Brands
Equitas ropes in Rani Rampal & Smriti Mandhana as brand ambassadors
Mumbai: Equitas Small Finance Bank has roped in women hockey player Rani Rampal and cricketer Smriti Mandhana as its brand ambassadors. This announcement comes at a time when the bank is celebrating its fifth anniversary on 5 September.
As an entity empowering women across the length and breadth of the country, through its various banking and non-banking initiatives, the announcement reflects the bank’s ethos of adding value to the lives of countless customers by choosing the right representation to inspire women to chase their dreams, said the statement.
The bank aims to provide a platform to inspire and support Indians to take a step towards following their dreams and aspirations, through its banking as well as non-banking initiatives, it added.
Rampal holds the record for being the youngest player in the national hockey team, representing India at the age of 15 at the 2010 World Cup.
Recognised as the ‘Best Women’s International Cricketer’ by the board of control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2018, Mandhana’s extraordinary cricketing skills have grabbed everyone’s attention. Capable of achieving new highs each time they enter the field, both these women with countless others have demonstrated the meteoric rise of women in sports in India.
“Rani and Smriti are two classic examples of a vibrant youth achieving their aspirations and we are proud to announce them as our brand ambassadors. Banking for women and empowering them is our key focus area and the announcement of our collaboration with these two leading the bank in that philosophy and direction,” said Equitas Small Finance Bank Ltd, senior president and country head – branch banking – liabilities, products & wealth, Murali Vaidyanathan.
“A bank with a soul – this is what Equitas is for me. The fact that they relate to the struggles of those who are hardly noticed and help them out financially is what I could identify myself most with,” said Rampal on the association.
Mandhana added, “I was truly impressed by Equitas Bank’s stand on not just banking, but going beyond as well. Their sincere and single-minded focus on making banking simpler even for the unbanked and underbanked touched my heart.”
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.
