Brands
Samir Ahluwalia, pinkshastra.com in race for Superbrand Award; entries close on 11 Nov
MUMBAI: The Superbrand’s SuperStartUps Awards has met with an overwhelming response. The organisers are having to close entries early on 11 November.
“The response we got was phenomenal, but most of the entries till now are from later-stage startups” said Shivjeet Kullar, Council Leader “We’re looking for the younger ones, the different ones, the brave ones, the ones who may have launched only a few years back but feel they can take on the world.” To this he adds “since the entry is free anyway, there’s only a fee when they win, it becomes an investment – to be recognized by the world!”
For over 20 years, Superbrands has been the definitive honour for top brands across the world. From Australia to Argentina, Germany to Ghana and UAE to USA in over 50 countries over the globe, Superbrands has been the ‘Oscar’ of the business world.
The SuperStartUp Council in India, led by legendary brand-builder turned online entrepreneur, Shivjeet Kullar, who has over 100 national and international awards to his credit, also features Make My Trip founder Deep Kalra, Sanjiv Bikchandani – the poster boy of the Internet world, Lightbox founder turned VC Sid Talwar, Prahalad Kakkar – India’s top Ad Film Maker, and Weber Shandwick CEO Valerie Pinto.
Samir Ahluwalia ex-CEO – Content Zee Media, who has just launched his start-up, says ‘we might not be the biggest start up, but we believe in our idea and our site, so we are entering and since these awards will be judged by the public we have as much a chance to win as anyone else.’ Adding to this thought, Shubho Sengupta, noted Internet evangelist and founder pinkshastra.com says ‘quite frankly it’s an investment. You only pay any fees if you win, and if you do – you immediately stand out from everyone else looking for recognition and investors!’
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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.
