Brands
Wheel of Fortune lands big brands as Sony bets on a marquee TV reboot
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has locked in a strong slate of advertisers for the Indian launch of Wheel of Fortune, underlining renewed marketer confidence in big-ticket, family entertainment formats on linear television.
Maruti Suzuki and Maaza have signed on as co-presenting partners for the Sony Entertainment Television show, with Pidilite (Roff), Philips Home Appliances, StockGro and Denver Perfumes coming in as co-powered sponsors, and State Bank of India as special partner.
Headlined by actor Akshay Kumar, the Indian edition combines the equity of a globally recognised game show with celebrity-led scale, humour and audience participation. Sony executives say the property has been designed as an integrated brand platform, allowing sponsors to be woven organically into the narrative rather than treated as spot advertisers.
Sony Pictures Networks India head – linear ad sales Akshay Agrawal, said the network aimed to deliver stronger engagement and brand recall by aligning advertiser presence with content moments across television and digital.
For brands, the appeal lies in the show’s broad, multi-generational reach. Maruti Suzuki said the association fits its focus on family viewing, while Philips Home Appliances described the partnership as a culturally relevant way to connect with households beyond product messaging. StockGro highlighted the show’s emphasis on quick decision-making as a natural metaphor for investing, while Pidilite, Denver Perfumes and SBI pointed to visibility and trust at scale.
Recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s most popular TV game show, and a multiple Daytime Emmy Award winner, Wheel of Fortune now becomes Sony’s latest attempt to create a high-impact advertising vehicle anchored in appointment viewing.
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.
