Brands
Mumbai Indians ropes in Usha International as official partner for IPL 7
MUMBAI: This Indian Premier League season, the teams are going all out to engage with their fans. Mumbai Indians that has roped Usha International as its official partner, has taken a step ahead in this and has started contests across the digital platform.
Spread out throughout the month, the lucky winners of the contest will win Mumbai Indians merchandise, autographed bat as well as tickets for the Mumbai Indians Vs Rajasthan Royals match. All that the participants need to do is respond to various questions based around Usha products and Mumbai Indians.
Usha International’s collaboration with Mumbai Indians and sports personalities such as Saina Nehwal is a part of its larger effort in promoting sports and engaging with the younger audience.
“Usha International promotes a wide array of sporting initiatives across the country as it blends well with their brand ethos ‘PLAY’. I am excited to be associated with this company and was real fun in supporting Mumbai Indians at their home ground match,” said Usha International brand ambassador Saina Nehwal.
Usha International, for the past 25 years has been actively supporting sporting initiatives which includes the Mawana Marathon, Ultimate Frisbee, Golf (junior, ladies, amateur and professional) and now Cricket. Recently, the company also partnered with the All India Cricket Association for the Deaf (AICAD) for the inaugural edition of the USHA Deaf IPL. As a part of the skill development initiative, Usha International has opened over 3000 ‘Silai Schools’ in non electrified villages across India to empower women and make them self- reliant.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
