For One Or For All

The evolution of consumer choice and the unbundling of e-commerce

The Sheer Quality Of Produce Makes Alaskan Food Delectable

For Prema Sagar, travel experiences have been the ideal opportunity to learn skills, while also providing exposure and perspective that one cannot get elsewhere. She recounts a special Alaskan holiday with her husband, Jyoti Sagar, where she soaked in the stunning sights, the rich history and sampled some delicious vegetarian food.

Sennheiser Dares Consumers To Disconnect

Sennheiser recently came out with its first television campaign for the Indian market. Saahil Kumar, Head- Marketing, Sennheiser India talks to us about the brands strategies to grow market-share in India, its interesting line-up of products and how they continue to stay relevant.

PR - Driving Real Business Impact In 2019

The Public Relations (PR) industry is all set for an interesting year in India, with the General Elections coming up along with the cricket World Cup. Factors such as increased investment across public and private sectors and increased consumer buying power have played a role in driving double-digit growth in the PR industry over the past few years. In 2019, PR is expected to maintain a consistent, double-digit growth rate as it works to drive real business impact

Sweetening The Consumer Connect

Providing the right foundation to the brands Snickers, Doublemint and M&M, Yogesh Tewari, Director Marketing and Customer Marketing, Mars Wrigley Confectionery India talks about how he is steering these brands in the Indian confectionery market.

TRAI Regime: Trail By Fire?

As broadcasters come out with individual value packs to woo consumers before the TRAI tariff regime comes into effect from Feb 1, we analyse the scenario for all stakeholders and find that consumer behaviour will finally determine how the order is implemented in the months ahead

The Impact Trends Report 2019

The year 2018 turned out to be quite an eventful year for the Indian Media, Marketing and Advertising industry. Across domains, the upcoming General Elections as well as top cricketing properties during the year are expected to fuel a surge of advertising.

Connecting The Dots Of Destined Paths

The word ‘uncertainty’ is probably the best way to define my journey of starting my venture.

Television - Ruled By Polls, Cricket And New Tariff Regime

The year 2019 promises to be an action-packed year for the Indian broadcast industry, not just because of the impending General Elections but also because of big-ticket sporting events like IPL which will be followed by the Cricket World Cup. While being bullish about the year ahead, industry leaders are also waiting and watching, as the new Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) tariff regime gets implemented on February 1. A lot of how the industry performs will depend on the consumer’s uptake and reaction to the new regime.

Starbucks Banks On Coffee + Partners + Stores

For coffee brand Starbucks, marketing and communication is built on three pillars – coffee, partners (employees) and stores. Veetika Deoras, Head-Marketing, Category, Loyalty and Digital, Tata Starbucks, talks to us about the brand’s newest innovation, the Nitro Cold Brew, focus on Digital, sustainability initiatives, and more

At The Ashram, We Walk Barefoot, So There Are No Shoes To Fill: Ajai Jhala

The outgoing CEO of BBDO India shares some of his thoughts with Srabana Lahiri as he prepares to bid adieu to his role of 10 years

Our Mission Is To Be An Antidote To Boredom And Stress For Millions Of Indians: Hiren Gada

Shemaroo Entertainment rebrands itself after 55 years; brings Ogilvy India on board to chart out refreshed identity with the tagline ‘India Khush Hua’

Faking News

Why fake news, bots and followers can’t be easily curbed and the risk it poses to brands

Ride For The Real Stars

Extending the brand’s communication stance of talking about stars behind the actual Stars for the bike StaR City+, Kendraj Joshi, Head of Marketing-Commuter Motorcycles, TVS Motor Company champions the cause of saluting our defence forces with the campaign ‘Kargil Calling - Ride for the Real Stars’

‘Size And Scale, Flexibility And Adaptability Make Sbi A Global Brand'

Continuing our series on ‘How to Build Global Brands from India’, we talk to Dinesh Menon, Chief Marketing Officer, State Bank of India, who tells us how SBI has kept pace with the changing times in order to appeal to Indian consumers as well as a wide and growing overseas diaspora. He also talks about what it takes for a home-grown brand to go global and opportunities for young Indian brands to make it big outside the country 

Twinning The Tv Plus Digital Way

PLUS DIGITAL WAY ‘Twinning’, the second AXN original themed around relatable fashion which was launched recently, has been showing strong traction in terms of early viewership numbers. Tushar Shah, Business Head, English Cluster, Sony BBC Earth and Sony AATH and Uday Sodhi, Business Head, Digital - Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) tell us about the conceptualization of the show, as well as the convergence between Sony’s TV plus Digital platforms.

Selling Instant Happiness

When Gits Food launched in 1963 with soups, people were alien to the concept of instant mixes and the brand had to launch a complete new range of products, to win over consumers. Sahil Gilani, Director, Sales and Marketing, Gits Food Products tells us how the category has grown since then and how the legacy brand is consistently upping its game, to stay relevant.

The TRAI Effect

Long legal battle ends with Supreme Court upholding the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s new tariff order; but will it actually impact bottomlines in the broadcast sector?

One More For The Dpos

Why did broadcasters choose to challenge the copyright implication rather than addressing basic issues thrown up by the TRAI tariff order?

Why Athletes Make Good Brand Ambassadors

The stage is set for the women’s 400 meter event at the IAAF World U20 Championships. An 18-year-old sprinter dressed in blue walks up to the starting line. She takes her stance, and with nerves of steel strengthens her resolve. The starter pistol sounds and she goes flying into the wind. Precisely 51.46 seconds later, Hima Das has clinched a historic Gold win, becoming the first Indian track athlete to be a world champion.

Detoxing India, One Teabag At A Time

Tetley Tea, a part of Tata Global Beverages, has launched a new campaign entitled ‘Andar se Clean and Bahar se Active’ with Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone as the new face of the brand. Puneet Das, Marketing Head – India, Tata Global Beverages talks about the brand’s attempt at keeping the green tea and regular tea categories exciting

'India Is One Of Our Top 4 Global Markets'

Nick Emery, Global CEO, Mindshare talks of key leadership changes, the evolving client-agency relationship, digital transformation, the India market and more...

How Skechers Is Picking Up Pace

With the objective of positioning Skechers as an athletic and fashionwear brand, Soumen Das, Senior Marketing Manager, Skechers India, is strategically communicating through product-based campaigns to build awareness and create engagement for the wide range of products in India

A Clarion Call For Change

For decades, FMCG companies have created value through a marketing model built around scale. But Sanjiv Mehta, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Hindustan Unilever Limited, says the entire business model must be re-invented in today’s digital landscape, with data and technology shaping precision marketing. Delivering the valedictory address at the exchange4media Group’s 9th Indian Digital Marketing Awards in Mumbai last week, Mehta highlighted the need for speed in communication with consumers, while decoding the power of vernacular content and voice.

‘South Africa Is A Paradise For Carnivores'

Salil Sadanandan believes that travel is important for everyone, irrespective of their role at work. He tells us of two extraordinary experiences – an official trip through five African countries and a special vacation in South Africa where he experienced the FIFA World Cup and relished their game meat

Challenges Of Digital Publishing Decoded

Prominent names from the digital publishing industry come together to discuss challenges like monetization, personalisation and security

After The Grand Prix, The Next Goal Is A D&AD Yellow, Says Creative Whizkid Mahesh Ambaliya

It was the 28-year-old’s brilliant idea of combining chalk with soap for the ITC Savlon Healthy Hands Chalk Sticks campaign by Ogilvy that won India its first Grand Prix for Creative Effectiveness at Cannes this year

THE ‘SWEDESHI' SPIN

Swedish furniture giant IKEA is all set to make its grand entry in India with its first store in Hyderabad this month and a store in Mumbai six months later. Ulf Smedberg, Country Marketing Manager, IKEA India talks to us about the brand’s marketing strategy for the country, and how it is embracing Indian culture in an attempt to connect with the often difficult-to-please Indian consumer

'Why Did Mr Premji Ask Santosh About His Return Trip?'

In his latest book ‘SPONGE - Leadership Lessons I Learnt From My Clients’, brand strategist and ad veteran Ambi Parameswaran presents lessons learnt from his conversations with top rung advertisers, who are doyens of the corporate world. In this excerpt from the chapter ‘Value Quality Over Cost’, he tells us how Azim Premji of Wipro had a strong focus on cost control, what lessons one can learn from it, but also wonders whether extreme cost-control could run counter-productive to organisational culture

Times Internet's Second OTT Outing, With MX player - Here's What To Expect

It is a booming OTT market in India, and Times Internet which had exited the space in 2016 is planning a grand comeback, this time by acquiring a video playing app – MX player and launching it as an OTT platform in August. Karan Bedi, CEO, MX Player talks about that one big asset which MX player has that no other competitor in India be it Hotstar, Amazon Prime or Netflix possesses