Brands
Puma names Ramprasad Sridharan as managing director India
MUMBAI: PUMA India has appointed Ramprasad Sridharan as its new managing director, signalling a fresh stride for the brand in one of its most important markets. Sridharan steps into the role following Karthik Balagopalan’s decision to explore new interests outside the company.
With over two decades of experience in the fashion and footwear industry, Sridharan brings deep retail knowledge and leadership expertise to Puma. His career spans senior positions across major brands including United Colors of Benetton India, Clarks and Reebok India, where he has overseen operations, strategy, marketing and digital growth across Asia-Pacific and India.
Puma chief commercial officer Matthias Bäumer said Sridharan’s appointment would strengthen the company’s operations and help translate global strategic priorities into local success. He added that Karthik Balagopalan’s two-decade-long contribution to Puma had been invaluable and wished him the very best for his future endeavours.
Sridharan’s appointment reflects Puma’s ambition to continue scaling its footprint in India, leveraging his deep industry insight to fuel growth, enhance retail operations and reinforce the brand’s market presence.
As Sridharan takes the reins, Puma India looks poised to step up its game, combining global strategy with local expertise to energise the market and deliver on its growth ambitions.
Brands
JioStar pushes HD viewing as default for IPL with Watch on HD campaign
New campaign highlights how younger viewers are driving HD adoption at home
MUMBAI:JioStar is making a clear pitch to cricket fans: if you are watching the Indian Premier League, it might as well be in high definition. The media giant has rolled out its latest Watch on HD campaign, positioning HD viewing not as a luxury but as the new normal for IPL audiences on linear television.
At the heart of the campaign is a light, relatable film set in a typical Indian household. It flips the script on tech adoption, showing a young boy questioning his parents for watching a match in standard definition before switching it to Star Sports HD himself. The message is simple and sharp: even kids know HD is the way to go.
The campaign taps into a broader behavioural shift. Younger viewers are increasingly influencing how families consume content, from streaming habits to display quality. In this case, they are nudging households toward better picture clarity and a more immersive sports experience.
Built around the idea that “even children know the real IPL experience is on HD,” the campaign reflects how deeply HD has embedded itself into everyday viewing. For fans, especially during high-stakes matches, sharper visuals and finer details are no longer optional extras but part of the core experience.
A spokesperson from JioStar said the aim is to mirror how audiences already engage with content today, where HD is widely accessible and easy to adopt. The focus, they added, is on ensuring viewers do not miss the nuances of the game, from a perfectly timed cover drive to the emotion on a player’s face.
With IPL continuing to dominate as one of India’s biggest shared viewing events, JioStar’s campaign underlines a broader industry push: elevate the baseline experience. As HD penetration grows across markets, the company is betting that clearer screens will translate into stronger viewer loyalty and engagement.
In a tournament built on spectacle, JioStar is making its stance clear. For IPL fans, HD is no longer the upgrade. It is the expectation.
