Category: Press Release

  • Sony MAX2 remembers Hrishikesh Mukherjee on his 97th birth-anniversary with ‘Lights, Camera, Kissey’

    Sony MAX2 remembers Hrishikesh Mukherjee on his 97th birth-anniversary with ‘Lights, Camera, Kissey’

    MUMBAI: Sony MAX2 will host a special segment of Lights, Camera, Kissey on 28th September 2019 to pay a special tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee who is largely regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of his era. The writer / director who symbolized the ‘middle-class man’ through his characters is recognized for his slice-of-life movies, many of which won several accolades. The upcoming episode of Lights Camera Kissey will pay a tribute to Hrishikesh Mukherjee with interesting trivia and unheard stories from his 1983 film Rang Birangi which also saw Parveen Babi’s last performance of her career.

    Hrishikesh Mukherjee fondly known as Hrishi da made his directorial debut with Dilip Kumar starrer Musafir in 1957 went on to direct over 40 movies in a career spanning close to 50 years. He was the directorial mastermind behind several iconic films like Satyakam, Chupke Chupke, Anupama, Anand, Abhimaan, Guddi, Gol Maal, Majhli Didi, Chaitali, Aashirwad, Bawarchi, Kissi Se Na Kehna and Namak Haraam amongst many others.

    Rang Birangi was one of his most memorable movies where a meddling friend whose attempt to rekindle the spark in his friend's relationship with his wife leads to complications in their lives. The story goes into a comical turn of events which are bound to keep audiences laughing endlessly. It is an iconic film that witnessed Amol Palekar and Parveen Babi share the screen for the first time.

    The man behind the lens was a legend, one that will always be remembered for his humility and versatile storylines and Shekhar Suman will be throwing some light on this in the upcoming episode of ‘Lights Camera Kissey’.

    Eminent actor and prolific storyteller, Shekhar Suman, will take audiences on a trip down memory lane, sharing some behind the scene, unheard stories that haven’t yet seen the light of the day! He will narrate stories of Bollywood actors, singers, producers and directors to give us a sneak peek into the bygone era of Hindi cinema through LCK on Sony MAX2.

    Sony MAX2 is proud to present ‘Rang Birangi’ on Lights Camera Kissey on 28th September 2019

  • Castrol India enrolls over 1.5 lakh mechanics and retailers on a unique digital incentive platform

    Castrol India enrolls over 1.5 lakh mechanics and retailers on a unique digital incentive platform

    MUMBAI: Castrol India Limited, the leading automotive and industrial lubricant manufacturing company in the country, announced that
    Castrol Fast Scan – its unique digital incentive platform for key stakeholders including mechanics and retailers has already reached 1.5 lakh users. Standard Chartered Bank is the banking partner for this industry-first solution. 

    Castrol Fast Scan currently helps retailers and mechanics to earn, track and redeem rewards, and receive them instantly in their bank account using IMPS, leading to significant simplification and shortening of the incentive payment cycle from months to minutes.

    Castrol Fast Scan has acquainted many mechanics and retailers to banking on the go, besides inculcating a savings mindset. Castrol Fast Scan has witnessed initial success and widespread acceptance with the current average daily transactions pegged at over one lakh transactions amounting to INR 6 crores being reimbursed monthly. 

    Commenting on the announcement, Omer Dormen, Managing Director, Castrol India Limited, said, “Castrol Fast Scan reinforces our commitment to our key stakeholders like mechanics and retailers to continue to add value to their respective businesses. Designed and developed in-house by Castrol India team and working on a robust
    back-end system, Castrol Fast Scan delivers a premium customer experience along with simplification and creates a significant differentiation by helping our stakeholders in financial inclusion and digital upskilling.”    

    Zarin Daruwala, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank, said, “Technology is disrupting the way our clients operate and as a bank, we endeavour to work closely with them to develop customised eco-system solutions to drive their strategic growth.This solution has not only addressed a market need, but also delivered on a larger digital agenda for India, whereby now Castrol can facilitate incentive payments to various stakeholders round the clock, in an instant and cashless manner. We truly believe that this partnership is one of its kind as it unlocks options where client-bank collaboration can provide exciting possibilities through transformation across industries.”

    As next steps, Castrol Fast Scan aims to double its users in the next 12 months. It is an avenue for collaboration for other corporate partners looking to reach and reward various stakeholders in a transparent and secure manner.

    Castrol Fast Scan offers numerous possibilities to enable sustained and customised engagement programmes for a variety of stakeholders. This will play a big role in enlarging their awareness and industry knowledge along with technical upskilling and capability building.

  • Truecaller appoints Hitesh Raj Bhagat as director of corporate communications india

    Truecaller appoints Hitesh Raj Bhagat as director of corporate communications india

    MUMBAI: Truecaller today announced the appointment of Hitesh Raj Bhagat as the Director of Corporate Communications for India. In this new role, he will be spearheading the communication and positioning strategies for the brand across the country. The strategic move is a testament to Truecaller’s rapid expansion in India and the need for vertical specific leadership roles to continue their ongoing growth trajectory. Hitesh will be based out of Truecaller’s Gurgaon office effective September 19, 2019.

    Speaking on the occasion, Hitesh Raj Bhagat, Director of Corporate Communications India, Truecaller, said, “Truecaller is a highly innovative and ambitious organisation and has been doing some incredible work in making communication simple and safe to all Indians. I am truly excited to lead the team from the communications front.”

    “India is a key market for the brand and we intend on expanding our presence and bring more relevance to our diverse Indian audience. I look forward to build Truecaller’s voice in the country further and help the brand achieve significant heights.” he added.

    Hitesh brings with him vast experience from the Indian technology journalism landscape, having spent close to a decade with The Economic Times as the Lead Technology Editor. Prior to his time with The Economic Times, he was an Associate Editor with Cyber Media for over four years and has even worked with Overdrive before this role. Having spent over 17 years in the industry, he is highly proficient with the technology sphere in the country and would help drive growth for Truecaller through his expertise.

    The communications role for Truecaller was previously led by Manan Shah, Director Marketing, Truecaller. He will now continue to focus entirely on developing Marketing and Brand Management strategies for Truecaller. In addition to building the brand, he will also take on Customer Relationship Management for Truecaller going forward.

    The company recently announced 500 million downloads for the application and over 150 million Daily Active Users globally. The Indian market accounts for over 60% of Truecaller’s user base and is continuing to increase as a pivotal sector in their expansion. By incorporating several new features and app integrations, Truecaller continues to revolutionise their user’s experience and provide them with solutions to ensure their lives are simple, safe and more efficient.      

  • Accenture launches experience activation network to power growth for World’s leading brands

    Accenture launches experience activation network to power growth for World’s leading brands

    MUMBAI: Accenture has opened a center in Mumbai that serves as the centerpiece of its new “experience activation network,” a collection of state-of-the-art sites worldwide that are dedicated to powering brand experiences that deliver marketing-led growth.

    The experience activation network is part of Accenture Interactive Operations — the marketing managed services arm of Accenture Interactive— which harnesses talent, technology, and process innovation through SynOps for Marketing, to deliver dynamic brand experiences across all consumer touchpoints and channels. 

    Occupying two floors of its Intelligent Operations Center in Mumbai, Accenture’s new experience activation center includes dedicated design thinking spaces, immersive demonstration zones and interactive digital surfaces, as well as open collaboration zones for clients to co-create alongside industry-specialized teams. 

    Among those at the center’s opening today were executives from a number of marketing pioneers — including GlaxoSmithKline, Radisson Hotel Group, Shell and others — that have embarked on bold marketing transformations with Accenture, using emerging technology, a global shared services model and process innovation to drive experiential-led growth.

    “With the customer experience increasingly a driver of competitive advantage and sustained growth, the marketing function is emerging as a new organizational superpower,” said Debbie Polishook, group chief executive of Accenture Operations. “Our experience activation network is helping clients stay one step ahead of the convergence of the front and back office by enabling CMOs to transform their operating models and capitalize on the growth opportunity ahead of them.”

    Key targets for the new center include chief marketing officers and other marketing executives, many of whom are struggling to meet the rapidly evolving needs of consumers. In fact, recent research from Accenture found while only one-sixth (17%) of nearly 1,000 CMOs surveyed know how to transform their operating models to deliver hyper-relevant customer experiences at a global scale, organizations that do deliver such experiences generate shareholder returns 11% higher than those of their industry peers.

    Beyond the Mumbai location, the global experience activation network includes similar centers in Turin, Italy;  Malaga, Spain; Warsaw, Poland; Dalian, China; and Costa Rica. These centers are connected to more than 100 Accenture locations worldwide to seamlessly bring the best of the company’s investments in innovation to clients anywhere in the world.

    In addition, the experience activation network is among the world’s largest concentration of marketing activation experts, bringing together tens of thousands of professionals worldwide that include data scientists, graphic designers, platform practitioners, content production specialists, programmatic experts and ecommerce experts.

    “We have built a model for a new generation of marketers who must deliver a meaningful and connected customer experience across all touchpoints and channels,” said Nikki Mendonça, president of Accenture Interactive Operations. “Our experience activation network powers a marketing-led growth agenda by harnessing all the skills, assets and capabilities our clients need to activate, operate and scale customer experiences with greater speed, scale and agility.”

    The experience activation network will take full advantage of the latest managed services from Accenture Interactive Operations, which include:

    Next-generation content services to amplify content at scale and drive dynamic personalized experiences using the latest techniques and technologies.
    Digital marketing services to activate digital channels dynamically to grow marketing-led revenue, using proprietary algorithms and machine-learning intelligence, and deliver personalized, seamless brand experiences.
    Programmatic media services to drive growth by executing multi-platform paid media activity programmatically and with full transparency to improve top and bottom-line results.
    eCommerce services to boost digital sales by enabling customers to discover what they want, find what they are searching for, and buy what they want the way they want it.

  • CNBC-TV18 launches ‘STARTUP STREET’ – A comprehensive daily-show on everything Startups

    CNBC-TV18 launches ‘STARTUP STREET’ – A comprehensive daily-show on everything Startups

    MUMBAI: The pioneer of startup programming and India’s award-winning news and information broadcast channel, CNBC-TV18 today announced the launch of its latest daily-show – STARTUP STREET. Touted as India’s most comprehensive daily show on startups, Startup Street focuses on key newsmakers, policy moves, industry trends and innovation in the Startup realm. Through the show the channel aims to put spotlight on the pioneers and disrupters of the Indian economy. The show is led by CNBC-TV18’s Managing Editor Shereen Bhan along with Megha Vishwanath from Delhi NCR, Shruti Mishra from Mumbai and Mugdha Variyar from Bengaluru.

    The show’s programming is segmented into #checkingIn, #Hotseat, #whatsbrewing #Investoreye that will feature a stellar line-up of exclusive stories, investigative scoops, newsbreaks, financial report-cards, latest statistics of startups and unicorns along with in-depth interviews of the stalwarts of the industry. Showcasing the drivers of the new economy, Startup Street aims to be the one stop destination for everything startup.  

    The show will be aired from Monday-Sunday at 7PM.

    Commenting on the launch of the show, Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18 said, “The startup space is witnessing a rapid continuous growth; however, there’s a dire necessity for informative, knowledge-sharing with the audiences related to the sector. Since the phenomenal growth of the Startup industry in India, we have been the only channel that has covered the sector thoroughly and expansively and we seek to leverage our expertise in showcasing a comprehensive picture on the movers and shakers of the Indian Startup economy. As the pioneers of startup reportage, CNBCTV18 put the spotlight on the new community of first-generation entrepreneurs on our award winning show Young Turks 18 years ago and now we leverage our expertise to bring you India’s most comprehensive daily startup show, Startup Street.” 

  • Zee Telugu’s Zee Heroes – Episode 8, ‘Typhoon’ Stunt

    Zee Telugu’s Zee Heroes – Episode 8, ‘Typhoon’ Stunt

    MUMBAI: Zee Heroes in its eighth week has witnessed contestants perform stunts that has not only kept them on the edge but also brought them face to face with their biggest fears. With the tasks in the competition getting tougher, the ability and courage of the contestants get further challenged at every stage. An amalgamation of thrill, adventure, courage, reality, entertainment and a whole lot of fear, Zee Heroes goes on-air every Sunday at 9:00 PM only on Zee Telugu and Zee Telugu HD.

    As a sneak peek to the next episode in the wilderness of Thailand, 10 daredevils perform a daredevil stunt on a ferry. Two contestants from each team will be walking on the rope and collect alphabets that read the word ‘HERO’ and stick at the top of the given flag, at the end of the bamboo platform. The contestant that completes the task in the least amount of time will be declared as the winner.

    The end of every episode will witness a face-off task, and the winner of this task will be elected as Garuda contender. This week Tejaswi and Milind will fight for the title of Garuda contender and the winner would earn the power to save themselves or a friend from elimination.

  • Myntra brings kids wear brand, OshKosh B’Gosh® to India in partnership with Tablez

    Myntra brings kids wear brand, OshKosh B’Gosh® to India in partnership with Tablez

    Bengaluru: Myntra announces the launch of OshKosh B’Gosh one of the most-recognized children’s clothing brands in the United States. Their signature style is rooted in denim, an optimistic color palette and an artful attention to detail. It is clothing that nods to the brand’s roots while moving forward with the perfect balance of quality, value, fashion and kid-friendly style. Along with iconic products like the World’s Best Overalls and Heritage Logo Hoodies – OshKosh B’Gosh® creates clothing that lets kids be kids.

    OshKosh B’Gosh® is being launched for the first time in India and will be available online on Myntra through Tablez, the leading organized retail group, the official partner of Oshkosh B’Gosh® in India.

    Myntra has over 65000 options from over 400 kids wear brands and is the go-to destination for branded apparel products. With a good mix of large global brands and small domestic boutiques, Myntra’s range offers both, value for money and quality to shoppers in India. According to industry reports, the kids fashion market in India stands at $7 billion at present and is expected to reach $13 billion by 2022, with the branded segment gaining fast traction among shoppers.

    Speaking on the launch, Amar Nagaram, Head – Myntra Jabong said, “We are delighted to bring OshKosh B’Gosh®, one of the United States leading kids wear brands to our customers in India in partnership with Tablez. We are committed to creating a fashion destination for kids and are focused on building the infant and footwear portfolio, while enhancing the overall catalogue for kids and pre-teens. With our large user base and wide reach, Myntra offers the perfect channel for OshKosh B’Gosh® to scale swiftly, in this market while also helping us solidify our position as the leading destination for kids wear in the country.”

    Speaking on the association, Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director, Tablez, said, “We are very excited to bring OshKosh B’Gosh® to India and partner with Myntra, to offer the brand on its well reached platform. OshKosh B’Gosh® is a time-tested kids wear brand from the USA, offering contemporary fashion with a wide variety of styles and trends. We believe that it has great potential to become one of the leading brands in the kids wear segment in India. Being a pioneer in the e-commerce market and its extensive reach, Myntra is the perfect partner that will enable OshKosh B’Gosh® to reach a large expanse of the fashion-conscious consumers across the country.” 

  • ZEE5 partners with sunburn

    ZEE5 partners with sunburn

    MUMBAI: ZEE5, India's fastest growing Contech brand partners with Sunburn, Asia’s biggest Electronic Dance Music Festival to share exclusive interviews, behind the scene moments and premiere performances of Sunburn Season 13 on the Zee5 platform. 

    Currently in its thirteenth edition, Sunburn kickstarted last weekend with a power packed performance by American rapper, singer and songwriter Wiz Khalifa in Mumbai and Delhi. Sunburn will continue to host Arena performances across cities viz. Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune to eventually culminate with its popular flagship annual property which will take place in Goa from 27 to 29 December 2019.

    Sunburn, a Percept Intellectual Property, is Asia’s Premiere Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Festival, and is ranked amongst the world’s biggest music festivals. Started in 2007 as a 3 day music festival in Goa, Sunburn has grown to become an aspirational lifestyle brand boasting an eclectic mix of music, entertainment, experiences and celebration that has seeded music tourism in India. Over the past decade, Sunburn has brought together renowned International and Indian artists including Swedish House Mafia, Martin Garrix, Tiesto, Avicii, Hardwell, Deadmau5, Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Afrojack, Above & Beyond, The Chainsmokers, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Marshmello, Paul Van Dyk, Skazi, Pete Tong, Dash Berlin, and Nicky Romero. ZEE5 subscribers can now watch all this action packed entertainment from the comfort of their home.

    Manpreet Bumrah, Business Development & Commercial Head, ZEE5 India, said, “We got a fantastic response from our audiences last year, encouraging us to take forward our collaboration with Sunburn yet again. We believe we complement each other. We have each established ourselves as the go-to destination for entertainment in our respective genres. This association, we believe, will be a wonderful value-add for our subscribers in the age-group of 18 to 34 years of age, a key demographic of our base.”

    Karan Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Percept Live commented, “We are thrilled to partner with ZEE5. Both Sunburn and ZEE5 have changed the dynamics of the Media & Entertainment domain and emerged as popular platforms for Millennials today. Sunburn has continually strived to scale up its innovation and entertainment quotient year on year inclusive of the best artist line-up, state-of-the-art technology and a wide range of experiential activities to provide fans with a larger than life wow experience, Our partnership with ZEE5 will definitively raise the bar and offer music aficionados an online entertaining musical experience like never before.”

    With over 3500 films, 500+ TV shows, 4000+ music videos, 35+ theatre plays and 80+ LIVE TV Channels across 12 languages, ZEE5 truly presents a blend of unrivalled content offering for its viewers across the nation and worldwide. With ZEE5, the global content of Zindagi as a brand, which was widely appreciated across the country, has also been brought back for its loyal viewers.

  • ISL Franchise Hyderabad Football Club unveils its logo

    ISL Franchise Hyderabad Football Club unveils its logo

    MUMBAI: Hyderabad Football Club (HFC), the newest entrant into the premium football tournament franchise, Indian Super League has unveiled its official logo titled ‘Reliving Hyderabad’s Football Legacy’. The logo of Hyderabad FC embodies the city’s heritage with the minarets of Charminar and the texture of the Kohinoor diamond. Vijay Madduri and Varun Tripuneni, the co-owners of the Hyderabad Football Club, felt the need to relive and retell the legacy ahead of the upcoming tournament. 

    Speaking on the occasion Mr. Varun Tripuneni, co-owner of the club, Hyderabad FC said “Hyderabad had an interesting legacy with the sport from way back from the 1910 when the city hosted the first all-India tournament, known as Majeed’s Tournament. From then on, that is from the 1920s to 1950s, Hyderabad dominated the football scene in India and internationally, including making it to the Olympics!  We are confident that the Hyderabad FC will receive a fantastic response and the city will be buzzing with the spirit.” 

    Vijay Madduri adds, “The logo is inspired from the city’s history, we now hope that HFC will be a great boost for the sport in the region. We are greatly encouraged by the response received from the football enthusiasts in the city. So with Hyderabad FC, we hope to elevate the sport to being much more organised and professional, so that we can give a boost to the legacy that is already present in the city’s history and roots.”

  • CNBC-AWAAZ launches ‘STARTUP Nation’ – A comprehensive daily-show on Startups

    CNBC-AWAAZ launches ‘STARTUP Nation’ – A comprehensive daily-show on Startups

    MUMBAI: As the country rides the start-up wave, pioneer of startup programming and India’s award-winning Hindi business news broadcast channel, CNBC AWAAZ today announced the launch of its latest daily-show – STARTUP Nation. The thirty-minute show aims to bring together stories of entrepreneurial success, along with expert advices on business challenges and insights from the leaders of the industry.

    CNBC AWAAZ since its inception has cemented its strong foothold as India’s most trusted voice of the masses. Leveraging its strong regional presence and unparalleled access to deep-rooted stories from India’s heartland, the channel has continuously empowered its audience with relevant and expert-led content. The channel has been a forerunner in identifying topic that is relevant to the Indian audience.  It is a home to India’s longest running startup show ‘Awaaz Entrepreneur’ that celebrates and inspires Entrepreneurial talent in India. Their latest show STARTUP Nation will focus on entrepreneurs & ventures that are creating value, driving innovation and taking the India story global through exclusive interviews, newsbreaks, industry roundup along with reporter stories.

    The show will be aired from Monday-Friday at 6:57 PM.

    Commenting on the launch of the show, Basant Dhawan, CEO-English Business News Cluster, Network18, said, “India has been instrumental in propelling the growth of entrepreneurship since the past few years. In an ever-changing economy, the Indian startup ecosystem has witnessed incredible disruptions. We have seen spectacular entrepreneurs who have charted new avenues of efficiency and hard work. The show aims to celebrate these success stories and provide a holistic overview of the industry that is helmed by experts and analysts.”