WCRC Brands illustrated

WHAT MAKES BRAND KANGANA THE NEW QUEEN OF HEARTS UP TILL OCTOBER 15, 2015, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5

PLUNGING HEADLONG INTO SOCIAL LISTENING INDIA EDITION `100

illustrated ZOOMING THEIR WAY. THE REAL DIVAS OF INDIAN BUSINESS

50 BEST WOMEN IN MARKETING

UP TILL OCTOBER 15, 2015, VOLUME 1, ISSUE 5

CONTENTS 16

GAYATRI YADAV

SATYA SUNITA

KIRTHIGA REDDY

SIMERAN BHASIN

ANISHA MOTWANI RAVINA RAJ KOHLI DEEPIKA WARRIER KAVITA DEEPIKA TEWARI PANDA

ANITA AGARWAL

NEELAM DHAWAN

ANITA ARJUNDAS

MANMEET VOHRA KRITHIGA REDDY

ZAHABIYA KHORAKIWALA

OONA DHABHAR

DIVYA PATHAK SULAJJA SHEREEN

BHAN FIRODIA ARUNA JAYANTHI SANGEETA SHARMA MOTWANIABANTI SANKARANARAYANAN SONALI DHAWAN

SABINA CHOPRA

KANIKA MITTAL

SHILPI KAPOOR SANGEETA AIYER

VARSHA CHAINANI

PALLAVI SINGH

POOJA JAIN

ANURADHA AGGARWAL ALTHEA SHAH NAMRITA SEHGAL VANDANA CHAMARIA ANUPMA AHLUWALIA DARSHANA SHAH ANURADHA PARASKAR ROOPA KUDWA

RADHIKA AGGARWAL

BEST

BIDISHA SAMINA NAGARAJ VAZIRALLI KALPANA MORPARIA

BUSINESS

GAURI KHAN SOMA GHOSH

WOMEN IN

ANANTA SINGH RAGHUVANSHI MANASHI GUHA NEERU SHARMA

NAMRATA SINGH DEEPALI NAAIR

MARKETING

BRANDING STORY IS BRANDING LOSING ITS STANDING

06 CASE STUDY- SOCIAL LISTENING

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PLUNGING HEADLONG INTO SOCIAL LISTENING

KANGANA RANAUT

54

WHAT MAKES BRAND KANGANA THE NEW QUEEN OF HEARTS

4.

EDITORIAL

6.

BRANDING STORY

14.

CASE STUDY- SOCIAL LISTENING

16.

COVER STORY

54.

KANGANA RANAUT

58.

ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

64.

PRODUCT LAUNCHES

70.

MOVIE REVIEW

72.

MARKETING TREND

74.

INNOVATIVE MARKETING

COVER DESIGN: ROHINA CHOUDHARY

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VOL - 1, ISSUE - 5 UP TILL OCTOBER 15, 2015 CHAIRMAN: Abhijit Ghosh EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Abhimanyu Ghosh GROUP CEO: Vivek Dutta CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Saimik Sen PRESIDENT : Kaustuv Chatterjee NON EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: Professor Malcolm McDonald GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Tathagata Bhattacharya PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Kingshuk Gupta PUBLISHER: Avik Dutta VICE-PRESIDENT – BUSINESS: Sunita Rawat GENERAL MANAGER - Abhay Kaushik CORRESPONDENTS CUM COPY-EDITORS: Pratiksha Kapoor, Arpan Jennifer Vimal CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Monojit Lahiri CORPORATE AFFAIRS: Tamanna Khurana, BUSINESS HEAD (EAST): Prabuddha Pal RESEARCH Director – Strategy: Shivalee Kaushik Amit Gupta, Viraj Ketan Dhorda, Ravi Kant, Foram Dhorda, Pallavi Kadge DESIGN Debasish Debnath, Aniruddha Shee, Rohina Choudhary, Varun Pal Singh, Kalpita Jaani WEB TEAM Kapil Rawat, Ravi Pal MARKETING & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS Pankaj Bhatt, Siddhesh Pathre, Utkarsh Kumar, Baijayanta Basu, Alok Saxsena, Pushpreet Hethi, Shrutika Dalvi OPERATIONS Yukta Khati, Ashutosh Mishra, Shiv Prasad, Ballal.C.Goray DISTRIBUTION Hemant Sangle, Ravi Mishra Printed and Published by Avik Dutta on behalf of WCR Media Pvt. Ltd Printed at Ms.Shree Sai Shivani Printers, B-198, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase l, New Delhi - 110020 Published from A-97, II Floor, DDA Shed Complex, Okhla Industrial Area Phase ll, New Delhi - 110020

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OUR UPCOMING

SPECIAL FEATURES

EDITORIAL

IS IT THE GENETICS OF A WOMAN OR THE MINDSET OF THE MAN?

I

t is high time that we should really judge women by what they do and not by what they wear. Its not always just about the pretty face and the culinary skills that she exhibits; or the way she raises the child and also at times the doormat in the house. She does mostly these things quite flawlessly.

The fact also is women are doing exceptionally well and then there’s another fact: that women are not.

They are struggling and suffering to stay afloat. Who do we blame it for? Is it the genetics of a woman or the mindset of the man?

Ghosh

The rights provided to women are a serious indicator to understand the global well being. And we are yet too far from it. Global Women’s treaty was ratified few decades ago by majority of world’s nation. Despite many successes in the endeavor of empowering women, various issues still persist, ranging from economic to political, social to cultural. It’s purely the mindset that sets everything on the back foot. Women often work far more than men, yet are paid less. Gender discrimination affects women throughout their lives even in the most developed nations.

My years of experience in the corporate and business world and experience with working over 5000 people and organizations of various degrees to principles, ideologies to culture, I have experienced women to be far more effective than men in many ways. This is in spite of various limitations that women in India have. Primarily dominated by family and social driven restrictions. Global researches suggest that though 2535 percent of organizations’ employ women at lower levels, only 3-4% of worlds top organizations’ have women as their CEO’s. I fail to understand this ratio. And I really blame the mindset. One of the most popular beliefs inside organizations of preferring men over women for the top jobs is the uncertainty attached with a woman. Its often believed that women are dominated by their family opinion and hence they can quit anytime. So can men. There is no certainty in anything. Its an organizations’ duty to empower women. And the fact is why shouldn’t they?

ABHIMANYU

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The truth is Women definitely have the requisites of being a better leader. And time and again they have proved it when given the right chance and opportunity. According to global studies women exhibit better communications, better teamwork, higher integrity and honesty, better community development, greater relationship developments and most importantly far greater work ethics. I guess that is enough of a proof that women are ideally suited for most roles in anyone’s life.

This issue is a salutation to all the women who break the stereotype and have proved time and again that they are leaders who did everything because they wished to. Its as simple, when there’s a will, there is a way. It’s also a message to all other aspiring women that if you want to be successful, you will have to do it. For men and women alike there will be boundaries and limitations. But when will takes over, everything gets possible.

At WCRC we believe in this cause very strongly and an issue was equally important. Last years’ issue in WCRC Leaders Asia on Women Empowerment across Asia made the featured women deliver better and I believe this year shall add more value.

SOCIAL @ https://twitter.com/WCRCLeadersasia, https://www.facebook.com/wcrcleaders, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxOW4e8A98eBkxHknnnYE6w https://www.linkedin.com/company/wcrc--world-consulting-and-research-corporation?trk=tyah, https://www.facebook.com/wcrcworld, http://www.wcrcworld.blogspot.in/, http://wcrcworld.tumblr.com/

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BI Brand Quiver

IS

LOSING ITS

STANDING?!

6

MONOJIT LAHIRI investigates a contentious POV that attempts to dump this sacrosanct institution of communication and believes that it is time for its warm send-off!

B

randing, for decades, has been hymned, celebrated, exalted, venerated and worshipped as the gospel truth by any marketer worth his FMCG lapels! The High Priests have pronounced that the BRAND is GOD and the Ad executives, GCROES – [Gods Chosen Representatives on Earth!] For decades, it has been acknowledged as the single most important aspect of business. Its success equals the business it drives. Branding’s prime objective remains the same – to make a product or business look distinct and different from competition and epitomize the vision and values it represents to gain that decisive cutting-edge lead …

The textbooks to gloat over it, pronouncing its value, power and criticality in no uncertain terms. Author Sanjay Tiwari in his much acclaimed book [The Uncommon Sense Of Advertising – Getting The Basics Right] offers his informed take in style. ”Brands rule the world of marketing today because they rule the

world of consumers today. They have not only changed the way we shop and buy, or consume, but have also had a profound effect on the way we live. Just count the number of brands you interact with since getting up in the morning till you sleep in the night. For some of us, it might be more than the number of people we interact with in the same time. We don’t drive cars any more; we drive our Mercedes,Hondas and Toyotas.

We don’t wear shirts, jeans or sneakers but wear our Arrows, Allen Solleys, Levis, Wranglers, Nikes and Reeboks. We don’t drink cola, eat chips, burgers and chocolates, rather we drink our Cokes and Pepsis, eat our Ruffles, Pringles, Mcburgers and Kit Kats. We don’t even go to stores anymore, we go to Kmarts, Gaps, Shopper’s Stops and Benettons. The brands that promise us a unique offer of utilities, benefits, values, personality traits, images and associations, that will satisfy our given needs (functional or emotional) and that we can relate to (consciously or subconsciously), are the ones that we identify with and show preference for. Therefore, more often than not the brand (and its promise) extends beyond the product core. Successful brands often transcend their physical existence, take on a life and build relationship with their consumers. The positive experiences,

BI Brand Quiver

values and associations that consumers perceive the brand brings to them leads to fulfillment of their expectations. The feeling of fulfillment becomes the reason for the success of the brand, and the basis for the relationship. Ultimately building brands is about running a marathon. And it makes huge business sense to invest in brand building. Strong, reputed brands, like the ones mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, have a lasting bond with their consumers. Their brand loyalty is very difficult to break. The loyal consumer base raises the entry barriers for the competition and enables the company to enjoy benefits like premium pricing and sustained market share over longer periods of time. All these put together result in the brand being able to leverage in equity with the consumers and reap long-term profits for the company.”

Chris Jaques, the iconic founder of SPARK INNOVATION CONSULTING – which specializes in developing innovation strategies to ignite specific business areas, however pooh-poohs this entire gyan and aggressively supports his logic with a clinically chronicled 5-point rationale. He believes that the days of Branding being the prime discipline to communicate the consistency of a given product and the reliability of its promise, are clearly over. There’s been a paradigm shift in the Market-Product-Consumer connect with the money going into the SERVICES not products, slot. He supports it with hard facts. “Walmarts’ revenues are three times bigger than the entire revenue of both Proctor & Gamble & Unilever combined! Citibank & ING, too, are twice their size. This is the age of SERVICE not PRODUCTS and service marketing requires a totally different set of rules. Services are customised, not mass-produced”.

Expanding this line of thinking Jaques argues that most of

RVICE E S f o e g ea ice This is th UCTS and serv lly D not PRO g requires a tota marketin ent set of rules. differ

BI Brand Quiver

today’s real killer brands “are built on concepts, not products”.

He goes on to explain how Apple produced the ipod with iTunes.

– “First they commissioned an idea and a design from Ideo. Next, they bought chips from Motorola and put them in a casing from Foxconn. Then they hired developers to create music software.

At another level, agents were going tongs n’ hammer negotiating access to content, which incidentally was created by publishers and artistes. Apple only PACKAGED it all together, managed it and sold it. It produced nothing!”

Heated, the iconoclast continues that if a brand is predictable today, it is most likely to be dead, tomorrow!” Disney develops a new product every five minutes! Sony produces around 5000 new products a year. Zara can translate a fashion design from the Paris Catwalk to the shelves in 15 days. Innovation is the new god! “Myth-exploding arrives next. “Even if one wants to create a predictable brand message over time, one can’t. Why? Because

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BI Brand Quiver

there are over 50 million blogs, 24x7, flashing out messages about brands. These messages are based on customer experience, personal agenda or social rumour NOT strategic positioning!

Further Brand terrorism is a deadly fact, alive and kicking with China being a soft target. The Formalhyde stores battered their Beer brands. The Triclosan gossip savaged their soap and

ered t t a b s e r hyde stohe Triclosan l a m r o F The ands. T r soap and r b r e e B their ed thei s. g a v a s p gossi te sale toothpas

toothpaste sales. Rui Chenggangs nationalist blog shut down STARBUCKS in the Forbidden City”. Finally, in conclusion he offers, that in today’s marketscape, business is the brand and brand is the business. The brand is absorbed, imbued and encompassed in every conceivable experience that the consumer experiences and encounters – and therefore, in effect, every action a company takes.

The take-out is cataclysmic! Traditional notions of marketing has been stood on its head, with revolutionary new methods blitzing through. In this new scheme of things, marketing organizations are advised to shut shop and become marketing organisms. The maverick Jaques explains. “An organism is a living, breathing creature whereas an organization is structure-bound and systems-driven. Further unlike the organization – centralized and controlled – it is decentralized and instinctive, constantly empowering its people and technologies to respond in different ways to different customers in different circumstances at different touchpoints”. The message is simple: In this new world, the focus is not about 360 degree branding. Its really about how brilliantly you can manage that critical “one degree” that matters …

So, what’s your take, esteemed reader?

Feedback@brands-illustrated.com

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ULTRALITE-27

FF-02

PL-16

PSD-08

AL-621

Aerobok Shoe Pvt. Ltd. 1459, MIE, BAHADURGARH – 124507 HARYANA, INDIA Phone: +91-1276222401 | Fax: +91-127222400 | E-mail: info@aerobok.in | Website - www.aerobok.com

CREATIVEIQ.in

n i e l y t S d n a y t Quali e l g n A y Ever

BI Case Study - SOCIAL LISTENING

Plunging Headlong into

SOCIAL LISTENING Building an ecstatic community these days takes more than posting, it takes mindful social listening!

A

re you missing out on opportunities to increase sales and ROI, or to increase media value, awareness, and growth? You just might be. Are you listening to what people are saying about your company? Are you responding to those comments?

There have been a lot of overwhelming changes on how people communicate and interact with each other online in recent years.

Social Media has practically revolutionized the internet into something that is more personal and participatory. That’s why social networking is now the top online activity.

Of all the windows through which a business can peer into an audience, social media seems most enticing. The breadth of subjects, range of observations and above all, the ability to connect and draw inferences make social analytics hugely exciting for anyone who is interested in understanding and influencing past, present and potential customers, employees, or even investors.

Social listening refers to the ability to listen to its target audiences on social media channels and respond appropriately. It is imperative that businesses realize that the value of social media is not limited to publishing content and posting product and brand updates. The power and value of social media goes way beyond the obvious. Social Listening is not only applicable to social media but to all kinds of online platform where information about a brand may appear.

As individuals leave traces of their activities - personal, social and professional - on the internet, they allow an unprecedented view into their lives, thoughts, influences and preferences. Social analytics attempts to draw useful understanding and inferences, which could be relevant to marketers, sales persons, HR managers, product designers, investors and so on. Thus, online

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media host a plethora of social activities of many people; a humongous amount of data is generated about people’s preferences, behaviour and sentiments. Like any data, it is amenable to analysis to gain useful insights.

Nowadays customers trust more on the experiences that other consumers share on Facebook, Twitter, online blogs or discussion boards as compared to the traditional marketing or advertising messages. Taking consumer generated media seriously via active social listening is critical for all companies. Internet provides an excellent forum for companies to listen to the feedbacks.

Businesses can observe the online actions taken by consumers.

Marketers can see what pages their followers like, what groups they are part of, and what kind of content that they share. This information can then be used by marketers to structure more

effective advertisements.

When customers are either overjoyed or disappointed in a product, they often take to online forums to express themselves.

Browsing the comments that consumers leave online is a great way for marketers to see what their companies are doing right and what needs to be improved. Social media platforms make it easy for companies to compare their social media marketing efforts to those of their competitors.

The amount of shares, likes, comments, and followers can easily be monitored between companies.

are learning the best practices for how to manage customer service issues on social media. By actively using social listening the brand can successfully identify potentially harmful conversation and ameliorate the situation before it has a drastic impact on the reputation.

Moreover, try to allocate time and resources to monitor more general discussion about the industry as a whole rather than concentrating on selected competitors. These insights are valuable for developing the overall business strategies.

Why social listening is important for business?

Product Development and Yard-sticking the Performance One of the greatest benefits of social listening is to receive customer feedback about the products, brand or industry.

Analyze what consumers are saying to discover valuable insights and adjust the business strategies to fit the needs of the consumer. Be prepared to receive honest feedback that sometimes criticizes some aspect of the business.

Besides, social listening also helps in measuring tactics for more short term campaigns.

Determining Effective Social Media Strategy Integrating social listening helps in learning about people’s opinion about the brand or the industry on the digital platform.

Focused listening helps in knowing which social networks are most actively used by the audience and the general sentiment about your brands, products, competitors or industry. As such it supports in determining an effective social media strategy.

Developing Brand Reputation and Understanding Competition In today’s social age it is the customers who are determining conversation about a brand, product or industry. Many brands

Benchmarking Social listening is a great tool for benchmarking your brands to your competitors.

By measuring the volume of conversation about your brand and your competitors, you are able to benchmark benchma your social media performance.

So why do don’t brands listen?

The challenge comes from the sheer volume, volume velocity, and variety. Besides the dauntBes ing technical intricacies of technic setting up the appropriate analytics, analytic the aspects of choosing information choo sources, filtering sou the right data, th and its interpretation and

aggregation are susceptible to errors and biases.

Used correctly, social analytics can yield enormous benefits to an organization’s goals. It is critical that the models correspond to the business context.

Social listening and analysis has to be an ongoing process.

The goal of social listening isn’t just to hear what others are saying about you, it’s to act on those discussions. Social listening is a skill that brands need to develop and work on if they want to achieve maximum success with digital media. It is crucial aspect in gaining new customers and retaining loyal ones. The volume of conversation around your brand is important. Part of the consumer decision process is to see what others have said about your product or service. If there are no reviews or relevant mentions about your product or service, then a potential customer may search for a company that has generated more social media conversation.

Customer sentiment is the single most important factor that helps in improving customer loyalty. A brand can use its social media space to converse with its target audience and gauge their sentiments regarding the brand. People appreciate businesses that listen to them, respond and take action on the suggestions that they may have shared. When a brand offers great customer service on its social media page, it reaches out to more than just one particular customer, but sends out a strong message to all its customers on the social network.

Perhaps what makes a business truly social is how they utilize the vast platforms, tools and user generated content to better search, listen, engage and enchant their customers. By understanding what is possible by properly using social listening tools, it enables a business and its employees to truly march in harmony with their customers.

Feedback@brands-illustrated.com

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Marketing M BI aTrailBlazer rketing H Heads eads

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TOP

50

IN THE BUSINESS OF MARKETING

W

omen are leaders everywhere— from the CEO who runs a company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. There is a huge contribution in the development of our country by such robust women, and which will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes.

The Top 50 women in the business of marketing envelops the ones who demonstrated selfawareness, decisiveness in the face of challenging circumstances, tackled the size of the business challenge and the ability to inspire others around them. It covers the success story of the leader’s journey, setting objectives, leading a change agenda, creating and implementing strategies for different brands.

The fiscal empowerment of women across the world is one of the most remarkable revolutions of the past years. It is remarkable because of the extent of the change: millions of people who were once dependent on men have taken control of their own economic fates. And has produced so little friction:

a change that affects the most intimate aspects of people’s identities has been widely welcomed by men as well as women.

Today women make up the majority of professional workers in many countries. Even holdouts such as the Mediterranean countries are changing rapidly.

India has been made by the contributions of several people who have made their inputs in various ages.

It has been enlightened by the presence of these people since its birth. All of them, contributing in various spheres of life have been of great importance to the society.

These personalities have not just influenced the people and their area of work, but have also left an indelible mark on the world book.

The top 50 women in the business of marketing put together a list of fifty marketing mavens and pacesetters that have directly revolutionized, the science and art of exploring, creating, and delivering value to satisfy the needs of a target market. The accomplished generation of women leaders who have boldly transformed wide range of disciplines with their eminence in enterprising markets.

BI TrailBlazer

ABANTI SANKARANARAYANAN Marketing & Innovation Director, Diageo India Alma Mater: Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad Ethnicity: Indian Abanti Sankaranarayanan is heading Marketing & Innovation since 2010 for Diageo in India. Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks company with a portfolio of world-leading iconic brands such as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Guiness, Bailley’s, Tanqueray, Ciroc and Gordon’s.Headquartered in London, Diageo is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Abanti was previously associated with Tata Administrative Service for key marketing roles for the time span of eighteen years.

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Althea Shah is a senior marketing professional with over 13 years of experience in leading the corporate marketing and communications for the multi-crore company F2 Fun & Fitness Pvt Ltd, is running the Gold’s Gym brand for over 12 years having broad retail marketing experience, encompassing strategic planning, qualitative & quantitative research, interactive marketing, creative development, media planning & buying, database /directmarketing, public relations, sales promotion and visual merchandising, corporate positioning, gym launches, online strategies, events, intellectual properties & business development strategies with the ability and skill set to provide creative, innovative, enthusiastic and forward-thinking leadership in a team environment. Focused on achieving continuous, improved business performance.

DR. ANANTA SINGH RAGHUVANSHI Executive Director Sales & Marketing, DLF

Alma Mater: Noida International University Ethnicity: Indian

ALTHEA SHAH

Vice President Marketing at Gold’s Gym India Alma Mater: Mumbai Education TrustInstitute Of Management Ethnicity: Indian

Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi is the Executive Director-Sales & Marketing, DLF. DLF is amongst India’s largest real estate Companies. She is presently handling a diverse portfolio of residential plots, villas, apartments, luxury holiday homes, SCOs, shopping center projects across over 12 top Indian cities. She carries 24 years of Marketing Management , Real estate sales , customer services and retail leasing .

She is also on the editorial board of “Estate Avenues”, a real estate monthly magazine.

Her last assignment was as the Chief Executive-Retail (India) & Corporate Residential Sales, Emaar MGF Land Ltd.

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BI TrailBlazer

ANISHA MOTWANI Director, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer - Max Life Insurance Alma Mater: University of Rajasthan Ethnicity: Indian Anisha Motwani is an accomplished business leader with diversified experience & proven track record across advertising, automobile & financial services industries.

Developed & led highly productive and motivated teams to exemplary performance across business categories.

She has designed & managed organization transformation through a structured change management architecture leveraging communication & other accountability techniques to engage the entire organization in the change effort.

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ANITA ARJUNDAS President at Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd Alma Mater: Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Trichy (BIM) Ethnicity: Indian Anita Arjundas leads Mahindra’s pan-India presence in residential development under the Mahindra Lifespaces brand and integrated business cities under the Mahindra World City banner. She serves as President of Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd. since July 24, 2009.

She is responsible for all the Special Economic Zones/Industrial Parks being developed by Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd.She joined Mahindra Group as Vice President, Marketing of Mahindra World City, Chennai in October 2002.

Before joining Mahindra, Anita Arjundas spent ten years with Murugappa Group in the fastmoving consumer goods (FMCG) space and three years in the IT industry in international marketing.

She is a Member of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Real Estate Council, Asia Society, and the Developer’s Committee of the Export Promotion Council for Export-Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones (EPCES).

ANIKA AGARWAL

Vice President and Head Marketing -Max Bupa Health Insurance Alma Matter: Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, New Delhi Ethnicity: Indian

Anika Agarwal has worked across India, Middle- East and African markets. She is a seasoned marketing and Brand professional with experience of handling diverse markets and teams, working with consumers across the value chain, complex program management skills and strategic marketing planning experience. She has worked extensively across varied consumer touch points including digital and retail.

Prior to joining Max Bupa, she was associated with Nokia Corporation and Indian Cellular association.

BI TrailBlazer ANURADHA AGGARWAL Chief Marketing Officer at Marico Limited Alma Mater: Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore Ethnicity: Indian

ANUPAMA AHLUWALIA Chief Marketing & Customer Services officer - Reliance Retail Alma Mater: University of Mumbai, Chetana’s Institute of Management & Research Ethnicity: Indian Anupma Ahluwalia is Chief Marketing & Customer Services officer,Reliance Retail. Her first job was in the processed foods division of Voltas Ltd in 1991, followed by a 13-year long stretch with Colgate Palmolive in India and in Thailand, and a four year stint with Idea Cellular Ltd, playing key roles in developing new product strategies, revamping product portfolios and building share leadership. Then she became the Vice President-Marketing, India and South West Asia in the Coca Cola Company.

She carries multi functional experience in FMCG, Telecom and Beverage industries across marketing, sales and operations. She has proven track record of driving revenue growth, market share and profitability with leadership and challenger categories and brands.

Multi country working experience. Well versed with urban and rural India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Hongkong from a cultural, consumer, trade and shopper perspective. She has also managed multi country teams to drive global strategy and innovation.

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Anuradha Aggarwal carries rich experience in sales, marketing - innovation and activation - and general management.

Instrumental in developing and activating both product and service brands in India and South Asia.

Before joining Marico she spent almost two years in Mondelez International as Marketing director-Biscuits, Asia Pacific ; four years at Vodafone India as senior VP-brand communication and consumer insights, and 12 years at Hindustan Unilever across sales, marketing and general management functions, managing local and global brands.

Specialties:Category strategy and thought leadership, Brand identity and equity building; new product development; brand activation and marketing operation and leading cross functional teams.

ANURADHA PARASKAR President (Mktg.&Group Brand) at Piramal Group Mumbai.

Alma Mater: Mumbai University and Chetna‘s Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai Ethnicity: Indian

Anuradha Paraskar has 24 years of expérience in managing several brands, first at Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. and then creating a completely new brand called Lavasa at Lavasa Corporation Ltd. She is extremely enriched with a 360 degree work experience in the fields of Marketing, Branding, Media, PR and Sales. Now at the well diversified and globally operational Piramal group, she is adding customer centric culture creation and employer branding to my profile. She has CMO responsibility for Piramal Realty projects, corporate communications for all Group Cos. in healthcare and financial services as well as responsibility of Employer Branding activities. She also lead cascading program of Group’s brand values of Knowledge, Action and Care across businesses.

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BI TrailBlazer

ARUNA JAYANTHI Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini India Alma Mater: Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies Ethnicity: Indian Aruna Jayanthi, born in 1964, is the Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini India since January 2011 and the Chairperson of Board of Governors of National Institute of Technology Calicut since november 2014.

She oversees the operations across India and supports the Capgemini group’s growth agenda and strengthen India’s position as an industrialization and innovation hub. She is responsible for operations across all the business units – Consulting, Technology and Outsourcing services in India with a focus to increase the integration and performance of growing employee. Earlier, she served as a Global Delivery Officer for Capgemini outsourcing.

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BIDISHA NAGARAJ Group President Marketing at Coffee Day Group Alma Mater: Bangalore University Ethnicity: Indian

Bidisha Nagaraj is president, marketing, at CafĂŠ Coffee Day, the Indian retail cafĂŠ chain. Prior to this, Nagaraj was head of consumer marketing at Google India. Her chief responsibility at CafĂŠ Coffee Day is to enhance the position of the brand and increase its consumer loyalty through various innovative channels.

She started her career in advertising at Lowe (then Lowe Lintas Advertising), rising up to become group account manager within five years, before applying her entrepreneurial skills to start her own handicraft exports company. Her experience in these two arenas gave her international exposure in creative marketing and communication, which she used at Compaq (HP) Computers and then in a seven year stint with Intel Corp. (India).

Her experience spans across Consumer & Retail Marketing for established brands as well as start ups, advertising, product and segment development and entrepreneurship in segments such as consumer non-durable products and information technology.

In the last many years she has been engaged in formulating and execution of marketing strategy, setting up business infrastructure & processes, identifying and developing new consumer segments.

Darshana Shah has over 17yrs of rich work experience in Strategic Planning and Management, Brand Management, Customer Insights and Research, Retail Marketing and Communication, Digital Marketing, Loyalty Management, Visual Merchandising Channel Management, Private Label and Product Management across Retail and IT service industry.

A keen planner and strategist with demonstrated abilities in devising sales/ marketing activities and accelerating business growth. Focus is always on generating revenues through multiple channels to support marketing spends and deliver ROI. Proven abilities in driving innovation in planning and building customer engagement platforms using technology, loyalty program, digital and social marketing and integrating across platforms for holistic customer experience.

Planned and delivered various concepts for instore design and communication to various visual merchandising elements which have been studied through international retail exposure and best practices.

An effective communicator with excellent relationship building and inter-personal skills. Also possessing strong analytical aptitude towards problem solving with great organising abilities.

DARSHANA SHAH Sr.Vice President -Marketing and Visual merchandising at Hypercity Alma Mater: Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies Ethnicity: Indian

BI TrailBlazer

d

ite rt India Lim R o I s A e R A & N s I y DEEPAL dra Holida fficer-Mahin

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eting O bai Chief Mark rsity of Mum e iv n U , : h r rc e a Alma Mat titute of Mgmt & Rese s In m a ales.

Sydenh dian d, Product & S n In ra : B y , e it rc ic e n m Eth g, E com HSBC. ce in Marketin inancial Services Group & n e ri e p x e f o as as 20+ years B-Ulka and w indra, L&T F h h C ir a F a M ft a h ra N it D li w , a p s ile e n b De sitio PL Mo ence leadership po Tata Motors, B er financial services experi s a h c u s She has held s d n – H ra he was Head worked with b ola and Mediker at Marico. s o re ls e a h s w a h e l c e n h S ger for Saff d L&T insura r L&T Financia a n fo n a a t g n n M e ti g e m n e rk ti g a e a m rk n the Ma anaged sset Ma e. She also m SBC Global A ic H f rv o e s S r te e tu m ti s to n s co Cu Sales ommerce and e & Inventory rc e m m o Marketing, E-C L&T Infrastructure Bonds.

-C E alytics, as seen and nd, Digital, An Digital & Inventory Sales h ra B , g Services IPO n ti e rk g for a leads M Officer. Both rketing Trainin g a n M ti l e a it rk She currently a ig M D f e ie ademy. olidays as Ch e also leads th at Mahindra H th under her leadership. Sh indra Sales & Marketing Ac row Mah of the Group tremendous g r e b m e m a s up a Mahindra Gro

DEEPIKA TEWARI Head of Marketing Tanishq Bengaluru, Karnataka, India Ethnicity: Indian

Logic, Hard work, Innovation and reliability personified, Deepika Tewari was serving at Ogilvy and Mather, Mumbai as a senior vice president for twelve and the half years before taking over at Titan Industry as the marketing head in the year 2012. She has a strong marketing functional experience across brand building, communication development and strategy planning.

DEEPIKA WARRIER VP Global Nutrition Category, Asia, Middle East and Africa-Pepsi Cola International, Dubai Alma Mater: Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore Ethnicity: Indian Deepika Warrier is the country’s only marketing professional to have ample of brands to oversee her task is challenging to say the least. The vice-president global nutrition category- Pepsico, has been heading beverage marketing since 2010. She was perhaps the country’s only, and PepsiCo’s first official, to head marketing of both foods and beverage.

Causes deepika cares about: -Animal Welfare -Children

BI TrailBlazer DIVYA PATHAK Director-Marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment Alma Mater: Sydenham Institute of Management Studies and Research Ethnicity: Indian Divya Pathak has huge experience across various business verticals, including brand and film launches, category and genre creation, franchise building and revenue generation across multiple revenue streams. She carries experience of film and entertainment industry with major studios such as The Walt Disney Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Prior to her entertainment industry experience, Divya Pathak’s previous assignment was with JWT where she handled Hindustan Unilever, Kellogg’s and other global brands.

GAYATRI YADAV Executive Vice President Marketing & Communications at Star India Pvt Ltd Alma Mater: Indian Institute of Management Calcutta Ethnicity: Indian

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Gayatri Yadav has more than 22 years of experience in marketing. Before Star TV her last assignment was as marketing director, General Mills India. She has been associated with the company for about 14 years.

Earlier, she has also worked with Procter & Gamble India. She has a strong marketing functional experience across brand building, communication development, strategy planning, market research/consumer insight, new product development and launch support, and trade marketing/sales support.

Gauri Khan is the co-founder of the film production and distribution company Red Chillies Entertainment with her husband, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. She is also an Indian film producer and interior designer.

GAURI KHAN Co-founder Red Chillies Alma Mater: Lady Sriram college, New Delhi Ethnicity: Indian

BI TrailBlazer Cover Story KALPANA MORPARIA CEO India at J.P. Morgan & Co. Alma Matter: Mumbai University Ethnicity: Indian Kalpana Morparia is an Indian banker. She was associated with ICICI Bank for thirty three years.

Presently she is the Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan India, the Indian extension of American company. She also serves as an independent director on the boards of several leading Indian companies.

A graduate in law from Bombay University, she has served on several committees constituted by the Government of India.

Kanika Mittal took up the role as Marketing Head of Reebok India in the year 2012 at the definitive moment when the brand positioned itself as the fitness initiators and authenticators of India. With a healthy challenge ahead undertook this role with a single minded approach to innovate and introduce fresh ideas in every aspect of business.

She joined Reebok India as an Assistant marketing manager in the year 2009 who then got promoted to various levels and acquired the designation of marketing head in the same. Prior to Reebok India she served as Asst Manager - Marketing Communications at Tata Teleservices Ltd for the time span of almost two years.

She also led clutter breaking Retail, OOH, PR and Digital concepts embedded in 360 Marketing Campaigns, rooted in a deep understanding of business and consumer goals.

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KANIKA MITTAL

Head - Marketing and Brand Communications at Reebok India Alma Mater:

Mudra Institute of Communications

Ahemdabad – MICA Ethnicity: Indian

KIRTHIGA REDDY

Managing Director, Facebook India Alma Mater: Stanford University Graduate School of Business Ethnicity: Indian

KAVITA PANDA Director at Walt Disney India (International) Pvt Ltd Mumbai, India

Krithiga Reddy is a marketing professional over 18 years of experience including general management, product marketing and management, product development, strategy and matrixed responsibility for sales. Proven track record leading global initiatives with P&L responsibility through concept, C-level buy-in and execution. Prior to Facebook she has worked with Phoenix Technologies, Motorola and Silicon Graphics as well. Specialized in defining products and services that delight customers, surpass competition and provide compelling business value with expertise in delivering products with award winning usability.

Alma Mater: Xavier’s Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar Ethnicity: Indian Kavita Panda is one of the proficient business leader with over 18 years of experience in the field of marketing and entertainment. Before joining Walt Disney India as Director in 2005, she has worked with renowned brands of entertainment and advertising industry like Star India Pvt Ltd, Madison and Lintas

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BI TrailBlazer LYNN DESOUZA

Founder, Social Access Communications, Mumbai Alma Mater: University of Mumbai Ethnicity: Indian Lynn De’souza is the former chairman and CEO of Lintas Media Group. Over 25 years in media planning, buying, research and management, with some stopovers into integrated communications, knowledge management, training and healthcare, and a permanent passion for serving animals in distress is now serving the social sector through communications, a humble but hopefully farsighted attempt to build India’s first communication firm working purely to fuel social change by fostering access partnerships across the non-profit sector, corporates, government and society.

MANASHI GUHA VP Marketing ( Consumer Divison - L’Oreal Paris, Garnier & Maybelline NY) Alma Mater: Bharathidasan University Ethnicity: Indian Manashi Guha is an eminent marketing professional who served as General Manager at L’oreal India for the time span of two years before being designated on the post of VP-marketing.

She lead teams to establish and strengthen iconic brands positively impacting brand equity, market share, business growth & profit.

BI TrailBlazer

Interview with

MANMEET VOHRA I

t takes effort to identify a vision that your customers will find credible and aligned with their values. How have you been crafting such a vision for your company? ited Tata

Tata Starbucks Private Limited is a partnership between two strong companies that are committed to building the Starbucks brand and delivering the unique Starbucks Experience to customers in India.

We constantly endeavor to deliver the unique Starbucks Experience and our brand promise to our customers – every day. Our partners (employees) Manashi Guha is an eminent professional are at the heart and soul of our signature marketing Starbucks Experience, and the who served as General Manager L’oreal India passion they demonstrate about our coffees andatour stores every dayfor andthe with every cup is what enables us to create a consistent, welcoming environment time span of two years before being designated on the so our customers can enjoy their daily cup of coffee, exactly as they want it. post VP-marketing.She lead teams to establish and This isofwhat our customers come back for and this requires an unwavering commitment, strong brand values and responsible business practices.

We strengthen iconic brands positively impacting brand are focused on a long-term, disciplined and thoughtful growth in this dynamic equity, market business growth profit.with them, market, and shapingshare, our partners’ success and growing&together while balancing the cost of doing business.

What role is social media platform playing on today’s marketing standards?

Due to the sea of change in consumer behavior, the challenge for any company is to continually create relevant and meaningfully engaging customer experiences online while staying true to the company’s values and historic brand promise. The power of digital media and social networks is something all businesses must accept, understand and embrace. The seismic shifts in how our people and our customers communicate using digital communications definitely have heightened the need for more constant, interactive dialogue.

Our first digital brand campaign ‘Meet me at Starbucks’ is the celebration of a simple truth that ‘Good things happen when people get together.’ To bring this to life, we encouraged our customers to share their #HowWeMet moments across various platforms including our stores and microsite. The campaign was hugely successful and we managed to gather over 5000 #HowWeMet stories in a matter of two weeks.

What would be your prime focus for retaining customersadvertising new products or launching service oriented campaigns?

We have never made a passive marketing decision. It has always been taken with a view to engage with our customers and our store partners. Some advertising is important purely from an awareness creation point of view. For us, 95% of our focus is on engagement marketing, not on passive, one-sided communication. Our constant endeavour is always on how to create experiential marketing programs for our customers to enable meaningful engagement and moment of connection with them.

“Money coming in says I’ve made the right marketing decision”- till what regard do you observe this quote? Also, is true that marketing itself requires a mammoth budget?

For us at Starbucks, our 4 core pillars of Coffee Passion, being our customer’s third Place, Partners elevation and Community are the cornerstones.

All our efforts are directed towards these. Money is a by-product. For me, the success of any marketing campaign lies in being able to deliver the unique

Starbucks experience to our customers – when they experience the essence of Starbucks and the philosophy.

Our campaigns also involve our partners who are the heart of everything we do. Our success lies in their smiles.

How did you develop your passion for marketing?

I chose to specialize in ‘Brand Management’ at Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad since I have always found it fascinating how to communicate and build meaningful connections with consumers through your products and services. In today’s world, where product standards and features are comparable and at times even interchangeable, it is up to the marketer to create an ‘emotional connect’ with the brand. My time at TAG Heuer was a vital cog in my journey as a Marketing Professional and I was deeply inspired by the brand’s values of passion, precision, perfection, performance and prestige.

Which is your favorite book on marketing?

There are quite a few which had much learning to offer. ‘Tipping Point’ spoke about how it is critical to understand that every idea needs to gather critical mass before it can explode. ‘Art of War’ is applicable in almost any corporate situation. ‘No logo’ conveyed the essence that responsible brands/brand values are critical to galvanizing consumer sentiment – consumers are willing to walk an extra mile for a brand/company whose values that believe in.

Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you? Maybe someone who has been a mentor to you?

Why and how did this person impact your life?

A large part of my personal and professional development can be attributed to my boss for seven years at TAG Heuer – Manishi Sanwal. He is a great leader and has an incredible and positive approach to problem solving, being composed in difficult situations and bringing out the best in people.

Be your own fortune teller and tell us where do you see yourself in next 5 years?

Being part of a dynamic global economy means making assumptions and predictions over a 5 year period seem both presumptuous and overly optimistic. What I can say is that I will continue to try and connect with consumers, engage with them and as we say at Starbucks ‘inspire and nurture the human spirit’.

Which is your quote that inspires you and enlightens your heart?

In the 90’s, there was this iconic brand campaign launched by TAG Heuer called “Don’t crack under pressure”. The campaign left a deep impact on me and I remind myself of it when faced with tough situations in any area of life.

P.S:- One message you want to give to the women at large I would just like to share a philosophy that has held me in great stead throughout my career is that success requires an almost obsessive quest for perfection, the ability to withstand pressure and not crack under it as well as the urge to pre-empt every possibility. This has been my mantra for a fulfilling professional life.

Dir Mark ector – eting Ca Star tegory, and buck T s Pri ATA vate Ltd. A MICA lma Ma te of Co Mudra In r : stitu mmu Ahm nication te Ethn edabad s, icity : Ind ian

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BI TrailBlazer NAMITA MINOCHA KATRE Director Marketing - Taco Bell Alma Mater: Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune Ethnicity: Indian Katre is responsible for all the marketing and business related developments for Taco Bell in India.She has over 13 years of experience and has spent last 10 years at Yum! Brands in different roles. Katre joined Yum! Brands in 2005 as Associate Brand Manager, Pizza Hut. After two years, she was elevated to the position of Senior Brand Manger in 2009. Further, in 2011, she was promoted and was chosen as the Marketing Manager, Pizza Hut. By 2013, Katre was chosen as the Head Activation for Pizza Hut and later elevated to Head Brands and Communication and Innovation, Pizza Hut in 2014. Presently she handles the post of director marketing at Taco Bell since March 2015.

Interview with

NAMRATA SINGH I t takes effort to identify a vision that your customers will find credible and aligned with their values. How have you been crafting such a vision for your company?

It takes a lot of inner strength, authenticity and humor to carry forward a vision. More than identifying the vision, following it, is what that is paramount. One have to keep it right in accordance with their customers and their needs.

Don’t worry so much about the ‘How’. It’s the ‘Why’ and one’s own gut which matters at the end of the day!!

What role is social media platform playing on today’s marketing standards?

Social Media is the heart of all Marketing messages. No matter what you are saying on any medium be it radio, TV, Print, Outdoor, the conversation and opinion sharing is enabled by social media. And by virtue of that social is now critical in the overall marketing mix Although it takes a complete DIGITAL and not just social strategy to stay

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involved and relevant as a brand and a personality.

What would be your prime focus for retaining customersadvertising new products or launching service oriented campaigns?

Prime Focus always comes from the solution of a real problem. Most of the businesses are becoming personalized and on demand and in such a market scenario it’s important that you fulfill the core need of the business with a clear ROI with not just offering a vanilla creative or content solution.

It’s not so much about the website, app or social presence. It’s more about driving sales and customer satisfaction. Analytics and psychographic profiling of customers goes a long way in aiding business objectives.

“Money coming in says I’ve made the right marketing decision”- till what regard do you observe this quote?

Also, is true that marketing itself requires a mammoth budget?

Making money if really incidental. The true mark of any marketing or business in 2015 is IMPACT. How many lives are you changing or affecting

Founder-Dark Horse Network Media Alma Matter: Symbiosis institute of Management Studies Ethnicity: Indian

with what you do is the key barometer of success. The underlying theme is to nourish and empower.

Nowadays, most startups that gets launched on Facebook for free-without even hosting a website. It’s just a string belief in the idea which comes from inherent likes/dislikes which is fueling entrepreneurs.

Its Talent, Perseverance, Belief and Persistent that matters. In my opinion mammoth budgets are not needed for marketing. What one need is free will and power to choose!!

How did you develop your passion for marketing?

I have pursued HR and Law as an academician. So it has been a curvy road to opt for marketing as a career. My love was for digital. In 2005 when I left all to join a startup in Mumbai, I thought virtual marketplaces are the future and it has been that single point belief which I am following since 10 years.

Along the way my expertise has honed, I have a huge network of people and I have grown to love marketing because to me its helps to solve real issues.

Digital marketing is also democratic with no entry barriers. That to me is the key for the enduring love for the same.

Which is your favorite book on marketing?

I am passionate towards reading and as such there are many books I love to read. My favourite is Outliers as it teaches you to think out of the box or growth hacking, which is the cornerstone of modern businesses.

More than marketing books its memoirs, which have aided inspired action on my part.

Can you name a person who has had a tremendous impact on you? Maybe someone who has been a mentor to you?

Why and how did this person impact your life?

I have been fortunate enough to have many mentors and great bosses

along the way. The biggest influence on my life is my transformation teacher Prasad Karmakar.He came into my life when I lost my Father in 2011 and he literally looked past the current crisis and brought reiki and spirituality in my life.

From feeling lost after losing a parent, thanks to this support and community, I relooked at how I did everything. Today it’s the process and the intention and the purpose that matters. The rat race is over and even as a industry leader, one can fall in the trap of the money and the fame and it helps to be aided so you stay grounded and humble at all times.

He converted me into a ‘Peaceful Warrior’ Be your own fortune teller and tell us where do you see yourself in next 5 years?

I see myself on board of Dark Horse Network Media as an advisor(not running it).I will be a publisher writer and will also be an international speaker addressing the topics of empowerment and changing education paradigms. I will be running a home schooling-virtual classroom for children from 3 to 14 yrs of age. Moreover, I will be telling stories via films of hope and inspiring people. These are all work in progress right now.

Which is your quote that inspires you and enlightens your heart?

There are two quotes that enlighten me a lot: “Work towards peace in your heart, everything else I promise will follow” “You are bigger than your Faults” One message you want to give to the women at large.

Women need to allow things to flow to them. They have to stay authentic and true to their feminine nature. The intuition and creativity is strength and power.

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BI TrailBlazer

NAMRITA SEHGAL

Director of Internet Marketing - Taj Group Alma Mater: Cranfield University - Cranfield School of Management Ethnicity: Indian Namrita Sehgal is a strategic digital leader adept at crafting compelling customer experiences and delivering next gen business solutions at the intersection of digital, brand and technology that creates a competitive advantage for the organization.

Recognised for driving business transformation by designing innovative digital strategies and digital centres of excellence utilising a defined maturity, capability and competency model that helps in re-skilling people, process digitization, governance and performance management.

NEELAM DHAWAN

Managing Director and Director, HP India Pvt Ltd. Alma Mater: St. Stephen’s College and Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi University Ethnicity: Indian Neelam Dhawan is the Managing Director of Hewlett-Packard India.

She has countrywide responsibility for revenues and profitability and ensuring the greatest leverage from HP’s Services, Personal Systems and Imaging & Printing businesses. With a portfolio that extends to offshore activities, BPO, Software Engineering, Research and IT Services, She is focused on shaping the company’s overall business agenda and leading its strategy and corporate development efforts to make HP the most admired company in India. Previously, She was the Managing Director of Microsoft India, a position she held from 2005 to 2008. During her tenure, she sharpened Microsoft’s strategic focus and improved its operating efficiency and execution, as well as its financial performance and customer focus. Prior to this assignment, she held a variety of successful leadership positions in leading Indian IT companies, including HCL and IBM.

OONA DHABHAR

Marketing Director at Conde Nast India Alma Mater: S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research Ethnicity: Indian Oona Dhabhar is presently the marketing director at Conde Nast India. She is a marketing professional with significant understanding and expertise in market research , targetted marketing to the affluent consumers in India and an understanding of the luxury space. Prior to Conde Nast she was serving Procter and Gamble for the time span of 24 years.

NEERU SHARMA

Co-founder and Director at Infibeam Alma Mater: Carnegie Mellon University Ethnicity: Indian Neeru Sharma, Co-founder and the Director at Infibeam heads corporate and business development at Infibeam. com. Before this venture, she worked with Amazon, US in Corporate Development and Media retail.

She spent 5 years working in the technology sector, most recently working as Product Manager, Alcatel India where she led R&D related projects in the Intelligent network services domain for major telecom partners in India, Australia and France.

She chose ecommerce as a venture since the space was new, growing and previous experience had given her a lot of exposure and insights into ecommerce.

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BI TrailBlazer PALLAVI SINGH

Director Marketing at HarleyDavidson India, Gurgaon India Alma Mater: Birla Institute of Management & Technology Ethnicity: Indian Specialties: Brand Management, Positioning, Market Development, Communication

POOJA JAIN Director at Luxor Group Alma Mater: London School of Economics Ethnicity: Indian

Pooja Jain serves as an executive director of Luxor Writing Instruments at Luxor Group. As the head of business operations of Luxor, she is actively involved in positioning premium brands like Waterman and Parker in an Indian context. She gained an insight into effective corporate branding and her experience paid rich dividends when she launched the B2B division of Luxor writing instruments in 1998.

She also plays an active role in business lines dealing with hospitality, technology and finance. Young and enthusiastic,she has a zeal for community services and takes active interest in promoting education among underprivileged children. She is also a great advocate of technical education and has taken effective measures to help spread computer literacy.

Pallavi Singh is a marketing professional, with extensive experience in the premium market segment related to business Strategy, Customer Experience and Communication. During the last few years she have been actively involved in initiating various events, consumer studies, alternative marketing channels (specifically Digital) and customer engagement while simultaneously being a brand evangelist for Harley-Davidson

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BI TrailBlazer

IKA H D A R WALief R A G AG nder & Ch

er ou ‘Co-F eting Offic Mark pclues Sho : atter M a te Alm Institu ns, a r d u M atio munic d m o C of daba Ahme : Indian icity Ethn Radhika Ghai Aggarwal, Co-Founder & CMO, ShopClues.com have several years of experience in diverse industry segments like retail, e-commerce, fashion and lifestyle, advertising and public relations with best-of-breed global brands.

As a Co-Founder of ShopClues and the driving force behind its go-to-market initiatives, she has carefully nurtured the brand to make it a household name in less than two years.

Radhika Ghai Aggarwal, Co-Founder & CMO, ShopClues.com have several years of experience in diverse industry segments like retail, e-commerce, fashion and lifestyle, advertising and public relations with best-of-breed global brands.

As a Co-Founder of ShopClues and the driving force behind its go-to-market initiatives, she has carefully nurtured the brand to make it a household name in less than two years.

RAVINA RAJ KOHLI

Founder and Executive Director, JobCorp Alma Mater: New York University (NYU) and Bangalore University Ethnicity: Indian Ravina Raj Kohli is an international media veteran.

She has 24 years of industry experience that spans television and radio broadcasting, advertising, filming and journalism. Recognized as one of the pioneers of Indian television programming, she is also Indian television’s first woman CEO. Her latest ventures since 2004 have included an alliance with WPP’s GroupM to create and execute strategic multimedia content assets for massreach Brands.

She was CEO of Star news until 2004.Before Star, she has worked at Sony Entertainment Television as Head of Content and Communication and with the Kerry Packer owned Channel 9 on the Doordarshan platform as CEO. Creating impact is her forte.

Ravina Raj Kohli spent 11 years in adverstising, from 1985 and 2006, and held various creative positions. She has worked with JWT, Lintas and Grey worldwide. Throughout her career, she has won many awards in television and radio broadcasting and as a creative head in advertising.

Roopa Kudva is Managing Director of Omidyar Network India Advisors and Omidyar Network partner.

Omidyar Network is a US-based philanthropic investment firm.

Previously, she was the MD and CEO of CRISIL, a global analytical company providing ratings, research, and risk and policy advisory services. She has led CRISIL’s evolution from a leading Indian rating agency to a diversified analytical company with clients ranging from the largest investment banks of the world to tens of thousands of small firms spread across India.

She is a member of several policy-level committees relating to the Indian financial system, including committees of the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Reserve Bank of India. She has also been a member of the Executive Council of NASSCOM. She is a regular speaker at global conferences and seminars by multilateral agencies, market participants, and leading academic institutions.

ROOPA KUDWA

Managing Director of Omidyar Network India Advisors Alma Matter: Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad Ethnicity: Indian

BI TrailBlazer

SABINA CHOPRA Co-Founder, Yatra.com Alma Mater: Delhi University Ethnicity: Indian

Sabina Chopra is a co-founder at Yatra Online Pvt. Ltd and serves as its Chief Information Officer she carries over 16 years of work experience,and has thorough knowledge of all facets of the Travel BPO Industry and an extensive network within the Indian travel community. Prior to Yatra she headed India based operations of ebookers, Europe’s largest online travel company.

She was responsible for setting up, transitioning and management of Customer Service, Sales, Air Ticketing, Hotel Sales, Email and Online Departments. She also worked with Japan Airlines, a Canadian Airline and her BPO work experience includes heading Operations for RAC (Aviva Plc) and Hewitt Associates.

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SAMINA VAZIRALLI Interim Head of Human Resources and Executive Director at Cipla Limited Alma Mater: University of Mumbai and London School of Economics.

Ethnicity: Indian

Samina Vaziralli serves as an Interim Head of Human Resources of Cipla Limited. Earlier she served as the Head of Strategic Projects - New Ventures at Cipla Limited. She has been Executive Director at Cipla Limited since July 10, 2015.

She joined Cipla at the time when the company was embarking on a vast management and operational transformation that laid down the chart for its future. This future included looking at regulated markets like the US and Europe, which Cipla had never entered before, bring a sea of change in the top management and venture into therapy areas that the company had stayed away from.

SANGEETHA AIYER Vice President & Head Marketing A+E Networks I TV18 JV Ethnicity: Indian An accomplished and dynamic management professional with a rich experience in Start-Ups, Brand Launches, Brand Management, Content generation and Identifying revenue growth opportunities, Sangeeta Aiyer is an experienced marketer with the ability and skill set to provide creative, innovative and forward thinking leadership in a competitive environment. She is a self motivated professional with a high success rate in building valuable relationships with key decision makers and operate in highly competitive environments with a keen focus on achieving continuous and improved business performance, with the high standards of business ethics and integrity. Earlier she was serving at Times Television Network.

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BI TrailBlazer

SANGEETA SHARMA Senior ManagerMarketing & Product at Lufthansa India Ethnicity: Indian Sangeeta Sharma is a very resourceful marketer with passion to strive for perfection and intelligence to execute brilliant ideas, known for her innovation and leadership. She is associated with the german airline as the senior managermarketing and communications for Lufthansa, South Asia for 24 years now.

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SATYA SUNITA MENDA Head- Marketing (Automotive Strategic Business Unit) at Amara Raja Batteries Ltd (Amaron), Hyderabad India.

Alma Mater: Institute for Technology and Manager Ethnicity: Indian Satya Sunita Menda is a marketing professional enriched with more than a decade’s experience in marketing communications, advertising, branding, online media sales, PR and events. She have been involved in lot of projects from new store launches to product management.

Previously she has worked with IFB Industries Ltd and Reliance Communications.

Shereen Bhan is India’smost well-known businessjournalist and news anchor. She is the Managing Editor of CNBC-TV18. Shereen took over as managing editor of CNBC-TV18 from September 1, 2013 She began her career working as a news-researcher for Karan Thapar in his production house. She also won the ‘FICCI Woman of the Year’ award for her contribution to the Media in 2005, and was named a ‘Young Global Leader’ by the World Economic Forum.

She won the ‘Best Business Anchor Award’ at the ‘News Television Awards’ in 2013.

SHEREEN BHAN Managing Editor CNBC-TV18 Alma Mater: St.Stephen’s College, New Delhi and University of Pune Ethnicity: Indian

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BI TrailBlazer SHILPI KAPOOR Head of Marketing & Communication at Renault Alma Mater: Amity Business School Ethnicity: Indian

Shilpi Kapoor is a marketing professional who carries with herself a rich experience in the marketing vertical especially Marcom.She was also served different known brands like Coca-Coca,United Spirits & Airtel.

She is a person with diverse qualitites and assests.

SOMA GHOSH Vice President Marketing - India and South Asia at Castrol Alma Mater: S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research Ethnicity: Indian Soma Ghosh is the Vice-president marketing at Castrol. She has evolved into a P&L focused ROI driven marketer ,delivering outstanding stakeholder wealth and brand value in her tenure apart from numerous marketing industry awards. She is also well traveled, with an interest in arts, cinema and writing, training in London and NYC and this has contributed to expanding her zeitgeist.

She started her career as a banker with the erstwhile ANZ Grindlays Bank plc before moving to FMCG. Her work experience includes four years as head of marketing for Beiersdorf (NIVEA India Limited) with direct charge of India and, in addition, later overseeing Marketing for Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore. Prior to this, She was Head Marketing for Kaya skincare at Marico, before which she worked with Johnson & Johnson in a variety of roles in Sales and Marketing working on iconic brands like Johnson’s Baby and Neutrogena.

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SIMERAN BHASIN Chief Marketing Officer at Wildcraft, Bengaluru, India Alma Mater: T.A Pai Management Institute Ethnicity: Indian Simeran Bhasin is the chief marketing officer at Wildcraft India, since march 2014.

Earlier she served as the Head Marketing for Fastrack across all its categories (watches, sunglasses, bags & accessories); Also head retail marketing & operations for the Fastrack Chain of stores across the country; In addition head marketing for the Licensed brands watch portfolio consisting of Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss & French Connection/FCUK watches.

Moreover, she also served as brand manager at Britannia Industry Limited and sales executive, Marketing Manager at Manipal Hotels Ltd.

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BI TrailBlazer SULAJJA FIRODIA MOTWANI Managing Director, Kinetic Motor Company Limited, India Alma Mater: Carnegie Mellon University Ethnicity: Indian Sulajja Firodia Motwani serves as the Managing Director of Kinetic Motor Company Limited.

She is in charge of Kinetic’s strategy, sales, marketing and finance activities. Prior to joining Kinetic, she worked at BARRA, a finance portfolio management company in Berkley and also launched their Indian office.

SONALI DHAWAN Director at Procter and Gamble, India Alma Mater: Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad Ethnicity: Indian Sonali Dhawan is additional non-executive director of Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Limited . She is a graduate from Lady Shriram College, with a B.Com. (Hons.) in Business Studies. She has completed her Masters in Business Administration in Marketing from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. She joined Procter & Gamble in 1998 and have handled various roles in marketing across different regions which include ASEAN, India & Australia. With a career spanning more than a deshe brings with her a wealth of experience. She is also a Director on the Board of Gillette India Limited.

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BI TrailBlazer

VARSHA CHAINANI

VANDANA CHAMARIA Marketing Director - Pizza Hut Alma Mater: Management Development Institute Ethnicity: Indian Vandana Chamaria has over twelve years of leading growth focused marketing assignments across diverse categories ranging from hospitality to consumer products to healthcare with experience of delivering on challenging P&Ls, defining brand strategy & architecture, building differentiated consumer proposition, leading cross functional projects & teams and working with global multicultural teams in diverse international markets.

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Director, Public Affairs at Abbott Laboratories Alma Mater: Newport University Ethnicity: Indian Varsha Chainani is a senior marketing and corporate communications specialist with rich and insightful experience in helping Organizations, across multi-locations, multi-state and global environments, work through change and achieve growth.

A leader and a coach, she has the ability to foster culture change, apply and translate business strategies to target audiences; strategic thinking and problem solving.

Earlier she has worked with IBM, Indian Hotels Company Ltd and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.

ZAHABIYA KHORAKIWALA Managing Director at Wockhardt Hospitals India Alma Mater: Indian School of Business and New York University Ethnicity: Indian Zahabiya Khorakiwala serves as the Managing Director at Wockhardt Hospitals Ltd. Majored in psychology in her under graduation at New York University, Additional Achievements Upstarted the Clinical Research Organisation (CRO) and has developed and launched the Cosmetic & Aesthetic Surgery vertical for Wockhardt Hospitals, India Pioneered the launch of India’s first and only, Wockhardt Institute of Aesthetics (WIA) Feedback@brands-illustrated.com

BI DIVAS

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T A H W d n a r b s e mak NA

A G KAN

N E E U Q W E N E H S T T R A E H OF

ed to a h t e k c o r t r outside d zooming nor n a w o h n amines stablishment a value! x e I R I IT LAH brand g the e MONOJ and threatenin ise her unique er br g n e l ly epitom l s a s h e l c r a e to f

“Amitabh Bachchan?Yaar, ajeebsanaamhain … aurchehrabhibadaajeebsa, beanpole jaisa, haina?!Yeh hero banega?Kaka, Dharam, Manoj, Feroz, Sanjay, Jeetu se takkarlega?Saala, imaagkharabhai? Ainameinshakaldekha? Chaleaateyhai sub, airagaira …chalaMurari hero banne!!”

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his was – more or less – the standard feedback I invariably got everytime I attempted to either point in the direction of AB at film parties or refer to him with Industry folks in the Mumbai of the early seventies. In an era when the chocolate heroes were perceived as dreamboats and Khan, Kapoors& Khanna titles ruled the marquee, Bachchan’s unusually non-filmy name and looks, with no filmy connections or background whatsoever, spelt bad news. His list of bombs also hardly helped and even Anand was generally perceived as a Rajesh Khanna knockout, with only a small minority of discriminating & evolved types noticing & applauding Bachchan’s superbly underplayed role. Not surprisingly, a week before the release of the film that would forever un-chain him from the label of the Industry’s

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BI DIVAS favourite “jinxed star”, he confided to me [in the course of an interview] that things were just not working for him in Bollywood. He had tried everything – even BandeHaath with top director O.P.Ralhan and star heroine Mumtaz – but to no avail … “and now I have this new release which could well accelerate my nose-dive to doom! It’s a film where I play a vendetta-crazed cop who frequently takes the law into his own hands … and hardly ever smiles! Besides, there is neither any romance nor music track – two essential audience-friendly ingredients that provide the required escapist quotient. Patanahin … I sometimes wonder whether leaving my Kolkata job was a good idea. Maybe this industry is not for me and I should return to my job …”

This was September 1973. The whole world knows what happened to both Zanjeer and Amitabh Bachchan post the release of the landmark film …!

Kangana Ranaut’s case appears somewhat similar.

Zero back story. No familiarity with Bollywood or filmy connections. A total outsider to Glam & Glitzville. Launched and starred – typecast? – in several movies, many of which clicked with the audiences but without any specific Kangana-connect! It was finally Tanu weds Manu which provided the audiences with the first wake-up call regarding Kangana’s bravura talent. It was of course the unsung, unheralded Queen, the breakout sleeper hit of 2014 that shook the living crap out of the Industry, trade, critics and audience everywhere the fabulous film played! Attracting thumping theatre footfalls in both multiplexes and singletheatre halls in big metros & tier-2 cities, Queen rocketed North to zoom past the Rs.200 crore mark! This was followed by Tanu Weds Manu Returns, where her amazing double-role whammo[favourably comparable to both Sridevi’sChaalbaaz and Kajol’sDushman] got the small film grossing the highest opening weekend figure for year 2015!

What’s the secret of this plain, unpretentious, non-glam, non-hot looking young actress with un-accented English coming from a small town, middle-class family neither quoting from the greats of Hollywood or esoteric authors and poets so fashionable to Bollywood’s semi-literate? Close observers believe that it has largely to do with the fact that this grounded girl comes with no baggage and has never considered herself to be one of the typical Bollywood’s glam brigade living by their writ-in-stonecommandments.In fact, she’s – by accident, co-incidence, design? – breezily slung out each & every one of them and categorically proved rules constrain; freedom liberates!

Bollywood publicists believe – like the old Hollywood studios once did – that stars must have a solid, respectable family environment and happy childhood story to tell their fans, creating a warm glowing image of a together, secure individual. In fact from the look of it, most actresses’ life story seems to jump off Mother’s Day greeting cards – or a Karan Johar/Suraj Barjatiya sanitised family saga! Kangy did something unprecedented – threw political correctness to the winds when she freely and frankly [in a televised interview] spoke about her revolt with her dad, running away from home, sister’s traumatic acid throwing incident, everyday gender bias ruling our lives, her small town &

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modest family background – the works! Next, she destroyed the revered image which insisted that aspirants needed to be red-hot-sexy, ravishingly beautiful or stunning Beauty Pageant winners with a perpetual Colgate smile pasted, accompanied by cute n’ sweet POVs on life. She was neither sexy, hot, beautiful nor a Miss India/World/Universe winner – not even, Ms. Himachal! Nor did she have any remote connection, through bloodline or social contact, with any influential Bollywood Tycoon orhead honcho. Another taboo decimated was never to do supporting roles – Fashion, Life in a Metro, Krrish 3 – because then, the chance of playing heroine was gone. Oh yeah?! Yet another perception flamboyantly laid to rest was: cling to thestars because even reflected glory invites attention, visibility and coverage. Three of her biggest hits – 2 Tanus and Queen – had fine accomplished actor co-stars in Madhavan& Raj Kumar Rao but not conventional stars, so …?? Then yet another diktat went flying. This one suggested that stars smartly, cleverly and intelligently do a mix n’ match of commercial with small-budget stuff, so that both the masses & classes are addressed. All Kangy’s hits have been non-formulaic, non-commercial, non-star, heroine driven films catering to mass audiences who enjoy script, treatment, content & performance-specific entertainers … and boy, did they work? Sure Dips, Piggy Chops & Anushka also dabbled with success in this area – Piku, Finding Fanny, Happy New Year, Ram Leela; Mary Kom &Gunday; NH 10&PK–but it takes rare courage & conviction and a special brand of passion, focus, self-belief & commitment to take the path less travelled, fly without a safety net and consistently do totally non-formulaic, totally t, sexy, ho ot r e risky stuff like Rajjo, Tanu, Queen, h t i e n n s Revolver Rani& emerge triumphant, “She wa or a Miss India right? The last, Patthar ke Lakeer ln ” beautifu Miss Himachal commandment is: Constantly The final – and so, even be on the lookout for a Khan so fitting exit line from this witty, to co-star with because SRK, bold, fearless & gifted powerhouse Salman & Aamir define Bollywood actress was the one she – allegedly – sweetly stardom and a heroine status with flung back at a reporter when she was [like VidyaBalan them automatically spells success! Kangy was a couple of years after her well-publicised triumphs in has been in Tinsel Town for nearly a decade and not The Dirty Picture&Kahani] described expansively as The starred with any of the big 3 or even other mega stars like Fourth Khan&Female Khan. “For the longest time, I was Hrithik, Ajay or Akshay. Has it mattered? Check out what called Ranawat! Then it came to Raut! My family, especially every single big star [Khans included] have to say about father & grandfather, frequently called me from home and the Queen and decide if being eye-candy, sexy prop or instructed me to correct the name immediately since it was glam bimbo is better than being a break-out performer who ruining the family name. Just when the media is getting connects with the classes & masses, without the help of any it right, you guys want me to be a Khan? Sorry, with due big star … A perceptive actress who knows the difference respect, I have no intention of being a mini Khan!! Thanks between looking and seeing … An uncompromising … but no thanks!” artist who works with complete dedication – felt, thought, That is true-blue, 40 carat brand confidence in action! projected and communicated, listened & acted… One who saves her personality solely for her work and doesn’t bother to be scintillating company off-screen. Clearly rules don’t Feedback@brands-illustrated.com apply to her!

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BI Campaigns

Divided by Boundaries

UNITED

BY LOVE!

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ohinoor has added itself to the list of products that bind Indians and Pakistanis. The rice brand recently launched a TVC that shows how rice can bridge gaps. Impeccably timed (in the context of India’s and Pakistan’s Independence Days), the TVC titled ‘Divided by boundaries, united by love’ was released on the eve of 14th August, on digital media.

The ad is created by Crayons Advertising and will cater to ethnically Indian and Pakistani audience in the

UK and the US. The brand will also release a separate ad in West Asia.

The ad commences with two individuals, one of Indian origin and the other Pakistani, working together, oversees. While the two disagree on most things, be it music or cricket, they find a common link in Kohinoor Basmati rice, where the girl claims to have better biryanis. The TVC ends with the two dining together.

The campaign is to be followed soon on other mediums and in countries.

No !dea

GET IDEA

‘N

o Idea, Get Idea’ campaign of the telecom brand Idea was one of the key drivers for its mobile number portability service. The popular tagline is being used once again by the brand in a revived way and with a different tune in its latest campaign.

Idea Cellular has recently launched two television commercials to promote its service of national mobile number portability. One of the new Idea TVCs shows a young career oriented girl shifting base to Delhi from Alwar. While she is excited about the fresh start and is enthused to make it big in her career, she faces the hassle of dealing multiple bills. The solution lies in the suggestion that follows when her colleagues suggest her ‘Get Idea’. The thrill of overcoming this problem gets them dancing to the ‘No Idea, Get Idea’ tune.

In the second TVC, a young man reaching Kochi

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from Kolkata, soon after landing at the railway station realizes that his phone has no connection. His quest for getting the best network is answered immediately by the locals who suggested him ‘Get Idea’. The people are then seen dancing to the ‘No Idea, Get Idea’ tune at the platform.

Under this new campaign, Idea has come up with a series of TVCs capturing unique situations that dovetail into a story and further ensures a solution in the form of Idea’s network and customer service.

It’s Time

FOR A BREAK!

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erala comes across as the perfect getaway for families seeped in the minutiae of everyday life.

Keeping this point in mind, Kerala Tourism recently has rolled out a digital-heavy campaign called ‘It’s time for a break’, in an attempt to attract more tourists to the state as part of the ministry’s ‘Visit Kerala’ initiative. The campaign consists of two 40-second spots, ‘Kitchen Caper’ and ‘Virtual Insanity’, created by Stark Communications.

The ‘Virtual Insanity’ ad, as the name suggests, shows a kid completely absorbed in the virtual world. His obsession reaches the peak when he tries to enlarge a print ad just as he would enlarge a picture on his mobile, thus making his parents realise that it’s ‘time for a break’. The second ad, ‘Kitchen Caper’, shows a woman completely engrossed in her daily chores, often at the center of family pressures, who is hit by a similar realisation.

The campaign addresses the domestic market of India.

The idea was to position Kerala as the natural antidote for the Indian urban family.

The Urge to Move BEYOND THE ORDINARY “No to Nice” is the latest advertising campaign launched

by Asian Paints Royale.

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he TVC features Saif Ali Khan as a very quality conscious individual with high standards in food, art and even floral arrangements, who uses ‘nice’ to comment about things that aren’t good enough.

The tables are turned on him when a guest refers to his newly painted walls as nice at a party being hosted by him.

Later when he applies Asian Paints’ Royale to the walls words like ‘amazing’ and ‘extraordinary’ are used which describes the impeccable performance of the product. The campaign is conceptualized by Contract Advertising.

The advertising agency decided to put Saif Ali Khan, the brand Ambassador for Royale in the campaign to elegantly reflect the situations in which the most refined palates slip up when it comes to the home décor. The theme of the campaign is about exceeding one’s own expectations and keep exploring and re-inventing ones choice.

The idea behind the communication is to urge customers to move beyond the ordinary and to reach out for the extraordinary.

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BI Campaigns

DIL HAI

HINDUSTANI

‘Get More than You

EXPECT’

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epperfry, an online furniture and home marketplace, has launched a campaign which comprises three TVCs. The campaign hopes to appeal to a larger market. The campaign is built on the key drivers that motivate customers

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#

DilHaiHIndustani, a two week long social media campaign was launched recently

by Make-My-Trip to commemorate Independence Day. The campaign sought to showcase the essence of Freedom as well as glimpses into India’s freedom struggle.

The campaign depicts the freedom struggle in the form of a mobile-responsive graphic novel. This approach was adopted to make the narrative more appealing to the younger audience.

The feature-“Then & Now” exhibiting landmarks and locations that were central to India’s freedom movement, contrasting the past and the present was treated to the audience to walk down the memory lanes of the history.

The #DilHaiHindustani campaign kickstarted with the “Freedom to Travel” campaign, where-in followers were encouraged to share a destination where they felt the most free and why. The campaign gave away special holiday offers as well on their travel site.

The promotional campaign received appreciation from the Makemytrip fans and followers. to purchase furniture online. Besides that, it also tackles the apprehensions around buyer dissonance by showcasing the ease of returns.

Each ad focusses on a different aspect of the brand’s service.

The first ad features a couple, having a debate over buying a coffee table online. The girl asks, “What if I don’t like it?” to which the man casually replies, “We’ll return it”, emphasising on the company’s easy return policy.

The next in the series stars Radhika Apte and Zeeshan Ayyub Khan. The man seems apprehensive about buying a new bed and the woman surprises him with one. Here, the brand tries to say that the furniture is inexpensive.

The third ad shows a man sitting on a new sofa he’s bought, when the woman enters, wondering if he knows anything about sofas.

However, she approves of his choice when she finally sits on it, highlighting the quality of the furniture.

The communication focusses on the key barriers that keep people from buying furniture online. The campaign is executed

by Saatchi & Saatchi, and aims to extend to digital, outdoor, cinema and social media, apart from TV.

Help the

FARMER!

S

kymet Weather App launched an emotional campaign titled #HelpTheFarmer which aims to reach out to the masses in order to spread awareness about farmer suicides in India. The video captured the insight that unusual weather patterns and aberrations lead to countless problems for the country.

The video has got insights from the lives of real farmers and has beautifully captured the vulnerability of families in case the bread earner commits suicide. And the fear of survival because of bad monsoons and the

unpaid dues hovering around the families for the whole year.

The numbers were at a staggering high in 2012 when 13,754 farmer suicides were reported by the National Crime Records Bureau of India. Mass farmer suicides in the country are mainly attributed to the unpredictable nature of Monsoon rains. But this problem can be tackled at a certain level, by the timely dissemination of relevant information which can actually help save lives. Skymet Weather is a weather forecasting and monitoring company which measures, predicts, and limits climate risk to agriculture.

This initiative hopes to inform and educate the Indian farmers and society about weather and its implications on the country as a whole.

Achieving Educational Integrity-

TEACH FOR INDIA

E

very child has the potential to shine, regardless of the economic background.

Teach For India, a nonprofit organization working to

achieve educational equity in India, is set to launch its latest television commercial on the idea of an excellent education for all children today.

The film is produced and directed by Samaaj-Scope.

The video narrates the story of two children from different backgrounds who converse on both academic as well as contemporary topics as equals. The television commercial sticks with the vision of the organization of gaining educational integrity in India and will help masses understand the importance of the right to education beyond the socio-economic factors.

The TVC will make its debut on various television channels with a host of other digital touch-points.

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BI Campaigns

TAKE THE RIGHT CALL!

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ruecaller, the Sweden-based free caller identification mobile application, launched its first ever marketing campaign in India —Take the rright call. This move marks the company’s foray

into the world of advertising and marketing in India, featuring actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The campaign is created by advertising agency Contract India has been designed in line with the company’s effort to provide users the right to know who is calling them.

The digital film features actor Nawazuddin

You Ask Me

ANSWER- YIPPEE

Siddiqui communicating the brand’s philosophy through his own life experience. The video is available online and is followed by the television commercial, which will be complemented by radio and other digital media campaigns as well.

The campaign stays aligned with the brand’s vision towards helping users ‘Take the right call’ through various touch points.

The first-ever 360 degree brand campaign tells a compelling story of opportunities. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is an apt choice to highlight the importance of taking the right call and making the most of opportunities as his life changed completely after the one right call that he received.

The campaign aims to expand the horizons to reach more and more audience after realizing the importance of Indian market for Truecaller.

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TC recently launched a new television commercial for Yippee noodles brand, assuring customers about its safety, keeping in mind the health concerns of its customers. On the digital forum as well, the brand is taking initiatives to educate users on MonoSodium Glutamate and lead. The brand has also released individual videos on important topics like ‘How is quality ensured in each packet of Yippee!

Noodles?’, ‘What ingredients go into Yippee Noodles?’, ‘Where can I find the testing reports for Yippee!?’

‘You Ask We Answer’ is the television commercial been introduced by the brand where in case of any query, customers can either give a call at the toll free number or log on to the company’s website. Initially, the retailers and distributors were given flyers by ITC stating that ‘Yippee! Noodles are safe’ to be given out to customers.

Feedback@brands-illustrated.com

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BI Product Features

ONEPLUS 2 Price: Rs 24,999 Release date: July 2015

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nePlus 2 sounded more promising with the latest processor on Qualcomm 810 chipset, 4GB of RAM, Type C charging port, a fingerprint scanner, better camera and a bigger battery.

The OnePlus 2 boasts a 5.5-inch full HD display with improved sunlight legibility. It continues to have a sandstone finish rear, which is removable, giving access to two nano-SIM slots.

It has a notification toggle as well that switches between all notifications, priority interruptions or no interruptions. The side panels are made of magnesium alloy. The 13 MP camera is paired with optical image stabilizer, laser auto focus and dual LED flash It also has a 5 MP front facing camera.

The Oxygen OS on the device isn’t impressive and

A AEROGUARD CLEAN AIR GLO C Pr Price: Rs 1,390 Lifespan: 10,000 hours Lif Available in Cold White (5500-6500k) and Av Warm White (2700-3500k) Variants Wa

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he Aeroguard Clean Air Glo from Eureka Forbes is an affordable LED bulb with built-in ionizers, which, the company claims, eliminates smoke, odour, and airborne allergens while creating a healthy environment.

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The Clean Air Glo is a 5W LED bulb with a small filament on the top of the bulb’s dome. When the LED is turned on, the filament starts releasing negative ions in the air. This starts pushing particles (with foul smell and allergens, among others) having positive charge to attract and stick to each other before disintegrating slowly. Technically, negative ions are odourless and have an extra charged electron. This technology helps clean the air.

lacks basics such as the support for Exchange email. While OnePlus 2 manages most of the basic tasks with ease, but the side panels and the top front of the phone tends to heat up after few minutes of watching YouTube videos, navigation or playing games.

The sound output is decent and it has an audio tuner by MaxxAudio for enhancing sound.

It comes with 64 GB internal memory and it does not support expandable memory.

TRIUMPH TIGER 800 XCA Price: INR 13,75,000

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ony Z3+ looks and feels the same as its predecessor. At 6.9 mm and 144gm, it’s marginally thinner and lighter than the Z3, It houses a power button, volume control rocker and a dedicated camera key on the right panel and, on the left, it features a single slot which houses both the nano SIM and SD card slots. The charging port and the headphone jack are at the bottom and top, respectively.

The curved edges are more distint and accentuated.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor (1.5Ghz quad-core plus 2Ghz quad-core) does a good job when it comes to speed, but as expected, cted, it heats up the device quite fast.

The 20.7 MP rear camera was, as, however, a treat. The twin speaker aker embedded inside that slim design ign

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he Tiger XCA is the fifth and the latest product to be launched in Triumph’s range of 800cc adventure motorcycles.

Customised to take on the toughest of terrains while focussing on rider comfort, this fully loaded model is the most expensive Tiger 800 on sale in India.

In line with its adventure-focussed approach, the Tiger XCA gets a minimalistic design, though it does come packed with useful components like hand guards, sump guards, windscreen, centre stand, engine and radiator protectors to protect crucial components and the rider. The tall handle bar offers a comfortable riding position.

The exhaustive equipment list of the Tiger XCA includes heated rider and passenger seats, heated grips, fog lamps, a GPS mounting kit, LED fog lamps and CNC machined foot rests. Triumph has also fitted a bigger 650W alternator and three auxiliary sockets to power all the additional electric accessories. The aluminium pannier rails support the optional expedition panniers.

The Tiger XCA is built around a steel trellis frame, which houses an 800cc three-pot engine. This engine delivers 94bhp and 79Nm of torque through a six-speed transmission. Braking is provided by twin 308mm front discs and a 255mm single disc in the rear.

An advanced ABS system allows adjustments to vary the amount of slip permitted for the wheels. The Tiger XCA comes with three switchable riding modes, four throttle maps, cruise control and an advanced trip computer.

packed in a suprising prising punch.

Overall, the performance of Z3+ is edgy and its dust st and water resistant feature makes itt that much more appealing.

SONY Z3+ Price: 42,200 INR

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BI Product Features

PIAGGIO VESPA SXL AND VXL THE NEW PIAGGIO VESPA SXL 150 AND VESPA VXL 150 PRICE IN INDIA IS AS FOLLOWS: Vespa SXL 150 cc – INR 88,696 Vespa VXL 150 cc – INR 84,641

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iaggio Vespa has always asserted that it is not the volumes that it aims for, and instead, wishes to market itself as the seller of the most premium automatic scooters in the country. The Vespa 125, which is available in the LX, VX, and S trims, is being sold at a considerable premium over other 125cc products out there and while the Vespa 125 has never been a bestseller, it has pretty successfully projected itself as a sufficiently powerful and frugal offering that has a high aesthetic appeal. Piaggio India has launched the Vespa SXL and VXL 150cc models in India to establish an even stronger foothold on the Indian premium scooter market.

Specs

The new 150cc variant pump out a maximum torque of 11.6 bhp at 8000 rpm and a peak torque of 11.5 Nm at 6250 rpm. Top Speed is expected to be a shade over 100 km/h and the new range of scooters get a disc brake at front wheel, along with a set of 11-inch alloy wheels.

HTC ONE E9+

Price: 36,790 INR

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he HTC One flagship smartphones have simple yet elegant designs. The One E9+ is no different. The champagne gold metal chassis gives it a classy look. It is sleek at 7.9 mm and has a bright 5.5-inch 2K display. It comes with Gorilla Glass 4 protection for increased damage resistance. This is a dual SIM smartphone and, along with the memory card slot Being a mid-segment smartphone it offers a powerful performance.

It has got an impressive 20 MP rear camera along with a 13 MP front facing one for capturing selfies.

One E9+ has got the 64-bit MediaTek octa-core processor clocked at 2 GHz, and is paired with 3 GB RAM. Even though it has got Android Lollipop, HTC has added its Sense UI 7 to this smartphone.

Most importantly, when most smartphones heat up after a few minutes or hours of usage, the One E9+ does not heat up at all. It has got 32 GB internal storage, and can support up to 2TB memory card. The 2,800 mAh battery on board lasts a day with above-average usage.

ALCATEL ONETOUCH WATCH

A

lcatel’s OneTouch Watch brings a few really good ideas to the table: it’s affordable. It’s waterresistant, reasonably. Its battery lasts several days. It works with both iPhones and Android phones (iOS 7 and Android 4.3 and later). And, best of all, it doesn’t have a separate charger: it has USB in its band.

The watch runs its own software but has three interchangeable watch faces: two round analog-style ones and one digital. The band is a little hard to put on: it’s stiff, mostly because it also houses a flip-out USB port on the edge of the band’s tip.

The OneTouch runs its own operating system.

Tap on the screen, and there’s a colorful grid of apps and features. The watch hooks into your phone’s notifications, allowing you to individually turn the fire hose on and off for individual apps. The OneTouch Watch doesn’t have a microphone or speaker, so you can’t dictate messages, or listen to calls.

GALAXY NOTE 5

Price: 50,000 INR

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alaxy Note 5 is the smoothest, sleekest stylusequipped jumbo-screen smartphone.

On the plus side, it’s ablaze with slim, shiny, large-screened luster, a strong camera, a retooled stylus and killer battery life. But the Note 5 only incrementally improves upon last year’s Note 4, while also sealing in the battery and doing away with the expandable storage slot (there is, however, free cloud storage).

The Note 5, while eye-catching, is also the least distinctive of the Note line. It’s still Samsung’s only phone for 2015 with a stylus (and a good one at that).

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BI Product Features

LAMBORGHINI 88 TAURI

L

amborghini 88 Tauri is a luxury smartphone from Tonino Lamborghini, a merchandising company founded by the Tonino, son of Lamborghini (the company that makes luxury sports cars founder Ferruccio Lamborghini.

The phone not only features premium materials and a unique design but also boasts top-end hardware specifications unlike most other luxury phones. Of course at a price of Rs 4 lakh plus, the smartphone is targeted at high net worth individuals, who’d care more about the snob value quotient than the value for money it offers.

The phone is assembled by hand and receives a unique device number. It features some design elements borrowed from Lamborghini’s family company that makes super premium cars.

Lamborghini 88 Tauri runs Android 4.4 KitKat and besides a few skinned app icons, the UI does not feature customisations and is close to stock version of the OS. The phone is powered by a 2.26GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, Adreno 330 GPU and 3GB RAM. It comes with a 3400mAh battery, 64GB internal storage expandable via microSD card and Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G (FDD LTE 1800MHz) and NFC connectivity options. Interestingly, the phone is a dual-sim device.

At 250 grams, the Lamborghini 88 Tauri is an unwieldy device and measuring 158.6x80x13mm, it’s hard to put the phone in your pocket. However, it’s unlikely that people who buy it would not want to flaunt it.

ONEPLUS POWERBANK Capacity: 10,000mAh Price: Rs 1,399 Weight: 220 grams Thickness: 16.2mm thick Variants: Sandstone Black and Silk White

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he company has carried forward the design language of Oneplus phone range to its power bank. The power bank is among the best looking power banks in the market with a curved bottom that compliments the looks. It has two USB ports that can be used to charge two devices simultaneously. There aren’t any buttons to switch on the battery pack. Just connect the smartphone and the power bank turns on. A gentle shake wakes up LEDs that share the battery status.

The OnePlus Power Bank takes close to six hours to charge and claims to have numerous safety features which includes the power bank not heating up and stopping the process of charging when the device is fully charged.

Negative point: Loses charge on standby.

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BI Bollywood

A MASTERFUL STROKE! Directed By: S.S. Rajamouli Starring: Prabhas Raju Uppalapati, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Tamanna Bhatia Production Company: Arka Media Works Running Time: 2 Hour 39 Minutes

BAHUBALI - THE BEGINNING, THE FIRST OF A TWO PART SERIES, PROMISES TO BE A SAGA THAT WILL MOST DEFINITELY GO DOWN THE ANNALS OF HISTORY.

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he story commences with the life of Sivudu (Prabhas) who is unaware of his noble lineage lives a solitary life. Smuggled from his kingdom and raised by Sivagami (Ramya Krishnan) in a different tribe. One fateful day Sivudu encounters Avanthika (Tamanna Bhatia) who is a master assassin from a rebel group that intends on crushing King Bhallala Deva (Rana Daggubatti) of Mahishpati and rescuing Devasana (Anushka Shetty). Shivudu despite understanding nothing of it decides to assist the rebels in their cause since he is smitten by Avanthika. Setting off on his journey, he moves towards fulfilling his own destiny as BAHUBALI and in process setting in motion a series of events that lead to the second chapter.

Director S.S. Rajamouli’s blockbuster multi-lingual film “Bahubali” reportedly raked in INR 500 crores within three weeks of its release. The movie hit around 4,000 screens worldwide in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam languages and is touted as one of the most expensive films made in the country with a reported budget of about INR 200 crores. The film generated unprecedented interest among the audience despite a lengthy runtime. However, the film left the narrative incomplete as a second part is expected to be released next year.

The film, much appreciated for its visual and other special effects, is a period action drama that took nearly three years to complete. The flamboyant set, VFX, sound, edit, cinematography and most importantly, the screenplay of the film is incredible.

The viewers went agape at the expanse of the visual effects used. Compared to the usual Indian standard of computer generated imagery work in films, the effort and technicality that went into making BAHUBALI is visibly evident in the mind-boggling city of Mahishmati, the dazzling waterfalls, and the cliffs. The film boasts of being India’s costliest and grandest till date both on budget and scale.

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Directed By: Kabir Khan Produced by: Sajid Nadiadwala, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Sohaila Kapur Music by: Pritam Chakraborty (songs), Julius Packiam (background score) Written by: Kabir Khan, Kausar Munir Cinematography: Aseem Mishra Duration: 2 hours 28 minutes

PHANTOM W

ith Bajrangi Bhaijaan proving to be one of all time blockbusters, it becomes absolutely needless to sayy that all eyes were again on director Kabir Khan and hiss latest film PHANTOM. With expectations flying sky-high, Phantom tom m is an adaptation of journalist-turned-author S.Hussain Zaidi’s bestt seller ‘Mumbai Avengers’. The film mirrors the prickly issue e off cross-border terrorism, which has affected India for decades now. ow..

As Kabir Khan has tackled the subject of global terrorism issue sue e in his earlier releases including Kabul Express, New York and d Ek Tha Tiger, his choice of presenting this dramatic tale of avenge e on n the screen seems rational.

PLOT: The story revolves around Daniyal Khan, a dishonoured Army rmyy man and unfolds with his journey across countries to seek justice stice as a ‘Phantom’ agent recruited by RAW. A few years after the Mumbai’s 26/11 attack, when the government and security urity agencies are still helpless for not being able to get hold of the masterminds, the nation still vulnerable, and another infiltrator atorr being caught with plans to attack the country, the RAW plans anss for an avenge. Daniyal who is a part of this mission gets to meett Nawaz Mistry (Katrina Kaif), who works for a security agency. It iss during this journey he realizes that there is always a price to payy and with this mission, the price was very personal.

PERFORMANCE : Indian can still relate to the inexplicable pains the horrendous ouss attacks of 26/11 gave to the entire nation. The film opens with

Genre: Drama, Action, Thriller

these heart wrenching visuals from Mumbai and then the tale of avenge takes over with the sole aim to wipe off every perpetrator behind the attacks. The choice of the story was fair enough and had the elements that could be projected on the screen, but somewhere the potential script appeared weaker. The mission itself lacked confidentiality and thus, at one point everything seemed so obvious and predictable, and it is where the script loses its grip.

The pace of the story is decent enough with a mix of drama, facts, fiction and action. The movie being shot across various locations goes well with the demands of the script. While the first half was more engaging, the second half was barely saved by the climax. PHANTOM overall is a movie that can be avoided. Its overly patriotic unrealistic treatment gets boring and untimely Katrina Kaif was probably a choice for the script only as a glamor quotient for her flattering demeanor. She looks pretty throughout the movie. Zeeshan Ayyub was a good watch DECREE: Though the film doesn’t have the typical Bollywood song-dance routine or humour, it runs high on patriotism. It plays on the anger and condemnation that every Indian has over the attacks of 26/11 on Mumbai. The film offers a hypothetical solution to the terror menace and about bringing these terrorists responsible for Mumbai attacks to justice. Highly fictitious considering nothing of it has anywhere near been attempted in real life. Overall execution is slow.Worth watching for cinematography and style.

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BI Trendsetters

Some new techniques that ensure brands communicate the right value in today’s extremely competitive environment

New Dimensions to Communicate

THE BRAND’S VALUE

By Arpan Jennifer Vimal

I

t might seem as though a sound marketing strategy should focus on the product, but in actuality it is all about the consumer. This is no surprise. Consumers are the stars of their own social media accounts and online presence. They want to purchase from companies that publicly match their own stories.

“In many industries, hyper competition has eroded traditional product and service advantages, making customer experience the new competitive battlefield.”- Gartner Customer experience is the primary basis of competition among brands. In our technological ecosystem, big questions on the future always involve digital and mobile. Through the Internet and mobile revolution, today customers can easily access all the information needed to make the best purchase decision. The balance between brands and customers has shifted, and now

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clients hold the power. The dawn of the age of the customer highlights the importance of digital marketing for the success of businesses.

From new technological assets to the flow of data, from game mechanics to a cloud computing widespread adoption. Below are five major trends that are changing marketing techniques and are giving new dimensions to the digital customer experience.

Integrated Engagement: The focus is moving towards platforms that ensure higher levels of engagement integrating all the different aspects of the digital strategy. The path starts with a compelling brand storytelling and goes on with social media, inbound marketing, responsive website to target mobile devices, online communities and advertising.

Innovative Content: With traditional media, content was the king. With digital media, content becomes the emperor. This is even more true in a passage of digital transformation, where customers become more demanding and traditional outbound marketing looks outdated. In the next years we will witness a better blending of paid, owned and earned media. Visual stories with a positive tone will reign, because loyalty runs hand-in-hand with emotions. At the same time, companies will get serious about virtual and augmented reality.

People-based Marketing: Creating content alone will not get you anywhere. In the Age of the customer, marketing is not made for products but for people. Personalization is the code word. Me-commerce is the extreme refusal of mass standards, and technology can help continuously connect with customers and foster engagement and loyalty, enhancing game dynamics and location based content (i.e. push notification).

Wearables Marketing: Digital marketing should never talk to all customers as a whole. In markets defined by the mobile mind shift, you can take advantage of new mobile devices to reach your clients with surgical precision. Smartphones, combined with iBeacons and wearable technology smartwatches and activity trackers - bolster marketing in real

CREATING CONTENT ALONE WILL NOT GETYOU ANYWHERE. PERSONALIZATION IS THE CODE WORD time and context aware communication. Proximity marketing is the word for this personalized and mobile-first action plan.

Data-aware strategy: The spread of new devices, the connection between smart objects (the so-called Internet of Things), and the implementation of the cloud on massive scale, allow companies to collect and analyze huge amounts of data.

Therefore marketers will have to adopt tools like an analytics dashboard to make sense of all the information gathered.

Digital strategies won’t work without real time analytics, essential to improve efficiency and tailor-make experiences.

The emerging of these technologies is deeply changing the dynamics of markets and the speed needed to remain competitive. Social media, gamification, analytics are different perspectives of a world that evolves quickly, weaved like a spider web.

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BI Innovations The sea of marketing trends is an ever changing one dictated in the 21st century by the lightning-fast ways in which the individuals of a customer base communicate with each other and articulate their individual product likes and dislikes.

In this atmosphere of market treading water and marketers looking for next big thing we look ahead 5 innovative marketing strategies of 2015.

The world’s favorite cookie brand is on a global mission to inspire imagination and play in consumers’ everyday lives with its #PlayWithOreo campaign this year. Oreo India embarked on a fun social media campaign inspiring imagination with the cookie, with a variety of engaging contests: #DoodleIt – fans were invited to create doodles using the cookie, #PopIt – fans needed to find innovative ways to pop an Oreo, #PlayIt – fans had to find new games to play with their Oreo, and others like #DipIt and more

NIVEA MEN #BANBODYODOUR For the launch of its New Body Deodorizer that claimed to control the formation of body odour, Nivea Men set about on a humorous route on digital media. Prior to the launch, it released a hilarious appeal video to ‘Ban Body Odour’ featuring the likes of comedians Suresh Menon, Jose Covaco and others. While the funny video created pre-buzz on n social networks, the new product ct was launched amidst bloggers who further amplified the campaign, and helped spread product awareness. ss.

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OREO INDIA

#PLAYWITHOREO

O GUSUTSTORIDES

#GOG

For the Gusto, Mahindra Two Wheelers’ first automatic scooter developed entirely in-house, the brand launched an innovative campaign involving food lovers in a city. It arranged a food ride #GoGustoRides led by influential food bloggers that saw a group of food enthusiasts explore their city’s most famous food joints riding their Gusto. While the first edition was in Mumbai, the second one was held in Bengaluru making Marketing that revives a better the Gusto a scooter for fulfilling your ‘gusto’ in life. lifestyle not just sells a product

INNOVATIVE MARKETING

For the launch of its 2015 Spring Summer Collection, Caprese, the ladies handbag brand from VIP called all women on social media to play stylist for the Caprese Girl. The brand posted images of an outfit along with shoes, accessories, etc. and then asked fans which bag from the new collection would go with it; participants needed to check out the new range on the website. Caprese also roped in fashion bloggers to blog about their favorite bags from the new range.

CAPRESE

#CAPRESESTYLIST

INDIA’S GOT TALENT

#CHALLENGEPAPPU When the latest season of India’s Got Talent was set to launch on TV, the reality show sought to create a one-of-a-kind digital engagement strategy through a character named ‘Pappu’. Pappu was designed as the smartass who thinks he can do everything and does not snap a finger while claiming to be the best. He made claims to win the IGT this year, and challenged folks on social media to prove him wrong. Executed in three phases: Pappu’s introduction, fans challenging Pappu, and Pappu dropping out of IGT, the campaign ensured engagement with videos and visuals on Pappu.