MAM
Bates CHI to Xploree Key creativity
MUMBAI: KeyPoint Technologies, a global leader in mobile language technology, has awarded the creative mandate for Xploree, its flagship product, to Bates CHI & Partners. Xploree is the tech major’s forerunner mobile keyboard product, which is available on the Android OS as of now. Bates was chosen as Xploree’s creative partner after a competitive multi-agency pitch.
This creative alliance is expected to augment the branding process of the smart keyboard amongst India’s mobile and app-hungry user base. The tie-up aims at introducing a whole new ethos into India’s ever-evolving online consumer story of connected lifestyles – through the revolutionary keyboard.
Bates CHI India CEO VS Srikanth said Xploree was a unique amalgamation of a keyboard and lifestyle. As Bates would be building the brand and the category demand from scratch, it would be challenging. Bates will be taking up the task to design a unique brand identity for Xploree.
Bates Bangalore sr. vice president & branch head Naveen Raman said they were excited to work with a young and driven bunch of professionals who were passionate. Digitalisation of vernacular languages would be next big thing, and Xploree would be the front-runner.
KeyPoint director (marketing) Deepti Mani Saxena said their stated intent was to make the smart mobile device an ultimate responsive solution through the Xploree keyboard. Bates CHI stood out amongst competition and demonstrated good insights and out-of-the-box ideas.
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.
