MAM
Honda’s ‘Great Eterno Yatra’ to promote scooter
NEW DELHI: Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) recently conducted a promotional-cum-response generation event – `The Great Eterno Yatra’ for its four-stroke scooter Eterno.
The yatra traversed through 10 cities covering the north, west and central India and a total distance of around 2000 kilometres. The campaign was devised by HMSI’s roster agency Triton Communications, Delhi.
The idea behind the rally, designed exclusively for Indian market, was to prove its mettle in a minimum span of time in a demonstrable manner. The rally was conceptualised after considering researches which indicated that the key concerns/expectations of the consumer were mileage in normal riding conditions, ability to carry load, breakdown factor and stability while riding.
Triton’s brand services director Anchal Duggal says, “Our idea was to demonstrate in a real manner – and not through mock stunts – the reliability aspect of Eterno. This provided HMSI an opportunity to test the Eterno under actual riding conditions on parameters like mileage, endurance, loading capacity, the unique one-direction gear system and riding comfort.”
Along with these parameters, Eterno also scored on basic features of a Honda product like patented CLIC mechanism and Tuffup tube designed to assist during breakdowns Duggal states.
According to Vivek Srivastava, executive director of Triton, a 17-member team – including journalists from auto magazines, technicians from HMSI and a co-ordination team – the rally travelled from city to city, covering the entire distance in 16 days before coming back to their base, Delhi.
The ‘Great Eterno Yatra’ allowed the consumer to touch and feel the product locally and check out the performance. Each city witnessed a press conference with a local event organized by dealers along with HMSI.
“Keeping in view the conversion factors, a lot of focus was on test drives. Normally out of 1000 test drives, nearly 15-20 conversions would happen,” Duggal says.
The campaign is part of a promotional strategy for Eterno. Triton’s mandate for Eterno includes inculcating confidence among the target audience as the category is known for usage in rugged manner.
MAM
WPP appoints Mark Taylor as chief people officer in leadership reshuffle
Marie-Claire Barker moves to culture role as Cindy Rose builds new team
MUMBAI: WPP has appointed Mark Taylor as its new chief people officer, bringing in a seasoned HR leader as part of a broader leadership reshuffle under chief executive Cindy Rose, according to media reports.
Taylor succeeds Marie-Claire Barker, who will transition into a specialised role focused on performance and culture, reporting to him. The move is seen as part of WPP’s effort to sharpen its organisational structure and align talent strategy with its transformation agenda.
With more than three decades of experience, Taylor brings a diverse track record across industries including pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, retail and digital entertainment. He most recently served as chief people advisor at The LEGO Group, where he worked closely with top leadership on board and executive appointments, governance and organisational strategy.
Prior to that, he held senior HR leadership roles at Burberry and King, where he played a key role in organisational transformation and integration efforts, including the company’s alignment with Activision Blizzard. Earlier in his career, Taylor also worked with Kimberly-Clark and GlaxoSmithKline.
His cross-sector experience is expected to support WPP’s three-year ‘Elevate 28’ turnaround plan, which focuses on simplifying operations, strengthening capabilities and driving sustainable growth.
The appointment marks the second major leadership hire under Rose in a week. Recently, WPP named Anne-Isabelle Choueiri as chief transformation officer, bringing in additional firepower to execute its strategic overhaul. Choueiri previously held a senior transformation role at Estée Lauder Companies.
The leadership changes signal a clear push by WPP to blend experience with transformation as it navigates a rapidly evolving advertising landscape. With Taylor now steering the people agenda, the company appears focused on ensuring its talent strategy keeps pace with its broader ambitions.
