MAM
Saif Ali Khan is Newport’s brand ambassador
BANGALORE: After Akshay Kumar, who promoted Ruff & Tuff, one more Bollywood star is getting into apparel endorsement. Arvind Brands has appointed Saif Ali Khan as the brand ambassador for its New Port brand.
The promotional campaign revolves around ‘Saif’s Style Fundas’ – where the star tells us how to be more stylish, the Newport way.
“Indian Youth are more fashion conscious than they have ever been, says Arvind Brands president Darshan Mehta, adding, “It’s a growing awareness that’s fueled by stylish Bollywood movies. Newport is uniquely placed to lead this style revolution. It’s a brand that understands youth fashion. The new campaign is designed to showcase Newport’s strong sense of style and it couldn’t have a more suitable brand ambassador – Saif Ali Khan is one of the most fashionable and popular stars in the Bollywood scene. Style is something that Saif and Newport have in common”.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com on the ad budget, Mehta says, “Our ad budgets have been around 9 per cent and we hall me maintaining this budget. We are going to have a high octane campaign in the next two to three days. You will see larger than life shot of Saif. It is going to be promoted hugely by large sized hoardings with shots of Saif in different types of jean designs, to supplement this we are going to make use of bazaar power, which is if you go to a store or the market place, you will see a lot of these visuals”
Speaking on the ad strategy, Mehta states, “We ‘ve not looked at television and magazines for this campaign, but our media agency has recommended television. We may possibly look at it after the spring-summer season – maybe the fall-winter season. Our communication spends for the year as I mentioned is 9 per cent of Rs. 850 million or around 70-80 million which would be shared across all the modes of communication. We are planning to cover around 120 top towns and cities; this may even go up to 300 initially for the campaign.”
Newport has twenty one distribution channels and a brand presence in 2000 retail outlets in the country- another 80 specifically meant only Newport. Alok Nanda and Associates, Mumbai will be doing the New Port ad campaign.
Brands
FSS names Anand Krishnamurthi head of global digital delivery
Tech veteran to drive AI-first, cloud-led transformation in payments globally
CHENNAI: Financial Software and Systems (FSS), an AI-first payment infrastructure company, has appointed Anand Krishnamurthi as head of global digital delivery.
In his new role, Anand Krishnamurthi will lead FSS’s global digital delivery capabilities, focusing on AI-first and cloud-led transformation while ensuring predictable, high-quality outcomes for customers worldwide. He will be based in Chennai and report to V. Balasubramanian, CEO of FSS.
Bringing 28 years of experience in technology and digital transformation across banking, capital markets, financial services, and insurance, Anand has held senior leadership positions at Cognizant and NuSummit. He is recognised for scaling multi-geography delivery teams, leading mission-critical platforms, and embedding AI-driven automation in complex, regulated environments.
“What drew me to FSS is its deep payments expertise, strong product DNA, and the scale at which its platforms power real-world financial ecosystems,” said Anand Krishnamurthi. “I aim to strengthen delivery predictability, execution rigor, and engineering quality, building empowered teams that deliver measurable customer outcomes. FSS has a unique opportunity to create real-time, AI-infused payments infrastructure that is resilient, secure, and globally scalable.”
V. Balasubramanian added, “Anand’s track record in leading multi-geography delivery programs and AI-first operating models makes him the ideal leader for FSS as we accelerate our AI-driven digital payments business. His leadership will help us raise the bar for outcomes globally.”
This appointment is part of FSS’s broader push to build an AI-powered, cloud-native delivery organisation capable of meeting the evolving needs of banks, fintechs, and financial institutions worldwide.
