MAM
Havas in strategic deal with Brazilian agency Benza
MUMBAI: Havas Sports & Entertainment (HS&E), the global brand engagement network of Havas, has entered into a strategic partnership with independent Brazilian experiential marketing agency, Benza Promotions & Events.
Based in Rio, Benza will expand HS&E’s global brand engagement offering in this growing market in the run up to the 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil and the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
HS&E Brazil Strategic Development & International Event Manager, Noémie Claret, will be in charge of developing synergies and new business between the two agencies, as well as between other sister agencies managed by Havas Brazil and Havas Digital Latin America CEO, Ricardo Reis.
Benza’s extensive track record in event creation and production will complement HS&E’s operations in S?o Paulo, which offers brands and institutions a wide range of specialized services including strategic consulting and planning, sponsorship activation, brand content, events and promotion. HS&E has been present in the Brazilian market for over two years, benefitting from the support of Havas Brazil, and has worked for clients such as BMW, Entourage, Hyundai, Louis Vuitton, Tetrapak, and Wipro.
Managed by founder Marcelo Benzaquem, Benza adds an attractive client base to the partnership, particularly its relationship with The Coca-Cola Company, already a client of HS&E and its recently-acquired US-based experiential agency ignition (which holds a prestigious ‘global partner’ status).
HS&E President & Global CEO Lucien Boyer commented, “This partnership will up-weight the services we deliver to current clients – which includes 11 Olympic sponsors during London 2012 – particularly as global brands and sports organizations prepare their strategies and activations around the World Cup and the Olympic Games in Brazil.”
“Marcelo‘s team has delivered exciting, creative campaigns that place celebration at the center of sports and entertainment events. Our agencies share a common spirit which will help us engage Brazilian and international fans in meaningful ways. We will achieve great things together from this close collaboration at such an important time for Brazil.”
Benza Founder Marcelo Benzaquem added, “We are delighted to join HS&E and benefit from the track record, insight, and global perspective of a network that is present in over 20 markets. We look forward to working together closely and offering innovative, integrated solutions to our clients.”
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.
