MAM
RK Swamy BBDO Interactive wins Mercedes-Benz’s digital mandate
MUMBAI: RK Swamy BBDO Interactive has won the mandate for the digital and social media business of Mercedes-Benz.
The incumbent on this account is GroupM‘s MEC: Interaction. Active in the digital space for the last two years, Mercedes-Benz India plans to intensify its activities during the course of this year.
Mercedes-Benz director sales marketing Debashis Mitra said, “We were looking for a partner with in-depth understanding of the luxury automotive space and has the ability to steer the brand online engaging with our target group in a meaningful manner. RK Swamy BBDO Interactive strategically fit the bill as they understand our brand by virtue of handling our creative business. They have a young and passionate team and our expectations from them are high.”
RK Swamy BBDO Interactive senior partner Neeraj Sangani said, “Brands need to have a vision and a purpose in the online space. We are glad that the Mercedes-Benz team and we think alike. There is a lot of ‘noise’ around the medium but brands that will listen and engage will win in the long run. We have clearly articulated a plan to achieve our objectives.”
RK Swamy BBDO Interactive offers digital solutions including web design, iMedia planning and buying, social media, mobile and ipad pps.
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.
