Brands
Neo HBM ropes in Saif Ali Khan as brand ambassador
Mumbai: Neo HBM on Monday roped in Saif Ali Khan as its brand ambassador. As a part of this partnership, the actor will promote HBM Gold Cement and Steel in India. He will also appear in multi-media campaigns for the brand and raise awareness through direct consumer outreach, the brand said.
Neo HBM aims to create the best combination of cost and quality to meet customer requirements. In its first phase, HBM Gold Cement and Steel is entering the Indian market through its vast network of sales promoters, stockists, and districts in Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Haryana, and soon it’s planning to enter Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
On signing in Khan, Neo HBM founder and managing director Vishal Kanodia said, “We are delighted to introduce Saif Ali Khan as brand ambassador for Neo HBM. Our products have carved a niche for customer focus, quality, and consistency. Khan’s consistent performance, commitment, and continued desire to scale new heights and standards personifies our brand.”
“Saif Ali Khan will play a key role in familiarising our brand and value proposition to consumers. Our association with him will strengthen our brand image which offers the most reliable and innovative cement & steel products with best-in-class quality and strength,” he added.
Speaking about this brand association with NEO HBM, Saif Ali Khan said, “It’s an honor and a privilege to be associated with the pioneer of the Cement & Steel industry in India. The company has a legacy of bringing high-quality products to the market and I look forward to this association with the HBM family.”
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.
