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EE News Desk
In the wake of festival Ramadan, MoneyGram a global provider of innovative money transfer services presented an offer christened “Receive & Win Campaign” in the City of Pearls, Hyderabad. With renowned Bollywood actor Javed Jaffery gracing the event at Taj Banjara and in the presence of MoneyGram dignitaries the month long campaign was launched with vigour and verve. The campaign that concludes on 7th July spanning through the holy month of Ramadan would provide two lucky customers a return trip to Umrah. It’s every devotees dream to visit his/her holy city and offer their prayers. With this campaign MoneyGram aims to provide its Muslim customers in India a chance to live this dream. Apart from an all-expense paid trip to Umrah, it was also announced that 35 lucky customers would stand a chance to win television sets and smartphones. The announcements dint stop here. MoneyGram offered free international calls to all devotees to connect with their loved ones after breaking the holy fast via a specially branded booth which will be seen outside over 100 mosques across the country. MoneyGram also provided shoe service in these mosques throughout the holy month. This unique promotional campaign was conducted in the states of Telangana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Kerala. Sharing his thoughts Mr Kaushik Roy, Senior Regional Director GCC & South Asia, for MoneyGram said “MoneyGram has always championed efforts in the direction of consumer connect through simple engagement campaigns and will continue to do so in the future. Ramadan is a time to connect and share happiness with your loved ones. With this unique initiative, we would be honoured to facilitate the fulfilment of the dreams of our customers by offering them a chance to perform Umrah.” On the eve of this launch Mr Amit Relan, Co-Producer at WOOT Factor Events Pvt Ltd quoted, “Ramadan is a time of self-reflection and a time to connect with loved ones. We at WOOT Factor feel proud and honoured to be associated with such heart-warming initiatives and would like to thank MoneyGram for providing us the opportunity of fulfilling the dreams of devotees.
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Audi Delhi West and PVR have collaborated for the launch of the PVR Director’s Cut Sapphire privilege card to re-define the movie watching experience for their most discerning guests. Enhancing the movie watching experience at Director’s Cut with a decadent luxury car pick and drop, PVR and Audi Delhi West are creating a luxurious experience that starts right from guests' doorsteps. Next time a privileged Sapphire Card member books his movie tickets, he can request additional VIP treatment before and after the film. A sophisticated chauffeur-driven Audi courtesy Audi Delhi West will escort the guests in luxury from their doorsteps to PVR and back after the movie. PVR Director's Cut is more convenient to access than ever for Sapphire Card members, as Audi Delhi West makes getting there an indulgent and stylish experience. Renaud Palliere, CEO – International Development at PVR, said, “We at Director’s Cut have always aimed at providing our guests with a truly exclusive end-to- end experience. Today, we are thrilled to be able to achieve this goal in collaboration with Audi Delhi West and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Shiv Kapoor and his company for sharing our vision”. Shiv Kapoor, Director of Sales and Marketing at Audi Delhi West, added “This partnership makes a lot of sense. PVR Director’s Cut has been Delhi’s finest movie-going experience for a long time. Now, it gets even better for Sapphire Card members who want to be pampered right from their doorstep, thanks to Delhi’s most loved Audi partner.” Make that perfect dinner date even more special, that friends night out even more memorable or that client outing even more impressive with PVR Director’s Cut and Audi Delhi West.
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American Express Global Business Travel (“GBT”) today announced a commercial agreement with Airbnb, the world's leading community-driven hospitality company. The new referral partnership will make Airbnb for Business more accessible to GBT customers and allow data transfer and traveler tracking. Since being founded in 2008, Airbnb hosts have welcomed more than 100 million guest arrivals at Airbnb listings worldwide. Approximately 10 percent of all travelers on Airbnb for Business are business travelers. This trend is largely driven by travelers seeking accommodations that allow them to experience cities and neighborhoods they visit. During the first phase of the program, once GBT refers a customer to Airbnb, individual travelers can book accommodations directly on Airbnb.com using a corporate email address. In the coming weeks, GBT and Airbnb will integrate Airbnb booking information into GBT’s reporting platform so that GBT’s customers can easily track their travelers’ Airbnb bookings. Once that integration is complete, the reservation details for each business trip will automatically be shared with GBT. Travel managers can then access the data through corporate reporting and duty of care platforms. Travelers will then be able to access that booking information through GBT’s corporate reporting and duty of care platforms. Travelers will also have the ability to view their booking details in their regular corporate itineraries and on mobile devices. “Business travelers want the freedom to choose accommodations that align with their personal and professional tastes,” said Wes Bergstrom, Vice President, Global Supplier Relations, American Express Global Business Travel. “At the same time, traveler safety and security are a top priority for companies. As the first travel management company (TMC) to partner with Airbnb, our customers can further evolve their travel policies and offer their travelers the ability to book preferred accommodations.” “We are excited to be working with one of the leaders in the travel management space, and look forward to helping business travelers feel more at home while traveling on the road,” said Lex Bayer, head of Global Payments and Business Travel at Airbnb. “Airbnb for Business gives business travelers access to more than two million homes around the world, and the ability to explore a city like a local, even if it’s just for one night.” The first phase of this partnership is expected to go live in the U.S. in the next few weeks, and to expand to additional countries later this year. GBT and Airbnb will continue to develop additional phases of this program, which will enable greater integration throughout the booking process.
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Brand Promotions India conceived, ideated and executed the experiential campaign ‘ I Love you MOM” for ‘JK Paper’ in 8 major cities across India. The aim was to make mothers’ day special by communicating love and feelings to mothers by their children in a unique way. JK Paper was approached by Brand Promotions India with the idea of sending a hand written letter to the mothers from their children. J K Paper connected very well with the idea and Brand Promotions created an emotional experiential plan to recreate the bonding between child and mother. The campaign was designed to bring up the importance of emotions. While everything is going digital, Brand Promotions wanted to emphasize the importance of the traditional ways of communication and love. Remembering the time when there were no cell phones and other digital mediums to express your love, people used to communicate through letters. So Brand Promotions conducted an event wherein children wrote letters to their mothers expressing their love and thanking them for being their support always. In the campaign Brands Promotions team engaged with people of all age groups in 8 cities and asked them to write what they felt about their mothers. These letters were then sent to the respective addresses on Mother’s Day. The endeavour was well received by the populace and they were happy in opting this medium for conveying their feelings. To make the event more special a few letters from each city were delivered by hand to capture the priceless reactions of mothers as they received the letter and read the content. The campaign was named ‘I Love You Mom’ and was successful in bringing smiles to 50,000 mothers. Looking at the way the campaign was executed, Mr Sunil Menon, Director, Brand Promotions quoted, “A letter from your child is the most valuable thing you can have and this idea was purely inspired by my son’s letter to me on father’s day, which adorns my pin up at work. I sincerely thank J K Paper and their management to take up this idea and put it to a good cause”.
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More than 10,000 school children, teachers, civilians, civil servants and eco warriors participated in an initiative organized by Kokuyo Camlin and the 130 BN Eco Task Force and also the forest department of Uttarakhand to plant 10 lakh saplings in a single day to make the Kumaon Hills green once again. The 130 BN Eco Task Force have been assigned by the Government of India to fight deforestation in the hills of Uttarakhand. The plantation activity was taken up by three companies of the 130 BN Eco Task Force in Pithoragarh region and one company from the Almoda Region. Saumitra Prasad, Chief Marketing Officer, Kokuyo Camlin Ltd, said, “We have been highlighting the need to save trees. We have successfully planted 10 lakh saplings today along with the efficient 130 BN Eco Task Force. We have an excellent association with 130 BN Eco Task Force since we had initiated a similar activity of planting saplings wherein we planted over one lakh saplings in Pithoragarh last year and received tremendous response to it. This is our small attempt to fight deforestation which has been a major cause for landslide, soil erosion and thinning of stream. Kokuyo Camlin emphasis on the use of Mechanical Pencils which does not use wood in its production and also provides a great writing experience. We are also creating awareness about these initiatives through our social media platform and hope that this will inspire children to be conscious and responsible to the environment.” The school children along with all the other participants were quite excited and animated while planting the tree with great enthusiasm. The trees that were planted have come out of the nurseries of 130 ETF and these trees will bear and provide fruit, fodder and timber. It is noteworthy that last year 130 Eco Task Force in association with Kokuyo Camlin had created a record by planting 103096 sapling with the help of 6000 + school students and civilians lead by the Chief Secretary of the state. The forest department of Uttarakhand also supported the Eco Task Force in this important operation. The District Forest Officer Dr. I. P. Singh and his team joined the plantation activity and appreciated the efforts put in by the volunteers. Commanding Officer of 130 Eco Task Force Col. Nandukumar B. who was leading the event thanked all the participants and supporters including the schools, district administration, police and forest department.
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The global internet technology firm, LeEco unveiled their second generation Superphones, Le 2 and Le Max2 and their own e-commerce website, LeMall at Siri Fort Auditorium, New Delhi. The two superphones have the features of the futuristic audio technology – CDLA standard. In a nearly 2000-people mega launch event, LeEco unveiled Le 2 and Le Max2 with the company’s signature content ecosystem and bundled membership along with their own marketplace e-commerce website, LeMall. The company also revealed the world’s first CDLA (Continual Digital Lossless Audio) Type-C earphone and its project of recruiting 200 “CEO”s. The event was held on June 8, 2016 at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. The event was well- attended and the brand also revealed its anthem which was specially composed and produced by Pritam’s studio Jam8 and sung by Nakash Aziz. Attended by Media, Key Opinion Leaders, Le Superfans, and Bollywood celebrities, the show was hosted by Mandira Bedi with an opening performance by Violin Queen’s Quartet, interspersed with presentations by Tin Mok, VP of Le Holdings and CEO, APAC; Atul Jain, COO, Smart Electronics Business, LeEco India and a stellar rendition of the LeEco Brand Anthem by Bollywood’s musician Pritam and singer Nakash Aziz to screaming fans and audiences. Fountainhead MKTG, the experiential marketing agency from the Dentsu Aegis Network won the mandate to manage the end-to-end experience for the brand to create a “spectacular” event. From around 2000 registrations to managing specially created Demo Zones for Media, Key opinions Leaders and Le Superfans to managing Exclusive One-on-one Media Interactions and F&B, a memorable experience was delivered. Commenting on the grand launch, Deeksha Arora, VP and Branch Head – North, Fountainhead MKTG said, “The event excited us right from the word go as it had some very interesting technology announcements by brand LeEco - with the first ever type C Audio Output with CDLA standard. We designed everything around the key thought “2 Future” signifying the launch of the much anticipated second generation of LeEco Superphones. Working with a brand that was supremely passionate about their latest products and technology was a great experience, an experience that we are hopeful to carry forward with us through many more projects together.” “The mandate given to the agencies pitching for the launch was to recommend ideas to ensure our 2000-strong guests have a brilliant experience – especially as our big news was “CDLA audio quality”. Fountainhead MKTG was in sync with our thought process and made relevant recommendations from design to artists and even optimal utilization of spaces available. They worked closely with our internal team to deliver a great event. We thank Fountainhead MKTG team for their efforts"- Meera Krishnan, Director Marcom, LeEco India.
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The International Gemological Institute (IGI), the world's largest independent gem certification and appraisal institute, hosted their first National Level “D” Show – a Buyer-Seller Knowledge Meet which has got together India’s best known Jewellery Manufacturers and valued jewellers under one roof – at The Lalit Golf and Spa Resort, Goa. The event enabled 1990 successful meetings between participating Valued Partners and Buyers in a span of 4 days. After organising the past five regional meets in five different cities and zones – Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore and Jaipur, thus covering all the zones of the country, IGI’s 6th edition of Buyer Seller Knowledge Meet was held as a national meet. The four days– one to one meetings were also inclusive of a Goan Themed Entertainment Night and a Gala Evening. Both the events were attended by the in house guests as well as local dignitaries from Goa. The Goan evening captured the true flavours of Goa, from Goan Carnival décor to Goan dress code followed by Goa’s one of the bands “Aj Trio” along with some great Goan Delicacies; whereas, the Gala Night was more of a formal entertainment night. It included a panel discussion on Synthetic Diamonds, Excise and Taxation on diamond jewellery, which was concluded by Akriti Kakar’s performance. Brandwidth has been partnering with the International Gemological Institute for the “D” Show for the fifth time, speaking on which, Shashank Gupta, Director, Brandwidth, said, “The 6th edition of the IGI “D” Show was a 4 day event as compared to its last five editions of 3 day events. This year we saw a massive growth in the number of meetings in a span of 4 days. From 950 meetings to almost 1990 meetings between the Valued Partners and the Valued Buyers, we planned the whole event from managing guest movements, transport of the guests, check-ins – check-outs, manpower handling, hotel coordination, security arrangements for the high valued jewellery to entertainment nights, the whole thing was managed very successfully. It gives us great pleasure in partnering with IGI on the “D” show since we are given the luxury to plan and execute this platform as a part of their core team.” The gems and jewellery industry plays a significant role in the country’s economy and has been one of the fastest growing sectors of the country. The diamond industry is internationally recognised due to its talented craftsmen, who possess a superior ability in cutting and polishing diamonds. Talking about the IGI D-Show, Tehmasp Printer, MD, IGI –India, states, “This was the D-Show’s 6th year and the show has blossomed into a true networking platform for the Diamond and Jewellery trade. The D-show cuts through the corporate hierarchy, enabling the jewellers and jewellery manufacturers to mingle with each other in a relaxed, luxurious environment. The four days of the D-Show generates the potential for forging long-term business relationships that go way beyond a single sale transaction. These one-on-one interactions also ensure that various challenges are discussed and solutions arrived at in real time. IGI also disseminates valuable information on current industry challenges, like lab grown diamonds and the recent changes in the industry’s taxation laws.” The D-Show received a very good response with pre-event registrations from across the nation. The event showcased jewellery by renowned jewellers and diamond manufacturers from all over India, and focused on one-to one-meetings for all participants.
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ProSportify, the organisers and promoters of Pro Wrestling League are here with another sporting property- The Great India Run. This is a first ever multi city mega marathon covering six states and 1480 Kms with 15 of India’s and the world's best Ultra-marathoners, most of whom are national as well as international record holders. The marathon begins on July 17th from New Delhi and ends on August 6th in Mumbai. The marathon which is a ProSportify property in association with Mobiefit Technologies will also see celebrity runners Gul Panag and Milind Soman partnering to promote running as a sport. The multi city marathon is the first of its kind pan India running event ever organised in this country and aims to promote the sport of running for a better lifestyle and fitness. Milind Soman will be running from Ahmedabad to Mumbai via Silvassa.
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Sri Lanka, one of the top two emerging hotel and resort markets in Asia, is to host the first Asia Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (AHTIC), a top-level gathering of international investors, business leaders, government ministers and officials. President of Sri Lanka, H.E. Maithripala Sirisena, is supporting the conference as patron and speaking at the presidential residence in Colombo, the venue for the official launch, he said: “Sri Lanka has everything you need to be a fantastic destination, from awe-inspiring ancient cities, beautiful beaches and colorful coral reefs to mist-shrouded mountains, spectacular sights and wonderful wildlife. With the new measures we are putting in place to attract foreign investment, I am confident that Sri Lanka will become an equally attractive place to make money as it is to take a holiday.” The conference is being organised by Bench Events, and managing director, Matthew Weihs, said: “Sri Lanka is a perfect place to launch our Asia conference. The country’s tourism development authority has prepared an ambitious strategic plan, inviting private and public stakeholders to tackle both the industry’s long-standing needs and the future potential of the country as a tourism destination.” A record two million tourists are expected to arrive in Sri Lanka this year and government ministers are anticipating this figure will double by 2020. Matthew Weihs said: “The conference will cover every aspect of tourism investment throughout Asia Pacific. This is a fast-growing tourism development region and there will be substantial opportunities to network with other delegates and to exchange thoughts and ideas on the sector. The conference will also stimulate dialogue between business and government.” According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the direct contribution of the industry to the Asia Pacific region was USD694.1bn (3.0% of total GDP) in 2014, and is forecast to rise by 9% per annum, from 2015-2025, to USD1,177.1bn (3.2% of total GDP) in 2025. Co-Organizer and Founder Sponsor Dr Prabath Chandima Ukkwatte, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism Club, concluded: “Colombo has been the host of several high-profile international conferences but with the establishment of AHTIC as a regular international event, we will, for the first time, become the home of an important international business meeting that will build in stature and influence as it grows from year to year.” The AHTIC conference will take place on November 27-29 at the Hilton Colombo in Sri Lanka. For more information visit www.asia-conference.com.
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Six Pack, India’s first transgender band brings pride to the Indian creative community by winning the Glass Grand Prix at the 63rd Cannes Festival of Creativity (Glass Lion). This is the first time an Indian has won this prestigious award. The Six Pack Band was chosen from amongst thousands of other creative entries sent from all over the world. The Six pack band is India’s first transgender band comprising of Fida, Ravina, Asha, Komal, Chandni & Bhavika was curated and formed over a period of nine months. Shameer Tandon, curator and composer of the band, sent his team to every traffic signal and railway station to search for everyone and call them for an audition. After auditioning hundreds of people of the transgender community, where quite a few men had also turned up dressed as hijras (transgender), the band was selected. The journey has been magical for the band coming from such humbled backgrounds to working with the likes of Hrithik Roshan and Sonu Nigam. The win at Cannes acts like an icing on the cake for them. There were four entries from India for the Grand Prix award from India and every campaign focused on a certain message. The Six Pack Band surpassed all of them and emerged winner. Their first music video, a cover of Pharell Williams’ known as ‘Hum Hain Happy’ crossed more 1.6 million views in less than a week and post that they have launched four more videos with the fifth video coming out on the 28th of June. They have already crossed 25 million views on their videos as well. This is not Six Pack’s 1st international recognition as they won India its first Webby Award, the Internet’s highest honor, in the Public Service and Activism category. The jury for the Webbys comprised of luminaries like Kevin Spacey, Jimmy Kimmel, Biz Stone and Shane Smith. “Our journey started about a year ago when we set out on the traffic signals and railway stations searching for the right people to be part of this band. Our objective was to create awareness amongst the people through pop music in order to change the way people treat them. We are very happy that our relentless effort of a year has given us such a huge honor. We are going to take this as an opportunity and create more content in order to give the transgender community a place in the society that they deserve.” Said Mr. Shamir Tandon, Curator and Composer, Six Pack Band. Mr Tandon has worked very closely with lata mangeshkar , asha bhosle , late Jagjit singh shaan, shubha mudgal and international artists like boy band blue, enrique Iglesias and launched multiple international artists like Norah Jones Robbie Williams in the indian subcontinent. “From an idea that started at a traffic signal to it now picking up what is considered the ultimate benchmark for judging creativity - we at Y-Films are honored & humbled to bring home India's 1st Cannes Grand Prix Glass Lion. We are also thrilled to have partners like Brooke Bond Red Label & Mindshare who gave this ballsy idea wings”, said Mr. Ashish Patil, Producer of the Project & Brand Management and Talent Partnerships at Y-Films. This marks a new revolutionary movement in India where in the transgender community is getting the recognition and respect that they deserve and with the success at Cannes we can only await their future releases and more laurels internationally that the Six Pack Band will win for India.
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