MAM
Initiative launches ad campaign to help children
MUMBAI: Interpublic Group‘s (IPG) performance-led media communications company, Initiative, has launched a free advertising campaign to help promote a better world for children.
The agency is seeking to set a world record and help raise $1 million in the process.
Initiative is bringing together its network strength and expertise to produce a global campaign, from conception to media placement, to drive awareness of the important work being undertaken by international charity and education partner Free The Children.
The campaign has been produced by Puerto Rican creative agency Sajo Garcia Alcazar, a part of the Initiative network and will run till 31 January 2012.
The campaign‘s creative, which is focused on changing the status of young people living in developing communities, drives people to Free the Children‘s “We Day” Facebook page, encouraging them to ‘like‘ it. For every ‘like‘, Free The Children‘s partners are donating $1.
Initiative has also partnered with sister IPG network McCann Erickson, which has offered its services for free. It will be managing translations, adaptations and trafficking in all markets where the campaign is running.
Initiative president, world markets Mauricio Sabogal said, “It is really important that global companies, such as Initiative, play their part in charitable activities, and we are delighted to be supporting the important work being done by Free The Children.
“This campaign is a testament to the power of the Initiative network – our creativity and the relationships we have around the world with our media partners. We could not have produced this ambitious campaign without the generosity of both our media partners and McCann Erickson, who are working so hard without payment.”
Free The Children co-founder Craig Kielburger said, “We are very grateful for the incredible generosity of Initiative and its media partners, helping us to form connections with people around the world that traditionally we would not be able to reach. Whether through fundraising or online engagement, social media plays a key role for us, and we are always looking for ways it can support and enhance the work we do with youth domestically and in our developing communities.”
Lintas Media Group chairman and CEO Lynn De Souza added, “We are happy to be a part of this initiative. It is a good cause, and we are thankful to all our media partners like – Big FM, Radio City, My FM, Hello FM, Radio Mirchi, Colors, Times Network, and many other media partners who have provided free space for this initiative. We have secured media space in excess of Rs 5 million for this cause, and it will go a long way in garnering support for the charity.”
The campaign will be run in over 70 markets around the world, without spending any money on media or creative. In order to do this, Initiative has partnered with media owners around the world to run the campaign on TV, radio, online, email, outdoor and in newspapers and magazines.
Last year, Initiative managed to increase average donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation by 300 per cent, through its first ever free advertising campaign for a charity.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
