Brands
Virat Kohli and Gionee celebrate milestones
MUMBAI: A brand that has managed to make a good impact in the Indian market is smartphone player Gionee. Coming to the Indian market with its unique offerings, and further getting celebrities to endorse them, Gionee has emerged as a favourite brand of Indians; and has done so in a very short span of time. The campaign has begun with an aggressive burst on OOH media nationally and will be followed by print, digital and radio too.
The smartphone brand has now achieved a new milestone where it has got 1.25 crore users using its products. To celebrate the feat, Gionee has announced the launch of a nationwide integrated campaign that has been conceptualized and executed by Mullen Lintas Delhi. The objective of this campaign is to announce this unique milestone and also let the consumers know about Gionee’s stature amongst its competitors.
To promote this milestone to the masses, Gionee has brought on board the Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli. Known as the milestone man himself, it was an apt partnership between Virat Kohli and Gionee where together they are shown celebrating milestones in their own unique way. Given Gionee’s aggressive ambition to move towards market leadership, this is a well-timed association as Virat Kohli perfectly mirrors what the brand is aiming to achieve.
Gionee marketing head Nomit Joshi said, “Gionee has reached a milestone with 1.25 crore patron base in India and the Indian cricket skipper who is creating new milestones and records was roped in as the brand ambassador. The Captain’s arrival on-board allowed us to highlight our milestone and also the partnership was mutual.”
Mullen Lintas NCD Shriram Iyer said: “Gionee and Virat Kohli – both ambitious, both hard working and currently both are on an exciting trajectory in their own respective fields. We believe it’s a perfect match to begin a great partnership.”
Mullen Lintas Delhi executive director Syed Amjad Ali says: “The campaign is aimed to make a big announcement. At the same, getting Virat Kohli on board illustrates Gionee’s leadership ambition. He is clearly a role model today and inspires millions of people. To begin with, this campaign announces Gionee’s achievement of getting 1.25 crore smartphone users. There are many more lined up and will be unveiled soon.”
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.
