MAM
Sony in an innovative marketing initiative for ‘Fame Gurukul’ with sponsor
MUMBAI: As the contestants on Sony’s Fame Gurukul become leaner, the marketing activities around the show are increasing by leaps and bounds.
The latest from the stable is a unique marketing initiative between Fame Gurukul and Hindustan Lever Limited’s (HLL) Clinic All Clear, which is one of the sponsors of the show. Shahid Kapur, the brand ambassador of Clinic All Clear, along with the ‘head mistress’ of Gurukul Ila Arun have been cast together in an ad to bring the key attribute ‘confidence’ to the forefront.
In the ad, Shahid highlights the importance of confidence when a person is in the spotlight by saying “Jo spotlight mein All Clear. Wo Fame ke Near”, followed by an appearance of Arun promising “Jo All Clear hain, Use Fame hum denge.”
An outdoor campaign on the same has also been rolled out and these promotions will go on for three weeks.
Speaking on this innovative association, SET executive vice president and business head Tarun Katial said, “Since the inception of Fame Gurukul, the existing contestants have become household names over the weeks. The contestants at this juncture now need all the confidence they can muster up to look and perform their very best. We are happy to partner with Clinic All Clear in reaching out to our audiences across the nation.”
HLL vice president (hair and oral care) Sanjiv Kakkar said, “Clinic All Clear has always been associated with empowering people and unleashing inner potential and leveraging inherent capabilities. Our association with Fame Gurukul is a perfect fit since the format of the show is about being cool and confident under the spotlight, which is what Clinic All Clear stands for.”
Shahid also held a workshop with the Gurukul contestants on 28 August at Crossroads mall in Mumbai and spoke to them on confidence. This special episode will be aired on 31 August.
The channel has also tied up with Pizza Hut, wherein the fast-food major has introduced a special ‘Fame Jodi Meal’ in the menu. “This is a very different kind of promotions and will ensure that we are able to target all our consumers specially the youth,” said SET vice president marketing Nina Jaipuria.
Apart from this, the channel is also targeting a couple of college festivals in Mumbai like St Xavier’s Malhar and NM College’s Umang fests. The contestants of Fame Gurukul performed at these fests recently.
On the occasion of Janmasthami, Sony partnered with local parties who wore the Fame Gurukul T-shirts and took part in the festivities across the city. The contestants also took part in one of the ‘handis’ in Mumbai. Pepsi’s delivery vans have also been branded with the show.
Newspapers like Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan Times and Loksatta are running contests around Fame Gurukul, which involves the readers. The channel has created different touch points via which they are promoting the show and hence reaching out to a wider gamut of viewers.
Fame Gurukul has also introduced a twist in the tale – ‘The Last Chance’ where six more contestants have being added to the show – three contestants who had earlier been eliminated and another three new contestants from the audition stages. Ultimately the ‘Fame Jodi’ comprising two winners will be announced.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
