Brands
District App books big screens to steal the show off-screen
MUMBAI: If you’re heading to the movies in Andhra or Telangana, you might catch a new star off the screen. District App, the up-and-coming ticketing platform, has rolled out an ambitious off-screen cinema branding campaign across 40 cities, 60 theatres, and over 100 sites in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in partnership with integrated media agency The Local Talk.
The campaign, one of the most expansive of its kind in the region, is designed to plant the District App brand squarely in the heart of the movie-going experience-right where ticketing meets its audience. From lobby takeovers to branding near box offices, the initiative ensures that the brand appears exactly where entertainment decisions are being made.
“Cinema has always been a powerful medium of mass engagement. For a ticketing platform like District, the cinema setting naturally aligns with their brand promise. This campaign ensures the brand is present exactly where the action begins at the box office”, said The Local Talk director Anil Soni.
What makes this move especially strategic is the app’s laser focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where local cinema culture thrives and brand loyalty is often driven by on-ground visibility. With longer dwell times and a captive audience, cinema spaces offer a golden opportunity for deeper engagement, something digital platforms often struggle to achieve in these regions.
The campaign also spotlights the growing trend of digital-first brands going hyperlocal to build recall in high-traffic physical environments. With the help of The Local Talk’s regional media acumen, District App is betting on the box office as a gateway to user growth.
As the curtain rises on this bold branding move, one thing is clear District App isn’t just selling tickets, it’s staging a takeover.
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.
