MAM
BBC World Service launches marketing campaign across Pakistan
UMBAI: BBC World Service has launched a major marketing campaign to grab the attention of its Urdu audiences across Pakistan. The aim is to promote BBC Urdu’s flagship programme, Sairbeen.
Throughout the month-long campaign called Sangat… Kahain Aap Sunain Hum (You Say, We Listen), the BBC Urdu team will visit 10 towns. The broadcaster will engage local communities in discussions about issues central to their lives, such as water shortages and women’s education.
The debates will be broadcast on BBC Urdu’s popular evening news and current affairs programmeSairbeen. The campaign editorial is supported with BBC Urdu TV commercials on Pakistan’s national and regional TV stations such as PTV, Ary One, Khyber TV, KTN and Indus Vision. There will also be print ads in the national and regional press, including Jang, Naw-i-Waqt, Khabrain, Mashriq and Express, as well as hoardings, banners, posters and leaflets.
The TV advertising was produced by Waqas Ahmed, a leading name in Pakistan’s TV commercial industry. Karachi-based Blitz DDB was appointed by BBC World Service marketing team to deliver the creative and audience participation events.
BBC Urdu acting director Mirza Waheed, is looking forward to the opportunities to interact with the audiences. He says, “The BBC Sangat campaign captures the essence of the BBC Urdu programming, which is for our audiences and about our audiences. It will bring us closer to the listeners in Pakistan and will directly channel their voices and their views to the millions of listeners across the region.”
BBC World Service marketing, communications and audiences controller Alan Booth says that the aim of the campaign is to further boost BBC Urdu listenership in Pakistan. “BBC Urdu performs exceptionally strongly in Pakistan, receiving higher ratings than other international broadcasters for trust, objectivity and relevance. However, as TV becomes an increasingly available and popular medium, we want to reinforce our listener base in Pakistan, connecting to them and engaging them in a dialogue on important issues.”
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.
