Brands
BrandStorytelling and Mipcom Cannes ink deal to deep dive into branded content
MUMBAI: Hold onto your monocles, folks, because a rather smashing partnership has just been announced that’s set to shake up the world of television and streaming content. BrandStorytelling, the doyen of brand-funded programming, is teaming up with the illustrious Mipcom Cannes 2025 for a first-of-its-kind summit on the French Riviera this October.
For a decade, BrandStorytelling, under the astute direction of producer, publisher, and media entrepreneur Rick Parkhill, has been charming the Sundance Film Festival with its ground breaking summits, nurturing the art of brand-funded narratives. Its latest January shindig in Park City, Utah, saw a grand gathering of over 450 industry glitterati, including global brands like Ancestry, L’Oréal Paris, and PepsiCo, alongside platform giants such as WBD, Meta, and YouTube, and even content creators like Sean Evans and the dynamic duo Rhett & Link. They all converged to showcase the finest case studies and strategies for crafting stories that truly boost brand affinity and growth.
Now, the show is coming to Cannes! A jointly programmed, two-day summit will unfold at the Palais des Festivals across Monday, 13 October, and Tuesday, 14 October. This will be a veritable melting pot for brands, content creators, and television creatives, all with the noble aim of conceiving, producing, and financing fresh, brand-led stories. Expect a whirlwind of showcases, networking opportunities, and, crucially, deal-making – because in this business, it’s all about the quid pro quo. Further tantalising details are set to be unveiled in the coming weeks and months.
Mipcom Cannes & Mip Junior director Lucy Smith waxed lyrical about the new venture: “Brands are sashaying beyond traditional advertising, stepping up as bona fide storytellers, both churning out and commissioning their very own series across every genre imaginable.” She added, with a flourish, “This partnership immediately delivers a one-stop-shop for brands, brand studios, and agencies to rub shoulders with over 10,000 entertainment executives from over 100 countries. In turn, it conjures up fresh opportunities for new funding, co-production, and distribution deals for producers and platforms. As the world’s largest content and co-production market, the time is right to create a home for brands at Mipcom Cannes.”
Rick Parkhill, never one to be outdone, chimed in, “Brands are increasingly pulling the strings behind some of the biggest stories gracing our screens internationally. Mipcom Cannes is the unmissable global television market, which makes it the ideal partner and business platform for brands to further integrate into the global content ecosystem, alongside the biggest studios and television companies from around the world. This two-day international summit will explore novel ways to connect, collaborate, and celebrate the ever-evolving landscape of brand-funded content.”
And for those who can’t get enough of this brand-fuelled bonanza, BrandStorytelling also stages ‘Elevate’ at Sundance Mountain Resort. This annual summer retreat, strictly limited to a mere 125 participants, returns from 14-17 July, 2025, promising three days of workshops, screenings, keynote presentations, and an abundance of networking, collaboration, and deal-making opportunities.
Mipcom Cannes, for its part, continues to reign as the world’s biggest and most impactful television and streaming content market, having drawn over 10,500 delegates from more than 100 countries last year. Its week-long programme is nothing short of a defining moment for the TV industry each year.
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.
