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Tag: FMCG

  • Sweet success: How Apis is achieving its B2C goals through IPL

    Sweet success: How Apis is achieving its B2C goals through IPL

    NEW DELHI: If a brand wants to reiterate its positioning or share new positioning; introduce a new product/service or range; induce high brand recall or saliency, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the perfect platform for it. The cricket extravaganza attracts undivided attention from millions of fans across the country, on both television and mobile screens.

    Homegrown brand Apis, a name to reckon with in organised honey trade in the country, took a cue from the above insight and decided to introduce itself to the pan-India audiences via IPL. The brand has partnered with Rajasthan Royals as an associate sponsor and is the leading headgear partner for the team.

    Until 2015, Apis was mostly into B2B exports of honey and domestic private labels, but then it decided to foray into the B2C space as well. The nearly century-old brand – specializing in honey, tea, cookies, pickles, jam, dates, preserves – raked in Rs 102 crore in revenue for the fiscal year 2018-19. 

    Apis was keen on making its debut with IPL due to its mass viewership but had been unable to do so before because of the tournament’s timing.

    “IPL has always been scheduled in the April-May period, which is not a key advertising season for brands like us. This year it coincides with our critical advertising period and we feel it is the right time for us to associate with the tournament,” said Apis CEO Pankaj Mishra.

    The brand has planned a strong foray into the B2C space by leveraging IPL to create an impact on the minds of consumers, and thereby improve brand recall. “The goal of the collaboration is to strengthen brand value and recall by engaging with a vast consumer base. The brand logo on the team's helmet is aligned with the overall brand narrative of ‘Immunity Building’ being a necessity,” explained Mishra.

    He went on to say that during the pandemic health has taken centre stage in everyone’s lives. As a result, people are rediscovering honey as an effective natural therapy, capable of reducing acute inflammation and boosting immunity.

    The association of the honey brand with health benefits will be amplified with a 360-degree campaign and marketing mediums covering television, print as well as digital and social media platforms, he added.

    To this end, the brand is holding contests on its socials and creating content to engage with the audience. It has also signed on for digital promotions across cricket affinity platforms like Hot Star, Cricbuzz and Gaana.com.

    Simultaneously, Apis is working to release a TVC that will push the brand messaging. “The brand will spend 60-70 per cent of the marketing budget on digital media, followed by the other mediums of communication,” Mishra summed up.

    He was of the view that the brand’s tie-in with the IPL will also generate a massive reach and exposure not only at home but in the UAE market also.

    In the three years since its entry into the B2C segment, Apis has performed fairly well in terms of revenue, with the south Indian market being the strongest in terms of performance. Hence, the partnership with Rajasthan Royals was in aid of making a strong impact across various regions.

    On the back of strong consumer response, the company added four new categories to its product portfolio – Apis Fruit blast, Jams, Apis Pickles, Apis Preserves, and recently, Apis soya chunks during the last two years. It has plans to introduce more products in the coming years. 

    Delineating the overall objective, Mishra said: “The brand has plans to clock Rs 200 crores this fiscal. In spite of being the lean season, the first half of the fiscal has delivered good numbers and we expect a stronger operational performance. Now, as we are entering the higher consumption cycle for our product categories, we are planning new launches, thus adding on to the top line.”

    Apis’ association with the IPL is a smart move but the brand has to be very focused towards measuring the RoI. “Our aim is to gain an increase in brand awareness, increased engagement, brand loyalty and trust, which will thus get converted to sales. We will measure success on the basis of our increase in followers, engagement rate, reach, and impressions on social media. These marketing activities would help us in the sales of our products,” Mishra stated. 

    As per media reports, the honey market in India was worth Rs 15,579 million in 2018, registering a CAGR of 10.9 per cent during 2012-2018. The market is further projected to reach a value of Rs 28,057 million by 2024, at a CAGR of 10.2 per cent during 2019-2024. 

    An Apeda report stated that honey exports from India grew 19 per cent year-on-year in 2018-19 to 61,333 tons, valued at Rs 732.16 crore. In 2019-2020, the country exported 59,536.75 tons of natural honey to the world for the worth of Rs 633.82 crores.

  • HUL’s Profit for Q2 2020 grew by 8.7%

    HUL’s Profit for Q2 2020 grew by 8.7%

    HUL, the major FMCG major and a leading advertiser, has reported a profit of Rs 2,009 crore in the quarter ended September 2020, against the Rs 1848 crore in the same period last year recording a growth of 8.7 per cent.

    It was further reported that the overall sales grew by 16 per cent during the quarter. Underlying domestic quarter business sales also grew by three per cent during the quarter.

    The BSE filing further mentioned that the revenue from operations increased 16.1 percent to Rs 11,442 crore in Q2FY21 compared to Rs 9,852 crore in corresponding period last fiscal. EBIDTA for the quarter stood at Rs 2,869 crore against Rs 2,443 crore in same period last year. It grew by 17 per cent and margin improved by 30 bps.

    The profit after tax before exceptional items for the quarter stood at Rs 2,035 crore against Rs 1,832 crore in the same period last year. It grew by 11 per cent.

    The board has declared an interim dividend of Rs 14 per equity share of face value of Rs 1 each for the period ended September 2020.

    Read more news on HUL

    HUL CMD Sanjiv Mehta said, “In the context of a challenging economic environment, our growth has been competitive and profitable. We continue to demonstrate execution prowess, agility, adaptability, resilience and passion of our people. The company’s operations and service levels are now back to pre-Covid levels and they have accelerated the pace of digitizing the operations under the ‘re-imagine HUL’ agenda.”

    “The economic outlook has improved given the various initiatives taken by the government and Reserve Bank of India. In our sector, rural markets have been resilient but the demand in urban India, especially in metropolitan cities has been muted. We believe that the worst is behind us and we are cautiously optimistic on demand recovery,” he added.

    HUL shared that its household care segment delivered strong performance across all segments led by continued penetration gains. The brand has reduced the cost of fabric wash to pass on benefits of lower commodity costs to consumers. The category consumption of laundry has been adversely impacted due to confined living. “Continued focus on driving market development has enabled us to grow our liquids and fabric sensations segments strongly,” the filing further mentioned.

    The company’s skin cleansing segment grew in double digits on back of a very strong performance in ‘Lifebuoy’ and a good delivery in ‘Lux’.

    Its hand sanitizers and handwash segments continued to gain penetration and have delivered robust growths. Its oral care grew in double digits with accelerated momentum in ‘Close Up’, while hair care also grew in double digits. Its skin care brands ‘Glow & Lovely’ and ‘Glow and Handsome’ also continue to grow.

    Food, tea, coffee sustained the high growth momentum and grew in double digits. Its performance of nutrition business was competitive and disrupted supply lines were completely restored. However, ice creams, food solutions and vending machines continue to be impacted as the out-of-home consumption was affected.

    “Our strong savings funnel, judicious and calibrated pricing in tea, synergies in nutrition have enabled us to successfully manage headwinds of commodity inflation and adverse mix,” HUL said in a release.

    “We have significantly increased our investments behind our brands and our spends continue to be competitive,” it added.

    HUL commands a large portfolio of brands across categories and it is one of the largest advertisers of the country. 

  • Cornitos expands business ops with e-commerce website

    Cornitos expands business ops with e-commerce website

    NEW DELHI: Snack brand Cornitos has announced the launch of its e-commerce website, with an aim to offer easy and safe accessibility to its customers.

    The decision has come at a point of time when business across verticals are witnessing a dip in the sales as manufacturing and distribution were halted due to ongoing Covid2019 crisis. The website is LIVE and the delivery orders will be shipped within Delhi-NCR. The brand aims to initiate pan-India delivery by the month of August.

    According to the company’s spokesperson, all the products will be delivered with all safety precautions i.e., sanitation of packages, cashless payment and contactless delivery.

    However, the brand’s products are also available in retail, e-retail and modern trade stores and on all e-grocery across platforms, but the disruption in the supply chain during lockdown severely affected the distribution channel. The brand has realised that this would be the new normal and pursuing an e-commerce strategy was not just an option, but absolutely crucial. Thus, the decision was made and the new strategy has been adopted to diversify the business channel.

    GHFPL MD Vikram Agarwal said, “We are really excited to launch Cornitos website as it is the easiest and the safest platform for our customers to buy our products. Cornitos, as a brand has always worked for its customers and in this crucial time it was vital for us to think about their health and safety."

    Agarwal also said, “During lockdown, the company was flooded with queries from consumers about the availability and delivery of their products. We have reformed our business model and website launch is a part of our post Covid2019 strategy. This one-stop shop approach makes it easier for us to delight our customers with the entire array of delicious flavors and products.”

  • Kantar reveals consumer trends for 2020

    Kantar reveals consumer trends for 2020

    MUMBAI: How are consumers going to behave in  2020? The economy is in a bind, consumer spending has been cautious. Will they be a little more prone to reach into their pockets to make purchases? Well, market research firm  Kantar has drawn up the top 10  key trends that will impact consumer behavior in India in the year 2020. The trends touch upon a range of categories including FMCG, durables, home buying, transportation, loans, infrastructure, online engagements, entertainment, imported goods and much more.

    Speaking about the trends, Kantar insights division South Asia CEO Preeti Reddy stated, “If the consumer behavior in 2019 was driven by the desire to seek stability, the over-riding sentiment is one of ‘wait and watch’ in 2020 amongst Indian consumers. Meanwhile, with their wallets squeezed and aspirations intact, a large-scale reprioritization of spending is underway across the board”.

    Kantar- Consumer Trends for 2020

    Waiting for the economy to recover

    Declining household saving is forcing shoppers to buy smaller packs, and cheaper variants of household consumables. Apart from millennials reluctant to own homes, tighter budgets and job uncertainty mean that families will put off purchasing homes. And yet the affordability and accessibility of credit, particularly with the entry of digital lending players that offer instant loans, will ease this scenario. Lenders have seen a 50 per cent surge in loan applications for holidays.

    Waiting for deals

    97 per cent of Indian households in 2019 bought at least one CPG (consumer packaged goods) product on promotion, with overall promotion volumes up by 6.4 per cent. Brands have no option but to find new ways of rewarding smart, well-informed, deal-seeking consumers, as information gathering becomes an integral part of the shopping experience. 85 per cent of consumers check at least two data points other than prices and discounts when purchasing.

    But not waiting to sell

    Social commerce platforms like Meesho, GlowRoad, Dealshare, Mall18 will tap into the next wave of online shoppers, that is,  200 million from smaller cities of India with very different behaviour and needs vs the current group. Their transactions are hyperlocal in nature and work by sharing deals over WhatsApp. New platforms are enabling sellers to find buyers by leveraging their social networks. Bulbul and Simsim users interact with sellers during live video streaming and make their purchases immediately.

    Waiting for infrastructure

    Tired waiting for roads, consumers have embraced technological solutions such as car pooling and shared bus rides. The shared transportation market will grow to Rs 35,000 crores by 2025. Cities plagued by congestion and infrastructure troubles, such as Mumbai and Bengaluru, are quick adopters. The lack of action towards improving the abysmal quality of air is encouraging people to work from home, even as solutions such as air purifiers and oxygen bars emerge to give them a breather.

    Not waiting to deal with waste

    22 per cent of Indians say that plastic wastage is the top concern for them environmentally – significantly higher than the global average of 15 per cent. 53 per cent of Indian consumers will pay more for environment friendly products. A similar proportion is prepared to make changes to their lifestyle for the environment. Expect greater awareness and action around food waste, and trends such as up cycling to take off, spurred by conscious business and activist youth.

    Won’t wait for the experience

    Tighter control overspending does not necessarily mean that consumers are cutting back on experiences. 37 percent of urban Indians say that they finance experiences by trading down in certain product categories including jewelry, mobile phones, apparel, and home furnishings. Some consumers are optimizing their spends by renting kitchen appliances, clothes, and furniture; 25 per cent of consumers would consider renting in the future. 

    Won’t shy away from risk

    Uncertainty in the social and economic environment has propelled Indian consumers to embrace new opportunities and create alternative futures for themselves. India is now witnessing reverse migration, as two-tier cities and state capitals emerge as attractive places due to lower land and home prices, cleaner air and availability of quality education. Consumption-wise, there is rising experimentation with an array of offerings on e-commerce platforms, even as consumers seek ways to mitigate risk of redundancy by reskilling themselves through online courses. [93 per cent of Indian learners are in the 18-39 age bracket]

    Won’t wait for rcep

    Despite the political reluctance to leverage trade opportunities within Asian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean consumer brands – which have won the hearts and wallets of Indian consumers – they will continue to do well. Expect an integration of technology and content in many of these products. From home appliances to automobiles to social platforms such as TikTok. While Korean pop culture will capture the imagination of youth across campuses and small-town India, Tokyo’s hosting the Olympics will create greater engagement with Japanese brands.

    Will watch and play/relax

    Our mobile gaming study reveals that 76 per cent of the gamers indulge in playing games on their mobile phone more than twice a day; and 31per cent play four to five times a day. 70 per cent of gamers spend more than half an hour and 42 per cent spend more than an hour playing mobile games. In-app purchases in online and mobile games present developers with financial opportunity. Some brands will deploy ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) – videos using audio stimuli like sounds of nature, mellow music, people whispering – to relax, soothe or invigorate viewers.

    Will watch local

    An average Indian spends 6.2 hours consuming online content daily. Going forward, spending per month on digital media content is expected to grow by 2.5 times. 95 per cent of online video consumption is in Indian languages. Bengali content growing more than 100 per cent year-on-year in watch time. Marketers will look towards online publishers and media companies to build engagement by learning techniques like transmedia storytelling, where single narrative cuts across multiple platforms and formats using available digital technologies.

  • Expectations from the government in formulating national retail trade policy in Budget 2020

    Expectations from the government in formulating national retail trade policy in Budget 2020

    India is the fifth-largest global destination in the retail space. With the budget 2020 being around the corner, there is a hope that the new policies will have a positive impact on the retail and the consumer sector. The retail sector is the most dynamic sector in recent times, there has been drastic changes and has witnessed high consumer activism, supply chain model, marketing and advertising activities and introduction of new players in the market. 

    A joint report by Assocham and MRRSIndia.com suggest that the retail the Indian retail / consumer market is set to cross the $1 trillion mark by 2020 due to rise in per capita income and consequent expenditure. 

    Below are the 8 challenges which were faced by the retail sector in 2019:

    • Higher GST rates for retail players have been resulting in accumulation of non-refundable credit due to substantial spend on advertising and branding spending capacity. 
    • There has been multiplicity of laws and regulations governing the sector
    • Restrictive conditions under the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for single-brand retail trading leading to ambiguities and hurdles for the e-commerce sector. Improvising conditions and minimalizing restrictions will further give a boost to FDI.
    • Lack of clarity and understanding of regulations/guidelines governing imposed on online retail trading. 
    • Lack of proper physical and digital infrastructure, developed supply chain resulting in inefficiencies and higher costs. 
    • Growth in retail sector has resulted in a growing demand in the real estate sector thus resulting in a rise in overall real estate cost
    • Lack of effective supply management. Solid infrastructure and developed supply chain will improvise the foundation and overall profitability
    • Lack of incentives for the new players in the retail market. 

    Budget 2020 gives an opportunity to the government to address the main problems faced by the retail sector and push the economy to a higher growth. Some of the expectations from the government in Budget 2020 are listed below.

    • GST slab to be simplified and successful / structured implementation of new mechanism that will help ease the process. We also look forward to the reduction of the GST which will encourage more people to spend.
    • The budget may focus on simplification of the government laws will have a positive impact on the sector and will give freedom to try new techniques and introduce new trends. Also Clarifications on open issues and introduction of measures for ease of doing business would be of great help.
    • The budget should consider educating the retailer and traders and clarifying regulations for retailers ensuring sound risk management practices and KYC (know your client) mechanisms.
    • Promoting partnership and collaboration for accessing new channel capabilities, digital technologies and easier entry into new market may help in optimizing costs.
    • A further initiative by the government by introducing laws and rules to reduce the real estate cost would prove to be of great help to common man who look forward to live in beautiful homes or for investment purposes. Stabilisation of tax policies on properties would also be beneficial since there is a constant change in rate slabs.
    • Introducing new incentives and bold reforms will encourage the new-bees in the retail industry to expand their activities across various platforms.
    • Supporting rural growth and expecting positive initiatives like MGNREGA, increase in the MSP for select crops, focus on electrification of villages, farmer friendly technologies, etc.
    • We expect new entrants/ investors in the FMCG space with the introduction of simplified tax structures, stability in custom duty and a less aggressive tax administration.
    • A special start-up growth fund to support start-ups will boost the start-up ecosystem immensely.
    • We expect the budget to provide impetus for digital payments (Debit and credit cards, UPI)

    With all believe in the government we expect new reforms in budget 2020 keeping in mind the betterment of the retail sector and in the best interest of retailers and common man.

    (The author is retail head, Kalpataru Ltd. The views expressed are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)

  • Future of influencer marketing

    Future of influencer marketing

    Influencer marketing is set to become a $10 billion market by 2020 – with recent reports revealing that 63 per cent of marketers intend to increase their influencer marketing spends this year. It would be correct to say that influencer marketing is here to stay – there’s a phenomenal 1500 per cent increase in searches for “influencer marketing” over the last 3 years. 

    Influencer marketing is rapidly changing with new trends & technologies. Brands across categories are now utilising influencers as a tangible marketing & distribution channel, from a FMCG major such as Marico to retail giant such as Bata – brands are transforming themselves, keeping influencer integrated into their strategy. 

    Here are a few key trends shaping the market: 

    Growing significance of micro-influencers:

    Brands have come to realise that in the current digital age, advocacy works better than mass-appeal. We are witnessing emphasis on micro-influencers. Brands are able to tie-in authenticity to their campaigns, using micro influencers, since it doesn’t come across as salesy. This is being adopted rapidly as a practice, with brands across industries & categories constantly scaling their micro-influencer marketing spends.

    Network approach vs talent-led approach:

    At the dawn of influencer marketing, brands were more focussed on utilising the individual brands of influencers – presenting them as the face of the brand, frequent integrations in marketing collaterals, etc. As the market matures, brands are now taking a network-based approach and de-risking themselves by using a network/group of influencers, with whom they are collectively able to target consumers better, than a single large influencer. It also allows brands to localise the content & collaterals – say when launching a new product in Hyderabad,

    Rise of CGI Influencers:

    With the rapid advancement in technologies accessible to us, CGI influencers are becoming mainstream. Take Miquela for instance, she boasts of 1.6M+ followers, has endorsed luxury brands such as Calvin Klein, Diesel, and Prada – her engagement rate is quite impressive for a Category A influencer, currently tracking at 3.4% : the out-of-ordinary fact about Lil Miquela is that she isn’t made up of tissues & cells, instead, it is just lines of code. K-pop sensation Imma, Bermuda, etc. are all CGI influencers, making a big name for themselves.

    Advocacy vs transactional collaborations:

    Brands are adopting the shift in collaborations from transaction-based, to long-term advocacy arrangements. Studies conducted to compare the 2 models deliver quite convincing results – using advocates instead of an influencer (on a transactional basis) improves consumer trust in the campaign by as much as 5 times. Influencers who are genuinely interested and invested in the brand help craft a compelling story, as opposed to just another ad splash! Brands also benefit commercially, as the cost per deliverable goes down in case of long-term arrangements.

    Stricter guidelines for influencer marketing:

    As influencer marketing becomes more mainstream, with more marketing dollars being pumped into campaigns led by influencers, we will witness the regulatory bodies becoming stricter & actively participating in defining the playing field for influencers, through advertising codes & rules, with the end objective of safeguarding consumers.

    Birth of nano-influencers:

    Within the last year, we have seen the birth of “nano-influencer”, a tier below micro & macro in terms of follower size (less than 5K followers) but higher than any category in terms of engagement and intensity of influencer, per follower. In many cases, nano-influencers have a cult-like following, in the limited audience community they have : for a new brand just launching, this comes across as the perfect way to go about marketing, since they not only help spread the word, but allow brands access to sample set of end-consumers, with whom they can experiment & get feedback.

    Increased importance of Video:

    With digitisation happening at a rapid pace, along with advancements in internet technologies, consumption of content by the users has changed. It is gradually tilting towards higher video consumption – Mary Meeker, in her 2019 Internet Trends Report, re-iterated this trend mentioning that brands who leverage videos ads properly, will win-big. A good video ad shouldn’t come across as an ad – this create a large value creation scope for influencer marketing; influencer can craft real, authentic looking video stories for brands & help them distribute it through their channels.

    Being an influencer is now a career option:

    Increasingly, socially active millennials & “Gen Z”-ers are making careers in the domain of influencer marketing. What was earlier restricted to only ‘good-to-have’ branding efforts is now becoming mainstream in facilitating commerce; China already has influencers who sell products worth millions of dollars in a single day , India is slowly catching up to that trend. The study of how to become an influencer, ways to leverage content, content production techniques, etc. are all going to be very relevant & important in the time to come, as influencer marketing becomes a tangible marketing channel, something that’s concrete & here to stay! 

    (the author is One Impression vice president. The views expressed are his own and Indian television.com may not subscribe to them)

  • Cinthol won’t go hyper-aggressive with offers: GCPL’s Urshita Nema

    Cinthol won’t go hyper-aggressive with offers: GCPL’s Urshita Nema

    MUMBAI: India’s famous soap brand Cinthol, owned by Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) is gearing up its effort to connect to consumer for its freshness portfolio as the heat after monsoon kicks in. The popular brand held an interesting day filled with fresh adventure, in association with the cricket sensation, Shubman Gill as part of its #TurnDownTheHeat campaign of Cinthol Lime & Cinthol Cool soap variants.

    “We have done a 360 degree here. It starts with TV campaign; the TVC is on all of national channels. We are also doing regional media taking Maharashtra and West Bengal channels. Along with TV, we started this digital campaign, which has thought and led to activation campaign where Shubman Gill came in as the celeb and he started asking about what is your adventurous spree to turning down the heat along with Cinthol Lime and Cinthol Cool,” GCPL personal care generale manager marketing Urshita Nema shared the details of the campaign.

    “Cinthol as a brand has done a lot of outdoor activities and we got responses from across the nation. We picked up the winners and then we had micro-influencers to lead the campaign. Multiple influencers started posting their pictures may be with a parachute, diving in the waterfall and we tried to involve them in the campaign,” Nema added.

    Nema also added that Cinthol’s target is practically youth oriented and while the brand has been there for years, it has been refreshing itself constantly to connect with its TG. But she also added that TG is more about psychography and people who are young by heart, who love to go out for sports and adventure, they are also the brand’s TG.

    Talking about current focus of marketing initiatives, Nema shared that they are focusing on ‘hyperlocal marketing’ right now. She explained that while they divide the term, one of it has to be rich media and TV will be there.

    “But when we have to connect to our TG, we look into the relevance of which market we are working. Cities in North, West like Delhi, Bombay all these cities’ digital connect is very good. So, we have taken up this as digital friendly. We have few states where we are doing experiential marketing campaign like Ola, Uber tie-up. We gave fresh lime wipes. So, it depends on market what we pick,” she added.

    Nema also pointed out that where consumers are going is practically digital savy. While the brand also understands internet rates are coming down, everyone is hooked onto digital, they are going digital with micro-influencers, OTT platforms like Hotstar, Voot.

    GCPL posted its second-quarter financial result on Wednesday and the soap segment’s revenue declined by 4 per cent year-on-year and the brand’s overall ad spend sharply fell down by 22.1 per cen year-on-year. In an exception, India’s recent economic slowdown has affected FMCG brands also which are usually more immune to slowdowns. While asked about the impact of the slowdown, Nema said that  slowdown news is correct but there are markets like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu which are still growing.

    Due to weak demand, FMGC major HUL slashed prices of Dove, Lux, and Lifebuoy soaps recently and Wipro Consumer Care, the maker of Santoor soap, also cut the price of the soap. While Neema was inquired if Cinthol is also thinking of a similar move, she answered that the brand is ready to react to competition anytime.

    “But I would say we are not in a stage where we have to go hyper-aggressive to counter competition with offers. The brand pull for Cinthol is very high. We would say we are least impacted in the situation,” she added.

  • Dabur India appoints Amit Burman as chairman

    Dabur India appoints Amit Burman as chairman

    MUMBAI: FMCG major Dabur India Ltd today announced the appointment of Amit Burman as the company's chairman in place of Anand Chand Burman. Amit Burman has been elevated to the position for five years with effective from 19 July.

    “Amit Burman vice chairman of the company has been appointed as chairman of the company and Mohit Burman has been appointed as vice chairman of the company w.e.f. July 19, 2019, post board meeting, for a period of five years,” the company informed Bombay Stock exchange in a filing.

    The company’s board also approved the induction of Aditya Burman, son of Anand Burman, as a non-executive additional director on the board. At the same time, Sunil Duggal has resigned from the office of director of the company as non-executive director of the company.

  • Togglehead bags Yardley london’s National digital mandate

    Togglehead bags Yardley london’s National digital mandate

    Mumbai: As a part of its commitment towards ensuring a strong presence in the digital sector, Yardley,a  premium personal care brand, has appointed Togglehead,a leading independent digital agency in Mumbai to handle its digital duties.

    The mandate entails full-service digital marketing support for Yardley  london pan India; Togglehead will not  only  be responsible for conceptualizing and executing digital strategies across platforms but will also look  into influencer marketing for  the brand.

    Another key agenda  in the deal is media spend  for which the agency  will  work in tandem with the brand and couple strategic insights with distinct solutions to settle on an optimal combination of digital media outlets.

    Cementing the partnership, Aatef  Bham,Co-founder & Director of  Business Development, Togglehead says, "Yardley london is richly endowed with a portfolio of premium offerings that respond to the diverse needs of consumers. We are elated to partner with such an iconic  brand and understand the need of the hour; digita I is at the core of brands looking to thrive,especially in competitive sectors. Our aim is to shape Yardley's online presence in a way that appeals to the digital-first audience with content that is personalized,relevant, and compelling. We welcome them to the Togglehead family and look forward to contributing to their presence in India."

    With this partnership,Togglehead has bagged  yet another strong brand with roots in the beauty, skincare, and FMCG segment.

    Commenting on the  appointment, Manish Vyas, Vice President and Business Head, Yardley  India, Wipro Consumer Care & lighting says, "With the appointment ofTogglehead as our digital agency for Yardley, we look forward to creating exciting and memorable work together. Yardley  is the oldest living brand in the  world. We have powerful stories and rich consumer experiences that can be weaved into engaging content that will appeal to today's youth."
     

  • Access, language variety, local partnerships to drive next billion subscribers

    Access, language variety, local partnerships to drive next billion subscribers

    MUMBAI: Despite the overwhelming growth of the OTT sector, players still need to pay more focus on issues such as content discovery, distribution, partnerships across verticals.

    The Future of Video India 2019 organised by Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) hosted a session on “Capturing the next billion subscribers”. ZEE5 India CEO Tarun Katial, Amazon Prime Video India director and country general manager Gaurav Gandhi, Viacom18 Digital Ventures marketing and partnerships head Akash Banerji and Discovery digital business and partnerships director Issac M John participated in the panel moderated by TriLega partner Nikhil Narendran.

    Gandhi pointed out that screens and connectivity are the routes to the next billion users in the sector. According to him, the next important aspect is the hunger for content. Going against the common notion that Indian consumers are price conscious, he said that they are, in fact, value-conscious who will not mind paying for the right content at the appropriate price point.

    “Then there are questions of access and distribution. How easy is it to get these content or service by virtue of mobile phones, apps and then is the option of easy payment. Another important part is bringing the ecosystem together whether it’s cable companies or telcos trying to make sure they are able to offer customers the service,” he added.

    Discovery’s John spoke about the importance of content in regional languages as the next wave of consumers is coming from rural India. He also added that short-form content is going to drive content consumption citing the popularity of TikTok videos. According to John, offering unique content can create a clear demarcation of value.

    Banerji said that the next billion subscribers are not certainly going to come on the back of OTT videos only. It’s going to be multiple industries spanning retail, travel, etc. Banerji emphasised on the role of technology so the streaming services work seamlessly in tier II and III markets. He opined that ensuring the product works even in patchy network is a necessity, especially for someone who is possibly coming to the internet universe for the first time.

    Terming the present phase an exciting period, ZEE5 CEO Katial said everybody knows video, vernacular and voice search are going to change the game. He added that India will have an ad-supported model along with premium content behind a paywall but both will keep evolving.

    Gandhi pointed out content discovery, getting customers to see value in content and making them pay for it, and piracy as the hurdles to overcome. In addition to that, the media veteran spoke about the unsatiated demand for content which is a challenge for creators to fulfil in relevant languages. Katial agreed with Gandhi’s view giving an example of the demand for returning seasons of popular shows. In addition to that, he threw light on the need for personalisation and segmentation on the platforms with proper technology.

    While Banerji said that content is going to be a key differentiator for further growth, he cited the example of the FMCG industry for sales, distribution and brand building. For ensuring distribution in far-flung places, he thinks to work closely with local partners, local broadband players and local cable/DTH players is important. From the marketing aspect, he mentioned how FMCGs do micro marketing by working with local radio stations and print mediums. He even raised the question of attracting those not in the internet universe or older audiences.

    However, the experts reaffirmed the co-existence of linear TV and digital content at least for the next five to ten years. Demand for all types of content is increasing even as the TV becomes more accomodating to TV and non-TV content.