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Hitachi Data, Acer announce joint marketing effort
BANGALORE: Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) and Acer have announced a joint marketing plan for the Asia-Pacific market – including India – by which Acer will undertake marketing, sales and support for the Hitachi Thunder 9500™ V Series modular storage systems in addition to third party products, as part of a total storage area network (SAN) solution.
Acer joins Hitachi’s TrueNorth™ Channel Partner Program in a three-year agreement for the Asia-Pacific market in the elite tier known as regional Platinum Solutions Partner. Acer will promote the Thunder family of storage systems with Altos servers, through its regional channel partners.
The pact will accelerate Acer’s position in the entry to mid-level SAN market and give Hitachi Data a strong entry into the market that prefers storage-attached PC servers. To start with, the agreement covers India, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.
Sam Thomas, asst. GM-Marketing EPG (Enterprise Products Group) of Acer during a telecom said that Acer was looking at $2 million for this financial year in terms of revenue in India. Starting June 2004, similar tie ups’ were launched with Australia, then rolled onto Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia. “Sales in India will be primarily through our channel network, our large partner network primarily concentrates on selling server solutions, and they would be offering the storage solutions too. Promotion activities will primarily be vertical focused and would be direct mailing and other such exercises. Storage is a fairly complex message to get across.
Madison manages Acer’s media account while Orchard handles their creatives.
MAM
De Beers launches ‘A Diamond Is Forever’ centenary book
Visual retrospective traces 100 years of iconic slogan and cultural impact.
MUMBAI: De Beers just dropped a century’s worth of sparkle between two covers because when a four-word line becomes forever, even the book needs a forever title. De Beers Group has released A Diamond Is Forever: The Making of a Cultural Icon 1926–2026, a landmark visual retrospective celebrating 100 years of shaping the modern perception of natural diamonds. The book traces how the brand transformed diamonds from elite heirlooms into universal symbols of love, commitment and personal achievement, with rare archival material, campaign highlights and cultural commentary.
At its core is the legendary 1947 slogan “A Diamond Is Forever,” penned by N.W. Ayer copywriter Frances Gerety. The four words redefined diamonds as eternal promises, earning the title of the 20th century’s greatest advertising slogan from Advertising Age in 1999. The book explores how this idea and others like the “Two Months’ Salary” guideline and the “Right Hand Ring” influenced social rituals, female independence and consumer behaviour worldwide, including in India, where diamonds shifted from gold-centric traditions to emotionally resonant milestones.
Beyond marketing, it showcases collaborations with artists like Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Raoul Dufy, alongside icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Later campaigns, including the 1990s “Shadows” series set to Karl Jenkins’ Palladio, reinforced diamonds as timeless and unique. The narrative also addresses today’s focus on provenance, sustainability and ethical stewardship, positioning natural diamonds as symbols of both enduring love and responsible luxury.
The book arrives as De Beers marks a century of innovation in luxury marketing, from the Great Depression to the era of conscious consumption, offering a rare window into one of advertising’s most enduring brand stories.
In a world where trends fade fast, De Beers didn’t just sell diamonds, it sold forever, and now it’s bound the proof in pages that will outlast even the hardest carat.
