Brands
Canon earmarks Rs 18 crore for advertising
MUMBAI: Targeting school going kids in the age-group of nine to 19 years with a new campaign, ‘Super Student’, Canon plans to take student creativity to the next level.
In a bid to reposition itself, it has launched an aggressive marketing drive for its Pixma range of inkjet printers. The company’s new campaign focuses on the ink efficient Canon Pixma Inkjet printers, which inspire students to think out of the box and helps bring out the best in them, always.
Canon executive vice president Alok Bharadwaj said, “We want to connect with school going kids who have high desire to accomplish high merit and recognitions. Engaging with them on technology is a great conversation which can help us become most desirable brand on their mind radar. These techie students of today are comfortable using smart devices including cloud and wi-fi printing. The new Pixma Ink efficient range is designed to combine creative printing with incredible cost-per-print savings. These models offer brilliant functionality and super affordable printing as low as 99 paisa per print. We want to show the students that realising their true creative potential is now possible and that too in a fun way!”
“We plan to capture 25 per cent market share in the printer category by end of 2014 and become the market leader by 2016. Our printers are currently sold at 1000 retail outlets and we aim to double it by end of 2016. With 300 million students in India, building our brand in their mind is a big business of tomorrow for us,” added Bharadwaj.
Canon plans to invest Rs 18 crore in advertising and promotions, this year, for its range of printers. The Super Student TVC will be on air from 22 August 2014 on kids, news and entertainment channels.
Canon India CSP group head Gautam Paul emphasised about the Canon technology. “The heart of any printer is the ability to print high quality documents and photos, and Canon Pixma printers excel in this fundamental area. FINE (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) technology achieves high-quality and high-speed printing. User experience is further enhanced with exclusive access to Creative Park Premium website which includes printable 3D paper craft, greeting cards, scrapbook and works by famous artists. This fun resource helps students create fun projects and enhances their creativity.”
Brands
Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
