MUMBAI: Textile, apparel, retail & real estate conglomerate, Raymond has announced the appointment of Atul Singh to lead the Group. As Raymond is gearing to mark its centenary year in 2025, the company is on a transformation journey by strengthening its leadership by bringing diverse experience on board, it said in a statement.
The nomination and remuneration committee of Raymond has recommended Singh’s appointment as executive vice-chairman to the Board of Raymond Ltd subject to and post securing necessary regulatory clearances.
Singh comes with diversified experience of over 35 years of leading multi-billion dollar businesses across several geographies globally. Singh worked at Coca-Cola for about two decades in several senior leadership positions and concluded his journey there as chairman of Asia Pacific and spearheaded businesses across 25 countries.
Before joining Coca-Cola, Singh worked at Colgate-Palmolive for 10 years where he held several leadership positions globally. His last stint at Colgate-Palmolive was country manager, Nigeria.
Commenting on the appointment, Raymond chairman & managing director Gautam Hari Singhania said, “I have always believed in the philosophy of demarcating ownership and management that brings in global expertise & good governance. Raymond is at an inflection point and has embarked upon the journey to be a future-ready organisation to achieve profitable growth and value unlocking. As we are headed to complete 100 years of our existence, strong leadership for the organisation will propel us to scale up our businesses both in domestic and global markets. With his impeccable track record, I am confident that Atul will lend his expertise for Raymond to sustain and grow in each of the businesses we operate.”
In his new role, Singh said “Raymond is one of the most reputed home-grown brands from India and has enormous growth potential. It is very exciting to be part of the transformation journey and lead the organisation to its centenary year. I look forward to contribute and chart out a growth path for the organisation and shareholder value creation.”
Mumbai: Havas Group India’s media investment and experience arm Havas Media Group India has unveiled India’s first brand lift study on CTV in collaboration with a programmatic media solutions provider and global leader in connected TV (CTV) advertising MiQ and a leading provider of advanced TV advertising Samsung Ads.
With over 20 million CTV households and a wide range of video content, India is one of the world’s fastest-growing advertising markets. With changing media habits, CTV equips advertisers to personalise and target the campaigns at the household level, which traditional TV does not allow.
The objective of this brand lift study was to demonstrate and prove the effectiveness & efficacy of CTV as an advertising medium and to enable marketers to measure the impact of their CTV campaigns on key brand KPIs such as purchase intent, brand awareness, and favourability.
The brand lift study, conducted by Kantar, included a significant number of respondents from across India, revealed that the Samsung Ads CTV campaign had a significant impact on brand lift parameters and performed well across the entire funnel. The study also revealed some campaign findings including 19 per cent lift achieved in online ad awareness, 11 per cent lift in brand favorability, 10 per cent lift in purchase intent, strengthened brand attributes among target audience and significant impact on association with the brand message.
Havas Group India CEO Rana Barua said, “As a network, we are constantly striving to be first movers in the industry in terms of innovation and thought leadership. Meaningful media has the potential to positively impact brand metrics, and we see CTV as an essential link between the digital and traditional ecosystems. The audience is changing the way they consume media, and CTV is dominating in terms of both screen impact and exponential audience growth. We want to draw attention to CTV and its ability to deliver with this first-in-the-country initiative. CTV is a future-forward dominating media space & by incorporating engagement on the same, we will further drive meaningful impact for the brand, business & people.”
Havas Media Group India CEO Mohit Joshi said, “We’re ecstatic to see these game-changing insights emerge from the brand lift survey. We’re all aware that advertisers want media formats to work harder; with connected TV, we’re shifting away from competing for eyeballs and toward creating meaningful exposures to target our captivated audience. I’m confident that it will allow us to attract more advertisers to the CTV ecosystem and allow marketers to consider more full-funnel solutions to maximise reach to the addressable segment. With the rise of connected devices and the resulting increase in time spent, marketers should consider CTV in any way that it complements digital and TV strategies.”
Commenting on the survey results, MiQ managing director – India, SAARC and China Siddharth Dabhade said, “We’re excited about the promising results of the brand lift survey, as it highlights the huge growth potential of CTV advertising in India, which is projected to have 80 million CTV households by 2025. MiQ can help Indian brands catapult into this space and leverage our global expertise in TV intelligence and data-driven programmatic. We are confident of bringing many more brands to the CTV advertising space through our collaboration with Samsung Ads and media agencies.”
Talking about the potential of advertising on Samsung TV, Samsung Ads senior director- India & South East Asia Prabhvir Sahmey said, “Marketers understand the value of CTV, and this study is a significant step to successfully prove the impact CTV can have on driving business outcomes in India. We’re excited to be working with MiQ to help marketers quantify results and validate the value CTV can have on the entire marketing funnel.”
Mumbai: Myntra CXO and head of marketing & social commerce business Achint Setia has announced he is moving on from his current role at the fashion e-commerce major. He has joined fashion e-retailer Zalora Singapore as chief revenue & marketing officer. Setia took to LinkedIn to make the announcement. At Zalora, he leads the revenue and profit & loss for the regional cluster along with driving the marketing function for the group.
Earlier in January this year, Flipkart-owned fashion e-commerce platform Myntra had promoted Achint Setia to the position of marketing and social commerce business head. In this role, Setia was responsible for building the Myntra brand, loyalty program (insider), user growth, content-led commerce, and live commerce businesses. He was previously the vice president and business head – social commerce at the fashion portal, having joined it in August 2018.
Setia has business building expertise in consumer tech and media with cross-functional experience across marketing, operations, strategy, content, product development, and analytics.
Before joining Myntra, he worked with companies like McKinsey & Co, Microsoft R&D, and Viacom18 Media.
An alumnus of Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, as well as the Indian School of Business, Setia also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from NSIT.
Mumbai: Wavemaker India national director and head of sports business, Jigar Rambhia has moved on from the media agency after a 15-year stint. He has joined Sporjo, a sports ed-tech start-up, as COO. An education, training and employment-oriented online company in the field of sports, Sporjo was launched in May 2020.
Rambhia was currently looking after the ESP (entertainment sports partnership) business for Wavemaker India, a part of GroupM.
Previously, Rambhia was head of the IPL media planning & buying team since its launch in 2008 at the agency. He also headed the ICC media planning & buying team for 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, ICC Champions Trophy, ICC T20 World Cup. Rambhia also served as business head for key brands like Bajaj Allianz, Fiat, IDBI Bank, Shoppers Stop, Kings XI Punjab, and Pro Kabaddi.
Rambhia was elevated as national director and head of sports business at Wavemaker in 2011.
Prior to joining Wavemaker India, he was also associated with companies like Madison Communication and TME.
Mumbai: Beverage giant Parle Agro has introduced a delicious new variant to their disruptive flavoured milk portfolio – Smoodh Hazelnut Chocolate. The new offering is the fourth addition to their widely loved dairy beverage range.
Parle Agro has also introduced a high-intensity campaign for the new offering targeting consumers across India. This includes visibility in 90+ channels, digital platforms as well as across one-third of cinemas across India.
Crafted by combining the irresistible taste of top-quality hazelnuts and chocolate and blended with the goodness of milk, the new Smoodh Hazelnut Chocolate is a wholesome, energy-boosting, and nourishing drink. Its creamy and silky texture coupled with the rich taste of hazelnut chocolate is a complete delight to the taste buds and will light up your day in a healthy way.
Smoodh Hazelnut Chocolate is available in Parle Agro’s classic and convenient, single serve Tetra Pak at the price of Rs 10 for an 85 ml pack. Hazelnut-based offerings are typically priced higher than others. Driven by their resolute mission to bring best-in-class products to consumers across India, Parle Agro has been able to once again, draw on their innovative and technology-driven approach to offer a hazelnut flavoured chocolate milk drink at the incredible value of Rs 10, a price dominated by Parle Agro in the beverage category.
Commenting on the launch of the new flavour, Parle Agro joint managing director & CMO Nadia Chauhan said, “We are delighted to introduce Smoodh Hazelnut Chocolate and bring the rich taste of hazelnut and chocolate to consumers across India. This offering is another unique innovation from Parle Agro and we are confident it’ll see much love and acceptance from consumers.”
Apart from Hazelnut Chocolate, the other three flavours that Smoodh is available in are ‘Chocolate Milk’, ‘Toffee Caramel’ and ‘Coffee Frappe’.
Mumbai: A leading creative-tech and digital-first marketing agency DViO Digital has launched a new campaign ‘Lalkaar Ladkiyon Ki’ for fantasy cricket app My11Circle. The campaign is dedicated to promoting and building momentum for the Women’s T20 World Cup – a tournament to showcase women’s representation in the largest cricket league in the world.
Set in the backdrop of prominent women cricketers practising and preparing for the match, the 45-seconds video narrates how women have shown resilience and grit to leave a mark in the field of cricket.
The digital film highlights their efforts of gumption to glory over the everlasting criticism and feeling of self-doubt. It talks about how these women have used their circumstances as their aegis to overcome the challenges that come their way. The video ends with a strong message that sports are not only for men, and this time we should listen to and support ‘Lalkaar Ladkiyon Ki’, which translates to ‘challenge of the women’.
Speaking about the campaign, DViO Digital founder and CEO Sowmya Iyer said, “Women have been thriving in sports for over a decade now. While the landscape for women’s cricket has made exceptional strides in the past few years, there is a lot of sweat, blood and tears these women put in to make their place in a male-dominant sport like cricket. Through this campaign, we wanted to celebrate the rigour, passion and work those women put in when they strive to outdo themselves as athletes”.
Speaking on the association with Women’s T20 Challenge, My11Circle director-brand and marketing strategy Avik Das Kanungo said, “The women in blue have been a true inspiration for millions of young girls eager to venture into sports, and their support has multiplied since 2017. As the title sponsor of Women T20 Challenge 2022, we at My11Circle, wanted to give the women in cricket the same pedestal and hear them roar. ‘Lalkaar Ladkiyon Ki’ is a small tribute to celebrate their exemplary performance and constant efforts to promote women’s cricket in India.”
Mumbai: Fantasy cricket app, My11Circle, has launched a campaign featuring the ‘Women in Blue’ titled Lalkaar Ladkiyon Ki dedicated to promoting and building momentum for the Women’s T20 World Cup. Set in the backdrop of prominent women cricketers like Harmanpeet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, and Smriti Mandhana practising & preparing for the tournament, the 45-second video narrates how these women have shown resilience and grit to leave a mark in the field of cricket. My11Circle is also the proud official sponsor of Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 – a tournament to showcase women’s representation in the largest cricket league in the world.
On the sidelines of the digital campaign launch, My11Circle senior vice-president Saroj Panigrahi spoke to Indiantelevision.com about the importance of this sponsorship that goes beyond being just sponsors, towards bringing gender neutrality to the world of sports, especially cricket.
India is the biggest market for fantasy sports globally, with more than 130 million users playing across over 200 platforms. Launched in 2019, the My11Circle platform has created a distinct spot for itself witnessing a 100 per cent growth in user base last year. The brand was also the official title sponsor of Lucknow Super Giants during this season’s IPL. However, it hasn’t been a cake walk for the fantasy sports platform which had to go through its fair share of trials during the pandemic with live sports coming to a halt. Panigrahi also shared inputs on the future of online skill gaming in India and the roadmap ahead for the brand.
Edited excerpts:
On the objective behind sponsoring the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022
Cricket has always been a strategic investment for us. As an organisation, we strongly believe in gender parity. Our title sponsorship of the Women’s T20 Challenge 2022 was not only a great opportunity to demonstrate that belief, but also the perfect stage to associate with the finest batters, bowlers and fielders in the cricket world. We have consistently been striving to encourage women’s participation in games and sports that have traditionally been dominated by men, as we acknowledge the dedication and quality they bring to sports.
This partnership has strengthened our connection with millions of cricket fans throughout India, and will inspire more women to take up the sport. It has also certainly helped us in generating more visibility for the My11Circle brand.
On the recent spurt in growth in the online gaming industry
As per industry reports, the Indian gaming industry is currently pegged at $2.2 billion and expected to be a $7 billion industry by 2027. Live interaction, end-to-end encryption, payment gateways, freemium formats, hyper-personalised experiences, and other features have made the gaming environment safer and more entertaining for players. Mobile phone-based gaming applications continue to dominate the market, accounting for 86 per cent of all gaming experiences.
We are a technology company with a passion for gaming. We specialise in artificial intelligence and behavioural science. From pioneering the first online monetised skill gaming platform in India to becoming the most valued multi-gaming unicorn with over 100 million users, Games24x7 has witnessed tremendous growth in the last few years. Our fantasy platform My11Circle is India’s fastest growing fantasy sports platform, and we witnessed a 100 per cent increase in our user base last year.
On overcoming the impact of the pandemic on the company’s business
Just as the Covid pandemic wreaked havoc on every industry, the fantasy sports business also took a hit. As a platform, we are completely dependent on live sports, which came to an indefinite halt during the lockdown. However, things started to pick up after the restrictions were lifted. Our fantasy platform, My11Circle saw a 100 percent increase in its user base last year, and recorded stellar growth of over 30 per cent during this year’s IPL season.
On the industry trends you see emerging in the near future
Cricket is an important part of India’s cultural fabric and people’s interest in cricket directly translates into their interest in fantasy cricket. By associating with tournaments like the Women’s T20 Challenge, we have seen a huge growth in female user engagement on our app. We aim to maximise women’s participation in competitions that will promote the growth of sports in India by bringing to the fore new skills, talents, perspectives, standards, and idols. This will also impact women’s digital engagement patterns and the way they participate in fantasy sports.
On My11Circle’s association with the Lucknow Super Giants during this IPL
My11Circle is the official title sponsor of Lucknow Super Giants, and the brand enjoys a position of prominence on the team’s jersey. India’s central region did not have an IPL team until 2021, so it was a great opportunity for us to associate with Lucknow Super Giants. Since our fan base is spread across different regions, we have witnessed an amazing response. There has been strong support for the team from users which has been reflected in their engagement on our platform.
Our association with the Lucknow Super Giants has played a key role in the expansion of our user base. While the team was a new entrant to the fray, their performances were nothing short of remarkable. The brand of cricket that LSG played, and their involvement till the final stages of the tournament piqued the fans’ interest, and gave us exceptional visibility, translating into many new users joining our platform.
On the future of fantasy sports and online skill gaming in India
Owing to the increasing internet penetration, we see a lot of opportunities for user expansion in the coming years. If we look at data, mobile gaming is poised to surpass $136 billion in 2022. Technology will help us diversify narratives, create immersive storylines, and build more realistic gaming experiences for our players.
The fantasy sports industry is poised to play a huge role in creating highly skilled jobs, generating revenue, attracting FDI, propagating sporting culture, and contributing to India’s socioeconomic status. As a sport of national value, cricket garners a lot of buzz in the fantasy ecosystem. However, in the coming years, other sports like kabaddi, football and hockey will be gaining traction in the fantasy space. The ever-growing fan base of fantasy sports is further redefining the love for gaming as a mainstream recreational activity.
MUMBAI: Crypto company CoinDCX has strengthened its senior leadership team by appointing Kiran Vivekananda as chief of public policy and government affairs to lead the company’s public policy and government affairs initiatives. In his new role, Vivekananda will lead CoinDCX’s Public Policy function, working closely with regulators and industry stakeholders and helping drive a positive narrative for the crypto industry in India.
Vivekananda joins CoinDCX from Dream Sports Inc, where he was the chief policy officer and was responsible for driving advocacy efforts for the online gaming industry. He comes in with the rich experience of over two decades. Earlier, he worked with Uber India, HCL Infosystems, to name a few.
CoinDCX co-founder & CEO Sumit Gupta said, “We are delighted to have Kiran lead our public policy portfolio. Kiran’s deep expertise in developing public policy strategies will strengthen our efforts to push the Indian crypto industry mandate and represent the industry at relevant forums”.
Speaking on the appointment, Vivekananda said, “I look forward to working towards supporting a progressive policy and regulatory environment for the crypto industry”. He further added, “The Indian VDA market is the second-largest in the world and I believe that this presents a tremendous opportunity for India to lead the world in the technology-driven digital innovation in the crypto/ Web 3.0 space. I will leverage my experience in addressing concerns of regulators and in driving positive narratives/use cases of the crypto/blockchain technology”.
According to CoinDCX, it continues to strengthen its talent pool and is hiring across functions as it continues to build innovative products and services for the users. Safety and compliance continue to take centre stage as the company is committed to doubling down its efforts in the Indian market. CoinDCX has been working closely with all stakeholders who can help position crypto in the mainstream of India’s digital economy.
MUMBAI: Brand consultancy, Interbrand, announced a series of senior staff promotions, aimed to create a revised leadership structure globally and for the South Asia region. Gonzalo Brujó is now the global chief executive officer (CEO). Brujó succeeds Charles Trevail, who will take on the role of executive chairman. Another key people development also took place with the elevation of Ashish Mishra as the CEO of India & South Asia.
Brujó has been global president since February 2021, leading day-to-day operations of Interbrand whilst maintaining leadership of the company’s growth agenda, which builds off his highly successful tenure as global chief growth officer. He spent more than 15 years scaling the Interbrand business in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
“It’s a great honour to step into this senior leadership role at Interbrand at such a pivotal moment,” said Brujó. “The role that brands play in our lives is fundamentally changing – as is the world we live in. Branding is no longer a moment in time, and the brands that stand still will quickly lose relevance. I am excited to partner with our world-class clients and employees to achieve game-changing results in this rapidly shifting landscape.”
Ashish Mishra also spoke about what contributed to its consistently high performance in the local and adjacent markets. “We are the world’s premier brand consultancy and I’m privileged and honoured to be leading growth in these key markets to greater heights. But what’s more satisfying is the fact that we have been able to drive some much-needed shifts in the Indian business mindset. Elevating branding to a respectful, strategic status; getting a seat for branding at the management and board levels; encouraging the advertising and packaging design-bred marketing fraternity to begin to see brands as a strategic tool to drive business value. It also establishes the consciousness around the idea of brand value and valuation through our IPs – Best Global Brands and Best Indian Brands.”
These elevations highlight Interbrand’s push to make what it calls “Iconic Moves”, which are bold steps taken to help brands leap ahead of customer expectations and drive competitive advantage. Iconic Moves are a part of pivotal shifts in the world of brands and branding being driven by Interbrand worldwide, according to the company.
Currently, Interbrand India, a full-service consultancy started in 2013, will step up the branding practice across the region by letting their brands drive broader business arena opportunities, and developing more efficient business models, according to the company.
Mumbai: ESports Premier League (ESPL) on Monday announced to continue its association with actor Tiger Shroff as the face of franchise-based Esports league for the second consecutive year.
Along with the partnership extension, ESPL has also roped in Global smartphone brand TECNO Mobile as presenting sponsor and India’s leading streaming platform, LOCO as their exclusive digital broadcast partner for ESPL Season 2.
Tiger’s association with ESPL season 2 is expected to further bolster the positioning of the league. In the last season, Tiger’s video of cheering esports athletes garnered more than a million views on YouTube.
TECNO Mobile is promoting TECNO Pova 3 through ESPL which started on 15 June.
Speaking on the association with Tiger Shroff, ESPL director Vishwalok Nath said, “Tiger Shroff played a key role in making ESPL a household name in its first season. His popularity and fan following among the youth and millennial audiences helped us to engage and influence gamers across the country. His star power also helped push Esports to the mainstream. We are delighted to extend our fruitful association with Tiger in the second season. I’m confident that Tiger’s strong connection with the audiences will help us greatly in achieving our aim of revolutionising the Indian esports ecosystem.”
Shroff added, “I am glad to continue my partnership with India Today Gaming for ESPL Season 2. Esports has seen an explosive growth across the country. ESPL is a great platform for esports athletes to showcase their talent on the national stage. I am happy to be part of this undertaking to grow the esports industry while encouraging the esports players and the gaming community.”
The second edition of ESPL kickstarted on 15 June as this year’s league has been engaging gamers from across the country in high-voltage action of the most popular battle royale game, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI).
