MAM
Bang in the Middle goes south with Kerala
MUMBAI: Bang in the Middle, a Delhi-headquartered independent agency, is entering the southern state of Kerala. It will start operations in Kerala on 14 February.
The agency currently has offices in Gurgaon, Kolkata, Chicago and New York. In Kerala, Bang in the Middle has partnered with advertising veteran from Trivandrum Satyan Nair who has been in the middle of Kerala‘s advertising industry since the mid 80s.
He has been the creative head and co-founder of Stark Communications. Between the late 80s and 2012, Nair was the lead creative person for multiple agencies in the Middle East. His longest stint was with Young & Rubicam, Dubai.
Nair said, “I think Kerala is on the cusp of some interesting changes in the advertising arena. For years, home grown brands have grown in ‘God‘s own cocoon‘, so to say, and unfortunately have not been able to upscale their communication to match the growth of national brands. Bang in the Middle will bring in a new kind of thinking. Besides, we probably will be the only agency that has the capability to address the digital marketing sphere without moving from our traditional platforms. Personally, teaming up with Pat is amazing. We go a long way back in time. And I am sure he will bring in that breath of fresh air that a new Kerala requires.”
“As a Malayalee, and as someone who‘s always been connected to the advertising industry in Kerala, I am thrilled to be able to officially start business in my home state. I am especially thrilled that I am back with my first boss (Satyan Nair), and I am sure we can together bring great value to clients in Kerala. My relationship with Satyan goes back 25 years, and without doubt, I would put his credibility, craft, and competence on par with the best in the country,” says Bang in the Middle managing partner and chief creative officer Prathap Suthan.
He added, “More than that, I also believe that we would be in a better position than most agencies in Kerala to offer a new perspective, and bring newer advertising and marketing opportunities using the power of the web.”
Bang in the Middle managing partner and chief strategy officer Naresh Gupta said, “Kerala is a brilliant market for an agency like ours. With its huge literacy levels, pulsing media, and growing digital acceptance, I cannot see why Kerala can‘t define itself as India‘s most online savvy market. From fashion, to gold, to real estate, to Ayurveda, to media, to tourism, there are opportunities for everyone. I would think that we have strategic, marketing, and creative strengths that clients would want to gain from in a hurry.”
Bang in the Middle is roughly 8 months old, and handles traditional and digital businesses for Dulux Paints, Vimal Fabrics, Hawktrack, Veen Waters, Tupperware, Zee News, iYogi, IndiaNext etc.
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.
