Brands
India Gate spices up Gujarat with bold OOH pulav campaign
Campaign targets core 25–55 audience with data-driven media planning
GUJARAT: India Gate, the flagship basmati rice brand of KRBL Limited, has partnered with WPP Media to execute a high-visibility out-of-home campaign supporting the launch of its new pulav variant across Gujarat.
The outdoor-led rollout spans Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Gandhidham, Navsari and Visnagar, reinforcing India Gate’s presence in a state with a strong affinity for pulav.
The campaign forms part of a broader integrated communication strategy across outdoor, television and digital platforms, aimed at delivering sustained visibility and high recall during the launch window.
A centrepiece of the activation is a large-format outdoor innovation on Sindhubhavan Road near Oxygen Park in Ahmedabad, along the busy stretch connecting SP Ring Road and SG Road. The installation features a larger-than-life steaming bowl of pulav, designed to visually convey aroma, freshness and flavour while dominating one of the city’s most trafficked corridors.
WPP Media anchored the plan in data-led site selection, using proprietary tools and audience impact measurement scores to identify high-density target locations. The strategy was further supported by Orbis to optimise reach and frequency within the core 25–55 age group over a short burst period. The campaign went live on 2 February, 2026 and runs until 20 February, 2026.
India Gate vice president – marketing and organised trade Kunal Sharma, said the integrated approach helped bring the product’s taste and aroma alive in a market that has a strong cultural connection with pulav.
WPP Media India head of media solutions Ajay Mehta, said the objective was to combine stopping power with cultural relevance, using outdoor as a high-impact anchor within an integrated media ecosystem.
Brands
Trump announces $300bn Texas oil refinery with Reliance, calls it the biggest in US history
First new US refinery in 50 years planned at Brownsville port with Reliance
WASHINGTON: The United States may soon see the first brand-new oil refinery built on its soil in half a century.
Donald Trump announced a proposed $300 billion refinery project in Texas, calling it a landmark moment for American energy production and jobs.
Posting on Truth Social on 10 March, Trump said the facility would be built at the Port of Brownsville and developed by a company called America First Refining, with major investment from India’s Reliance Industries.
The announcement frames the project as a centrepiece of the administration’s push for “energy dominance”, with Trump claiming it would deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to South Texas.
If realised, the plant would mark the first all-new major refinery constructed in the United States since the 1970s. In recent decades, oil companies have largely chosen to expand existing facilities rather than build new ones, citing high costs, regulatory hurdles and environmental scrutiny.
Trump described the proposed investment as the “biggest in US history”, positioning it as proof that policy changes such as streamlined permits and lower taxes are drawing large-scale energy investments back into the country.
The refinery is planned for the Port of Brownsville, a strategic Gulf Coast location that provides easy access to shipping routes and export markets.
A key partner in the project is Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The company already runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, India, making it one of the most experienced operators in large-scale petroleum processing.
The Texas venture would mark a significant step for the group into America’s domestic refining sector, potentially strengthening industrial ties between the US and India.
The proposed refinery is being promoted as a next-generation facility capable of processing American shale oil while maintaining high environmental standards. Trump said it would be “the cleanest refinery in the world”, although the specific technologies behind that claim have not yet been detailed.
Industry observers also note that the $300 billion figure is unusually large for a refinery project, and analysts are waiting for more clarity on whether the number reflects total construction costs, long-term infrastructure investment, or broader economic impact estimates.
As of 11 March, Reliance Industries had not publicly confirmed the investment size or the structure of its involvement.
For now, the announcement has sparked equal parts excitement and curiosity in energy markets. If the plan moves from promise to pouring concrete, the refinery could reshape the Gulf Coast energy landscape, and reopen a chapter in American refining that has been quiet for nearly fifty years.
