Mumbai: G2 Snacks, a new entrant in the FMCG industry from newspaper publication Lokmat, has named Agency09 as its creative agency, following a multi-agency pitch.
The agency will be responsible for defining the brand communication via print that reaches the entire Maharashtra and exploring the new-age audience’s engagement possibilities in the digital ecosystem, said the statement.
“The team Lokmat has always given us great liberty in all our creative collaborations,” said Agency09’s first executive Tushar Khakhar. “We have some interesting and innovative work lined up for G2 Snacks, and are confident of ensuring that G2 becomes a household name.”
Expanding its presence to the F&B category, G2 snacks adds 16 flavors across categories like chips, krunchers, and namkeen. “Harping on the existing wide reach of Lokmat, G2 aims to reach to the remotest locations across Maharashtra with its effective communication,” the brand said in a statement.
“It is always thrilling to foray into new territory and produce a world-class product. With G2 Snacks, we are geared up to create a fantastic snacking experience, made with a combination of high-quality standards and ethnic taste,” said Good 2 Great Industries Pvt Ltd founder Rishi Darda. “We are excited to partner with Agency09 who displayed the right interest and expertise to bring this vision forward.”
G2 Snacks is available across 18 cities in Maharashtra
Mumbai: FoxyMoron, the full-service creative and performance agency under the Zoo Media Network has bagged full-funnel digital and performance marketing mandate for Organic Tattva, following a multi-agency pitch. The business will be handled by the agency’s Gurgaon office.
FoxyMoron will be handling the brand’s strategic content, design across all social media platforms and performance marketing as well, said the statement.
“The organic food and beverages category, while increasing in demand, has been riddled with unclear messaging and perception challenges,” said FoxyMoron (Zoo Media) national head partnerships and business head – North Prachi Bali. “With Organic Tattva, we aim to create communication that will truly build brand trust and also a community of people who enjoy consuming organic food.”
Organic Tattva is a homegrown brand for organic food. The brand claims that it offers high nutritional value, certified organic sources along with no pesticides and chemicals while ensuring sustainable farming practices.
“Organic, being a niche category, requires customer education about organic production, certifications, benefits, and environmental sustainability,” stated Organic Tattva marketing director Kriti Mehrotra. “Organic Tattva and FoxyMoron will work on delivering influential campaigns and raising awareness about the organic farm to fork process and our company’s commitment to integrity, authenticity, and quality.”
Mumbai: Uncafe, a boutique restaurant, has entrusted Isobar, the creative experience agency from the house of dentsu India, to design the identity for its newly launched healthy salad café.
The brand has taken a step further by creating a place that does not compromise on nutrition, hygiene, and taste. Keeping this at the core, the design crafted by the agency highlights Uncafe’s understanding of a consumer’s lifestyle and health needs in a contemporary manner.
While the logo comprises the alphabets ‘U and N’ from the brand name, the two dots are inspired by the Yin and Yang correlation symbol – the coherent synergy of taste and wellness. The alphabets U and N with two dots depict two humans, which in this case is the coming together of like-minded souls. The form is devoid of any frills and finished with soft rounded edges. It connotes inclusivity, friendliness, and warmth.
“There has been a sudden shift in the mindset, especially with the next generation becoming more conscious and responsible. We at Uncafe intend to promote an un-boring, unpretentious, and unapologetic healthy lifestyle,” said Uncafe co-founders Sanskriti Gupta and Riti Gupta.
“Back in the day, the definition of healthy was anything that didn’t have carbs, fats and sugar. But today owing to the pandemic, it’s all about immunity-boosting foods and paying attention to quality. Having said that, the offerings at Uncafe ticks all the right boxes,” said Isobar India managing partner Rahul Vengalil. “With an aim to deliver a holistic brand experience, we conceptualised the design in alignment with the brand values and built further on the health proposition.”
Isobar India national creative director Aalap Desai said the logo also has a deeper meaning and a style that would appeal to different age groups while we attract Gen Z’s attention. “A brand like Uncafe is helping the term ‘healthy food’ shed its boring tag. Our design is an endeavour to convey this message and to showcase what the brand stands for i.e., wholesome goodness anywhere anytime,” he said.
Mumbai: Flower and gifts retailer Ferns N Petals has appointed Mullen Lintas Delhi to handle its creative duties after a multi-agency pitch process. The agency will be responsible for the brand’s strategy and creative output.
Apart from having a wide distribution network, Ferns N Petals’ strong physical and digital presence makes them a suitable choice for sending flowers and gifts across India and around the globe. However, a large chunk of the market is still unorganised and carries immense potential for the brand to further blossom. Mullen Lintas will work towards building greater brand preference for Ferns N Petals.
“The forthcoming campaign that we are currently working on is a landmark one in the journey of Ferns N Petals towards accelerated growth,” said Ferns N Petals head of digital marketing Sai Thota. “Since it is a very important campaign, we have partnered with Mullen Lintas, one of the best creative agencies in the country. We are very confident that this association is going to help Ferns N Petals to get into the next orbit of growth.”
“We are seeing an accelerated evolution across many traditional product categories. Business models are pivoting to keep up with the dynamic environment around us where D2C brands are emerging faster than mushrooms. At such a juncture, to partner a brand like Ferns N Petals to chart its future journey is an exciting challenge and we look forward to it,” commented Mullen Lintas CEO Hari Krishnan.
“Ferns N Petals has been a leader in the gifting segment, it’s a brand that has touched millions of hearts. It was an exciting brief and we were able to demonstrate a strategic approach that would help build an enhanced brand preference,” stated Mullen Lintas senior vice president & business head Sunil Singh.
MUMBAI: Tonic Worldwide, a digital-first creative agency, has bagged the digital creative mandate for Aashirvaad, ITC’s umbrella brand for the staples business.
As part of the mandate, Tonic Worldwide will be crafting integrated digital creative strategies for the brand and it will be handled by the agency’s Mumbai and Bengaluru offices.
Speaking on winning the mandate, Tonic Worldwide chief strategy officer, Unmisha Bhatt said, “We are excited to be associated with Aashirvaad since the team is digitally forward and not only believes in the platform but gives it the importance that’s due. They are open to ideas and suggestions and are ready to take a leap creatively. Half the battle for any brand is won when marketers understand the platform and are open to give it all that’s due. Rest the battle is won when they find like-minded partners in their agency. It is an exciting opportunity, and we are looking forward to further strengthen the brand on digital and achieve the set objectives by keeping them ahead of the curve.”
Mumbai: Entertainment creative agency Humour Me has announced the appointment of Joy Mohanty as its chief operating officer. He will be leading the overall creative function of the agency ahead of the firm’s expansion plans.
He will be based in New Delhi and spearhead the expansion of the new media creative shop, the agency said in a statement.
In a career spanning three decades in advertising, Mohanty has worked with agencies like Publicis Capital, Lowe Lintas, FCB Ulka, Bates Clarion, Leo Burnett, and Contract. He has won numerous local and international awards, including the One Show, D&AD, New York Festivals, and Goafest.
“With Joy coming on board, we want to send a signal to all our brand partners and the marketing/ advertising ecosystem that we’re here to offer up our brand of creative audacity to the world now,” said Humour Me founder Dhruv Sachdeva. “Our plan is to build and invest in one of the most differentiated creative teams, unlike what one might find in a traditional agency set-up.”
“We are also excited about cementing a new teaching model within Humour Me, wherein we aim to give our creative talent the edge they need by up-skilling them to serve the attention needs of today. The Donald Draper days of advertising are dead, the new creative person needs to be a Twitter ninja, an Instagram poet, plus an independent creator themselves. Humour Me is more a collective of creators wanting to serve the attention economy of today, than an agency,” Sachdeva said.
“Humour Me is a company created for the post-internet world, one in which marketing, creativity, and tech have coalesced,” said Joy Mohanty. “Today, consumers and culture are always in beta, and so should brands and ideas be forever ready to read the signals and rewire. In this landscape, Dhruv and his team have built something unique, with an enviable list of like-minded clients. I am thrilled to be here, to add my energy to the success of Humour Me.”
NEW DELHI: Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, had once said, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.”
Children’s Day is celebrated to raise awareness about the welfare of our children. Yet, look around and you will witness that the reality is quite far from the truth. Children are suffering everywhere and they are abused daily. Their basic rights, education, dignity, hope, and most of all, childhood is snatched away from them, every single day. Currently, millions of child labourers in India are employed across the country in various segments like homes, factories, construction sites, and elsewhere. Popularly referred to as 'Chotu', these children often deal with menial, backbreaking, and dangerous jobs.
In an ode to showcase this tragedy, dentsu Impact, the creative agency from the house of dentsu international, has launched an eye-opening film in association with My Choices Foundation and Saregama Caravan.
The film #ChotuKaChildhood showcases various versions of Chotu and the hellish world in which they exist. It communicates their silent suffering, a voice that the world can hear. It also sends out a message that the next time anyone sees such heinous abuses around, s/he must report it and not walk away. Only then, we will be able to save the world, one child at a time.
dentsu Impact managing partner and national creative director Anupama Ramaswamy said, “Seeing little children working to make ends meet is the worst form of pain. But we walk away, without reporting it. Why did we choose to launch the film on Children’s Day? We believe the contrast of using an occasion, which celebrates children to highlight their suffering, will make the bitter truth come to light more strongly. It is my hope that with more people understanding the message of the film, they will raise their voices against child labour, and help usher in change.”
Ramaswamy shared that the My Choices Foundation wanted the world to note that there are too many children who still do not enjoy full rights and free choices. “The problem is, we all feel sad when we see a child working for a living, but nobody reports such instances. They wanted to bring to notice the violence, abuse, and exploitation these children go through,” she said.
She further elaborated that every single situation depicted in the film is inspired by real life. The child labour problem in our country is because of child protection laws, organisations cannot ask people to click pictures or geotag the location, etc. “The only way is to urge people not to walk away. Not just empathise and feel pity, but to report. Every one of us needs to report such instances. In the last few days, a lot of eminent people have shared this film. The message is definitely being noticed. We cannot change the entire society, but even if a few people start reporting, I would like to believe our efforts paid off,” she shared.
My Choices Foundation’s aim is to see the transformation of India into a safe place for children, and hope this film will help them do that.
MUMBAI: upGrad, India’s largest online higher education company in a most recent development, ropes ‘The Womb’ – a leading brand & creative agency/consultancy to chart out an impactful communication drive for the brand. The agency will be responsible for driving the brand communication strategy for upGrad, thereby propelling a long-term brand building by the power of creative and experimental storytelling.
upGrad CEO India Arjun Mohan said, “Given the COVID2019 sentiment, it is imperative for us to understand the evolving consumer preferences and derive actionable insights which in turn, will help us deliver appropriate results. We are excited to onboard 'The Womb' to spearhead our upcoming branding and communication drive. The agency, with its right balance of strategic and creative capabilities, will help us create a compelling business and brand proposition, thereby transforming the online learning landscape in India and overseas.”
The Womb founding Partner Kawal Shoor said, “From the era of doctors, engineers, and CAs, India’s come a long way, and is now firmly part of the global new age economy. The service sector is the fastest growing sector in the country. New careers in the areas of technology, data and finance are now the way to grow faster in life. India’s traditional education system has struggled to keep pace with the needs of modern industry, and this is where new age education brands like upGrad have unique opportunities. As any young brand and business, getting it right early is crucial for transformative growth. And this is where we come in. There are no proven ways to communicate online education brands, and blank pages are what we like the most.”
The Womb founding partner Navin Talreja adds, “The team at upGrad believes in doing things that have never been done before. So it was a great culture fit with what we believe and the work we create. Having said that their faith and trust in us to award us the business without a pitch creates a huge sense of responsibility to ensure that the brand wins in the market. We are up for the challenge and excited. Look forward to this journey.”
NEW DELHI: mcgarrybowen India, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), has launched its latest report, ‘The New Darwinism’. The report uses creativity to paint a world of the future and attempts to predict how human beings will behave once the lockdown is rolled back.
‘The New Darwinism’ is one of its kind understanding of the future through the lens of the present. It enables brands to be prepared for the new behavioural forces of the world, making them easily accepted by their consumers. The report builds on the idea of post-Covid2019 transformations, changing lifestyles, new work culture, and brand revolutions.
Some of the key behavioural trends highlighted in the report are:
Travel will focus on unwinding and chilling. It will not focus on exploration and discovery of the unknown as people will look towards the comfort of the known. The choice of destination will not be governed by just the quest for the unseen but will be guided by cities/places that have good support infrastructure and bigger hotel chains, which can guarantee safety. Experimenting with local, authentic cuisine in a restaurant at a remote part of town will change to trying out food at safety-certified big restaurants. Since people will be wary of traveling, staycations will rule over vacations.
Comfort will seep into the realm of Fashion and Beauty industry as consumers will be less guided by external validation and focus more on what they really like. Party wear will get replaced by more comfortable house party ranges. Fashion may see a rise of the new work from home wear, clothes that are multi-functional, activewear and people might focus on affordability. There will be a resurgence of themes like national pride and sustainability because the pandemic has led to a collective realisation of working in harmony with each other and our surroundings. DIY (Do it yourself) beauty products will see more adoption as will ‘do-good’ products rather than ‘look-good’ products.
For malls and cinemas, restrictions will be the new freedom that people will seek. Restricted seating, restricted tickets/passes and focus on more pre-packaged food at theatres will be asked for. The movie-going occasions will be creatively created as most of the movie releases have been delayed or pushed to next year. Japanese, Korean and International film festivals will be driving the theatre queues as will the replaying of marquee 3D and IMAX based films to bring back the lure of the theatres.
The need for entertainment is going to redefine the home space. The interest in Smart TVs, Firestick, Chromecast, Xbox and Bluetooth speaker is going to intensify. When it comes to the durable category, kitchen appliances will get a facelift with consumers spending more time in the kitchen and experimenting with food. Hence, oven, microwave and water purifier might get traction, as will durable categories that drive convenience like vacuum cleaners and dish washers.
mcgarrybowen president Nishi Kant said, “We are living in interesting times. The future of Indian businesses is going to be defined and shaped by what we are going through. So, we thought instead of discovering it when it happens, why don’t we start imagining how it will look like. We wanted to create a playbook that brands across different categories can use.”
mcarrybowen India general manager Pragati Rana added, “We had a lot of fun while coming up with this report. Not only did we consider the present, we wanted to emphasise on the future and create something that brands, and businesses could put to use.”
MUMBAI: Dr. Oetker India, leading purveyor of western comfort food to India,has appointed Publicis India to handle its creative mandate and bolster its branding & communication efforts in India.The agency would play a key role in taking forward the brand’s ambition and growing its business. The decision was made post a multi-agency pitch and a 360 degree evaluation. The mandate will be led by the Delhi office of Publicis India.
Commenting on the partnership, Devarshy R. Ganguly, Vice President – Marketing, Dr. OetkerIndiasaid “As Dr. OetkerIndia continues to expand and build scale for the western comfort food category, we needed a team that would bring instrategic mindset, disruptive ideas and deliver on the ask with passion.We found a perfect fit in the team at Publicis India and are confident that they will be instrumental in driving ourbusiness.”
Commenting on the win, Ravpreet Ganesh, Executive Director, Publicis India said: “We are definitely very excited to partner a brand that is an iconic global brand that has created winning categories within a decade in India with its superlative quality offerings. Consumers are evolving and so are their preferences and Dr. Oetker has truly been exemplary in understanding the needs of the Indian consumer.Now with their plans on strengthening and growing their portfolio, we are very proud to be associated with Dr. Oetker and hope to create some path-breaking work."
