Brands
H&R Johnson (India) appoints Katrina Kaif as its brand ambassador
MUMBAI: H&R Johnson (India), a five decade old pioneer offering ceramic tiles in India has signed actor Katrina Kaif as its brand ambassador. As part of this association, Kaif will endorse the tile, bathroom products, engineered marble, quartz and modular kitchen products of the company.
H&R Johnson (India) COO Sushil Matey said, “The Johnson brand continues to be the most trusted name in the home lifestyle category and represents values of trust-worthiness, innovation and contemporariness. We are also a global tile company. And hence, Johnson’s association with Katrina reinforces the very values Katrina stands for, namely, her global image, freshness and contemporariness. Over the last 10 to 15 years, the consumer’s ‘brand’ awareness in home lifestyle category has increased manifold. With India going vertical, currently, the developers constitute a large part of the reality sector. Hence, there is an urgent need to address both the B2C and B2B segment.”
Kaif, who according to a source, charges anywhere between 2.5 crore to 8 crore for an endorsement, believes that home lifestyle brands are gaining in prominence. “I am happy to be associated with Johnson, one of the most trusted and globally renowned home lifestyle brands. As part of this association, I will endorse tiles, bathroom products, modular kitchens and marble and quartz businesses,” says Kaif.
H&R Johnson (India) has signed Ogilvy India’s sister agency Soho Square as its creative partners. The company plans to invest 2 to 3 per cent of its revenues on various marketing campaigns. Besides traditional mediums, the company will make considerable investments in digital marketing as part of its overall communication spends. The company has roped in Hungama Digital as its digital marketing partner. It plans to come out with a TV commercial in the near future and will also tap on mediums like print and digital.
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.
