MAM
7UP launches second phase of Fido’s re-entry strategy
MUMBAI: Soft drink major Pepsico’s brand 7UP and its “cool” brand ambassador Fido Dido has scored another first in the country. For the first time an integrated platform of mobile-computer-net has been created by a brand. To this effect, 7UP has launched a site hosting cool downloads of picture messages, ring tones, screen savers, cursor, wall paper and Fido desk mate. Fido fans can access all these @ pepsizone.yahoo.co.in/product/7up. .
An official release informs that this site is also going to host the web premier of 7UP’s new television commercials later this week. The site, which has been created in collaboration with Yahoo India, also features the current 30-second TV ad spot of 7UP.
Pepsi Foods executive director (marketing) Shashi Kalathil said: “Pepsi has yet again taken the lead in setting the agenda of innovation by breaking through conventional mediums to explore uncharted territories. The launch of this new initiative is a part of the second phase of our aggressive restage of 7UP. Mobile phones, internet and computers have become integral parts of the daily life of today’s youth. This gives us an additional medium to reach out to the hip and happening online community, which adds a new and vibrant dimension to the on-ground initiatives for the brand.”
The entire site is built around Fido’s five Fidosophies – It’s cool to be you; Normal is boring; Your best friend is your head; Dare to be different and Life is short, live it up! The site offers cool picture messages, which can be downloaded by sending SMS like “pic fido1” to 8243. In addition wallpapers and screen savers can be downloaded from the site.
Apart from these regular features, the site has a download option of Fido Deskmate. This programme features Fido engaged in various cool activities like playing a guitar, skate boarding etc. The deskmate runs simultaneously on the computer while one is busy with other tasks. Pepsi already has its own web site www.pepsizone.yahoo.co.in and this new section of 7UP can also be accessed from there.
The beverage conglomerate recently kicked off its Internet-related initiatives by premiering the third part of What’s There? series of campaigns for Brand Pepsi on Yahoo! India homepage two days before its release on TV. Users who visited the site got to watch the streaming ad. The ad also premiered on the www.pepsizone.yahoo.co.in.
This was the first time that a streaming ad was being premiered on the Yahoo! India homepage and probably the first time that there was a sneak preview of this scale on the internet in India. Pepsi and Yahoo! also launched a joint consumer contest Find Our What’s There?.
As part of this month-long contest, consumers who log on to the Yahoo! India site and watch the ad, have to answer two simple questions, and 10 winners will get an opportunity to spend an evening with one of the stars of the ad. Consolation prizes come in the form of T-shirts autographed by the stars.
The company claims that the ad was successfull. In the two days that the promotion was run on the Yahoo! site, 54,000 users watched the ad, and more than 17,000 users went into the promotion in the pepsizone.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
