MAM
Haier India teams up with Disney+ Hotstar as an associate sponsor for Wimbledon 2024
Mumbai: Haier India, a global major appliances brand for 15 consecutive years, has come onboard as an associate sponsor with Disney+ Hotstar for the 137th edition of the grass-court Grand Slam Wimbledon Championships 2024. This latest sports collaboration elevates Haier India’s unique and innovative Sport-o-Tainment marketing strategy to new heights.
Recognising the unique opportunity Wimbledon presents, Haier aims to deepen its connection with niche, premium audiences and tennis enthusiasts in India by strategically integrating into the digital landscape. Haier aims to leverage significant visibility through connected TV on Disney + Hotstar during the matches until July 14, 2024.
Commenting on the exciting collaboration, Haier Appliances India president NS Satish said, “In 2024, we have forged meaningful associations with numerous prestigious sports tournaments to reach youth, niche, and premium consumers in India. We are immensely proud of each of these collaborations, all of which have proven successful for the brand. Our latest association with the Wimbledon Championships as an associate sponsor on Disney+ Hotstar holds special significance as it targets niche tennis enthusiasts in India. Through this unique and innovative collaboration, Haier India aims to unlock new opportunities that align with our vision of ‘More Creation, More Possibilities.”
In line with its Sport-o-Tainment marketing strategy, Haier India has been strengthening its consumer connections by investing in varied sporting events, including Roland-Garros and the ATP Tour. These recent collaborations have enabled the brand to reach millions of tennis enthusiasts, fostering stronger and deeper connections with this premium audience in India.
Haier will continue to explore exciting sports partnerships aimed at forging deeper connections with youthful, energetic, premium, and tech-savvy customers nationwide. Driven by youth and leveraging new-age marketing strategies, Haier India is focused on impactful sports marketing to strengthen customer connections, boost brand awareness, foster brand loyalty, and drive business growth in the Indian market.
MAM
Sameer Nair shares heartfelt note as he exits Applause Entertainment
After nine years building the streamer’s content engine, one of India’s best-known TV men is moving on
MUMBAI: Sameer Nair is out. The chief executive of Applause Entertainment, the content studio backed by Kumar Mangalam Birla’s media empire, has announced his departure after nearly nine years at the helm, closing the chapter on one of Indian entertainment’s more quietly consequential careers.
Nair, who built Applause from the ground up in its current avatar, oversaw a slate that spanned Indian originals and international adaptations, threading together a hub-and-spoke business model that partnered with streaming platforms, broadcasters and production houses alike. The results were uneven, as they always are in content, but the ambition was not.
In a post on LinkedIn, Nair was generous to his outgoing patron. He thanked Birla for being an “inspirational boss and a great patron of the arts,” and signed off with a cheerful “Au Revoir” and a promise to remain Applause’s biggest cheerleader. Whether that sentiment survives the next chapter remains to be seen.
No successor has been named. Applause Entertainment did not immediately comment.
Nair built the machine. Now someone else has to run it — and in a streaming market that is simultaneously consolidating and convulsing, that is no small ask.
