MAM
WAT’s Your Big Idea wraps up second edition
MUMBAI: Digital and social media agency WATConsult wrapped up its second season of WAT’s Your Big Idea (#WYBI) yesterday in Mumbai.
The winning trophy was awarded to WAT’s in the Name from MICA. The first runner-up was team BhaiBhaiBhai from MICA, while the second runner-up position was awarded to ThreeTwoOne from IIMC – Delhi.
This year WAT’s Your Big Idea received over 240 entries from 390+ students who participated from leading institutions like MICA, SIMC, XIC, IIMB, IIM (Indore), SP Jain, Jamnalal Bajaj, NMIMS, MET and Jai Hind.
Teams had to create campaigns on the basis of brand objective, target audience, target market and challenges faced. ITC Savlon’s brief was to increase usage of hand-wash in households and to increase usage, while HE Face Wash looked for an integrated marketing idea for its newly launched product, waterless face wash.
Naturolax’s marketing objective was to establish a new brand positioning, thereby driving new trials and increase market share. Jack & Jones’ core objective was to establish itself in the men’s comfort zone brand and gain branding visibility along with garnering actual footfalls and sales. Madame Tussauds looked for ideas which helped in increasing repeated walk-ins and ideas on new possible opportunities to drive revenues while Swarovski wanted ideas which helped increase sales and create a brand visibility in its TG.
The shortlisted teams got an opportunity to work with the team at WATConsult, to understand the nuances of digital campaigns and improvise their entries before presenting in front of the esteemed jury, which comprised Rajiv Dingra (founder and CEO, WATConsult), Jaikishan Chhaproo (head media and PR, ITC), Praveen Das (co-founder & managing director, Happy Mcgarrybowen), Vineet Gautam (CEO, Bestseller Group) Sukanya Dutta Roy (MD, consumer goods division, Swarovski), Sabia Gulati (head, sales & marketing, Madam Tussauds) Rajesh Kamat (VP, strategy & operations, Piramal Enterprises) and Anoop Agarwal (DGM marketing, Emami Group).
WATConsult founder and CEO Rajiv Dingra says, “This year we have received a tremendous response, the entries were more than double from last year and the quality of work was also commendable. We hope to take this initiative to greater heights next year.”
Dentsu Aegis Network chairman and CEO of South Asia Ashish Bhasin adds, “WATConsult has been doing an excellent job with WAT’s Your Big Idea and I would like to congratulate them on the same. Also, would like to extend my wishes to the winning teams on the fabulous ideas they came up with.”
WYBI provides a unique platform and opportunities to the next generation in the field of digital advertising and marketing. Launched last year, the first edition saw more than 150+ registrations, 120 entries, 250 students participating and 28 teams. This year besides the cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, an endorsed certificate and an assured job offer, the winning team will also get an opportunity to visit Cannes Lions in 2018.
Brands
Trump announces $300bn Texas oil refinery with Reliance, calls it the biggest in US history
First new US refinery in 50 years planned at Brownsville port with Reliance
WASHINGTON: The United States may soon see the first brand-new oil refinery built on its soil in half a century.
Donald Trump announced a proposed $300 billion refinery project in Texas, calling it a landmark moment for American energy production and jobs.
Posting on Truth Social on 10 March, Trump said the facility would be built at the Port of Brownsville and developed by a company called America First Refining, with major investment from India’s Reliance Industries.
The announcement frames the project as a centrepiece of the administration’s push for “energy dominance”, with Trump claiming it would deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to South Texas.
If realised, the plant would mark the first all-new major refinery constructed in the United States since the 1970s. In recent decades, oil companies have largely chosen to expand existing facilities rather than build new ones, citing high costs, regulatory hurdles and environmental scrutiny.
Trump described the proposed investment as the “biggest in US history”, positioning it as proof that policy changes such as streamlined permits and lower taxes are drawing large-scale energy investments back into the country.
The refinery is planned for the Port of Brownsville, a strategic Gulf Coast location that provides easy access to shipping routes and export markets.
A key partner in the project is Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The company already runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, India, making it one of the most experienced operators in large-scale petroleum processing.
The Texas venture would mark a significant step for the group into America’s domestic refining sector, potentially strengthening industrial ties between the US and India.
The proposed refinery is being promoted as a next-generation facility capable of processing American shale oil while maintaining high environmental standards. Trump said it would be “the cleanest refinery in the world”, although the specific technologies behind that claim have not yet been detailed.
Industry observers also note that the $300 billion figure is unusually large for a refinery project, and analysts are waiting for more clarity on whether the number reflects total construction costs, long-term infrastructure investment, or broader economic impact estimates.
As of 11 March, Reliance Industries had not publicly confirmed the investment size or the structure of its involvement.
For now, the announcement has sparked equal parts excitement and curiosity in energy markets. If the plan moves from promise to pouring concrete, the refinery could reshape the Gulf Coast energy landscape, and reopen a chapter in American refining that has been quiet for nearly fifty years.
