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Tag: Diageo

  • Ex-CMO Devarshy Ganguly takes a bold leap with GLX Eminence launch

    Ex-CMO Devarshy Ganguly takes a bold leap with GLX Eminence launch

    MUMBAI: From stirring up campaigns at Diageo to building Magicbricks into an award-winning portal, Devarshy R. Ganguly has worn many marketing hats. Now, the veteran brand-builder is donning the entrepreneurial cap with the launch of his consulting venture, GLX Eminence, a platform designed to engineer clarity, growth and lasting impact.

    Armed with over two decades of experience across Dr. Oetker, Mars Wrigley, Del Monte, Beam Suntory and Diageo (UB Group), Ganguly has carved out a reputation for driving breakthrough innovations. Along the way, he’s been named among India’s Top 50 CMOs by The Financial Express, featured in Nielsen’s Top Launches, and earned accolades from DMA Asia and AdLift for his contributions to MarTech. His last corporate innings at Magicbricks saw him expand the platform into a full-stack real estate marketplace, supercharge content via MBTV on YouTube, monetise proprietary research, and roll out campaigns that culminated in CNBC’s Best Real Estate Portal of the Year (2024).

    GLX Eminence is built on four pillars: driving growth for startups, SMEs and enterprises; bridging industry and academia through experiential programmes; mentoring leaders, professionals and students; and inspiring audiences as a motivational speaker and storytelling expert. “GLX Eminence was born of a simple belief that growth must be purposeful, leadership empowering, and excellence sustainable,” said Ganguly, adding that the mission is to help brands and talent “find clarity, create significance, and engineer lasting impact.”

    With the venture, the award-winning marketer is not just turning a new page but writing an entirely new playbook, one that blends boardroom lessons with classroom wisdom, and storytelling with strategy.

  • Green carpet call as BT spotlights India’s most sustainable companies

    Green carpet call as BT spotlights India’s most sustainable companies

    MUMBAI: India Inc’s ESG stars are set to walk the green carpet. Business Today Multiverse is rolling out a new kind of red carpet green, actually as it launches the inaugural edition of BT India’s Most Sustainable Companies – Summit & Awards 2025. Slated for 6 June in New Delhi, the event puts the spotlight on the companies walking the talk on ESG, sustainability and responsible business.

    With the theme ‘Charting India Inc’s Sustainable Future’, the event promises not just trophies, but timely conversations and action plans. Union minister Bhupender Yadav will headline the summit with a special keynote on India’s environmental strategy, setting the tone for a day packed with powerful dialogue.

    The awards are backed by a rigorous methodology, led by Careedge ESG Ratings, which evaluated 1,000 listed companies across 11 impact-heavy sectors using publicly available data. The final winners were selected by an expert jury chaired by former SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar.

    The speaker list reads like a who’s who of India’s sustainability and policy ecosystem. From Pepsico’s Yashika Singh and Zomato’s Anjalli Kumar to JSW’s Prabodha Acharya, Mahindra’s Abanti Sankaranarayanan, and SEBI’s Pramod Rao, leaders from corporates, think tanks, and regulatory bodies will tackle how sustainability can shift from boardroom buzzword to operational backbone.

    Panel discussions will feature experts like ORF’s Nilanjan Ghosh, CEEW’s Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Avaana’s Anjali Bansal and Swapna Gupta, ISA’s Joshua Wycliffe, Diageo’s Ashish Parikh, and legal minds like Meyyappan Nagappan (Trilegal) and Amit Kapur (JSA), offering multidisciplinary takes on climate strategy, regulation, investment, and innovation.

    Supporting the summit are sustainability stalwarts: L&T (Green Partner), Pepsico (Sustainable Progress Partner), Diageo (CPG Sustainability Partner), along with KREDL and RVNL as associate partners.

    The evening will culminate in the BT India’s Most Sustainable Companies Awards and the unveiling of a special Business Today edition centred on the campaign: ‘Sustainability is no longer an option, it is the only way forward.’

    For India Inc, the message is clear going green isn’t just good optics. It’s the only playbook that matters now.

  • Kantar launches Sensory eValuate in India as a part of its Innovation testing suite

    Kantar launches Sensory eValuate in India as a part of its Innovation testing suite

    Mumbai: – Having worked with marquee clients like, Loreal, Colgate Palmolive, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, Diageo, and Unilever globally, Kantar, the world’s leading marketing data and analytics company announces the launch of Sensory eValuate in India as a part of Innovation testing suite. It uses sensory research to help evaluate consumer products using the human senses – touch, smell, sight, sound and hearing.

    Strong brands generate superior shareholder returns, are more resilient in times of crisis and recover more quickly – those investing in innovation saw their brand value increase by 273 per cent. Innovation is the foundation for a brand’s growth and it’s imperative in challenging times, however, most innovation fails. As per Kantar’s Innovation Guide 2021, 15 per cent of new product launches contribute to top-line growth, however, only 20 per cent of new product launches survive. It is therefore more essential than ever to keep the consumer at the heart of product development and understand their modern-day pressure points and desires.

    Driven by scientific expertise, Sensory eValuate helps to develop and optimise superior products; explore, design, or optimise new and existing products to drive consumer satisfaction, repeat purchase and brand loyalty – giving marketers the ability to protect and maximise the value of their brand equity. The solution covers a broad range of categories including food & beverage, fragrance, personal care and beauty, cleaning products, automotive, physical environments, and consumer goods. Catering to three critical stages of innovation aligned to growth – Identity, Build and Launch, Sensory eValuate provides insights through the process in a layered approach. The new offer complements other solutions from Kantar’s eValuate suite of innovation tools, including Idea eValuate, Concept eValuate, Pack eValuate and Product eValuate, to help clients identify growth opportunities. These solutions are highly flexible and can be customised according to client needs.

    Speaking about Sensory eValuate, Kantar lead – innovation, South Asia, insights division Ranjana Gupta said, “Understanding what product formulation best meets expectations requires specific sensory expertise and methods. Sensory eValuate brings insight into the detailed attribute level of formulations, empowering the R&D capability within client organisations for the creation of the ultimate sensory experience. Understanding how flavour, fragrance, surfaces, or sounds interact with consumer perception is crucial for the success of a product. Getting these elements right has the power to positively impact brand equity, demand a premium price, create memories, and establish a sensory signature that underlies long-term success in the market. Complimenting this with salience and a congruent total offer is the secret.”

    Kantar MD & chief client officer, South Asia, insights division Soumya Mohanty added, “Innovation requires continual, ongoing effort to ensure that your pipeline delivers the products that will create growth opportunities. Since 1998, Kantar BrandZ has consistently identified three qualities that are the hallmarks of the strongest brands- meaningful, different, and salient. With the launch of Sensory eValuate in India, brand owners will benefit from staying meaningfully different and ahead of the pack. With a 30-year history in sensory and technical innovation and a total of one million plus consumers surveyed across 90 markets, Kantar’s Sensory eValuate solution can revolutionise product development in India.”

  • David Beckham to talk Studio 99 during Digital MipTV keynote

    David Beckham to talk Studio 99 during Digital MipTV keynote

    Paris: Global sporting icon and legendary football player David Beckham will be the keynote speaker at the 58th edition of the Cannes TV market Digital MipTV. The event is all set to begin on 12 April and will be a virtual affair for the second consecutive year.

    The 2020 edition was also forced to go digital due to the pandemic.

    In his first in-depth television industry keynote, Beckham will talk about launching his own production company, Studio 99, and his global ambitions for the content studio, MipTV confirmed on Tuesday. He will also talk about some of his current projects for a variety of global networks including A Whole New Ball Game, charting the contemporary history of the Premier League; World War Shoe, a documentary mini-series charting the untold story behind sports brands Adidas and Puma; and the upcoming definitive David Beckham biopic.

    In Conversation with David Beckham will be hosted by award-winning director and producer Ben Winston. A nine-time Emmy winner, Winston was also the executive producer of this month’s Grammy Awards and will produce and direct the Friends reunion later this year.  The show will take place on 13 April at 18.00 CEST, and will be available on catch-up until 14 May.

    After retiring from a football career that saw him play for over two decades at some of the world’s most successful clubs, Beckham has established himself as a successful entrepreneur. His independent brand management operation, DB Ventures, manages several partnerships including with Diageo, Adidas, Tudor,  and EA Sports in addition to overseeing investments such as Guild Esports plc. In 2018, he became an owner of a football club and founded Studio 99 a year later. Studio 99 is a global production and content studio that focuses on documentary films, series, and format development. It is also a commercial studio and produces a wide range of both editorial and marketing content for global brand clients.

    Earlier this month, MipTV had also confirmed American TV and film personality Marc Anthony as a keynote speaker for the event. The five-day mega event currently in its 58th year traditionally brings together distributors, producers, buyers, and commissioners of drama, doc, kids, factual, and formats programming in Cannes, France, for a week of business meetings, conferences, and global networking.

  • Hina Nagarajan appointed MD & CEO of United Spirits

    Hina Nagarajan appointed MD & CEO of United Spirits

    NEW DELHI: United Spirits has appointed Hina Nagarajan as MD & CEO, with effect from April 2021. She takes over from Anand Kripalu, who has been associated with the organisation for over eight years.

    Nagarajan is currently serving as the MD for Africa emerging markets.

    Kripalu will step down by June 2021. During his tenure, he has led the transformation and growth of United Spirits Ltd (USL), with considerable improvement in operating performance – margin growth, working capital and cash generation. Following Diageo’s acquisition of USL in 2013, he led the full integration of USL, reigniting the market’s portfolio strategy. 

    A strong advocate for the contribution of the alcohol industry in India, Kripalu has formed lasting relationships across the sector, driving local community initiatives and partnerships while tirelessly promoting responsible drinking. Known for his restlessness and entrepreneurial spirit, as well as his commitment to coaching and growing talent, he has championed inclusion and diversity across the business.

    The USL executive team is now 40 per cent female. He leaves the USL leadership team and the broader workplace set up for future success. 

    Since joining Diageo in the summer of 2018, Nagarajan has led Diageo’s ARM comprising operations in Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, the Indian Ocean, Angola and several other countries. Under her leadership, ARM has become a significant growth driver for Diageo Africa. She is known for her passion and drive to deliver results and her ability to build strong teams that deliver outstanding outcomes, with a strong commitment to Diageo standards and compliance. She has leveraged capabilities and synergies across the market to drive regional growth, delivering a significant step change in supply chain performance across ARM. She has also been an active and passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity in Africa and Diageo more broadly. Prior to joining Diageo, she has spent over 30 years in the consumer packaged goods businesses and has worked across multiple brands such as Nestle, ICI Paints, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and RB Singapore.

  • OTT platform runs commercials for liquor brand, report says

    OTT platform runs commercials for liquor brand, report says

    KOLKATA: Sparking a new controversy, the streaming service SonyLIV runs commercials for liquor brands between breaks. It appears the liquor brands which can’t use television or print, are utilising OTT platforms in the absence of advertising codes. The OTT platforms don’t have any advertising code yet for their original content.

    According to a Mint report, the liquor brand Diageo India promoted its 180 ml pocket-size flasks called 'Hipsters' which launched last year for scotch whiskey brands Black Dog, Black & White, and Vat 69.

    However, it displayed the ad with a disclaimer that it should not be shared with people below the legal drinking age. The brand has shown on-screen during the cricket tournament that young consumers are pouring whiskey from a flask to make a chilled drink on multiple occasions when the drink can be enjoyed.

    "It is in accordance with the Diageo Marketing Code and Diageo Digital Guidelines, that guide for all communications that go out across any platform," a company spokesperson said as quoted by Mint.

    Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) secretary-general Shweta Purandare said these matters are beyond the scope of ASCI. According to ASCI, such matters are best examined and dealt with by the concerned regulators.

  • Diageo named by Equileap as the top company globally for gender equality

    Diageo named by Equileap as the top company globally for gender equality

    MUMBAI: Diageo has been ranked as the number one business globally for gender equality in the Equileap 2019 Global Gender Equality Report and Ranking. Diageo has improved its global ranking from 11th in the 2018 Equileap report and is ranked as the number one business in the UK for gender equality for the second year in a row.

    The Equileap report is an in-depth, cross-sector analysis of gender equality in 3,519 companies in 23 developed economies, representing 98 million employees. Equileap ranks businesses based on 19 gender equality criteria, including gender balance across the workforce, the gender pay gap, paid parental leave and anti-sexual harassment policies.

    The ranking is evidence of the progress Diageo has made to champion diversity and inclusion both within the business and beyond. Acknowledgements in the report include:

    The work Diageo has done to achieve gender balance at the most senior levels of the organisation.  Currently 44% of Diageo’s Board are women, and the company is working towards a senior leadership team of 40% women by 2025. In India, women currently make up 17% employees in India compared to 7.5% in 2015. Currently, senior women leaders occupy key leadership positions in various departments such as Legal, Finance, Marketing, Communications, HR and Sales (23%) and women are taking up more specialized roles in our R&D centre, Innovation and Public Policy teams
    Diageo’s global parental leave policy which offers female employees in all markets a minimum of 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave. Diageo has also set a global minimum standard of four weeks paternity leave on full rate of pay in all markets, with a significant number of Diageo’s businesses moving to 26 weeks fully paid paternity leave including the UK, North America, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Colombia, Venezuela, and Australia amongst others. In India, Diageo has announced 26 weeks of fully paid maternity leave which is also mandated by local laws and an enhanced 4 weeks of fully paid paternity leave.
    Diageo’s signatory of the United Nations’ Women’s Empowerment Principles, committing to seven values-led approaches to support women in the workplace, marketplace and community.
    Ivan Menezes, Chief Executive of Diageo said: “I am proud of our work to drive an inclusive culture and diverse employee base at Diageo. Our aim is to create a culture that ensures all our people thrive, as well as shaping market-leading policies and practices. But there is much more to do and we are committed to championing diversity, to make Diageo stronger and to have a positive impact on society.”

    Diageo is also championing gender equality through its brands and advertising. The company has rolled out a framework for progressive gender portrayal in advertising to its 1200 marketers and advertising agencies around the world. Diageo is a member of the United Nations Unstereotype Alliance, and the business has signed up to Free the Bid to increase the number of female directors on its adverts as well as working with Creative Equals to support women returning to the creative industries after a career break.

    Mairéad Nayager, Chief HR Officer at Diageo said: “At Diageo we believe that gender equality is a moral imperative and a driver of business performance. We are increasing the number of women in leadership roles across the company and have introduced new progressive family leave policies to support all our people throughout their careers. We will continue to push ourselves to improve and build on our ambitions.”

    Diana van Maasdijk, CEO at Equileap said: “It is Equileap’s mission to accelerate gender equality in the workplace as a powerful and under-used way of tackling poverty and inequality. Diageo are setting an example and we commend the team for their ambitious work to champion inclusion and diversity.”

    In 2019 Diageo has also been recognised as the second most diverse and inclusive workplace in the Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion Index (previously the Thomson Reuters Diversity & Inclusion Index), and is listed on the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index.

  • Devendra Deshpande joins Friday Filmworks as head of digital content, IP

    Devendra Deshpande joins Friday Filmworks as head of digital content, IP

    MUMBAI: The head of Content Plus at Mindshare Devendra Deshpande has moved on and joined renowned multi-media production house, Friday Filmworks as head of digital content and IP.

    In his new role, Deshpande will create and monetise sustainable and scalable IPs for the ever growing digital/OTT space for domestic and international markets. He will also create new monetisation models around content, including franchising and l&M for Friday Filmworks.

    Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia's collaborative venture Friday Filmworks has completed a glorious decade in Indian Cinema. Having being set up in the year 2008, Friday Filmworks has believed in both content and cinematic experience. The journey began with A Wednesday, a film which became a sleeper hit back then and has set trend of content driven films in showbiz. Over the years Friday Filmworks has garnered immense love and appreciation from audience and critics alike. Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia's Friday Filmworks has been a trendsetter in Bollywood. Over the decade it has delivered films like A Wednesday (2008), Special 26 (2013), Total Siyapaa (2014), Rustom (2016), Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017). 

    Devendra  has been a part of GroupM for over eight years, and has served as the head of Mindshare Content Plus for the last three and a half years.

    Devendra has 16 plus years of experience in developing long term strategic partnerships through a deep understanding of advertising, social, integrated marketing, consumer insights, and media. 

    Over the course of his tenure at GroupM, he has worked closely with several top tier brands such as Unilever, Pepsi, GSK, Diageo, Kellogg's amongst others.

  • Diageo named Britain’s Most Admired Company 2018

    Diageo named Britain’s Most Admired Company 2018

    MUMBAI: British multinational alcoholic beverages company Diageo has been named as Britain’s Most Admired Company 2018 by Management Today. This is the fourth time that Diageo has won this accolade since the ranking was established in 1990.

    Along with it, Diageo also scooped two individual category awards; for quality of management and corporate governance.

    Commenting on the award, Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes said, “This award is recognition of the hard work and dedication of our 30,000 colleagues around the world who are all making Diageo a stronger, better performing company. We are focused on delivering consistent performance, while bringing our purpose to life at work and in our communities; by creating a positive role for alcohol in society and through our work on inclusion, diversity, skills and empowerment. While we have a lot more to do, we’re proud to be building a company for the long-term and intend to fly the flag for great British exports on the global stage for decades to come."

    In addition to being named Britain’s Most Admired Company, Diageo has also been named amongst the 50 Best Places to Work UK by Glassdoor. 

    Commenting on its ranking in the Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work UK, Diageo Europe HR director Joan Hodgins said, “I am delighted that Diageo has been named as one of Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work in the UK. We know that the success of our business depends on the contribution of our people. We are firmly committed to creating an environment where all our employees feel included, valued and able to perform at their best and today’s announcement is recognition of the progress we have made as a company to achieve this.”  

    Britain’s Most Admired Company (BMAC) is compiled by asking Britain’s largest companies and leading employers across 24 sectors to peer review each other against 12 criteria. The research is carried out by third party organisation.

  • Diageo enters e-alcohol space with Rs 270 mn investment in HipBar

    Diageo enters e-alcohol space with Rs 270 mn investment in HipBar

    MUMBAI: Diageo India, the country’s leading beverage alcohol group, through its legal entity United Spirits has made an equity investment in HipBar, a payment technology start-up that serves the needs of the beverage alcohol industry and its consumers, through a mobile wallet and delivery app.

    Diageo has acquired a 26 per cent equity stake in HipBar for Rs 270 million.

    Diageo India is committed to transforming the beverage alcohol industry and with this investment, the company will support HipBar’s digital ambition and help expand its footprint across more markets. HipBar unlocks the industry’s need to provide better experiences, promote responsible consumption and digitally connect brands, retail stores and consumers through a common digital platform.

    https://www.hipbardelivery.com

    With the HipBar app, age verified consumers can browse a range of alcoholic beverages, select a brand of their choice and pay through the mobile wallet to have the product delivered at their doorstep (where permitted) or pick it up from a retail store at their convenience.

    HipBar has developed a stringent age verification process as well as highly compliant standard operating procedures to ensure that the company’s delivery service fosters a safe drinking environment in India.

    On the B2B front, HipBar works closely with the beverage alcohol industry and the government to custom build software and deploy technology projects that will help the category to move forward in a compliant and sustainable manner. 

    Some of these digital initiatives include last mile alcohol delivery platform, SaaS based e-governance module for use by governments, HipBar point-of-sale for standalone licenced retail stores and HipBar Pay for government controlled retail stores. 

    Founded in 2015, HipBar operates in Bengaluru and Chennai.

    Diageo India CEO and managing director Anand Kripalu says, “E-commerce is making an impact on just about every industry imaginable, and the beverage alcohol industry is set to be the next sector to be disrupted by the continued shift to digital. This investment allows us to discover ideas that anticipate shifts in consumer behaviour and enables us to remain at the forefront of trends.”

    HipBar will continue to run as an independent enterprise driven by its founding team.

    HipBar founder Prasanna Natarajan mentions that the company’s interest will always be subservient to how HipBar is performing in the social sphere and if it is indeed bringing the intended benefits of technology to help people drink more responsibly.