MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network, has expanded its footprint in Kochi with a new office in Jawahar Nagar. The new office will house DAN brands like Dentsu India, Carat, Posterscope, Perfect Relations, Vizeum, Fountainhead MKTG and Milestone. The new structure is at par with the global infrastructure standards of the company, and operates as an open plan workspace, accommodating all the verticals under a single roof.

Commenting on the move, Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network India said, “This is a great move for us considering we are rapidly growing our client roster in southern markets. The advertising potential in Southern markets has seen exponential growth over the last few years. This move is in line with our strategy of collocating our brands and employees in a single premises. With various DAN brands now in the same office space in Kochi as well, we are ready to offer holistic solutions to our existing and prospective clients.

The new Dentsu Aegis Network office located in Jawahar Nagar, Kochi, has been fully functional from September this year.

MUMBAI: Riding on the success of its popular campaigns such as #IAMINDIAN, and others, Likee has launched another innovative campaign #HappyDussehra to make the festival of Dussehra special for its Indian users. Likee, the pioneering global short video creation platform from Singapore based BIGO Technology is popularly known for its unique campaigns thatbring out the best in users' creativity. With the #HappyDussehra campaign, Likee aims to educate its users on the importance of Dussehra and reiterate the message behind the festival.

The campaign is spread over for ten days and will be throwing engaging challenges to the users each day. The users will need to move through different stages of the challenge to ultimately kill the three avatars of Evil. To participate, the users will need to create dramatic videos using special Dussehra stickers, filters, and music; and collect an army of 'likes' on the video(s) in each stage. The 'Likes' garnered will allow the users to exchange with the virtual weapons, which they can use to win over the Evil finally. Users can also share their Likee videos on the other platforms to gain more likes. Post completing the mission on the day of Dussehra, users will also qualify to win exciting prizes such as VIVO smartphone.

MUMBAI: Havmor, one of the leading brands in the ice-cream industry, announces Irish Whiskey Flavour & Party Poppers ice cream as a part of its Flavours of the Month. Being one of the favourite brands of the country, Havmor has always conceptualized its products as per the needs of the consumers. Ice-cream lovers on the other hand, look forward to trying something new and unique.

So, ring into this quarter with Irish Choco Kick, a combination of coffee with caramelized chocolate and Irish whiskey flavour, making it a perfect dessert for any occasion. And the quirky Party Poppers, an amalgamation of different flavours, colourful ice-cream with milky chocolate, Cake, Jam & colourful funfetti can be enjoyed by all age groups, especially kids.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Vincent Noronha, Vice President - Marketing, Havmor Ice-creams said, “Creativity and innovation has no bar, and these new flavours are the perfect example of it. Being one of the leaders of this industry, we try to fulfil our consumers’ expectations by giving them varieties to choose from. We are confident and hoping to receive some positive feedback on the newly introduced flavours.”

Indulge yourself with these two new flavours and treat yourself and your loved ones without any reason.

The flavours are available in Scoop at all Havmor parlours and select retail across India.

MUMBAI: 121 Experiences (121XP), India’s first-ever out-of-the-line agency, recently completed its third year of operations – posing robust growth. The agency announced new client wins including prestigious mandates from Amazon Easy, Bombay Dyeing, and Tata Chemicals this month. Launched in 2016 by activation and experiential veterans Alvin D’Souza and Aniket Sharma – 121XP has expanded its team to 40 comprising of marquee talent from marketing, digital and strategy verticals. 

Commenting on the third anniversary, Alvin D’Souza, co-founder, 121XP said, “The first three years have been quite a ride for us. From winning clients to executing award-winning campaigns to building a growth-ready organization – each day has helped us to learn and lead. I would like to thank all our clients for entrusting us with their mandates and being a part of this journey. I would also like to thank every team member for the dedication and spirit that has brought us collectively, to the challenger position in a highly cluttered industry.” 

In the first three years, 121XP has successfully on-boarded over 40 top brands in the country including Hindustan Unilever, ITC Foods, Axis Bank, Gulf Oil, Motul, Nerolac, Tata Chemicals, Futures Group, Facebook, Mondelez International, Godrej Consumer Products, Patanjali, Eureka Forbes, and AB InBev. At the same time, the agency delivered award-winning campaigns including Gulf Power ka Panchnaama and Legrand Diwali activation – both of which won RMAI’s Flame Awards 2019. 

“121XP is all about the powerful concoction of novel ideas meeting seamless execution”, said Aniket Sharma, co-founder, 121XP. “As an experiential marketing agency, we believe that having a strong understanding of the end consumer, their preferences and the USPs of the brands in the right context are essential to capture attention and extract decisions. We are agnostic to the platforms – be it offline or online and more focused on the objective. This is what puts us out-of-the-line in an otherwise straightjacketed industry”, added Aniket.

The recent won mandates by 121XP include Amazon Easy (taking online shopping to hinterlands using offline store format), Bombay Dyeing (rejuvenating a well-established brand for the new-age globally aware audience) and Piramal Realty (creating on-ground recall for newly launched project). 

MUMBAI: Isobar India, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has been appointed as the digital partner for Set Wet, a male grooming master brand from Marico Industries.

Isobar won the account following a multi-agency pitch. The account will be handled from the agency’s Mumbai office.

Commenting on the win, Isobar India chief growth officer Shekhar Mhaskar said, “It’s a pleasure to have Set Wet as one of our marquee clients. With the creative use of digital, which is at the core of everything we do, we will strive to see this partnership go from strength to strength, and partner Set Wet in its progression from a product brand to a grooming brand.” 

Isobar India business head- west Prashant Lodaya added, “Set Wet is a great story waiting to be told through digital. At Isobar, we’ve always believed in doing customer-centric work and Set Wet is a unique opportunity for us to demonstrate that principle.”

Isobar is a global full-service digital agency known for its significant innovations in digital marketing communications. The agency has also been recognised globally by Gartner as a Leader for the third year in a row in the Digital Marketing Agency Magic Quadrant and by Forrester as a Leader for Digital Experiences.

MUMBAI: With Diwali just around the corner, Spotify has come up with a blast of creative, fun, and engaging initiatives, including some interesting TVCs featuring Anil Kapoor and Ishan Khattar, and using some of the favourite festive music tunes of its users.

Spotify has launched 12 new playlists in Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu, which has music suitable for parties and prayers, both. In addition, the fun banter from Spotify’s ‘Sunte Ja’ campaign continues with protagonists Anil Kapoor and Ishan Khattar joining the brand's Diwali celebration.

Based on the insight of how music is deeply rooted in India’s social fabric is celebrating the fervour of seasonal festivities, the campaign this time brings to life the celebration of Diwali with music. The campaign features three films that will be aired on TV, along with amplification across priority digital platforms.

"Diwali is all about chores, family time, get together with friends, and new beginnings. We wanted our playlists and campaign to be as fresh and fun as what this festive season brings. It's also a huge festival for our diaspora audiences and our playlists have been created keeping those users in mind as well. This is perhaps one of the most important cultural moments for our users and we want to ensure we are a part of all that they celebrate," said Spotify India managing director Amarjit Batra.

Spotify has also designed a surprise in-app experience for users on the Diwali weekend.

MUMBAI: Indya, a modern Indian wear brand by fashion house High Street Essentials Pvt Ltd, today launched its first brand campaign - “I am Indya”. Celebrating the social and cultural contradictions that the millennial Indian woman embodies and lives today, the campaign sets the tone for what the brand stands for in its positioning and design philosophy.

The millennial Indian woman we know today lives life on a crossroad - a juncture of Indian traditions and a globalised society; an intersection of simpler times and that of a burgeoning modern lifestyle; a convergence of the love for the local and aspirations that are global. She’s ready to power through it all to become a global phenomenon, but at the end of the day it’s her true desi being that she finds comfort in. She is both, traditional and modern; she is the best of both worlds. Indya’s campaign is an ode to just this woman.

The campaign is led by a brand film conceptualised by creative agency, Humour Me. It stars five women who are the new faces of achievement; not put on a pedestal but charting life on their own terms by taking the road less taken. Modern in outlook and rooted in traditions, they are fearlessly pursuing their dreams.

Pratima Singh, a player for the India Women’s National Basketball Team, is an unstoppable small-town girl who made the national anthem ring loud in a stadium in China.

Tania Sachdev, an Arjuna Awardee and Chess Grandmaster holds a world record for being the youngest player from any sport to win an international title. She believes that her open upbringing has shaped her into who she is.

Kavya Trehan is a born entertainer, alternative music artist, and actor who fearlessly pursued her dreams to make a mark step by step!

Ira Trivedi, an author & yogini has written books on and won awards for her brave social commentary. She writes about modern India in all its complexities while finding life in asanas and comfort in bhajans.

Tanisha De, a budding model from Kolkata is steadily making her way to the top while changing the standards of beauty in a country that is obsessed with white skin.

Together they speak of the beautiful contradictions that make an Indian naari, the global woman she is today.

Speaking of the campaign, Indya co-founders Tanvi Malik & Shivani Poddar said, “Indya was born out of the thought to re-look ethnic fashion by considering the lifestyle and aesthetics of a modern woman living in a globalised India, blurring the old lines between western and Indian wear, making fashion a form of self-expression. Our campaign too is an ode to her. It celebrates her duality of being traditional and modern with complete grace. This duality, instead of being a constraint, makes her stronger. She is raag and she is also rap; she is bindi and she is also boots; she is a Devi, and she sure she is a diva ! Our film speaks of every woman we know today. For this campaign, we wanted to showcase the brand with women that epitomise this genre-blurring cultural context – women who are setting new standards in ambition and achievement, while remaining grounded and proud of their Indian values. We are glad to launch Indya’s first campaign and will look forward to more women relating to our brand’s philosophy.”

Talking about the campaign Humour Me founder & CEO Dhruv Sachdeva said, “Since this was the first national showcase for brand Indya, we as creative partners had the responsibility of sharply defining the brand's position in our audiences’ mind. The ethnic wear category has never quite broken the traditional, occasion-wear based mindset. We purposefully wanted to break this category stereotype during this high decibel festive season, one where every brand will try and drum up an emotion basis traditional storytelling. It was important to us, that this film doesn’t just become another beautiful showcase of our collection but speaks to audiences about how we’re inventing a new category altogether.”

“The insight for the film was simple. Global fashion magazines with their seasonal covers have set the benchmarks for what drives future trends for years now. We wanted to not be boxed into just costumes for festivities, weddings, or cultural occasions, but re-imagine what makes a fashion statement itself. The film breaks both stereotypes of what should make the cover, and how we perceive our cultural context. We just felt, in 2019 it’s about time, the Devil wore a Ghagra”, he adds while talking about the concept of the film.

Along with the film, are stories of these women on a campaign page that sits on the brand’s website. The film will also be showcased across various other digital content platforms. The digital spread is being supported by an OOH cover in metros and mini-metros, and print insertions in major dailies, all being spearhead by media buying agency, OMD India. 

The second leg of the campaign will feature stories of six more women achievers, who with this dichotomy are powering their way to living life on their own terms. The third leg will see the brand featuring stories of real women.

MUMBAI: The ŠKODA AUTO led Volkswagen Group India, having secured the prerequisite regulatory and statutory approvals, announced the transformative merger of its three passenger car subsidiaries - Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd (VWIPL), Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt Ltd (NSC) and ŠKODA AUTO India Pvt Ltd (SAIPL). The merger of three former Volkswagen Group entities is an important milestone in the ‘INDIA 2.0’ project. 

The merged entity will be referred to as ‘ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India Private Limited’ (SAVWIPL). The entity will be led by Gurpratap Boparai, who will assume the role of its Managing Director. The company will be headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, operate two production facilities in Pune and Aurangabad, and have regional offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, and other locations across the country. The integration will make more efficient use of the existing synergies in this important growth market.

ŠKODA AUTO CEO Bernhard Maier explains, “The operational launch of ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd marks an important milestone in the INDIA 2.0 project. This merger creates one of the key prerequisites for working together more efficiently at all levels and achieving our long-term goal: to gain significant market shares for Volkswagen and ŠKODA by 2025. We will now proceed in a series of quick steps: As early as next year, we will be presenting a specific outlook for our INDIA 2.0 model portfolio at the Auto Expo in Delhi.”

ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd managing director Gurpratap Boparai adds, “With this merger, we plan to combine the technology and management expertise of our team in India and realise our true potential in a challenging, competitive environment. We want to further strengthen our presence in India, ensure the professional development of our employees and safeguard sustainable profitability for our dealers.”

The emergence of the merged entity with a strong brand portfolio – ŠKODA AUTO, Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Lamborghini is envisioned to serve across market segments and budgets. These brands shall retain their distinctive identities, dealer network as well as implementing their own customer experience initiatives. However, they will be pursuing a shared vision and strategy for the Indian subcontinent.

In July 2018, the Volkswagen Group announced investments of around one billion euros as part of the ‘INDIA 2.0’ project. In January 2019, a new technology centre was opened in Pune, India, where vehicles will be developed based on the localized MQB-A0-IN subcompact platform, tailored to the wishes and requirements of local customers. The first step in the model campaign will involve ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India Private Limited launching a mid-size SUV model that will be available from both ŠKODA and Volkswagen. The company will be presenting the studies at the Auto Expo 2020, which is held in New Delhi from 6 to 9 February 2020.

MUMBAI: Not all business decisions are made in the boardroom with a team of suit-clad, experienced executives ̶ some can be made wearing an apron and white chef hat, over chopping vegetables and cooking lip-smacking delicacies. This is exactly what is happening at Times Food’s Boardroom Kitchen, India’s first reality web series that portrays CEOs of famous companies in the kitchen, enjoying the time off to cook and having interesting conversations with celebrity mentor chef Aditya Bal.

The weekly web series is live on timesfood.com. The first season of this extraordinary reality web series is set to have six episodes. The bigwigs who are a part of Season 1 episodes are Devendra Chawla, CEO of Spencer’s Retail, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder & CEO of Droom Technologies, Varun Gupta, Director of Kent RO, Samir Modi, CEO of Modicare and Dhiraj Malhotra, CEO of Delhi Capitals. The show will present the little-known personality traits of these successful head honchos in front of viewers who are interested not only in the culinary field but also in leading businesses.

Speaking on the potential of this innovative show, Puneet Gupt, COO - Times Internet said, “Food is the perfect recipe for great conversation - and what better way to take have an insightful peek into the lives of some of the biggest names in the Indian business sector than while cooking great food together. We are excited to be bringing the inaugural edition of the Times Food Boardroom Kitchen for foodies and business enthusiasts across the country where they catch startup founders and business CEOs hanging out in the kitchen chatting, joking and sharing personal stories.”

“I had a blast cooking and chatting with Aditya. As an entrepreneur, it's hard to miss how cooking and leading a business are so much similar in the way that they both need the great blend of ingredients to turn out well. I sincerely hope viewers would love the show." Boardroom Kitchen guest, Sandeep Aggarwal, Founder-CEO at Droom said.

This unique mix of food and business is presented by Glen Appliances, the name behind Glen India, which is the country’s largest home and kitchen appliances online store and powered by Figaro Olive Oil, one of the most trusted and oldest olive oil brand which continues to be, committed to quality and keeping the nutrients of food intact. The International Institute of Culinary Arts is the culinary expertise partner for this web series. The institute is known for its comprehensive culinary courses and contributes to educating the chefs of tomorrow, with a motto of ‘creating excellence in hospitality.’

Boardroom Kitchen will not only acquaint you with interesting recipes for your stomach but will also give you some food for thought. It is a unique opportunity to discover the never-before-seen sides of these business magnates who will be in an arena that is unlike the one they are usually seen in. Don’t forget to go online on timesfood.com to watch the first season of Boardroom Kitchen. Bon appetit.

MUMBAI: Durga Puja brings not just a Devi or Ma, but a daughter, back to her home and so did the campaign conceptualised by Wunderman Thompson for The Times of India (TOI). The second round of Phire Esho, TOI’s award winning campaign, celebrated the intense Bengali urge to be back home for Pujo, by raising the heart-warming call, “Ma Aaschen. Tumi Kothae?” (Durga Ma is coming home. Where are you?) Especially calling out to every daughter of Kolkata, the real Devis, without whom, Durga Puja remained incomplete.

The campaign created by Wunderman Thompson is an evocative image of daughters getting off planes, trains and buses – every regular mode of transport, seemingly regular girls, but with Ma Durga’s ten arms forming behind her (with the arms of co-passengers behind her). Hitting the point home that in every daughter, resides the spitting image of Ma Durga, without whom there can be no Puja. This image and the rally cry of “Ma Aaschen. Tumi Kothae?” ran central to the campaign, activated across print, radio, digital and outdoor.

Print advertising rolled out in Kolkata and Outside Kolkata ignited the need to go back home to Kolkata among Bengalis across the country. For those not from Kolkata, it created intrigue as to what the whole deal was about. The ads had influencers and regular folks (Bongs and Non-Bongs alike) sharing on twitter, on blogs on Whatsapp. https://twitter.com/beastoftraal/status/1174152562204803072?s=12

TOI invited readers to write letters to their daughters on phireyeshokolkata.com.  Select letters were featured in TOI and were awarded tickets to come home. This enabled the homecoming of 15-year-old Sammohana, who flew home from Chennai to Kolkata for Durga Puja after 11 long years, her first time ever on an aircraft (image attached).

The emotional Phirey Esho film, about the anticipation of a daughter’s homecoming for Pujo, featuring notable dancer Tanusree Shankar,and actors Ritabhari Charaborty and Paoli Dam, drew many a tear and many a repost. The film, directed and edited by Pritha Chakraborty and with a background score by Prabuddha Banerjee, crossed 4.5 million views in less than a week from its launch, reaching more than 15 million people, recorded engagements of over 600000 from women from more than 20 different countries. Notable people from the city, RJ MiR, Anupam Roy, Riddhi Sen, Srijit Mukerji shared the film from their handles.

Every Bengali can smell Pujo coming in the air. A print innovation in The Times of India Kolkata on the morning of 24th September brought this Pujo feeling to every home and doorstep, with a newspaper, scented with Sandalwood with a Kashphool (a wild flower from the soil of Bengal whose blossoming signifies the arrival of Maa Durga) inserted within the sheets.

The heartstrings got no rest, the newspaper of the day further carried a letter from notable writer Shankar, to his daughter, to come home for the Puja.

Thousands of such letters flooded our pages, to complete Ma’s homecoming with the Homecoming of the city’s daughters. Mr. Harshavardhan Neotia of Bengal Ambuja wrote a letter to his sister and famous authors Mani Shankar and Shrishendu Mukhopadhay also penned their letters.  

Times of India Brand Director Sanjeev Bhargava spoke about the campaign, saying, “While being India’s favorite newspaper for the best curated and validated news, TOI works hard to create a local connect with its readers in each city it serves. “Maa Aaschen Tumi Kothae, Phire Esho Kolkata” is created for Durga Puja to strengthen our connect with readers, especially women who are an important cohort for us.”

Joy Chauhan, SVP & Managing Partner, Wunderman Thompson said, “Phirey Esho to start with roused emotions in Kolkata by reviving pride in the city. This leg of the campaign revived the love. Not just because it comes from a fantastic insight; all good work does. But because in the context of women movements around the world, it’s a positive reminder of the power of women. Where better to start that movement but in the intellectual capital of India!”

Pinaki Bhattacharya, SVP & National Planning Director, Wunderman Thompson celebrated the campaign and what it created, saying, “Times of India is not just a newspaper; it’s a cultural brand. It’s a brand that has woven itself into the cultural fabric of its readers. The evocative Phirey Esho campaign further draws from the cultural cache of Durga Pujas. It brings alive the yearning of every Bengali – the ones who are in Kolkata want their loved ones to come back home and join in the celebrations and the ones who live away want to return home for the Pujas. And keeping in mind the significance of Durga Pujas- that it is Maa Durga in the daughter’s avatar who is visiting her paternal home- the brand urges all daughters who are living away from home to come back home during the Pujas.”

MUMBAI: Women’s beauty brand AVON continues its crusade to prevent and fight Breast Cancer with the launch of Take A #BreastBreak’ campaign for Indian women as well as their families. A global initiative by AVON, Take A #BreastBreak is to help support early detection of breast cancer around the world. To spread its campaign across a larger number of people in India, AVON has collaborated with the India Runway Week to host an exclusive fashion show with designer Anupama Dayal with the ‘Pink’ theme — which has today come to represent breast cancer awareness.

There were 2 million new cases of breast cancer reported globally last year1 and the Indian Council for Medical Research reports 1.5 lakh new breast cancer cases in India, of which 70,000 succumb every year2. According to a AVON survey conducted in 2017, women often spend little time on their own preventative health, and traditional gender norms expect women to care and prioritize the needs of family members often at the expense of their own health. Hence, AVON has launched the campaign and has activated its 5 million rep, equipping them with information and advice to ensure they are encouraging women around the world to take a ‘Breast Break’. This includes opening dialogue about regular self-checks, being aware of any changes in breast appearance, or making time to speak with a medical professional.

According to the World Health Organisation early detection is the most important component of breast cancer control3. Most doctors also believe mammography to be the best way for detecting breast cancer at its nascent stage but is not widely adopted in India4. With this campaign, AVON India aims to raise awareness about the prevalence of breast cancer among Indian women urging them to self- examine, detect the problem and come forward well in time.

“AVON is at the forefront in the fight against breast cancer for 27 years now, with AVON India being globally recognised for its dedication towards making breast cancer awareness central to our mission. An early awareness and detection of the disease is half the battle won and our continued approach this year is to initiate a nation-wide drive to educate people on self-examination and break some myths about breast cancer,” said Dronacharya Chakraborty, Managing Director, AVON India.

At the India Runway Week, all attendees at the fashion week will be given a pink lipstick and asked to change their lip colour to show their support to the campaign. AVON will also conduct a panel discussion with breast-cancer survivors who will speak about the importance of conducting self-examinations, the prevalence of breast cancer in India and the importance of early diagnosis. Further, the brand will also host an on-the-ground event and engage with different bloggers.

“Statistics show that for every 2 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, one woman dies of it in India5. We have been running the breast cancer awareness drive for three consecutive years now and our intention has not only been raising awareness but also equipping women with the knowledge of self-breast examination.  Our previous campaign – Pay Attention created a huge buzz and AVON India reached 1.09 billion people through offline activities. We continue our endeavors with our current campaign where educating people about breast cancer and how dangerous it can be if not detected early forms the crux. We are set to drive this for massive social impact beginning with the fashion show and hope to make some noise and create awareness about breast cancer,” said Swati Jain, Marketing Director, AVON India.

The Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which launched in 1992, has placed Avon and the Avon Foundation at the forefront of the fight against breast cancer. The second edition of AVON’s Pay Attention campaign last year travelled across10 Indian cities teaching women to act well in time reaching millions of people.

MUMBAI: Snapdeal, India’s largest value-focused online marketplace, concluded its first Diwali sale of 2019 with record orders received, showing a massive growth of 52% over last Diwali volumes.

The  growth of e-commerce via increased adoption was also evident from the sharp increase in first time users on the platform - which more than doubled from the last Diwali season.

Given Snapdeal’s focus and leadership in the Bharat-focused value merchandise, nine out of every ten orders received on Snapdeal were from non-metro towns across India.

According to Snapdeal, the increase in volumes from smaller cities was a pan-India trend. However, cities like Nagpur, Surat, Vijayawada, Chandigarh, Panaji, Jamshedpur, Shimla & Guwahati emerged as the new e-commerce hotspots of India, with orders surging at least four-fold over the previous year.

Over 120 cities and towns across the country registered at least 2X volumes compared to last Diwali sales. These include cities like Satara, Anand, Bharuch & Pali (West India), Malerkotla, Roorkee, Jhansi & Haridwar (North India), Hazaribagh, Raniganj & Paradip (East India), Tezpur, Itanagar & Majuli (North-East India) and Khammam, Hassan, Miryalaguda and Bhimavaram (South India)

Snapdeal attributed this growth to the deepening of its focus on value-priced merchandise. In the last two years, Snapdeal has added 60,000+ new seller partners, who have added over 50 Million new listings through a structured engagement aimed at building a deep assortment of products relevant for value-savvy buyers. Snapdeal now has more than 500,000 registered sellers, who have more than 200 million listings on the marketplace.

Interestingly, most of the listings on Snapdeal are by small businesses and existing retailers from the physical bazaars in India, who are well conversant with the latest products - both Indian and imported. They also have a good understanding of the value-pricing strategy, given the competitive pricing that is the norm in the numerous wholesale and retail bazaars across the country.

According to Kunal Bahl, CEO & Co-founder, Snapdeal, “This festive season, we are witnessing the early phase of India’s rich and vibrant bazaars exploring the online opportunity. 100% of the sellers on Snapdeal are independent, third-party sellers and hence the growing volumes on our marketplace translate directly into greater opportunities for India’s small and medium businesses. It is a matter of great pride for us to help build an enabling and inclusive Indian e-commerce ecosystem.”

The most popular items in the sale were everyday apparel, with both men and women shoppers preferring track pants, t-shirts and shorts over formal wear. In fashion accessories, casual shoes, flip flops, belts  and artificial jewelry were the top selling items.

Personal care products continued their recent trend of rising sales with shaving & grooming products for men and epilators for women amongst the most bought products.

The home category best sellers included multi-function kitchen gadgets, kitchen storage, towels & home linen.

Bedsheets from Jaipur were the single largest selling items that received orders from 180+ cities across India.

Snapdeal’s 8-day sale was planned to maximise the opportunity for buyers to browse the endless feed on the Snapdeal app. In the 8-day, “Snap-Diwali sale” that ran from 29th September - 8th October 2019, the platform clocked more than 76 million visits - surpassing its monthly visits within the first week of October 19.

During the sale more than 15 million users played “Spin the Wheel” game on the Snapdeal app to discover additional bargains and win sale coupons.

Snapdeal’s second “Snap-Diwali” sale will be live on 11th October and will run till 13th October’19.

MUMBAI: One Take Media Co.(OTMC)is happy to bring the hit 3D animation series “Bablu Dablu Ki Froggy Gang”. The rights are forSAARC countries. There are 104 episodesavailable in English ,Hindi and other languages.

“ Bablu Dablu Ki Froggy Gang” is so titled for a reason. This new animation comes from the house of Fantawild who has given all the super Hit tv series Bablu Dablu (Bonnie Bears). The new series  features a frog, a pond and other creatures. In fact, the frog named Bablu Joe Croaker—is good friends with a fly, Cosmo. Joe Croaker and his pal Dablu Cosmo live in a marsh with many of their friends, both of the animal and insect variety.They go on several adventures together and, occasionally, butt heads but they always manage to remain friends. This wonderful animated video does a terrific job in showcasing what friendship is all about—loyalty, forgiveness, and spending quality time together—as well as being there when things aren’t so great. Joe is a delightful character, with a hearty and funny laugh and he always rushes headlong into things. Cosmo is the level-headed fly that helps keep him straight.

OTMC is one of the leaders in providing value Added Services to DTH, Telecom and Cable industries, services include Hollywood Movies, Hollywood Movies dubbed in Hindi & regional languages , Kids Animation Movies& Series Celebrity based Cooking show and Korean Content

One Take Media Co, Founder & CEO MrAnil Khera said “Watching animated series is the exciting part of our childhood. We are pleased to showcaseBablu Dablu Ki Froggy Gangserieswhichincorporates vivid colours, rich characters, funny scenes, and the loyalty of friends. This provides family-suitable adventure and entertainment. So, dive into the Bablu Dablu Ki Froggy Gangseries for a whole new adventureand we are sure you won't want to miss a single episode!
 

MUMBAI: Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT), India’s leading manufacturer of off-highway tires has signed on as “Official Global Partner of LaLiga”. BKT aims for performance without limits – just like sport. And like Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LaLiga), it has a global presence that reaches people all around the world. These conditions create a fertile ground for a new partnership.

The partnership takes immediate effect and will run for three years until the end of the 2021/2022 season.

“LaLiga stands for excellence and is a synonym for football with a capital ‘F’,” Rajiv Poddar, Joint Managing Director of BKT, states. “From today on, we are following a new marketing initiative within the Spanish football world, and I am really glad and proud of it. LaLiga is a brand of unquestionable value. It is an honor to act side by side this name!”

“It is a great pleasure that we can strengthen the bond between BKT and the world of sport, and above all the football world with both its rules and dynamics that we find fully in line with our own values, along with determination and the uncompromising wish to win,” Mr. Poddar added.

This is a decisive goal on BKT’s path of increasing its brand awareness. The company is extraordinarily active when it comes to communication and promotion - a unique and distinguishing feature. Sport is an instrument that perfectly supports BKT’s message on a global level thanks to its characteristic traits such as fair play, respect for the opponent, competition and strategy - values that are shared by LaLiga.

Mr. Jose Antonio Cachaza, Managing Director, LaLiga India said, “BKT has always recognized the power of sport in speaking to their key stakeholders. We are very excited to be welcoming BKT, a brand that share the same values as LaLiga, as our partner for the next three years. I’m sure that, together, we’ll be able to bring LaLiga closer to our fans over the world while our brands keep growing internationally.”

Becoming Official Global Partner of LaLiga is another initiative that adds to the numerous sport events that BKT has been actively supporting worldwide. These include the 2014-agreement with the Monster Jam circuit, the American motorsport show where giant Monster Trucks fitted with BKT tires perform astonishing stunts; the sponsorship agreement with Lega Nazionale Professionisti B, the governing body of the Italian second league championship, which was undertaken last year being effective till June 2021, and which has changed its name into “Serie BKT”.

On this partnership, Diego Forlan, LaLiga Ambassador, said, “India is extremely passionate about football and has high potential to become stronger in global football. During my time in India, I got to interact with Indian footballers, aspiring footballers and other stakeholders who were invested in building up the football environment in the country. It is good to see an Indian brand like BKT join hands with LaLiga to build more awareness.”

In addition, BKT sponsors the French “Coupe de la Ligue BKT” football competition, to which the company has given its name till June 2024, as well as the partnership with the Australian cricket championship with the KFC Big Bash League, which is valid for two more years.

At a local level, Spain is for BKT a major strategic market in Europe, especially in the farming sector. BKT provides tires operating in several specialist sectors. Yet, it is right agriculture where everything has started, and the company has literally taken the field.

The BKT brand is particularly recognized and appreciated by Spanish users, and it is the perfect moment to strengthen the existing bond. Could there be a better means than sport? Side by side anywhere – no matter whether it is a farming or a playing field.