Brands
Vodafone brings back the Pug in AR
MUMBAI: Television viewers and spectators at Sunday’s grand finale of the Vodafone Premiere Badminton League broke into impromptu smiles when they realised they had unexpected company.
Lending an entirely unique experience to complement the nail biting match, were the adorable Vodafone Pugs in ‘augmented’ avatar. This was the first time that augmented reality was seen on live TV in India.
The idea was to seamlessly integrate the new data strong network campaign, being championed by the most loved brand icon, Cheeka – the Pug, with Vodafone Premier Badminton League.
Vodafone India executive vice president of marketing Siddharth Banerjee says, “The finale of the Vodafone Premier Badminton League presented an opportunity for Vodafone India to highlight the newly launched 360 degree Data Strong Network campaign message to our audiences. We wanted to make our campaign ideas bigger and better, by extending this larger than life experience to television viewers – perhaps a first for any Indian brand. The iconic Vodafone Pug, now back with a pack of pugs, brings alive our proposition that the Vodafone network is getting stronger every hour to deliver a ‘Data Strong Network’.”
Consistent with its commitment of keeping over 211 million customers in India confidently connected 24×7, Vodafone showcased its promise of a more robust, data strong network in an evocative yet simple manner. A specially created augmented enclosure drew the attention of match viewers and television audiences alike, with an army of Pugs coming on the court and interacting with the commentators.
Brands
Kotak Mahindra Bank appoints Ramesh Iyer to board
Veteran financier replaces Ashok Gulati, who retires in March
MUMBAI: Kotak Mahindra Bank has announced a change to its board of directors, with independent director Ashok Gulati set to retire at the end of his term on 5 March.
The company said it has appointed Ramesh Ganesh Iyer as an additional and independent director for a four-year term, effective 17 February, subject to shareholder approval.
Iyer brings more than four decades of experience in financial services. He spent much of his career at Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, where he served as vice chairman and managing director before taking on the role of president for the financial services sector and member of the group executive board at Mahindra & Mahindra. He retired from the group in April 2024.
During his tenure, Iyer was instrumental in expanding rural and inclusive finance initiatives, scaling the company’s assets and customer base. He also led the creation of subsidiaries in rural housing finance, insurance broking and asset management, and oversaw international joint ventures.
Iyer holds a commerce degree and a doctorate of letters, and currently serves on the boards of several listed and unlisted companies.
The board meeting approving the changes was held in Mumbai on February 17 between 6.30 pm and 6.50 pm.
