Delhi Ad Club’s annual quiz witnessed enthusiastic participation from prominent agencies

The Delhi Ad Club has been organising a Business and Marketing Quiz since several years. It is a keenly contested event wherein eager quiz enthusiasts from ad agencies and media alike participate in good numbers and make it an even more fun-filled and successful event. This year, the quiz was held on February 8, 2017.

The event was promoted amongst all creative and media agencies in Delhi-NCR. This year, the event witnessed a participation of 21 teams from all the leading agencies such as Group M, Lowe Lintas, Havas, Grey Worldwide, Innocean and Carat among others

Commenting on the occasion, Deepak Hiremath, Hony. President, Delhi Ad Club, said, "It was a great event where stalwarts of the advertising and corporate world met, conquered and had a blast. No wonder, it's one of the much-awaited events in Delhi.

Resource: http://www.exchange4media.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

Delhipedia brings multiple mass events and brands to Delhi's internet elite

Delhipedia, a community engagement platform emerged as a key marketing partner for eight organisations in just two months. The online platform has already partnered with clients like LeEco for its campaign Festive Mirfie, the Green Wheels Bike Festival, Krackerjacker Karnival Delhi, Hindol Sengupta, author of The Modern Monk and Jeffrey Archer, author of the book 'This was a Man', to name a few.

Delhipedia has successfully been able to promote these brands with key digital tools like online video stories, social media contests and announcements. With an envious following on social media platforms like Facebook, Delhipedia has positioned itself as one of the most appropriate platform for brands to partner in order to drive brand engagement and sales.

"For the promotion of GIFLIF, we were looking for a partner through which we could reach out to the Delhi's movie lovers and literati. By partnering with Delhipedia, we were able to reach out to its nearly six lakh followers, which generated interest among many film and literature lovers, and led to a great response for the festival. Delhipedia's use of video content to draw audiences helped us build and grow community of followers, both during and post the event", said Karan Kukreja, co-founder of the Great Indian Literature and Film Festival (GIFLIF).

"According to a recent data released by Oxford Economics, Delhi has India's highest per capita income in India, pegged at Rs. 2, 80,000. This is about three times above the national average, and community engagement sites like Delhipedia offer a one-of-its kind interactive platform to reach out to the internet and e-commerce elites amongst them," added Arjun Pandey, Founder, Delhipedia.

Resource: http://www.business-standard.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

Infosys-founders divide: CEO Vishal Sikka to address investors today

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing conflict between the board of Infosys and its founders, its CEO Vishal Sikka is scheduled to meet institutional investors at an event in Mumbai on Monday.

Sikka may brief participating fund managers on issues that have prompted some of the company's co-founders, including N R Narayana Murthy, to publicly air their discontent against the board. He will deliver a keynote address at Kotak's Chasing Growth Conference on today in Mumbai at 10 a.m.

Sikka's participation was confirmed by a company spokesperson saying the event was scheduled much before these developments.

Such events usually see investors and industry analysts asking questions about the macro environment, business prospects and challenges, but given the developments seen in the past few days, clarifications relating to the feud between founders and the board are likely to dominate the proceedings on Monday.

Sikka, along with some of the board members, is also scheduled to interact with the media later in the day to clear the air over various issues flagged by the founders.

Last week, Sikka called members of the senior management to assuage concerns and has advised them not to get "distracted" by the ongoing tussle and instead focus on company's business and strategy.

Asked about the founders' expectation from Sikka at the upcoming meeting with fund managers, Infosys former CFO V Balakrishnan told PTI, "I think Sikka should focus on business and performance because that is more important."

"And I think he should, being a board member, also impress upon the Chairman to effectively engage with the founders and address the concerns and solve the issue quickly. Otherwise, this will distract the organisation in a big way," he said.

Murthy, along with other co-founders Nandan Nilekani and S Gopalakrishnan, had written to Infosys board asking why Sikka's compensation was raised and hefty severance packages offered to two top-level executives who quit the company.

Murthy, who has gone public with his views, questioned "paying the former CFO (Rajiv Bansal) a 30-month severance pay".

Infosys, however, has denied any corporate governance lapses, and has emphasised that its board is fully aligned with the strategic direction of Mr Sikka and is very appreciative of the initiatives taken by him in pursuance of this transformation.

Resource: http://www.firstpost.com

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Oppo bets big on India, plans huge investment

NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone maker Oppo is taking big steps into India, a key market where it will begin manufacturing at a more granular level besides entering into the online sales segment, after jumping to the No 5 spot in quick time on the back of traditional offline sales. 

Oppo will partner with Flipkart to launch exclusive online models starting this week, and will co-invest in branding and marketing to strengthen its position as a top player in the country. 

“OPPO Mobiles would begin operations at the brand new SMT facility in Greater Noida in 2017 as part of our commitment under Make in India programme,” an India spokesperson said. 

SMT, or surface mount technology, produces the printed circuit boards of an electronic device, on which various circuits are embedded that allow basic functioning of the device, in this case a smartphone. At present, most companies except for Samsung assemble phones from semi-knocked down (SKD) mobile phone modules or kits. SMT is part of the completely knocked down (CKD) phase of assembling, wherein a handset maker imports individual components in a CKD form and assembles them in India. This takes manufacturing a step up from SKD. 

Besides its existing facility in Greater Noida, the company is also planning a 1000-acre industrial park with an investment of over Rs 1,400 crore. Part of a long-term plan, operations in this park are expected to begin in the next two to three years. 

The company which edged out Apple and Samsung in China to become the No 1 smartphone brand, has similar ambitions in the India market which is led by the Korean player, and is now attacking the online market. It has now teamed up with Flipkart to sell phone models exclusive to the online channel, starting with the F1s Rose Gold Limited Edition announced on Thursday, priced at Rs 18,990. 

"This is the first product… going ahead, many more models will be launched exclusively online with Flipkart," Ayyapan Rajgopal, director of mobiles and IoT category, said. 

Analysts said that since the company's brand has significant recall value, it would like to cash on the growing online market as well, which is a third of the overall market. 

"However to avoid any conflict with their channel partners they need to have dedicated and separate online strategy for Indian  market," Tarun Pathak, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, said. 

Flipkart's Rajgopal said that the country's largest online retailer was 'working very deeply' with Oppo to get into different price segments. "We will tell them which models and price points to garner more share. Oppo will be a priority brand for us in the Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 category," he said. 

Flipkart will help Oppo build a position in the Rs 10,000-15,000 and Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 price brackets with exclusive models in these bands, which is different from the Rs 15,000-20,000 segment, where the company is very strong. This, Rajgopal said, would avoid any discrepancy in prices in the offline market, and reduce the chances of brick-and-mortar sellers to sell models at a discount online. 

Resource: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

Tobacco depiction on Indian TV affecting children

New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) Twenty-two per cent of the Indian television programmes have been found depicting tobacco and broadcasting them despite 71 per cent viewers being children and adolescents, a report revealed on Friday. 

The report titled 'Evaluation of Tobacco Free Film and Television Policy in India' conducted by Vital Strategies and supported by World Health Organization (WHO) noted that the implementation of the rule under the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products Act was very low.

The report added that anti-tobacco messages are effective in countering the imagery of tobacco and prompting decision to quit. It also called for better implementation of the act. 

The film rule was legislated on October 2, 2012, and mandates that three forms of warning messages (anti-tobacco health spots, audio-visual disclaimers and static health warning messages) are broadcast when tobacco products, branding or use are shown in films and television programmes.

The study was conducted under the guidance of the Union Health Ministry. 

"An effective way of tobacco control would be to ingrain and indoctrinate the young minds, the children and the youths. If they could be weaned away from tobacco use, we believe that the battle is half won," said Health Secretary C.K Mishra. 

Present on the occasion, Nandita Murukutia, Country Director Vital Strategies, said: "The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars to mislead consumers by depicting tobacco use as glamorous or popular."

According to Murukutia, when tobacco is depicted in films and TV Programmes, it's doing the tobacco industry's work for them. 

"Tobacco kills one million Indians every year and costs our economy $22.4 billion. The objective of this study is to understand the importance of 'film rule' and the current gap in implementation," said Murukutia.

Murukutia urged the TV and film industry to recognise its responsibilities and work towards a tobacco-free culture.

Resource: http://www.sify.com

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Keventers’ comeback story: From dairy to mega milkshake empire

Keventers – a legacy brand known for its milkshakes – dates back to 1924 when Swedish dairy technologist, Edward Keventers, took over the Aligarh dairy, converted it into an eponymous dairy factory in India and turned it into a profitable business.

He eventually went on to establish several units in different parts of the country, including Calcutta, Darjeeling, and Delhi. In 1925, he established a dairy in Delhi’s Chanakyapuri area. When Eward Keventers passed away in 1946, the dairy went to his nephew, Werner Keventers. In 1960, after the death of Werner, the dairy plant was acquired by the Dalmia Group.

In 2015, Agastya Dalmia (Dalmia’s grandson) and his partners Aman Arora and hospitality consultant Sohrab Sitaram, decided to revamp and reintroduce the brand, giving it a new look and feel. They opened their first outlet in South Delhi and that marked the emergence of the new Keventers era.

According to CEO & Director, Keventers, Sohrab Sitaram, “We saw the brand had tremendous potential in the sense that there was no competition when it came to milkshakes. The business model itself was extremely scalable and could reach 1,000 outlets in all easily and this really excited us. We did an initial test run and saw that it was loved by everyone. A major reason behind the revamp was that Keventers held an extremely iconic and nostalgic value.”

Keventers, up till then, was a brand known and remembered by Gen-X. The challenge was to establish a brand presence and recall value among the Gen-Y. Due to a lot of Western influences, whether Gen-Y would appreciate the iconic value of Keventers or not was a concern.

The other challenge was getting a hold of the traditional recipe Keventers had. It was a challenge as a lot of the original recipe created had passed away and tracking it down was a task in itself. However, the brand managed to find them ultimately.

Today the brand clocks in an average sale of Rs 1,20,000 per day and targeting to launch 8 to 10 franchises per month.

Business Model

Keventers has 77 outlets in total out of which 6 are company-owned and rest are franchisees. The brand had adopted franchise model as the mode to expand the brand presence across the country and simultaneously create a niche category vis-à- vis milkshakes.

“The brand has also worked to create differentiations on branding, bottling and packaging in keeping with international standards, while keeping attractive pricing offering consumers a great milkshake in their iconic glass bottles,” said Sitaram.

All new outlets by Keventers will be under a master franchise model wherein they have outsourced selling rights to one major market player and given them permission to open up outlets across that specific city.

“We have also sold master franchisees pan India and countries such as Kenya, United States and Nepal. In the coming few months Keventers will see more countries signing up,” revealed Sitaram.

He further added, “We operate a premium Keventers model which costs between Rs 16-30 lakh depending on the size. With a slew of marketing and retail strategies, we are set to establish itself as the favourite milkshake brand of India. Our vision being if anyone thinks of a milkshake in any corner of the world, it has to be Keventers.”

Unique Selling Proposition

The brand has a high nostalgic value and recall value. The hero of the brand is old school classic Keventers bottles. It evolved into being used by the people to do fun things and became a collector’s item in itself. However, the core focus of the brand – milkshake – remained intact.

Sitaram said, “The milk bottle underwent a radical change. The old DMS bottle was made sleeker with cursive flourish and font of the logo along with the term “Since 1925″ printed on it and the tagline ‘The Original Milkshake’ appears at the bottom. Nostalgia, old-school and heritage were the values the brand focused on to build a high recall value in the market, and thus the product design was an important aspect of the marketing strategy.”

On Competition

The company that had the revenue of Rs 4 crore last fiscal year and is expecting to clock Rs 28 crore this fiscal is keeping a vigilant eye on the competition like Amul, Verka and Coca-Cola and taking counter measures.

“We’re a strong Indian brand that has been the best in the business since the very beginning. Also, Keventers positioning is slightly more premium than these brand,” revealed Sitaram.

Keventers has a wide target audience that includes all generations and it targets all parts of the country whether it is Tier I, II or III.

As Keventers has a wide target audience, the pricing ranges from Rs 99 – Rs 200.

Future Plans

Keventers had opened 77 outlets last fiscal year and expects to open a total of 300 outlets by February 2018.

“We are growing exponentially as a brand and we will be opening new outlets across India and several other countries. Majority of the outstation operations will follow the route of franchising. This is mainly to facilitate and take advantage of the local knowledge, business trends, marketing and efficiency in consultation with our local partner who has taken the master franchisee,” revealed Sitaram.

He further added, “The next step in retail segment is to establish our foothold in the international market. We have already opened an outlet in Nepal and finalized a few stores in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania in the African market. Furthermore, we want to get into the distributor ship market via our milk – cow’s milk to be specific followed by the flavoured milkshake business where the milkshakes will also be sold off retail outlets and will have a shelf life of 3 months.”

The brand is also exploring each and every nook and corner of India on national front and internationally Kenya – Nairobi, California state USA, Kathmandu – Nepal, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is also in talks to open outlets in Maldives, Sri Lanka, Sweden and Scandinavian region along with Singapore.

To expand the brand further, Keventers will be spending Rs 10 crore this year which the company will be securing all through internal accruals.

Resource: http://www.indiaretailing.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/

Lite Bite Foods’ Millennial-focused chain Punjab Grill Tappa to open 5 more outlets by mid-2017

The company, recently struck the right chord with youngsters with the launch of Tappa. Tappa gives a new look to North Indian cuisine – in a trendy Indian going-out experience – and also has some offerings catering to the health conscious youth.

Lite Bite Foods owns many restaurant chains including Punjab Grill, Zambar and Asia Seven, which in the recent past have become the center of focus for many marketers.

The company, which launched the first 2,000 sq. ft. Tappa outlet in Gurgaon’s CyberHub on October 25, is planning to come up with a second outlet at Aerocity, followed by another in Connaught Place in central Delhi. After this, they will head towards the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, followed by Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Pune.

“Tappa, targeting youngsters, is created around healthier food offerings and not the typical heavy buttery North India food. While the menu does have Punjab Grill signatures like Dal Makhani, Panner Tikka, Butter Chicken et all, the difference lies in preparation. They are not as creamy and heavy as they are usually. Additionally, there are many healthy sliders as well. And all these have been received well by our target audience,” Chief Executive Officer, Lite Bite Foods, Sharad Sachdeva told Indiaretailing Bureau in an exclusive interview.

Sachdeva said the Cyber Hub outlet is already doing a business of between Rs 50-60 lakh a month and they are aiming at similar numbers from other locations. “We are quite sure of receiving a similar response from the other locations too. I believe in the next three-five months, we will be touching Rs 70-75 lakh a month from these outlets.”

However, for the company, which in the recent years managed to maintain its same-store growth at 8-10 per cent at a time when most players in the sector struggled to increase sales, the decision to come up with Tappa took a long time coming.

“The brand (Tappa) has been conceptualized for the longest time. From the last one year, we have been deciding to come up with a concept like this but we were not sure about the scalability. Then finally, Punjab Grill’s chef said let’s do it and he designed the menu which we liked a lot, after which we took a chance and went ahead with the plan. Now, looking at the response, we are certain that we can multiple.” Sachdeva said.

Global expansion

Meanwhile, the company which currently operates 16 Punjab Grill outlets (both company-owned and franchise) across India has started expanding in international markets through franchise agreements and own stores, including at places like Singapore, Bangkok, Washington, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi.

Sachdeva said the international markets are performing better than the Indian markets and are likely to be the growth driver in future.

“Our Singapore Punjab Grill has been recognized by the prestigious 2016 Michelin Guide Singapore. Both Bangkok and Abu Dhabi outlets are number one on Trip Advisor. Then, we have an outlet in America which does Rs 24 crore topline a year. So international foray has been better than India and the numbers are extremely encouraging,” Sachdeva noted.

“Now, we are planning to do a Punjab Grill in Dubai. Followed by one in Washington DC, next to Trump house, which will be a company- owned outlet,” he added.

Lite Bite Foods also operates restaurants at international airports under a bunch of international brands. Travel retail accounts for about 40-45 per cent of Lite Bite Foods’ annual revenue.

Note ban affect

Just like other customer-centric organizations, Lite Bite Foods too initially saw a decrease in sales by about 15- 20 per cent during November over the previous month, post the Government’s demonetization drive. But Sachdeva said it has now come down to “-5 per cent” and they are expecting it to get stable in the coming few days.

“Surprisingly, Tappa doesn’t see any demand crunch because of demonetization as this set of consumers (millennials) are already using plastic money or mobile wallets. And the lack of liquidity doesn’t affect them,” concluded Sachdeva.

Resource: http://www.indiaretailing.com

Resource: http://grandiose.org.in/