MAM
MPG wins Swiss brand Victorinox’s media duties
MUMBAI: Havas Media’s flagship brand, MPG India, has won the media duties for Swiss brand Victorinox, which offers products such as pocket multi-tools, fine cutlery, time-pieces and travel gear.
The account is estimated to be worth around Rs 100 million.
MPG was appointed the media agency on record following a multi-agency pitch that also involved a GroupM agency and the incumbent RK Swamy.
Victorinox’s products are inspired by the ingenuity of the Original Swiss Army Knife and the brand currently has a network of more than 600 retailers in India.
Victorinox India MD Anish Goel said: “We felt the MPG approach was thorough and insightful. Their strategic thinking, drive and passion gave us the confidence to believe that this will be a successful partnership. Victorinox stands for reliability, innovation and functionality and we know that with this extremely enthusiastic team, we will be able to communicate our message loud and clear.”
Havas Media CEO South Asia Anita Nayyar added: “MPG is delighted to be partnering with Victorinox. As an agency we found many synergies with Victorinox’s management, their brand values and approach towards media planning and buying. In them we have found a client, who appreciates strategic rigour and innovation as much as we do.”
Brands
Kaspersky and KidZania want Indian children to fight hackers before they hit their teens
Kaspersky and KidZania open a cyber investigation centre in Mumbai to teach children how to outsmart hackers
MUMBAI: India’s children are growing up online faster than anyone can protect them. Kaspersky, the global cybersecurity firm, is betting that the best way to fix that is to make six-year-olds feel like detectives.
The company has opened a Cyber Investigation Centre inside KidZania Mumbai at R City Mall, Ghatkopar, in what it is calling a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity role-play experience for children. Kids suit up in Kaspersky uniforms, sit down at dedicated workstations loaded with security software, and spend 20 minutes cracking simulated cases of phishing, identity theft and cyberbullying. Up to six children can play investigator at a time. Those who crack the case walk away with a personalised Kaspersky Cyber Investigator card — and a healthy suspicion of dodgy links.
The timing is not accidental. In India, 82.2 per cent of children have access to a mobile device by the age of 14. They use it to stream, game, chat and study. Most of them have never heard the word “phishing.”
“The earlier we equip children with the awareness and skills to navigate the digital world safely, the stronger our collective digital future becomes,” said Jaydeep Singh, general manager for India at Kaspersky. Tarandeep Singh Sekhon, chief business officer of KidZania India, put it more plainly: “Every parent today is thinking about how to prepare their child for a digital-first future.”
The partnership comes with commercial sweeteners. Visitors buying KidZania tickets get a complimentary two-month Kaspersky trial subscription. Annual pass holders get a full year’s subscription thrown in. Discount vouchers go out at the exit gates.
The launch ceremony leaned into KidZania’s theatrical DNA — a diya lighting, a dance performance, a key handover, a parade through the miniature city, and a ribbon-cutting at the new centre.
Cybercriminals, it turns out, do not discriminate by age. Kaspersky and KidZania are hoping that neither will the next generation of people trying to stop them.
