MAM
Linc Pen takes brand integration route
KOLKATA: Kolkata-headquartered Linc Pen & Plastics has spent 1.5 to 2 per cent of the Rs 315 crore turnover on marketing and branding in the current fiscal 2014-15.
In an industry, which is marked by low level of differentiation, the company is aware that it is imperative to create brand differentiation among the potential target audience. In keeping with this, Linc Pen & Plastics has spent close to seven per cent of its marketing spent on digital campaigns and internet.
Also, after integrating its brand in the movie Bhootnath Returns, the company is looking for more such brand integration opportunities.
“It is essential to advertise and popularise the USP of the product and the brand on digital platforms these days. We are not only active on digital platforms, but look at how to engage with people. We spend around 78 per cent on the above-the-line (ATL) activities including advertisements and hoardings. Also, the ATL mix is going up as compared to last year,” said Linc Pen & Plastics brand manager Harshvardhen Daga.
With consumers becoming more and more enthusiastic about what brand they use, Linc Pen & Plastics is always looking for engagement programmes with its consumers.
Linc Pen is amongst the top three brands in the writing instruments industry, having largest market share in eastern India. Linc pens are exported to more than 50 countries presently. The brand was placed at number 282 across all brands in India last year.
On the brand integration with movies, he said that brand Linc was shown for around 60 seconds in Boothnath Returns. “We are in talks with people for getting our brand good visibility,” he said.
The writing instrument market is low-involvement and highly fragmented. “Linc focuses on the mass market. We have pens ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 20 in the mass market segment,” he concluded.
Brands
Oyo parent Prism appoints former Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi to Board
Former market regulator joins Prism to strengthen governance for IPO
NEW DELHI: Prism, the parent entity of Oyo, has appointed former Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi as an independent director, as the hospitality firm gears up for its planned Rs 6,650 crore initial public offering (IPO).
Tyagi, a 1984-batch IAS officer, served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from 2017 to 2022. His appointment is aimed at strengthening the company’s governance framework and providing strategic oversight as it moves closer to a public listing.
He joins a high-profile board that already includes several prominent names from global business and policy circles. These include Troy Matthew Alstead, former CFO and group president of Starbucks; Aditya Ghosh, co-founder of Akasa Air; Deepa Malik, paralympic athlete and Padma Shri awardee; William Steve Albrecht, professor of accountancy at Utah State University; and Bejul Somaia, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Prism founder Ritesh Agarwal, said Tyagi’s experience in capital markets regulation and public-institution stewardship will be critical as the company scales operations and enhances long-term accountability.
The company recently filed preliminary papers with Sebi to raise Rs 6,650 crore through a confidential route. Market sources estimate its valuation will be in the range of $7 billion to $8 billion.
Over the course of his career, Tyagi has held senior roles in the ministry of finance, where he oversaw investment policy and financial-sector reforms. His induction to the Prism board signals a renewed focus on aligning the company’s internal standards with the stringent requirements of public markets as it advances toward its IPO.
