Brands
LIVA outshines in mall space with unique innovation
Mumbai: Liva, the new age fabric brand from the Aditya Birla Group, is back with its unique campaign, a life size mannequin of the brand ambassador Kangana Ranaut dropped down across malls in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.
This season the innovative campaign stands out in 54 malls across 26 cities. LIVA being the first ever brand to have the largest drop down with a size of 20 feet tall which enhanced outreach and gathered immediate attention in the over-crowded mall space. The main idea for the innovation was to create immediate recall in the last leg of the consumer journey.
The study across malls showed positive consumer response with 71% consumers noticing the drop down and 68% recalled seeing the innovative dropdown, out of which 54% appreciated the campaign. 77% of the consumers surveyed were able to resonate that LIVA was a fluid fabric and 3 out of 5 considered LIVA as a fabric brand.
Ms. Shardah Uniyal, Head – Branding & Communication, Birla Cellulose expressed, “The response from the innovation done last season was overwhelming, which was one of the many reasons why we re-launched the campaign with more innovative display. Being an ingredient it is imperative for the brand to get noticed and stand out in clutter. This innovation was aimed towards garnering maximum visibility and increasing foot falls for our partner brands in those malls and this campaign has successfully achieved the objective.”
Mr. Vishnu Telang, CEO – Khushi Advertising, commented “We worked upon the innovative idea given by Liva and further enhanced the look and workability of the innovative dropdown. The most demanding part of the campaign involved creating and putting up suspended 20 feet 3D dropdowns which portrayed the brand ambassador, Kangana Ranaut showcasing the resplendence of the fabric”.
Brands
Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
