Tag: India

India – Global beauty and personal care brand Sephora in India has renewed its partnership with digital agency RepIndia to handle its social media business.

The agency has won the rights to retain the brand on its books to continue building the French premium brand’s pan-India presence on digital channels. The partnership between the two began in 2015.

Internationally, the brand operates over 2700 stores in 35 countries. According to the agency, Sephora India is driven by the purpose to create ‘a welcoming beauty shopping experience’.

The brand is not new to crafting innovative user experiences which include the use of AR and 3D images that let customers try out products virtually on their website. RepIndia’s task is to bring to life similar disruptive and engaging experiences on digital to serve the needs of increasingly beauty-conscious Indian audiences.

Ayesha Chenoy, the agency’s founder, commented, “My favorite beauty brand, and a client who has become a friend now for over 6 years! Sephora, you’re going places and we’re right there with you.”

Meanwhile, a marketing spokesperson of Sephora India said, “The one-stop-shop for all things digital marketing! RepIndia precisely understands the brand ethos of Sephora India and executes it immaculately via our social media.”

Aside from the current remit, RepIndia has also recently announced its two newly acquired accounts from Singapore-based brands, escrow platform Tazapay, and kitchen appliance brand Rotimatic. The agency said the new partnerships mark its expansion outside India.

India – Health and fitness e-commerce platform HealthKart has announced the appointment of Dentsu Webchutney, the digital creative agency from the house of dentsu India, to lead the digital and social media duties for its brands, HK Vitals and bGreen.

HealthKart is an online marketplace for health products. Its brand HK Vitals deems to be one of the fastest-growing brands in the nutrition and supplements business, while bGreen is a plant-based nutrition brand with products in both the performance nutrition category and active wellness nutrition category.

The appointment of Dentsu Webchutney comes after its one-project deal with HealthKart.

Kaustuv Paliwal, HK Vitals/HealthKart’s assistant vice president for brands, commented, “We are absolutely thrilled to be joining forces with Dentsu Webchutney. Partnering with them to lead our charter on digital marks the beginning of a journey that is filled with intent and backed by action.”

Dentsu Webchutney’s CEO, Gautam Reghunath, believes that HealthKart is a pioneer in the Indian nutrition and wellness space and one that is vertically integrated into a fragmented category, and it is a brand that’s constantly innovated through product excellence and delivering on consumer needs. 

“There is so much evolution happening in the vitals and nutrition space and we are lucky to be partnering with HealthKart who is at the front of it all,” said Reghunath.

In August this year, Dentsu Webchutney was also appointed to handle the digital and social media mandate of digital insurance policy provider ACKO General Insurance in India.

Mumbai, India – Local-based full-on independent marketing company IdeateLabs has successfully aided the launch of its latest projects: a new over-the-top (OTT) service Planet Marathi OTT, the first OTT service catered to the Marathi-speaking people in India.

IdeateLabs, India’s leading independent full-service marketing company, aided the launch of Planet Marathi OTT, the world’s first Marathi OTT, earlier last week, in an event inaugurated by Madhuri Dixit Nene, a well-known Indian actress.

Renowned artists from the Marathi entertainment industry like Amruta Khanvilkar, Sonalee Kulkarni, Siddharth Jadhav and others actively participated. 

The OTT launch was complete with logo to the #MadhuriAaliMaheri launch campaign, to the print and other mainline media campaigns, the digital and social campaigns, the press engagement, the audience interaction, the influencer and content strategy.

“Ideate has been a great partner from the early stages, and we are glad to have them on board to take our brand to Marathi audiences worldwide. Well-thought-out and carefully actioned, the attention to detail and nuances brought forth emotions from Madhuri as well as all the celebrities attending the launch. We believe the wide variety of content on the platform will be appealing to the Marathi as well as the non-Marathi audiences across India and the globe,” said Akshay Bardapurkar, head and founder at Planet Marathi OTT.

Planet Marathi OTT has a rich blend of Marathi content such as movies, talk shows, concerts, karaoke, and its planned original web series.

Meanwhile, Vrutika Dawda, director at IdeateLabs, commented that the agency had a delightful experience in conceptualizing Planet Marathi OTT, noting that the regional content industry is booming and expanding its foothold in the global markets, to which the Planet Marathi OTT launch is a true testimony.

“Great content is readily consumed and helps make a story universal. The channel will allow India’s diverse culture to be enjoyed globally. We are looking forward to introducing extensive content offerings from the Planet Marathi stables and building conversations for the channel,” Dawda stated.

Mumbai, India – Chimp&z Inc., the full service digital advertising alliance from Merge Infinity Network, has recently bagged the social media mandata of The Derma Co., a local-based skincare brand, which was won post a multi-agency pitch and will be handled by the agency’s Gurugram office keeping social communications a notch up to drive digital sales.

Through the mandate win, the agency will also be responsible for social content and product photoshoots, as well as creating, managing, and executing end-to-end digital campaigns and strategies.

Furthermore, Chimp&z Inc will craft social media strategies for a science-backed filter-free communication with the consumers to highlight the brand’s vision, innovation, and offerings.

Speaking about the mandate win, Angad Singh Manchanda, CEO and co-founder, Chimp&z Inc said, “We are elated to work on creating powerful social communications for a brand like The Derma Co., which thrives on making the Indian market vocal, and top-notch in skincare solutions. Their AI-driven methods hold a lot of potential for advancement in the beauty care sector.”

He added, “The dedicated team at Chimp&z Inc is excited to work on their social media amplification front and aspires to achieve game-changing results. This will lay the foundation of a close partnership that can yield phenomenal results in the days to come.”

Meanwhile, Ghazal Alagh, co-founder, The Derma Co., commented, “Skincare has evolved over the years and consumers are looking for specialized products for their skin concerns that are safe and effective. The Derma Co. has a wide portfolio of science-backed skincare solutions with potent ingredients in the right concentration that will help our consumers to heal their skin from within and reveal their filter-free skin.”

She added, “Chimp&z Inc resonates very well with our approach and through this partnership, we aspire to keep our audience engaged on social media and create a paradigm shift in skincare. We are delighted to partner with Chimp&z Inc for handling strategic and creative responsibilities for The Derma Co.”

Chimp&z has bagged several account mandates recently, including the digital marketing mandate of plumbing and piping manufacturer Astral India, as well as the digital communications mandate for cookware manufacturer Vinod Cookware.

India – Pacific Tagore Garden, the mall under the Pacific brand in New Delhi, India, has awarded its digital advertising and print mandate to digital marketing agency RepIndia. 

Pacific Tagore Garden deems to be one of the most luxurious shopping, dining, and entertainment hubs in the country. It offers its patrons more than 250 luxury brands in the mall with the latest fashion apparel.

Through the new partnership, Pacific Tagore Garden will be counting on RepIndia’s creative expertise to multiply its brand-building efforts, adding a dimension of flair to the brand’s social media, as well as offline media strategies, with its nuanced understanding and experience of the shopping and digital landscape. 

RepIndia said that the partnership is another opportunity for the agency to bolster its repertoire of retail and entertainment brands – a segment in which the agency has built a solid reputation over the years.

Abhishek Bansal, Pacific Malls’ executive director, commented that they are delighted to join forces with the dynamic and experienced team at RepIndia for the digital mandate. 

“Their innate understanding of retail and consumer behavior is impressive, and we cannot wait to see what they have in store for the Pacific brand. Digital, especially, is vital to our efforts towards enhancing customer relationships and driving the brand story forward.”

Meanwhile, RepIndia’s Vice President for Client Strategy, Ashish Manchanda, said that they are thrilled to have found a complete vision match with Pacific Tagore Garden, and are excited to begin the journey as their 360-degree brand-building partners. 

“Now, it’s up to us to ensure that the brand leverages this paradigm shift with clutter-breaking creative and strategic forces – something that we are very confident about,” said Manchanda.

Sydney, Australia – Global firm Integral Ad Science (IAS), which delivers ad fraud solutions to brands and publishers, has announced the expansion of its ‘Center of Excellence’ in Pune, India with a new office facility, and plans to hire top engineering talent locally. 

The IAS Center of Excellence (COE) was established in 2020 to focus on expanding the company’s engineering and operations talent and develop innovative digital ad verification technology, drive critical partner integrations, and ultimately to provide excellent customer experience support.

IAS aims to be the global benchmark when it comes to trust and transparency in digital media quality for brands, publishers, and platforms. It offers solutions in ad fraud, brand safe and suitability, contextual targeting.

IAS said that the extended office of the COE will be housed in a world-class facility, located in the heart of Pune’s IT business district. The COE and the local engineering team will be led by Mehul Desai, IAS’ country manager in India, and VP of engineering & operations. 

IAS further shared that the team in Pune will collaborate closely with the company’s global data science, data analytics, and product teams to drive innovation and operational excellence. IAS will continue to expand its team in Pune and will be hiring for several key roles. 

“With our Center of Excellence in India and talented local team, we’ve developed cutting-edge technology and established the latest data and analytics capabilities at IAS. We’re growing rapidly, as IAS delivers excellent digital media quality solutions for advertisers and publishers while establishing a great place for top talent to work,” said Desai. 

Desai will be reporting to Tony Lucia, IAS’ chief technology officer. 

Lucia commented, “Expanding our Center of Excellence is a key part of our global strategy to drive continued technology innovation and operational excellence at IAS, backed by the highest caliber of engineering talent. As we grow our engineering team around the world, our team in Pune brings exceptional talent, cross-collaboration, and technological expertise as we build the future of digital media quality at IAS.”

Similarly within this month, IAS has announced the appointment of Saurabh Khattar as the commercial lead for IAS India. Khattar is charged with leading sales operations of the company in India, to work with brands, agencies, publishers, and platforms in the region.

Mumbai, India – Fogg, the cosmetics brand owned by beauty company Vini Cosmetics in India, has recently launched a new campaign film, which conveys the message of “it’s time to say goodbye to the uninvited guest.’

Fogg deems to be one of the most popular manufacturers of deodorants and fragrances for men and women in the country. The brand does not own any stores around India but has a widespread network for distributing its products easily found in the Indian market.

The campaign, which is done in collaboration with creative agency The Womb, aims to encourage the locals during the pandemic to stay patient and wait for the good times to be back. Titled, ‘Fogg Elephant’, the new ad features a group of locals trying to send away an uninvited elephant from their neighborhood. The brand used the elephant as the representation of the pandemic to impart the message of saying goodbye to an unexpected situation.

Darshanbhai Patel, the managing director and CEO of Vini Cosmetics, said that as market leaders and corporate citizens of the country, they felt like it is their duty to stand with the people of India in the fight against COVID-19. 

“As India opens up and starts feeling normal, caution is equally important. The first time we heard this idea, we knew the message resonated with our thinking,” said Patel.

Navin Talreja, The Womb’s founding partner, shared how sometimes the simplest of briefs turn out to be the trickiest ones. Talreja said the current brief for the project was to deliver the message of ‘hope’ and ‘optimism’ to the people of India. 

Prasoon Pandey, the director of the film, believes that in these current difficult times, the new campaign becomes a clever and uplifting film from Fogg. 

“It is a message to society at large to not get bogged down by these tough circumstances, just stay careful, positive and hang in there, better times are around the corner. It was super fun working on this project,” said Pandey.

The campaign was officially launched on ‘World Elephant Day’, 12 August.

Mumbai, India – Madison Media, the independent media agency in India, has announced today the elevation of Vandana Ramkrishna, former vice president and business lead for the West and East region, to now assume the role of chief operating officer for its business unit, Madison Media Ace.

Ramkrishna is a veteran in media and communication planning. She brings with her over 22 years of experience spanning across the Indian and overseas markets.

Through the elevation, Ramkrishna will be overseeing the Kolkata operations of Madison Media, along with her Mumbai set of businesses. She will continue to lead the businesses of fabric manufacturer Raymond, adhesives firm Pidilite, and healthcare company Cipla Health, among others in Mumbai. In addition, Ramkrishna will be managing the businesses of personal care provider Joy Personal Care, commercial bank Bandhan Bank, and cement manufacturer MP Birla Cement in Kolkata, as well as further strengthen Madison’s east region operations.

“I feel honored to be working for a company like Madison that believes in my capability to take on this role. I look forward to strengthening our client relationships by driving their business outcomes to create new milestones within Madison and the industry,” said Ramkrishna, regarding her promotion.

Meanwhile, Vikram Sakhuja, Madison Media & OOH’s partner and group CEO, commented that he is delighted to announce the promotion of Ramkrishna to COO Madison Media Ace in which she takes additional charge of the Kolkata office in addition to her Mumbai accounts. 

“Vandana brings rare passion, aggression, and integrated thinking into delivering great client value. This also recognizes her evolution from strong client leadership to business leadership,” said Sakhuja.

Just recently, Madison Media has announced the promotion of Abhik Banerjee as the new chief operating officer for Madison Media Plus, and will also lead the Delhi office.

Mumbai, India – The asset-backed digital lending platform in India, Rupeek, has appointed strategy consultancy Pitchfork Partners as its new public relations and digital consultancy partner, to drive the brand’s business growth.

Rupeek aims to democratize access to hassle-free, doorstep credit for all markets and audiences. Currently, Rupeek also operates in the gold loan space.

The partnership will see Pitchfork Partners providing strategic communication and digital counsel to bolster Rupeek’s brand image and enable storytelling that would help increase the preference for doorstep gold loans among consumers.

“At Rupeek, we aim to transform the business of gold loans and democratize access to credit for all. Pitchfork’s integrated strategic approach will assist us in our storytelling efforts to make Rupeek the largest digital lender in the years to come,” said Shalabh Atray, Rupeek’s senior vice president of marketing and digital.

Meanwhile, Jaideep Shergill, the co-founder at Pitchfork Partners, commented that they look forward to this partnership and are delighted to expand their expertise. 

“With Rupeek’s commitment to gold loans and its unique offerings, it not only has an edge with India’s consumers but can also disrupt the market. We are privileged to partner with such an inventive company,” said Shergill.

Mumbai, India – The B2B wholesale e-commerce platform in India, Apnaklub, has partnered with Social Beat, the independent digital marketing agency, to further drive the app with the help of a performance marketing approach.

Apnaklub provides local wholesalers and retailers with products from various brands better than local wholesale rates. It also empowers people to start their own wholesale business without any investment or stock risks. In addition, Apnaklub, through its partner program, guarantees that people will get the industry’s best margins on more than 200 brands.

As part of the mandate, Social Beat will be assisting Apnaklub in scaling its shopping app for wholesalers and retailers in the country through performance marketing campaigns that focus on new user acquisition and overall brand awareness.

“We are excited to partner with Social Beat to drive Apnaklub’s mission to improve outcomes for the smaller MSME retailers. With smart digital interventions, we aim to understand the local needs so that we can build a winning micro-business,” said Shruti, CEO of Apnaklub. 

Meanwhile, Vikas Chawla, Social Beat’s co-founder, commented that they are delighted to partner with Apnaklub to increase the visibility of their app. 

“With our experience in finding the product-market fit and merchant acquisition, we are excited to be part of the journey with this experienced and nimble team,” said Chawla.

Just recently, Social Beat has also announced that it has entered a new partnership with global CRM platform Salesforce, with the aim to drive marketing automation and digital transformation for brands in India.