Brands

Digital is as important as traditional: Diageo

Published

8 years ago

December 6, 2017

MUMBAI: Imagine any musical evening, whether it is soulful, hard core EDM (Electronic Dance Music) or just jam sessions. What goes well with music to get the party started, one may ask? The answer, liquor! Most liquor brands have cashed in on music by associating themselves with various concerts, sponsoring music festivals or even coming up with their own CDs.

Though alcohol is their main forte, India’s ban on direct advertising of the product forced them to position and market themselves through other products/services such as soda and music CDs that add negligible value to their sales.

Traditionally, alcohol beverage brands marketed themselves largely via print and television where they communicated a lifestyle and an attitude. But consumers today have multiple personalities and are more evolved resulting in brand using digital and social media platforms in a big way to communicate and be in tune with the audience. Diageo’s Amrit Thomas notes that digital is equally important for them as it is for any other brand in any given category.

When asked about how Diageo’s marketing and advertising budget has increased over the years, Thomas mentioned, “We are investing in our brand to build demand and manage a portfolio of brands and spends basis brand stage and requirements.”

Thomas does believe the impact of highway ban on liquor and GST has steered to subside now. “We are now looking at springing back from these events and project 2018 to be a good year for us.” The company is also strongly focused on its premium products and will be increasing its investment to boost the distribution and sale.

It is usually the media agency that creates a campaign for brands but in this case, the client decided to hand over the responsibility to Qyuki, which is a cross-platform media network across digital, live, TV and film. The company uses proprietary technology and analytics to discover and promote digital superstars and manages the end to end value chain for them across traditional and new media platforms. The tracks have been produced by Qyuki Media and creatively supported by DDB Mudra. Qyuki Media founder Samir Bangara mentions, “When you work with large brands they have a certain set approach on how much they want be involved in the project.There is a fine line between controlling the project and giving creative freedom and McDowell’s allowed us to get as creative as we wanted to, which is a rare brief to find nowadays.”

Today, India is the 3rd largest liquor market in the world, with an overall retail market size of $35 billion per annum. The annual consumption rate has increased steadily over the last six years and stands at 8.9 per cent as of 2017 and is growing at a CAGR of 8.8 per cent. The consumption is expected to reach 16.8 billion litres by the year 2022. The largest consumers come from the state of Haryana, Kerala, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Although liquor brands advertise and promote their products in supermarkets and clubs, it is only limited to tier I and tier II cities The real challenge for them lies in advertising and pushing the brand in rural markets where the only platform they can use to create brand awareness is TV.

McDowell’s, a product from British alcoholic beverage company Diageo, launched its first ‘No.1 Yaari’ ad back in 2014 for its soda category and that was an instant hit. Keeping in tune with its philosophy of strengthening the bonds of brotherhood, McDowell’s has introduced its new sonic asset through ‘No.1 Yaari Jam’, a music platform with the release of five enchanting sound tracks. Shaped by ace music directors Salim & Sulaiman Merchant along with distinguished and renowned music artists from across India, these exhibit the spirit of Yaari that McDowell’s seeks to evoke amongst its customers across India.

Music is the largest genre that is consumed online with Youtube growing at the rate of 150 per cent year-on-year and drawing over 40 billion views per month. Hence, it was only fitting that McDowell’s decide to leverage digital superstars to perform in Yaari music videos. Bangara said, “Video content is exploding in India and with so much information thrown at us everyday on digital platforms, the only way a brand can break though the clutter is by creating content and not just advertising.”

The musical opus unfolds in five languages with Swarathma leading the jam in Karnataka, Mame Khan and band replicating their spellbinding symphonies in Rajasthan, Ishq Bector fashioning a foot tapping number from Punjab and Siddharth Mahadevan and Soumil Shringarpure weaving their magic in Maharashtra. The nationwide musical caravan concludes with Salim- Sulaiman and one of their oldest yaar Shaan. It took a dedicated eight months to come up with the masterpiece.

The music videos will be promoted on television, radio, OTT platforms, digital and all leading audio platforms including Saavn, iTunes, Gaana, etc

Related Topics:alcohol Diageo liquor marketing McDowell’s soda

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Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

Brands

BCCL profit jumps 53 per cent in FY25 as tax bill shrinks

Revenue rises 4.3 per cent to Rs 10,209.33 crore while deferred tax gain lifts bottom line sharply

Published

1 day ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: Bennett, Coleman and Company (BCCL) has posted a sparkling set of financial results for the year ended 31 March 2025, proving that there is still plenty of ink and gold left in the ledger.

Revenue from operations climbed a steady 4.3 per cent, reaching Rs 10,209.33 crore compared to Rs 9,786.44 crore the previous year. When you sprinkle in other income, which rose 8.9 per cent to Rs 949.36 crore, the total income for the media behemoth hit a healthy Rs 11,158.69 crore.

While the income grew at a modest pace, the bottom line tells a far more dramatic story. The real headline is the 53 per cent surge in annual profit. How did they pull off such a feat? While Profit Before Tax (PBT) saw a gentle nudge upward of 2.7 per cent to Rs 1,610.00 crore, it was a vanishing act by the taxman that really did the trick.

Total tax expenses plummeted by 32.4 per cent, dropping from Rs 468.76 crore down to Rs 316.97 crore. This was largely thanks to a swing in deferred tax, moving from an expense of Rs 156.02 crore in FY24 to a benefit of Rs 39.44 crore this year.

Total income rose from Rs 10,658.55 crore in FY24 to Rs 11,158.69 crore in FY25, marking a 4.7 per cent increase. Total expenses grew at a slower pace, up 3.0 per cent from Rs 9,306.06 crore to Rs 9,581.45 crore. Profit before tax inched up 2.7 per cent, moving from Rs 1,567.02 crore to Rs 1,610.00 crore. However, the standout figure was net profit, which jumped sharply by 53.0 per cent, climbing from Rs 1,042.03 crore in FY24 to Rs 1,594.73 crore in FY25.

Despite the rising costs of doing business across the globe, BCCL kept a tight grip on the purse strings. Total expenses rose by just 3.0 per cent to Rs 9,581.45 crore. By keeping costs lower than the rate of income growth, the company ensured that the final figure, a net profit of Rs 1,594.73 crore, was nothing short of a front-page sensation.

In a world of shifting digital tides, it seems the BCCL ship is not just steady, but sailing into significantly wealthier waters.