Tag: Ashish Mishra

Interbrand releases 2023 best Indian sector brands reports

Mumbai: Interbrand, the world’s leading brand consultancy, has unveiled its highly anticipated sectoral report, highlighting the achievements of the top Indian brands in 2023. The report highlights the remarkable efforts of brands across technology, FMCG, financial services, home building & infrastructure and automotive categories.

Interbrand India & South Asia CEO Ashish Mishra said, “While the overall league table of most valuable Indian Brands launched some weeks back offers rich perspectives on how brands are driving value for businesses, the sectoral league tables offer a lot more contextual insight. There are some common themes and then some sector specific ones. The common themes include Brands leveraging their trust and meaning systems to transcend their traditional categories to broader Arenas. It is now more about categories within brands, not brands within categories. The other common areas of focus across sectors are tech-led transformations for future, premiumisation, authenticity, experiential upgrades, internal culture-building, and environment & community consciousness.”

Key Highlights from the report:

Technology: With many large-scale employers having significant western market skews, the dominant themes include building strong employee and employer brands, tech for good, building global events, communities and sponsorships for visibility and relationships, DEI and ESG. TCS has invested heavily in community initiatives and achieved diversity in its workforce. Infosys has focused on energy and water efficiencies and promotes gender diversity. Jio has maintained market leadership and aims to provide digital connectivity to the emerging Digital India. Wipro is committed to achieving net-zero emissions and has strengthened its partnerships. HCL emphasizes diversity and sustainability, while L&T Mindtree has formed strategic alliances and implemented responsible waste management. Mphasis is investing in emerging technologies and supporting social causes. Naukri has launched innovative solutions for enterprise customers and actively seeks innovative start-ups. These companies are dedicated to making a positive impact in their respective fields.

Automotive: In the automotive sector, several companies are making significant strides into the future of mobility. Maruti Suzuki’s commitment to customer satisfaction is evident through its extensive distribution network, maintenance options, and eco-friendly products. Mahindra leads the Electric 3-Wheeler market and is on a path to becoming the top SUV player with its SUV umbrella branding while focusing on sustainability. Bajaj Auto, the largest motorcycle exporter and a pioneer in EVs, is expanding its reach with the Chetak EV and continues to lead the premiumisation through strategic partnerships. Tata Motors stands as the top SUV manufacturer and a much-improved passenger vehicles player with a strong commitment to electric mobility and sustainability. Hero MotoCorp, a sustainability leader, is driving innovation and diversity in the industry, and has joined the EV bandwagon with its ambitious future mobility brand Vida. Premium segment leader, Royal Enfield explores new avenues through motorsports and community engagement. High performing TVS Motor’s stylish offerings, strategic partnerships and social impact initiatives are making waves. Ashok Leyland’s sustainability efforts, including afforestation and safety measures, are noteworthy. Its EV brand Switch continues to lead the CV electrification. Apollo Tyres, rated among India’s 50 most Sustainable Companies, expands diversity in its workforce and aims to build a community of SUV owners under the #BadRoadBuddies initiative.

Financial Services: HDFC, LIC, SBI, ICICI, Axis, Kotak, Bank of Baroda, IndusInd, and Union Bank are leading banks in India that prioritize customer experience and invest in innovative digital solutions. With the new competition coming from tech brands, the large financial services brands are also seen to be building their digital and customer-centric entities and upfronting the same ahead of their conventional forms. SBI Yono, BoB World, Kotak 811 and Indusind’s Indie are the new avatars becoming the primary windows to the future. They leverage technology to provide seamless banking services, offer personalized solutions, and enhance operational efficiency. These banks also actively engage in corporate social responsibility initiatives, focusing on community development, education, and environmental sustainability. Through their commitment to technological advancements and social welfare, they play a significant role in shaping India’s banking landscape.

FMCG: The brands featuring in the FMCG sector have clearly leveraged the brand equities to add newer and relevant categories. Authenticity and Lifestyle have been the key pivots to drive premiumisation in line with growing customer expectations. They have prioritized innovation, sustainability, and community welfare. Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) is a major player in household insecticides, air care, and hair care in India, Indonesia, and Africa. It leads the household insecticide market in India and is second in soaps. Amul focuses on the broader and value-added opportunities in dairy and foods, and is conscious of communities, renewable energy usage, rainwater harvesting, and carbon neutrality. Dabur innovates to popularize modern, science based solutions of Ayurveda and nature, drives rural market penetration, encourages gender diversity, and health awareness. Britannia focuses on its transformation into a total foods company and is extending presence and partnerships in areas beyond biscuits while championing water stewardship, safety, and reducing environmental impact. Patanjali adopts digital transformation, promotes farming community development, and ensures palm plantation sustainability. These companies strive to make a positive impact while delivering high-quality products and services to consumers.

Home building & Infrastructure: In the home building sector, Larsen & Toubro is reinventing technology and services as the future high margin businesses. It is working towards Lakshya 2026 and is enhancing energy efficiency, emphasizing sensor-based lighting, LED fixtures, and renewable energy. They also focus on rural empowerment and customer retention. Asian Paints leads the way when it comes to evolving to a broader Arena of Beautiful Homes from Paints Products offering custom design services, excelling in waterproofing solutions, develops new eco-friendly products, and is committed to sustainability, water neutrality, and community livelihood. JSW achieved a remarkable 5 MTPA expansion at Dolvi, the largest ever in the Indian steel industry, featuring India’s biggest blast furnace and steel melt shop. Their expansions prioritize renewable power usage, digitalization for operational efficiency, and cutting-edge technologies to reduce CO2 emissions. JSW set a global milestone by issuing a US dollar-denominated Sustainability Linked Bond of $500 million, linked to a 42% CO2 reduction target by 2030, aligned with India’s NDC. UltraTech, reinforces leadership and technology while attempting to deepen emotional engagement with the category. It prioritizes digitalization for enhanced efficiency, customer-centric innovations, and climate goals, making them India’s largest cement manufacturer. Havells, another emerging Arena Brand, uses customer-centric innovations to drive involvement and preference, recognizes employees with the Employee Ownership Plan and invests in sustainability through solar power and employee training. Nerolac attempts a differentiated offering through technology and innovations, fosters a people centric work culture and prioritizes sustainability, ranking highly in the paint industry’s ESG category. They diversify into new segments and collaborate with customers for customized solutions. Pidilite, known for Fevicol, is gradually evolving through innovations, solutions and creativity. It focuses on CSR initiatives and has high brand recall. Their farmer clubs and COVID-19 support demonstrate their commitment to society. They give a voice to employees through ‘Aapki Awaaz Karegi Vikas’ and support senior citizens. Polycab pivoting on its strong culture and relationships, values its employees, customers, and is again supercharging innovation to broaden into wider Arenas, launching a range of fans, lights, and accessible Home Automation. They invest in digital technologies and prioritize customer feedback and needs.

October 31, 2023
Truecaller empowers users with new ‘True’ identity

Mumbai: Truecaller, the world’s global communications platform unveils its new corporate brand identity with a redesigned brand logo and app icon. The new look and feel of the brand with a refreshed app icon reflects the essence of the Truecaller brand, making it much more distinctive which will be instantly recognizable anywhere. Interbrand, the world’s leading brand consultancy and Truecaller have conceptualised this together to create a governing idea and key insight that addresses people’s desire for clarity, confidence, freedom, and fulfilment.

The new brand identity is created with an intent to serve as an enabler and help drive a change for the users who are prone to vulnerabilities and increasing scams in the digital space. The tone of voice and colors of the redesign reflect the personality of the brand – trustworthy, straightforward and approachable as we strive to put the power back into the hands of the people to have more control over their life with safe communication.

“Today when brands are going out of their way to find their ‘purpose’, we don’t take lightly that we have purpose built into the core of our business. When we empower our users to take the right call, they in turn empower millions more by marking out fraud and spam calls. This flywheel of trust, powered by our 356-million strong global community, helps make communication a little safer every day. Our new positioning and brand identity is a reflection of this empowerment and trust.” said Truecaller VP global brand Ashwani Sinha.

Talking about the new identity, Interbrand India & South Asia CEO Ashish Mishra said “Brands are increasingly being built on new acts of leadership. In areas which concern the world and its people most. We found an opportunity in the pervasive disinformation that plagues our times. Truecaller perhaps is the best placed brand in the world to lead the empowerment of people, businesses, and communities through true information. Under this larger ambit of nobility laced with a touch of activism, lie the more tangible step ups of recognizability and smooth experience. A signature design system and UX audit to identify the experience gaps helped deliver these within the rebrand.”

September 22, 2023
Clensta onboards Mamaearth’s Ashish Mishra as co-founder and chief business officer

Mumbai: Personal care brand Clensta has announced the addition of industry leader Ashish Mishra to its C-Suite. Mishra comes on board as Clensta’s co-founder and chief business officer (CBO), who along with founder Puneet Gupta, is set to scale the brand to greater heights.

Mishra brings into his new role, a wealth of experience from a career spanning almost two decades. Mishra headed the General Trade, Modern Trade, HORECA, Institutional, International & Alternate and Salons business at MamaEarth (Honasa Consumer Limited). Under his leadership, the company clocked around 2500 per cent growth, with Mishra driving revenue of more than Rs 500 cr. a year which he grew from close to Rs 2 cr. a month, within three years and led a team of more than 1,500 people. Mishra has also been associated with market-leading institutions such as Reliance, Tata Group, VLCC, and Russian Medicom through his extensive career, where he has consistently demonstrated his dynamic and result-oriented approach.

At Clensta, he will head the retail and online sales channels, along with playing a significant role in driving the growth of the International, Institutional, and Alternate channels thereby enhancing the brand’s reach and presence across markets. Ashish’s experience in this industry will be instrumental in driving strategic decisions at the company and will also contribute towards the Company’s growth capital raising initiatives.

“I am excited to be given this opportunity to work closely with Puneet and his talented team. IIT Delhi backed Clensta has already disrupted the personal care space with its customer-centric approach and innovative offerings and I am confident that together, we will scale this brand to greater heights in the years to come.” said Mishra.

“We are thrilled to have Ashish on board who will add tremendous value to Clensta with his experience as an industry leader for almost 20 years. His rich experience and proven track record of scaling D2C businesses make him an invaluable addition to our team. More than anything, he shares Clensta’s vision to disrupt the personal care landscape in India and across the world through our range of effective, unique and affordable products. Clensta has so far worked on owning the product value chain and with Ashish on board, we are looking at a hockey stick growth by owning the distribution value chain,” said Clensta founder Puneet Gupta.

Clensta recently joined hands with the actress Parineeti Chopra as an investor, partner and brand ambassador. Since its inception, Clensta has secured funding from notable investors like the Royal Family of UAE, EXIM bank and various other angel platforms, which it is pumping back into the business to expand the inventory and customer base.

September 14, 2023
Interbrand strengthens India leadership; announces new appointments and elevations

Mumbai: Brand consultancy – Interbrand has bolstered its leadership team by appointing four executives in elevated and new roles, with the goal in mind to drive strategic partnerships, accelerate growth, and burgeon overall enterprise value.

Satish Krishnamurthy assumes the role of chief strategy officer. Ameya Kapnadak takes on the role of chief growth officer and head of consulting – Interbrand India. Payal Shah has been named the strategy director and head – human truths, India. Rahul Bansal will function as the strategy director and head of brand economics, India.

Speaking about the new leadership team, Interbrand India, India & South Asia CEO Ashish Mishra said, “We had a late entry into the Indian market but were able to achieve local leadership for the world’s leading brand consultancy in a very short span. We have the top five branding projects of the decade as our showreel. Winning and delivering these iconic brand transformations, including Godrej, Jio, Britannia, Infosys, Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, and Nerolac, took brilliant and committed talent.”

“Most of whom have been the core of our team for most of our history. Our people have grown with the firm and are poised well to create the next generation of icons. At Interbrand, our priority is to nurture a global community of thinkers and makers with the curiosity and confidence to create iconic work,” he added.

Satish Krishnamurthy brings 21 years of global strategic experience to Interbrand, having worked across brand consulting, creative strategy, and design thinking. His diverse experience straddles from driving strategic mandates for large agencies in the US and India, to being a behavioural architect, and also being a Ted X speaker. Satish has crafted unique ways to solve problems by taking inspiration from various disciplines. He has impacted successful outcomes for large clients across positioning, service and experience design, and opportunity consulting.

Ameya Kapnadak leads the growth and consulting teams at Interbrand’s India office. Over the last 25 years, he has worked on and built some of India’s most iconic brands. Ameya has a wide and deep experience across diverse industries, including technology, banking and finance, automotives, consumer goods, food, and fashion and retail. He started his branding career at J Walter Thompson, and has since worked at Mudra, ICICI Bank, and The Times Group, before joining Interbrand in 2011. Ameya is a pharmacist by qualification and holds a master’s degree in management from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

As a strategy director at Interbrand, Payal Shah’s approach is to help brands rise to meaningful arenas for growth and sustainable iconic leadership. Possessing a multi-faceted personality and more than 15 years of experience in USA and India, she has been working across categories such as spirits, FMCG, technology and fashion. Some of her clients in the past were Pernod Ricard, Britannia and Gucci. Payal believes in the power of storytelling and delves into experiences for brands that inhabit them. She believes in purposeful innovation that harnesses behavioural data in order to amplify brand growth and value creation. Beyond creating brands, she’s a brand mentor at Ecole Intuit-Lab and the host of ‘Design Rendezvous’.

Rahul Bansal joined Interbrand India in 2016 in their strategy vertical. In this role, he has helped with the expansion of Interbrand’s footprint in South Asia across Sri Lanka, UAE, and Bangladesh while also leading projects for some of the largest public and private sector brands in India. Prior to Interbrand, Rahul has worked across a diverse range of functions and sectors, including business consulting to help bring global consumer brands into India, gaming, and e-commerce in Southeast Asia.

August 18, 2022
Interbrand elevates Gonzalo Brujó to global chief executive role; appoints Ashish Mishra as CEO- India & South Asia

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.

July 12, 2022
Zoom makes Interbrand’s 2020 Best Global Brands list

MUMBAI: With people confined to their homes during the Covid2019 pandemic, social media and communication brands have fared well, according to Interbrand’s 2020 Best Global Brands report.

Instagram came in at #19, while YouTube (#30) and Zoom (#100) entered the rankings for the first time. On the flip side, Facebook’s value fell by 12 per cent to $35.2bn – although it moved up a place to #13 in the ranking.

Amazon, Microsoft and Spotify have added the most to their brand value in the past year. The e-commerce giant ranked at #2 and increased its brand value by 60 per cent, with a valuation of nearly $201 billion.

Music streaming service Spotify (#70) saw brand value increase by 52 per cent to $8 billion, jumping 22 places in the ranking, while Netflix rose to #41 with a 41 per cent increase to $12 billion. Business models have played a role in this success, with 62 per cent of double-digit risers relying on significant subscription model businesses.

Tesla re-entered the rankings at #40 with a brand value of $12.7 billion, having last appeared in the Best Global Brands table in 2017.

Read more news on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands

Apple retained its top spot, growing its value 38 per cent to $323 billion and becoming the first brand to surpass the $300 billion-mark. Microsoft overtook Google (#4) to reach the number three spot. This is the first time the search engine has dropped from the top three.

Meanwhile, Samsung (#5) broke into the top five for the first time ever. The remainder of the Top 10 comprises: Coca-Cola #6 ($56 billion), Toyota #7 ($51 billion), Mercedes-Benz #8 ($49 billion), McDonald’s #9 ($42 billion) and Disney #10 ($40 billion).The top ten brands accounts for 50 per cent of the total table value this year.

The 2020 Best Global Brands ranking also saw the ‘Covid effect’, with global shop closures causing the brand values of Zara (#35) and H&M (#37) to fall 13 per cent and 14 per cent respectively, with both dropping at least six places in this years’ ranking. After two years as the top growing sector, luxury brands took a hit in 2020, with all but one brand value (Hermes #28) falling between 1-9 per cent.

Other brands and industries have benefited from the ‘Covid effect’, notably logistics which saw an average of 5 per cent growth – UPS (#24), FedEx (#75) and DHL (#81) all saw positive brand valuation growth, as the logistics sector became more central to our lives in lockdown. PayPal (#60), Visa (#45) and Mastercard (#57) have also risen in the rankings – 12, 10 and 5 places respectively. The pandemic led to a sudden shift to electronic as the primary payment method and the swift roll out of programs to support local business during lockdown benefitted these brands, who provide access to capital in times of economic uncertainty.

“Reports like Interbrand’s Best Global Brands are important for companies to better understand how we’re being perceived in consumers’ hearts and minds,” said Mastercard Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Raja Rajamannar. “Especially during these unprecedented times, when consumer behaviours have shifted and trust is more important than ever, these rankings are a way for us to better understand how we can best serve our communities.”

October 22, 2020
Delhi Capital partners with Acko General Insurance

NEW DELHI: Acko General Insurance associates with Delhi Capitals for the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League. Acko is the official insurance partner of the team. The Delhi Capitals team will be sporting the Acko logo on their helmets and caps.

Acko’s maiden innings with IPL sponsorship last season saw it registering a surge in awareness levels and transactions on its platform among a newer audience. The goal with this year’s collaboration with the Delhi Capitals team is to strengthen brand value and recall by engaging with a vast consumer base at the biggest cricketing league in the world. The brand logo on the team’s helmet is aligned with the overall brand narrative of ‘protection’ being a necessity. The association will be amplified with a 360-degree campaign across television, digital, and social media platforms in the coming weeks.

To further drive consumer engagement Acko will be running a series of entertaining contests over a period of 5-6 weeks throughout the IPL season. Aimed at capturing the interest of the Delhi Capitals’ fans and making it a memorable experience for them, the contests will be held on the Delhi team’s game days. A fun lead film featuring popular members from the team will be used to announce the contests across television, digital and social media.

'Catch the Acko logo' is one such contest that will be held during the Delhi Capitals' first game of the season. Aimed at aiding brand discovery and engagement, the contest will be simple – all that one needs to do is count the number of Acko logos present in the stadium (on caps, helmets, perimeter boards, etc.) during the match and post it on Acko’s website. Prizes for the winners will include team merchandise and a mega prize of a 30 minutes virtual meet and greet with DC players.

Acko General Insurance executive VP- marketing Ashish Mishra said, “We are excited to partner with the highly talented Delhi Capitals team. Our goal is to drive brand awareness and brand discovery among new customers pan India. IPL being the biggest and most popular sporting event in the country, makes it an exceptional avenue for a branding exercise for a young brand”.

Delhi Capitals CEO Dhiraj Malhotra said, “We are thrilled that Acko has come onboard as a partner for us in the forthcoming season of the Indian Premier League. Acko is a distinguished young and upcoming brand and there is a strong alignment as both partners are constantly striving to scale new heights. We look forward to having a very successful association this season”.

September 9, 2020
Zomato and PayTM feature in Interbrands’ ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report

MUMBAI: A unique business model that is driven by innovation and technology is the trademark key to success among the emerging businesses in the world. Under tough competition, it is no longer enough to have hard working product or service. Smart brand building is the need of the hour. Keeping that in mind, Interbrand in partnership with Facebook, Ready Set Rocket and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has released its ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report that examines strong emerging brands.

Of the 200 brands nominated, 60 ended up being featured in the Interbrand Breakthrough Brands report, although the list does not rank the brands.

India- founded Zomato has been featured in the Food and Beverage category along with Deliveroo from UK, Blue Apron from US and do dem from Brazil. Zomato’s mission is to facilitate better dining experiences for food seekers all over the world. Founded in 2008, this brand’s food discovery platform is now a part of India’s biggest personal assistant app, HelpChat, which will be able to anticipate users’ food-related desires. Zomato also offers online ordering and table reservations, as well as tools that allow restaurants to manage demands, thus creating better food experiences for both its users and one million restaurants partners worldwide.

Also, PayTM has been featured in the prestigious ‘Growing global’ category. This category celebrates the brands that have created a unique, differentiated approach which is global from day one. Breaking ground fast and too big to ignore, these brands are poised, or already on the path, to creating a significant global footprint. PayTM’s growing mission to create a one-stop, mobile shop has caused it to flourish in the population-dense country of India, where online platforms serve a growing need to get things done, quicker and more conveniently. Launched in 2010, PayTM began as mobile charging and bill payment service and has since become a full mobile commerce platform, with 20 million registered users and growing. It’s poised to break through in other Asian markets, where the one-stop-shop proposition is becoming increasingly popular. The brand has featured in the category along with Xiaomi from China, WeChat from China and DJI Global from Hong Kong.

“In this ‘Age of You’ brands are being used by people to design better experiences in their day to day lives. That is what necessitates the conventional brands themselves to move at the Speed of Life. The Breakthrough Brands are born into the new cognitive era and are unencumbered. They can therefore create bespoke experiences per people’s needs and desire with a clear purpose to provide solutions through a sustainable business model. The task thus is not so much technology-out as much as it is solution focused. Then on, all the regular tools of running a good business need to be put in place – a scalable resource plan with internal clarity, responsiveness and governance models; external differentiation to ward –off imitability and consistency while the scale up. The stronger the solution and its focus, the better would be the earned media and buzz that are the decisive promotional vehicles for today’s breakthrough brands,” said Interbrand India MD Ashish Mishra in parting.

July 27, 2016
Zomato and PayTM feature in Interbrands’ ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report

MUMBAI: A unique business model that is driven by innovation and technology is the trademark key to success among the emerging businesses in the world. Under tough competition, it is no longer enough to have hard working product or service. Smart brand building is the need of the hour. Keeping that in mind, Interbrand in partnership with Facebook, Ready Set Rocket and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has released its ‘Breakthrough Brands’ report that examines strong emerging brands.

Of the 200 brands nominated, 60 ended up being featured in the Interbrand Breakthrough Brands report, although the list does not rank the brands.

India- founded Zomato has been featured in the Food and Beverage category along with Deliveroo from UK, Blue Apron from US and do dem from Brazil. Zomato’s mission is to facilitate better dining experiences for food seekers all over the world. Founded in 2008, this brand’s food discovery platform is now a part of India’s biggest personal assistant app, HelpChat, which will be able to anticipate users’ food-related desires. Zomato also offers online ordering and table reservations, as well as tools that allow restaurants to manage demands, thus creating better food experiences for both its users and one million restaurants partners worldwide.

Also, PayTM has been featured in the prestigious ‘Growing global’ category. This category celebrates the brands that have created a unique, differentiated approach which is global from day one. Breaking ground fast and too big to ignore, these brands are poised, or already on the path, to creating a significant global footprint. PayTM’s growing mission to create a one-stop, mobile shop has caused it to flourish in the population-dense country of India, where online platforms serve a growing need to get things done, quicker and more conveniently. Launched in 2010, PayTM began as mobile charging and bill payment service and has since become a full mobile commerce platform, with 20 million registered users and growing. It’s poised to break through in other Asian markets, where the one-stop-shop proposition is becoming increasingly popular. The brand has featured in the category along with Xiaomi from China, WeChat from China and DJI Global from Hong Kong.

“In this ‘Age of You’ brands are being used by people to design better experiences in their day to day lives. That is what necessitates the conventional brands themselves to move at the Speed of Life. The Breakthrough Brands are born into the new cognitive era and are unencumbered. They can therefore create bespoke experiences per people’s needs and desire with a clear purpose to provide solutions through a sustainable business model. The task thus is not so much technology-out as much as it is solution focused. Then on, all the regular tools of running a good business need to be put in place – a scalable resource plan with internal clarity, responsiveness and governance models; external differentiation to ward –off imitability and consistency while the scale up. The stronger the solution and its focus, the better would be the earned media and buzz that are the decisive promotional vehicles for today’s breakthrough brands,” said Interbrand India MD Ashish Mishra in parting.

July 27, 2016
Interbrand India ropes in Ashoo Advani as brand strategy – associate director

MUMBAI: Interbrand India has brought on-board Ashoo Advani as associate director – brand strategy. Based out of Mumbai, Advani will work closely with Interbrand India MD Ashish Mishra on the agency’s client roster.

Advani said, “Since my B-school days, brand valuation has been an area of interest. It is the ultimate metric for any brand and there is no organization in the world that comes close to Interbrand in brand valuation expertise. I am excited about learning and using the global best practices of managing brands.”

Mishra believed that the war for talent is accelerating and globally Interbrand’s people’s skills are considered as a benchmark. According to Mishra, the agency clearly wants the select few who can do justice to the company’s reputation and the ones who can be trusted with transformational value creation through brands and are valued for it too.

“For far too long the brands and branding world in India has remained reconciled to the easy and interesting second half of expression. We want people capable of pulling back the conversation into the non-existent first half of strategic definition, both respectfully and profitably and I am happy and confident that with Ashoo on board with us, we can help make this happen,” stated Mishra.

Advani brings to the agency an experience of over a decade in brand communications and strategy development. His expertise pans largely around developing brand communication for new and existing brands. He joins Interbrand from Chlorophyll where he was senior brand planner. Prior to Chlorophyll, Advani was associated with Ogilvy & Mather where he exclusively worked with Asian Paints and managed development of communication for 22 different product brands. He has also worked with Lowe earlier in his career.

An MBA from Asian Institute of Management, Manila, Philippines; he believes in saving the world from the overuse of the word brand. For doing his share, he is associated with Xavier Institute of Communications as a guest faculty member for Corporate and Product Branding, where he interacts with students and clarifies their ideas about branding.

January 19, 2015