3-16.

    Company speak

    DB Corp managing director Sudhir Agarwal said, “Our performance this quarter continues to reflect sustained efforts to engage strongly with readers and advertisers. We continue to undertake several key initiatives to propel the company on a growth trajectory, since we have already laid a very strong foundation for the business that now has extremely strong fundamentals. Our strategic areas of focus are at the core of our growth and expansion roadmap and way forward, being led by print, digital and radio segments. This year we brought back the ‘Zidd karo’ campaign that resonates our operating philosophy – which has guided the group to report significant growth over the last few years. While we are implementing multiple efforts to increase reader engagement primarily driven through content, we are also focusing very intensely on advertiser engagement to help advertisers understand multiple ways of engaging with our readers since we know the preferences of our readers very well. On this basis, our yield strategy is gaining steady and strong acceptance. The key thrust areas going forward will centre on giving readers a well-rounded experience, our commitment to advertisers and associates, an enthusiastic and energised work environment for all staff and our responsibility towards stakeholders to deliver high shareholder value. We continue to be excited by the development of the radio and digital segments that have great growth capabilities and are on course. On an overall basis, Indian language print media holds tremendous potential and as the largest player in the industry backed by strong competitive advantages, we look forward to leveraging future opportunities.”

  • Cargill Foods India aims to expand market with sponsorship of Rising Pune Supergiants

    Cargill Foods India aims to expand market with sponsorship of Rising Pune Supergiants

    MUMBAI: Indian Premier League as an IP has proved itself beneficial for brands time and again. In its 9th season now, the tournament sold all its advertising inventory a month before it even began, which speaks of the trust and faith it enjoys from the brands, thanks to the eyeballs it generates each season.

    On the team sponsorship front, though Cricket Team Sponsorship (ESP Properties Sportz Power report 2016) saw a marginal 1.9 percent drop from Rs. 3,478 million (Rs 347.8 crore) in 2015, IPL 9 seems promising especially with the new teams Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions making inroads for many brands who were looking for an opportunity to enter the market. Though late entrants in the tournament the new teams allow the brands to grow their visibility.

    “IPL is not just a cricket league anymore; it is celebrated as a festival in India. This partnership with Rising Pune Supergiants for IPL 2016 is a strategic one and an obvious choice for us as both the brands have a strong connect with Pune. Through this collaboration two supergiants of Pune are coming together which will further strengthen our bond with the people of Pune,” shared Cargill Foods India CMO Neelima Burra, explaining the FMCG brands decision to become associate sponsors for Rising Pune Supergiants for this current tournament.

    When asked how this association with a sports team helps a FMCG brand, Burra answered, “Research has shown that in Maharashtra the viewership of IPL is the second highest and has increasingly started catering to many female audiences. The proportion of female viewers watching cricket has increased to 30 percent (source: TAM) since the inception of IPL matches. This makes it an ideal platform for us to connect with our consumers and with the trade community and create some high decibel energy in the market for our brands across Sunflower categories..”

    As part of the deal, the brand would see its presence in several marketing initiatives surrounding the sport. ”The Gemini logo will be visible on the leading side of the players’ caps and helmets. We also have rights to use players’ photographs in our POSM and retail promotions as well as on our digital assets,” Burra added in detail. Apart from this, the brand also leveraged this association through various digital promotions and contests, as well as in-shop and outdoor advertising in key sites including the MCA stadium in Pune.

    “The Gemini Facebook page has a lot of content on the IPL season. We have an activation for Cargill employees wherein players’ cut-outs are placed at multiple locations in our offices. People can click pictures and share the same on their social network by tagging the Gemini page and stand a chance to win prizes. Apart from this, we have started an employee engagement program called the ‘Cargill Premier League’ which is based on the IPL format,” Burra explained the brand’s marketing strategy on the digital front.

    In addition the marketer conducted meet and greet sessions with players for key distributors of Gemini,” Burra added. In addition, Burra said the brand is open to explore further associations with other sporting avenues or leagues that will help them connect with their consumers.

  • Cargill Foods India aims to expand market with sponsorship of Rising Pune Supergiants

    Cargill Foods India aims to expand market with sponsorship of Rising Pune Supergiants

    MUMBAI: Indian Premier League as an IP has proved itself beneficial for brands time and again. In its 9th season now, the tournament sold all its advertising inventory a month before it even began, which speaks of the trust and faith it enjoys from the brands, thanks to the eyeballs it generates each season.

    On the team sponsorship front, though Cricket Team Sponsorship (ESP Properties Sportz Power report 2016) saw a marginal 1.9 percent drop from Rs. 3,478 million (Rs 347.8 crore) in 2015, IPL 9 seems promising especially with the new teams Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions making inroads for many brands who were looking for an opportunity to enter the market. Though late entrants in the tournament the new teams allow the brands to grow their visibility.

    “IPL is not just a cricket league anymore; it is celebrated as a festival in India. This partnership with Rising Pune Supergiants for IPL 2016 is a strategic one and an obvious choice for us as both the brands have a strong connect with Pune. Through this collaboration two supergiants of Pune are coming together which will further strengthen our bond with the people of Pune,” shared Cargill Foods India CMO Neelima Burra, explaining the FMCG brands decision to become associate sponsors for Rising Pune Supergiants for this current tournament.

    When asked how this association with a sports team helps a FMCG brand, Burra answered, “Research has shown that in Maharashtra the viewership of IPL is the second highest and has increasingly started catering to many female audiences. The proportion of female viewers watching cricket has increased to 30 percent (source: TAM) since the inception of IPL matches. This makes it an ideal platform for us to connect with our consumers and with the trade community and create some high decibel energy in the market for our brands across Sunflower categories..”

    As part of the deal, the brand would see its presence in several marketing initiatives surrounding the sport. ”The Gemini logo will be visible on the leading side of the players’ caps and helmets. We also have rights to use players’ photographs in our POSM and retail promotions as well as on our digital assets,” Burra added in detail. Apart from this, the brand also leveraged this association through various digital promotions and contests, as well as in-shop and outdoor advertising in key sites including the MCA stadium in Pune.

    “The Gemini Facebook page has a lot of content on the IPL season. We have an activation for Cargill employees wherein players’ cut-outs are placed at multiple locations in our offices. People can click pictures and share the same on their social network by tagging the Gemini page and stand a chance to win prizes. Apart from this, we have started an employee engagement program called the ‘Cargill Premier League’ which is based on the IPL format,” Burra explained the brand’s marketing strategy on the digital front.

    In addition the marketer conducted meet and greet sessions with players for key distributors of Gemini,” Burra added. In addition, Burra said the brand is open to explore further associations with other sporting avenues or leagues that will help them connect with their consumers.

  • Renault India embarks on an aggressive nationwide network expansion plan

    Renault India embarks on an aggressive nationwide network expansion plan

    MUMBAI:  Renault India is aggressively expanding its network reach across the country. The brand will increase its dealership network from 208 facilities to 240 facilities by the end of this year. This expansion plan has been developed to make Renault cars accessible to more people across the country, and will play a key role in growing Renault’s aggressive business strategy in India.

    Renault has a clear focus on building the brand in India, and expanding the network presence is imperative to achieve this objective. The company is working hard to make its products and services more accessible across the country, with an equal focus on growing its presence in metros as well as in the hinterlands of India.

    All the new Renault India dealerships being inaugurated are designed according to the RENAULTSTORE concept. RENAULTSTORE is a new generation of dealerships which has been conceptualized to best address the evolving needs of customers by highlighting the value of the brand, products, services and accessories in a modern and more effective manner. These new generation dealerships offer customers an excellent brand experience – from the test drive, to delivery and after-sales support.

    Renault is one of the fastest growing automotive brands in India, and is working at achieving a 5% market share by this year. With more dealership launches in the pipeline to reach its target of 240 dealerships by the end of this year, Renault is focusing on moving closer to its customers and providing them with the most enhanced ownership experience.

     

  • Renault India embarks on an aggressive nationwide network expansion plan

    Renault India embarks on an aggressive nationwide network expansion plan

    MUMBAI:  Renault India is aggressively expanding its network reach across the country. The brand will increase its dealership network from 208 facilities to 240 facilities by the end of this year. This expansion plan has been developed to make Renault cars accessible to more people across the country, and will play a key role in growing Renault’s aggressive business strategy in India.

    Renault has a clear focus on building the brand in India, and expanding the network presence is imperative to achieve this objective. The company is working hard to make its products and services more accessible across the country, with an equal focus on growing its presence in metros as well as in the hinterlands of India.

    All the new Renault India dealerships being inaugurated are designed according to the RENAULTSTORE concept. RENAULTSTORE is a new generation of dealerships which has been conceptualized to best address the evolving needs of customers by highlighting the value of the brand, products, services and accessories in a modern and more effective manner. These new generation dealerships offer customers an excellent brand experience – from the test drive, to delivery and after-sales support.

    Renault is one of the fastest growing automotive brands in India, and is working at achieving a 5% market share by this year. With more dealership launches in the pipeline to reach its target of 240 dealerships by the end of this year, Renault is focusing on moving closer to its customers and providing them with the most enhanced ownership experience.