ITV

Tag: Vodafone

  • This Diwali Vodafone says, #LookUp

    This Diwali Vodafone says, #LookUp

    MUMBAI: From meeting family members, shopping for colourful lanterns and new clothes, enjoying homemade sweets, to shopping online, exchanging greetings on mobile, share update on social media, get gifts delivered on our doorsteps – Diwali celebrations have changed over the years, losing some of its familial togetherness to the easy lure of the digital world. Identifying the need for people to connect and have real conversations, Vodafone is again encouraging us to #LookUp and this time around, celebrate Diwali with our families, by keeping down our devices.

    Vodafone has launched a heart-warming video under its successful #LookUp campaign, urging viewers to celebrate Diwali with each other rather than with devices.

    The film brings out the changing nature of Diwali celebrations seen through the eyes of a kid. It shows the contrast between how Diwali was celebrated traditionally by the child’s father with lots of love and warmth and how it is perhaps celebrated presently. With its stark difference, the film shows how technology sometimes takes over and people lose out on the connections that really matter.

    Vodafone India EVP marketing Siddharth Banerjee says, “In the hyper-connected world, Vodafone again reiterates the need for real conversations, especially on occasions and festivals. Our #LookUp campaign has resonated well with our audience-generating online and offline talkability and driving up brand preference for Vodafone. Hence, after delighting our audiences on Valentine’s Day / Father’s Day and Friendship Day with #LookUp messages, this time around, we are extending our #LookUp philosophy to Diwali encouraging viewers to celebrate with family and friends in essence, the connections that really matter.”

    Ogilvy executive creative director Kiran Anthony adds, “In this film we see a modern family through the eyes of a child who while excited to read his dad’s essay on Diwali, sees the family around him in complete contrast. Our endeavour is to remind people that while phones do play an integral part in our daily lives, it is perfectly fine to put them aside during those special occasions & celebrate with your loved ones.”

  • Reliance Jio adds 13.1 mn mobile subscribers

    Reliance Jio adds 13.1 mn mobile subscribers

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio has added 13.1 million mobile subscribers in September where other telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea lost 2.3 million, 2.6 million and 4 million respectively.

    Airtel, Vodafone Idea combined lost over 9 million subscribers in the month, according to telecom industry body, COAI’s data.

    COAI director general Rajan S Mathews said, “All the operators have expanded their services across the country, and have begun heavily diversifying their services beyond voice & data for the consumer.”

    As of September, Airtel, Vodafone and Idea held market shares of 33.75 per cent, 21.80 per cent and 20.94 per cent respectively, according to the reports. In August, Jio had over 239 million subscribers. Airtel continued to be at top position with 343.52 million subscribers followed by Reliance Jio which recently crossed the 250 million mark for its subscriber base, taking its total subscribers to over 252 million at the end of September. Moreover, Vodafone and Idea had subscriber base of over 221 million and 213 million respectively. The UP (East) circle remained at the top with a total of 87.53 million subscribers followed by Maharashtra at 84.70 million subscribers, the report said.

  • Jio juggernaut continued to add as Vodafone shed subs in Aug-18

    Jio juggernaut continued to add as Vodafone shed subs in Aug-18

    BENGALURU: MukeshDhirubhai Ambani’s largest startup in the world in the form of Reliance JioInfocomm Limited, or simply Jio, continued adding subscribers in the month of August 2018 (Aug-18, month under review) according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Telecom subscription data. According to the available Trai data for Aug-18, Jio’s subscriber base had been growing at about 5 percent compounded rate month on month (m-o-m) in calendar year 2018. Aug-18 was no different. Jio’s subscriber base grew by 5.7 percent (5.2 percent in Jul-81) to 2,393.53lakh in Aug-18 from 2,270.50 lakh in Jul-18. Since December 31, 2017, Jiohad added 791.40 lakh subscribers until Aug-18– it grew 49.4 percent in the period.

    In the meantime, Vodafone lost 125.4 lakh (12.5 million, 1.25 crore) subscribers (20 percent) in Aug-18 as compared to Jul-18. Vodafone had a subscriber base of 637.90 lakh in Jul-18, while in Aug-18 the company had 512.5 lakh subscribers according to Trai data. The Vodafone India and Idea Cellular combine had to forego  about 140 lakh (14 million, 1.4 crore) subscribers in six circles and revenues of more than Rs2,000 crore in three circles as the merged Vodafone and Idea Cellular entity would breach the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)-prescribed 50 percent cap on subscribers and revenue in the respective States.

    Trai data for Aug-18 says thatas per the reports received from 296 operators, the number of broadband subscribers increased from 4,602.4 lakh (460.24 million, 46.042 crore) at the end of Jul-18 to 4,636.6 lakh (463.66 million, 46.366 crore) at the end of Aug-18 with a monthly growth rate of 0.74 percent.  Subscriber numbers for all the three broadband services segments – wireline or wired; mobile devices comprising of phones and dongles; and fixed wireless  (Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to- Point Radio & VSAT) grew in Aug-18. Please refer to the figure below:

    The top five service providers constituted 97.80 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Aug-18. These service providers were Jio( 2,392.3lakh, 239.23 million23.923 crore), Bharti Airtel or Airtel (983.6 lakh, 98.36 million, 9.836 crore), Vodafone (512.5 lakh, 51.25 million, 5.125 crore), Idea Cellular (442.4 lakh, 44.24million, 4.424 crore) and BSNL (203.5lakh, 20.35 million, 2.035 crore). 

    Wireless broadband internet

    Wireless broadband subscribers growth in absolute numbers was led by Jio, followed byAirtel, Idea Cellular and the public sector BSNL. Vodafone was the only player among the top 5 wireless broadband internet services providers that lost subscribers in Aug-18.

    As on 31Aug, 2018, the top five wireless broadband service providers were Jio (2,392.30 lakh, 239.23 million, 23.923 crore), Bharti Airtel (961.2 lakh, 96.12 million, 9.612 crore), Vodafone (512.5  lakh, 51.25 million, 5.125 crore), Idea Cellular (442.4 lakh, 44.24million, 4.424 crore) and BSNL (111.90 lakh, 11.19 million, 1.119 crore). Please refer to the figure below:

    Wired broadband internet

    Wired broadband internet subscribers grew by 70,000 in Aug-18 as compared to Jul-18 with four of the top 5 Wireline broadband services providers showing growth while one, Mahanagar Telcom Nigam Limited (MTNL) showing a decline in subscribers by 20,000. The top 5 wired broadband service providers added 50,000 subscribers during the month under review, 20,000 subscribers were added by other service providers.

    As on 31 August, 2018, the top five wired broadband serviceproviders were BSNL (91.6 lakh, 9.16million, 0.916 crore), Bharti Airtel (22.4 lakh, 2.24 million, 0.224 crore), Atria Convergence Technologies (13.6 lakh, 1.36 million, 0.13 crore), MTNL (8.10 lakh, 0.81 million, 0.081 crore) and Hathway Cable & Datacom (7.6 lakh, 0.76 million, 0.076 crore).

    Airtel added the highest number of wireline broadband subscribers in calendar year 2018 until Aug-18 with 90,000, followed by Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) which added 80,000 subs during the period.

    Please refer to the figure below:

  • Anuradha Aggarwal quits as Marico CMO

    Anuradha Aggarwal quits as Marico CMO

    MUMBAI: Marico CMO Anuradha Aggarwal has decided to move out of the company. While there is no replacement yet for Aggarwal, in the interim, managing director and CEO Saugata Gupta, will oversee marketing initiatives at Marico. 

    Before joining Marico, Aggarwal was the marketing director of biscuits category for Asia Pacific at Mondelez. 

    She joined Marico in 2015 and has an experience of over 20 years in the industry, Aggarwal has had stints with industry majors like HUL, Vodafone India and Mondelez International

    Aggarwal specialises in leading cross functional teams, brand activation, marketing operations, brand communication development and media planning.

  • DoT to inquire TRAI about 28 GHz band for 5G service

    DoT to inquire TRAI about 28 GHz band for 5G service

    MUMBAI: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is planning to initiate talks for new bands to support 5G services in the country. The DoT will soon start discussing with the telecom regulator TRAI for 28GHz band for 5G commercial deployments. As per Economic Times, the DoT will also analyse pricing estimates of such airwaves.

    The practicability of this spectrum band in the country for 5G is being checked out by the government of India. The government is exploring the chances of allocating the spectrum band in India as very soon after South Korea auctions these airwaves and the US Federal Communications Commission makes a decision to do so from 14 November.

    According to a senior DoT official, “It is mandatory to refer the matter of assessing suitability of a specific bandwidth and its pricing to TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), and the government shall do so before taking a call on allocating millimetre spectrum in 28 GHz band for early 5G deployments in India.”

    A panel will be soon formed to study the chances of installing 5G systems in the 28 GHz band and coinciding with the working satellite services in the same band.

    As per the DoT official, the government had been interested in this 5G airwave prospect after a recent meeting of Asia-Pacific Telecommunity wireless group in Bangkok. Globally, 28 GHz is perceived as “a frontier 5G band” and considered very crucial for early 5G deployments.

    TRAI’s proposed base price of Rs 492 crore per unit of 3500 MHz 5G spectrum is higher than the Rs 65 crore a unit of the recent 5G auction in South Korea. Hence, specialists say that Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel may skip the 5G spectrum auctions.

  • Idea urges people to use social media responsibly in new ad

    Idea urges people to use social media responsibly in new ad

    MUMBAI: Addressing the growing phenomenon of the need for validation on social media, Idea has launched a campaign titled #MeriRealLife, encouraging people to drop the pressure of chasing and sharing perfection on social media, and instead, share real, unfiltered stories using Idea 4G.

    The campaign went live yesterday with the first two TVCs breaking on the live matches of Asia Cup Cricket Tournament.

    There are over 400 million internet users in India and over 50 per cent are active social media users. Rapid proliferation of 4G has enabled better internet speeds, resulting into Indians now spending almost 28 hours a week on mobile phones. This mammoth increase in consumption of 4G data has been fuelled largely by people sharing and consuming videos and photos on social media.

    On an average, people spend anywhere between 2-4 hours/day on social media platforms. With such high engagement, social media is bound to have a huge impact on the lives of people. The new Brand Idea campaign is designed to propagate ‘Responsible Use of Social Media’ with the tagline ‘Perfect ka pressure hatao, Idea 4G ke saath apni real life dikhao’.

    Vodafone Idea chief marketing officer Sashi Shankar says, “People are constantly, looking for validation on social media for their behaviour – be it what they are eating or wearing or places they are visiting. The growing phenomenon of living to share on social media and not the other way around, is driving people towards a dual life –a social life and their real life.”

    The campaign is developed basis research inputs from mental health professionals from MPOWER, an organisation that aims to end stigma and encourage dialogue around mental health. Insights from research by MPOWER suggest that the constant need for validation leads to a loss of self-worth, a feeling of being ‘not good enough’ resulting in anxiety and related issues, especially amongst the youth actively engaged on social media.

    Staying with Brand Idea’s belief in purpose led advertising, this campaign elevates the role of Idea 4G beyond the category conversation to something that reflects its transformative role in people’s lives and society.

    The high decibel campaign will lead with a series of three TVCs of 40 and 35 secs duration, capturing the concept through the lens of three people from different walks of life, sharing how their social media lives are different from their real lives.

    The Idea ads show people talking about a fancy new car, the perfect look and relationship goals on their social media, while in their real lives they are questioning their own shallow behaviour. The videos end with the characters having their moment of reckoning, where they encourage the world to share their real photos and videos with #MeriRealLife.

    The TVCs have been directed by Shimit Amin, the director of critically acclaimed blockbusters such as Chak De, Rocket Singh – Salesman of the year, Ab Tak Chappan.

    The new campaign has been developed by BBDO India.

    The campaign will be promoted on TV, Radio and Digital through high decibel visibility across 100+ TV Channels and strategic integrations in shows/programs such as Film Companion by Anupama Chopra on Digital, and popular radio shows ‘Heart to Heart with Meera’ and ‘Calling Karan’ on Ishq/Love 104.8 among others.

  • Jio continued to add subscribers rapidly in July 2018

    Jio continued to add subscribers rapidly in July 2018

    BENGALURU: Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s largest startup in the world in the form of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, or simply Jio, continued adding subscribers at almost constant rate in the month of July 2018 (Jul-18) according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Telecom subscription data. According to the available Trai data for Jul-18, Jio’s subscriber base had been growing at about 5 per cent compounded rate month on month (m-o-m) in calendar year 2018. Jul-18 was no different. Jio’s subscriber base grew by 5.19 percent to 2,270.5 lakh in Jul-18 from 2,152.6 lakh in Jun-18. Since December 31, 2017, Jio had added 669.6 lakh subscribers until Jul-18– it grew 41.83 per cent in the period.

    Trai data for Jul-18 says that as per the reports received from 293 operators, the number of broadband subscribers increased from 4,471.2 lakh (447.12 million, 44.712 crore) at the end of Jun-18 to 4,692.4 lakh (460.24 million, 46.042 crore) at the end of Jul-18 with a monthly growth rate of 2.93 per cent.  Subscriber numbers for all the three broadband services segments – wireline or wired; mobile devices comprising of phones and dongles; and fixed wireless  (Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Point-to- Point Radio & VSAT) grew in Jul-18. Please refer to the figure below:

    The top five service providers constituted 97.75 per cent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Jul-18. These service providers were Jio (2270.5 lakh, 227.05 million 22.705 crore), Bharti Airtel or Airtel (953.3 lakh, 95.33 million, 9.533 crore), Vodafone (637.9 lakh, 63.79 million, 6,379 crore), Idea Cellular (435.2 lakh, 43.52 million, 4,352 crore) and BSNL (201.8 lakh, 20.18 million, 2.018 crore). 

    Wireless broadband internet

    Wireless broadband subscribers growth in absolute numbers was led by Jio, followed by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and the public sector BSNL. BSNL was the only player among the top 5 wireless broadband internet services providers that lost subscribers in Jul-18.

    As on 31 July, 2018, the top five wireless broadband service providers were Jio (2,270.5 lakh, 227.05 million, 22.705 crore), Bharti Airtel (931.1 lakh, 93.11 million, 9.311 crore), Vodafone (639.7  lakh, 63.79 million, 6.379 crore), Idea Cellular (435.2 lakh, 43.52 million, 4,352 crore) and BSNL (110.03 lakh, 11.03 million, 1.103 crore). Please refer to the figure below:

    Wired broadband internet

    Wired broadband internet subscribers grew by 50,000 in Jul-18, but none of the top 5 wirelline internet service providers showed any substantial growth in Jul-18. As on 31 July, 2018, the top five wired broadband serviceproviders were BSNL (91.5 lakh, 9.15 million, 0.915 crore), Bharti Airtel (22.1 lakh, 2.21 million, 0.221 crore), Atria Convergence Technologies (13.4 lakh, 1.34 million, 0.134 crore), MTNL (8.30 lakh, 0.83 million, 0.083 crore) and Hathway Cable & Datacom (7.5 lakh, 0.75 million, 0.075 crore).Please refer to the figure below:

  • Vodafone Idea officially starts operation as largest Indian telco

    Vodafone Idea officially starts operation as largest Indian telco

    MUMBAI: The mega Vodafone-Idea merger in the Indian telecom sector finally comes to closure creating India’s largest telecom operator with the most subscribers and revenue share. The new entity stands with a subscriber base of over 408 million and 32.2 per cent pan India revenue market share. However, both the brands will continue to operate independently. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the merger yesterday.

    The merger has displaced Bharti Airtel from the top spot which has held the spot for the last 15 years. As of July 2018, the company has a user base of 344 million. Now the Indian telecom sector stands with three large players – Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. Mukesh Ambani-led  Reliance Jio is the third largest telecom operator in the country with 215 million subscribers.

    “Today, we have created India’s leading telecom operator. It is truly a historic moment. And this is much more than just about creating a large business. It is about our vision of empowering and enabling a new India and meeting the aspirations of the youth of our country. The ‘Digital India’, as our Prime Minister describes it, is a monumental nation building opportunity. As Vodafone Idea, we are partnering in this initiative by building a formidable company of international repute, scale and standards,” Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Idea Ltd chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla commented.

    Kumar Mangalam Birla has been named as the chairman of Vodafone Idea Ltd and Balesh Sharma as the CEO of the combined entity. The new board of directors include six independent directors.

    The merger is expected to generate Rs 140 billion annual synergy, including opex synergies of Rs 84 billion, equivalent to a net present value of approximately Rs 700 billion. The Department of Telecom (DoT) had given a conditional nod for the merger of these companies on 9 July.

    “As India’s leading telecom operator with two popular and loved brands, the company has the scale and resources to ensure sustainable customer choice and introduce new technologies. We are committed to offer both our retail and enterprise customers an excellent experience while fulfilling their evolving digital and connectivity needs via new products, services and solutions. We will offer them more network coverage, more value and more excitement. My team and I look forward to your continuing support and invite you to enjoy the Vodafone Idea experience,” Sharma said.

  • Broadband internet subs growth better in Jun-18 than May-18

    Broadband internet subs growth better in Jun-18 than May-18

    BENGALURU: India witnessed 3.50 per cent growth in broadband internet customers in the month of June 2018 (Jun-18, month under review) according Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for the month ended 30 June 2018. Hence, 151.18 lakh (15.118 million, 1.5118 crore) broadband subscribers were added in Jun-18. Comparatively, in May 2018, broadband internet customers grew 2.91 per cent (122.1 lakh, 12.21 million, 1.221 crore) vis-a-vis the previous month (April 18).

    The smallest segment among broadband internet services providers – the Fixed wireless- WiFi, Wi Max, Point to Point, Radio, Vsat segment, lost about 1,000 subscribers – the segment’s subscriber base fell from 4.09 lakh (0.409 million or 0.0409 crore) to 4.08 lakh (0.408 million or 0.0408 crore) during the month of Jun-18. The wired broadband internet subscriber base dropped by 40,000 to 179 lakh (17.90 million, 1.790 crore) in Jun-18 from 179.40 lakh (17.94 million, 1.794 crore) in the previous month.

    A major portion-100.28 per cent (151.60 lakh or 15.160 million or 1.5160 crore) of the new users opted for wireless broadband internet through mobile devices and dongles in Jun-18. The mobile devices and dongles segment grew 3.66 per cent in the month. It may be noted that TRAI considers download speeds equal to or in excess of 512 kbps as broadband internet. Also, TRAI subscriber numbers data is published in millions with 2 decimal places, hence the accuracy of this report is limited to the nearest 10,000 (Ten Thousand).

    As on 30 Jun 2018, the top five broadband internet service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd or Jio with 2152.6 lakh (215.26 million, 21.526 crore), Bharti Airtel or Airtel with 953.1 lakh (95.31 million, 9.531 crore), Vodafone with 628.6 lakh (62.86 million, 6.286 crore), Idea Cellular with 429.5 lakh (42.95 million, 4.295 crore) and BSNL with 203.4 lakh (20.34 million, 2.034 crore) subscribers respectively. The top five service providers constituted 97.67 per cent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Jun-18, as compared to 97.54 per cent at the end of May-18.

    Wireless Internet

    As on 30 June, 2018, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Jio with 2152.6 lakh (215.26 million, 21.526 crore), Bharti Airtel with 931.1 lakh (93.11 million, 9.311 crore), Vodafone with 628.5 (62.85 million, 6.285 crore), Idea Cellular with 429.4 lakh (42.94 million, 4.294 crore) and BSNL with 111.9 lakh (11.19 million, 1.119 crore) subscribers each.

    Jio showed the largest growth in terms of absolute numbers across all segments. Jio’s subscribers have grown by 34.46 per cent in calendar year 2018 (CY 2018) since 31 December 2017 (or 1 January 2018, Dec-17). Its subscriber base has grown from 1,600.9 lakh (160.09 million, 16.009 crore) as on 1 January 2017 to 2,152.6 lakh (215.26 million or 21.526 crore) on 30 June 2018. Jio subscribers grew by 97.20 lakh (9.72 million, 0.972 crore) or 4.52 per cent in June 2018, hence led the subscriber growth in Jun-18 At present, Jio provides only wireless broadband internet services through mobile devices including phones and dongles. BSNL has being losing subscribers on a regular basis – it has lost 49.02 per cent or 107.60 lakh (10.76 million or 1.076 crore) subscribers in CY 2018. Please refer to the figure below

    [[{“fid”:”836008″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”graph”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”graph”},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“1”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”graph”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”graph”}},”attributes”:{“alt”:”graph”,”title”:”graph”,”height”:199,”width”:694,”class”:”media-element file-default”,”data-delta”:”1″}}]]

    Wired Internet

    The wired internet subscriber base has been bleeding – the segment lost 40,000 subscribers during the month of June 2018. Among the top 5 service providers, only Bharti Airtel (10,000) and Atra Convergence Technologies or ACT (20,000) have added subscribers. The other three players among the top 5 have lost subscribers.

    Though growth of the wired internet subscribers until May-18 was led by Hathway Cable & Datacom Limited (Hathway), TRAI data shows that the company did not add any significant numbers in May-18 while it lost 40,000 subscribers in Jun-18. Its subscriber base for Apr-18 and May-18 was the same as per TRAI data. The company had added about 60,000 (grew by 8.22 per cent) subscribers in CY 2018 until May-18 and its subscriber base grew to 7.9 lakh (0.79 million, 0.079 crore) from 7.3 lakh (0.73 million, 0.073 crore) at the beginning of CY 2018. 

    In CY 2018, ACT has exhibited the highest growth at 4.69 per cent. Both AIrtel and ACT subscriber base has grown by 60,000 in CY 2018. In Jun-18, ACT had the highest subscriber growth – its base grew by 20,000 or 1.52 per cent.

    In Jun-18, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL with 91.5 lakh (9.15 million, 0.915 crore), Bharti Airtel with 22.1 lakh (2.21 million, 0.221 crore), ACT with 13.4 lakh (1.34 million, 0.134 crore), MTNL 8.3 lakh (0.83 million, 0.083 crore and Hathway with 7.5 lakh (0.75 million, 0.075 crore) subscribers respectively. The government’s BSNL and MTNL have in general being losing subscribers. Please refer to the figure below. 

    [[{“fid”:”836009″,”view_mode”:”default”,”fields”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”graph”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”graph”},”link_text”:null,”type”:”media”,”field_deltas”:{“2”:{“format”:”default”,”alignment”:””,”field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]”:”graph”,”field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]”:”graph”}},”attributes”:{“alt”:”graph”,”title”:”graph”,”height”:202,”width”:694,”class”:”media-element file-default”,”data-delta”:”2″}}]]

    Other broadband internet service providers

    MSOs and (LCOs) or cable video service providers also provide wired broadband internet services in the country. These cable service providers have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger than the numbers of some of the wired internet services providers mentioned above. However, in general, quarterly results of the major MSOs until the quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Q1 2019) indicate that their wired broadband subscription addition efforts have been far below par, some have even had a drop in subscriber numbers as well as reduction in ARPUs.
     

  • Gas-O-Fast hands digital duties to Columbus India

    Gas-O-Fast hands digital duties to Columbus India

    MUMBAI: Columbus India, the data-driven digital marketing agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has been appointed as the digital agency for Gas-O-Fast, a product of Mankind Pharma. The account was won following a multi-agency pitch and will be handled out of the agency’s Delhi office.

    As part of the new mandate, the assignment will involve using Columbus India’s expertise in the digital ecosystem for managing digital media, SEO (search engine optimisation), SMO (social media optimisation), website development and maintenance for Gas-O-Fast.

    Gas-O-Fast assistant general manager of marketing Joy Chatterjee says, “It gives us immense pleasure to partner with Columbus India as our digital social agency. This relationship will help Gas-O-Fast reach out to our potential users across the internet, thereby maximising our reach and keeping our focus on the healthy lifestyle of our customers.”

    Columbus India chief business officer Nitin Sabharwal adds, “Getting our first brand from Mankind Pharma is very exciting and we look forward to deploying our complete creative suite of services allowing us to deliver high social engagement for the brand.” 

    Columbus India CEO Anurag Gupta mentions, “It’s a start to our relationship with Mankind Pharma who have placed their faith in us for their brand Gas-O-Fast. We look forward to making this relationship into a multi-brand and multi-services engagement.”