The 14th edition of Genesis Foundation’s fundraiser CEOs Sing for GF Kids,was held with musical relish in Bengaluru recently at ITC Gardenia. Fourteen (14) CEOs of India Inc. donned the mic of rock stars and sang for a cause – to Give Life a Chance! The evening began with the world jazz and Indian fusion band MoonArra setting the tone with their Indian classical and jazz fusion performance. The benchmark for the evening was set high and the audience settled in for an evening of musical excellence. One by one the CEOs came up to the stage and took the audience on a roller-coaster of music that went from the magic of English soul, the energy of rock to the nostalgia of Bollywood oldies and the thrill of latest hits from the Indipop charts. “I have flown all the way from Delhi to Bengaluru to support Genesis Foundation in the outstanding work they are doing. Though my association doesn’t go back long, it is a cause, where there are so many kids in need of help and I will keep supporting year on year,” said Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant Foods, one of the star singers of the evening. Arati Rao, Founder, B-Flat, said, “I have been associated with Genesis Foundation for four years now, and I am proud to be a part of it. Today I am performing a classic, soft rock number. Genesis Foundation passionately helps critically ill children and their sincerity is infectious. I am extremely thrilled and excited to be part of this noble cause.” Dr Thomas Chandy, CMD and Chief of Orthopaedics, Hosmat Hospitals, another long-time ally of the Foundation, said, “I have been part of this event for many years now. I have a passion for music. The reason I chose this event over others is that it combines three aspects that resonate with me—music, charity and the specific cause of the treatment of critically ill children. It is heartening to see that Genesis Foundation, irrespective of the cost of treatment, takes initiative.” Speaking at the event, Prema Sagar, Founder Trustee, Genesis Foundation expressed her gratitude and delight, “Every time we have CEOs Sing for GF Kids here,there is always an energy inBengaluru that makes this evening take on almost magical proportions. The talent of the CEOs is amazing, and as always, we are grateful to them for taking the time out to sing for the cause of supporting the treatment of critically ill children. Their performances were really nice and it’s great to see them take their passion for music so seriously. The cause, the passion and the energy—all made for a very enjoyable and meaningful evening.” In this unique fundraiser, supported by Pernod-Ricard, Britannia and The Himalaya Drug Company, the participating CEOs demonstrated their singing talent with their repertoires ranging from Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, Beatles, The Eagles and Julio Iglesias to Kishore Kumar, Atif Aslam andBollywood oldies!
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Percept ICE, a company of Percept Limited, conceptualized and executed the Havells Convention from 11th August to 15thAugust, 2015 at Wyndham Grand Levent in Istanbul, Turkey. The conference was held with the objective of building stronger bonds and rewarding the Havells Dealers for the dedication and hard work they have put into making Havells a success story across India. The Convention saw the top 250 Dealers along with their spouses attending the 5 day event in the beautiful location of Istanbul. In addition to recognizing and rewarding the Havells Dealers for their sincerity and hard work over the past year, the convention also aimed at encouraging and motivating them to take the brand to the next level. Percept ICE’s scope of work encompassed conceptualizing the entire theme and logistics for all the days of the convention. This included ideation on the various themes across all the days of the convention, managing and executing a successful conference. While the overarching theme of this expedition was “Havells Younited…Imperial Istanbul”, the main day conference theme held on 15th August 2015 was “Wahi Soch Naya Josh” Mr. Mukesh Jain, General Manager-Marketing & Communication from Havells said, “Our late founder Shri. Qimat Rai Gupta always focused on having larger dreams and striving to accomplish them. We tend to imbibe the same thoughts into ourselves and our Dealers. Hence the theme of this year "Wahi Soch Naya Josh" was followed keeping in mind his ideologies and principles. With the same passion and zeal, we plan to take Havells to the next level with renewed enthusiasm.” The tour officially started on 11th August where all the guests were given gift hampers at the time of their arrival in Turkey. A special candle light dinner was arranged at “Portaxe”, where guests were welcomed after cruise orientation. Guests wore local costumes and clicked pictures. The main dinner area was spectacularly lit up with candles and ambience lights. Day 2 and 3 were spent sightseeing at the famed Cruise, Orientation Camalica Hills, Dolmabache Palace & Blue Mosque. The evening of 14th August was uniquely themed as ‘Havells Idol’ and saw a contest designed especially for the Dealers who wanted to showcase their singing talent. The evening witnessed 25 individual performances and Indian Idol fame Meiyang Chang hosted the show while Amit Kumar and Kavita Krishnamurthy judged the contest and graced the evening with some melodious songs. Special Certificates and Trophies were handed out to the enchanted winners. The entire event was custom made to include everyone’s tastes and preferences as also represent Havells commitment to their partners. A survey was conducted with the Dealers prior to the event saw Percept ICE managed and pulled together vital information pertaining to their favorite cuisine, colors, songs, dances, art and other elements which helped them to customize and implement a very successful and memorable trip for the guests. Another highlight of the convention was a special Radio Show created for the guests which included their favorite songs. The guests loved the overall experience, attachment, interactivity and warmth of the Chairman with all of them. There was Havellism all over. Day 5 kicked off the conference with the theme “Wahi Soch Naya Josh” at the elite Wyndham Grand Levent – Piri Reis Ballroom. After the traditional lamp lighting ceremony, famous Bollywood personality Boman Irani took over as the moderator. The conference was divided into 3 segments with the first segment being “Coffee with ARG” (Anil Rai Gupta, Chairman, Havells); the second being an engagement with the dealers; and the grand finale segment witnessing a motivational speech from Boman Irani. Internationally acclaimed speed painter “Quim Moya” amazed all the guests with his brilliant art presentation. The gala evening was dedicated to the “Havells Power Awards” and sported a Royal theme befitting the special occasion. A Royal red carpet was laid out at the entrance where the ever charming Manasvi Vyas took bytes from the Dealers and their spouse. Hosted by Manasvi Vyas, the awards saw 80 dealers win across several categories. Introduction AVs were created for each and every awardee. The evening also witnessed stunning performances by several international artists. The gala evening came to an end with DJ Ricky - a Mumbai DJ, playing some happening Bollywood music for all the guests till the minute hours. Commenting on the work executed by the Percept ICE team Nazneen Karimi – Chief Executive Officer, Percept ICE said, “"It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with Havells and their entire team. We are extremely happy to have successfully pulled this convention as it was one of the main events for us. It was overwhelming to get live feedback from the client and guests. We look forward to sharing a long and fruitful relationship with Havells for many years to come.”
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Bharti Airtel Limited and Uber have recently announced a first-of-its-kind strategic partnership in India. As part of this partnership, Uber riders across India can now pay for their trips using Airtel’s mobile wallet service - Airtel Money. Additionally, Mumbaikars will now be the first in India to enjoy free high-speed internet from Uber, powered by Airtel 4G. This service will soon be rolled out for Uber riders pan India. “Our partnership with Uber is directly in line with our commitment to offer innovative and relevant services for our customers. Now, Uber riders can enjoy the convenience of paying through their Airtel Money wallets, while also experiencing the power of blazing internet speeds with Airtel 4G on the move. We are excited that Uber has chosen Airtel to fulfill its telecom needs, and look forward to supporting the company’s rapid growth across India”, said Srini Gopalan, Director – Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel. “We are thrilled to join forces with Airtel to deliver solutions that elevate the Uber experience for riders and drivers throughout India. This unique partnership is built on our shared visions and strengths of broad, reliable networks and connecting people to their world, anytime, anywhere,” said Amit Jain, President, Uber India. “Airtel is leading the way for wireless connectivity, and as our telecom partner, will help us in our quest toward transforming urban mobility for hundreds of millions of commuters in India.” This integration will provide riders with another hassle-free payment option and will make Uber the first technology platform to officially launch Airtel Money. For a limited time, new Uber riders who top up their Airtel Money wallet will earn up to Rs. 500 for free. Additionally, starting with Mumbai, every Uber vehicle in India will soon be equipped with free WiFi, powered by Airtel 4G. Whether riding to work or a night out in the town – Uber will offer commuters high-speed internet at no data charges, powered by Airtel 4G. Airtel will also become Uber’s official telecom partner across India, and support the company’s rapid growth in India by offering mobile, data and device plans to Uber driver-partners. As part of this alliance, Uber will also offer exclusive promotions, discounts and experiences to Airtel customers - including Rs. 500 off their first ride upon using Airtel Money. Airtel’s subsidiary Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL) launched the company’s flagship semi-closed wallet under the brand name Airtel Money - India’s first prepaid mobile wallet by a telecom services provider. RegisteredAirtel Money customers can link their account on Uber’s mobile app now. To do this - select “Payment” from the menu in Uber app, tap “Add Payment”, tap “Airtel Money” to add account. Afterwards, they can select Airtel Moneyas their payment method and take a ride. To sign up for Airtel Money, customers can now know more by visiting http://www.airtel.in/money/.
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In order to connect and engage with their flyers in a more experienced, innovative and immersive manner, most airline brands across the globe today have done away with the advertising clutter. These brands are becoming more sophisticated in their marketing activities and are finding new ways to secure a special memory in the mind and hearts of their travelers. Today at EE, we look at 4 airlines that wowed their passengers with innovative experiential campaigns. 1-Southwest Airlines in-flight fashion show In order to spread the word about the Chicago shopping festival and engage their travelers in an immersive in flight experience, Southwest airlines associated with the organizers from the Magnificent Mile to host the first ”Runway in the Sky.” Held in the aisle of a 737 traveling from New York to Chicago, the event featured models wearing styles from Macy's, a reputed fashion expert. Additionally, the flight also had Wi-Fi, and organizers kept track of the number of social media impressions that were generated during and after the stunt. There were, 143 unique tweets with the hashtag #RunwayIntheSky; these posts were retweeted and ultimately created more than 1.7 million impressions for the airline brand and the shopping festival. 2- JetBlue ‘chain letter of human goodness’ JetBlue airlines through this initiative started a long-term campaign by awarding one free JetBlue ticket to several deserving individuals involved in humanitarian efforts. After one such person had been selected then the airline allowed that person to select another deserving recipient of a free ticket, and so on and so on. The first Fly It Forward ticket recipients included Tameka Lawson, who represented her Chicago non-profit I-Grow at a UN conference in New York, and Louis Elneus from Haiti. These initial recipients were found and picked by JetBlue employees, and now the airline is asking people to submit their own nominations for the next round. 3- KLM ‘seat cover’ greeting KLM is often known for surprising passengers with unexpected experiences however this particular campaign featured on showcasing the varieties of stories of the passengers travelling on the same aircraft on a given day. The campaign ‘Cover Greetings’ involved placing a personal message from loved ones staying at home to their relatives on the headrest of their KLM aircraft seat. The airline spotted people saying goodbye to their families and then asked them to decorate a seat cover with their own message. This brought out the emotional side of the passengers as they saw a headrest cover made especially for them. 4-EasyJet- recognize 10th million passenger campaign Capitalizing on childhood memories ‘Guess Who?’ game, EasyJet created a live version of the popular board game to celebrate the 10 years anniversary of the airline carrying 10 million passengers through the southern France airport. As part of the activity, passengers were invited to participate in a game to guess the 10 millionth passenger who was hidden in a group of extras. The rules were same and passengers had to ask questions about the passengers physical attributes to eliminate as many of the 24 people with one question. Those participants who correctly identified were given free flights with EasyJet. The campaign was an instant hit among the passengers with over 1 million impressions on social media on the same day.
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HCL yesterday announced the 13th HCL Bridge Championship to be held from August 20-23, 2015 in New Delhi. Around 400 bridge players will be participating including 75-80 teams in the tournament that will span over four days and will be held at Hotel Country Inn in Sahibabad. The HCL Bridge Tournament was launched 12 years ago and currently is the largest prize money tournament in bridge in India. Total prize money for the tournament is Rs 16 lakhs across various categories. The tournament has seen participation from several international teams in the past including South Asian teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and other commonwealth countries like Australia, South Africa, Canada and England. A team consists of a minimum of 4 players and a maximum of 6 players. The current tournament will see participation from members of Indian contingent at the World Bridge Championship in various team games. Participating teams include Team Formidable captained by Mrs. Kiran Nadar, Dhampur Sugar Mills, Bangur Cement, Poddar Developers, Team Arun Jain and Team Aristos, among others. Announcing the tournament, Kiran Nadar, Director, HCL Corporation and an international bridge player, said, “Bridge is a mind game that demands strong strategic focus and quick decision-making abilities. This resonates very well with a knowledge-intensive organization like HCL and this make Bridge a natural fit for HCL. Additionally, bridge needs organized support for the game to be played in the future and HCL stands committed to the game. We hope to make HCL Bridge Tournament larger in future with increased international participation.
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After 13 editions of this fundraiser by Genesis Foundation (GF), the 14th edition of CEOs Sing for GF Kids will be held in Bengaluru on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at ITC Gardenia. On this evening, 12CEOs of India Inc. will not only turn rockstars, but will sing for a cause to give 10 little GF Kids-A Chance to Live. An evening of musical performancesby leaders of boardrooms guarantees fun galore. The CEO performers who promise to enthral a gathering of more than 120 people with their singing talent include: Ajay Kaul, CEO, Jubilant Foods; Ajit Saldanha, CEO, Eventually International Entertainment; Arati Rao, Founder, B-Flat; BirenGhose, Country Head, Technicolor India; Dr. Harsh Mahajan, Founder & Chief Radiologist, Mahajan Imaging;Dr.ThomasChandy, CMD & Chief of Orthopaedics, HOSMAT Hospitals; Manoj Nair, President, Novel Office Space; Natarajan Vishwanathan, CEO - Paramarth Consulting; Philippe Haydon, CEO, The Himalaya Drug Company; Ramesh Jude Thomas, President & CKO, EQUiTOR Value Advisory; Shireesh Joshi, COO, Strategic Marketing Group, Godrej; and Sulaiman Jamal, CMD, Bevel Gears India. Some of the songs that will be sung at this event are –Yehnayandareydarey, O’ mere dilke chain, Jab koyibaatbigadjaye, Beatles medley, Break Free (Queen), Just the way you are (Billy Joel), Tears in Heaven and Scar burrough Fair on flute & Over the Rainbow on Harmonica. The curator of this initiative, Prema Sagar, Founder Trustee, Genesis Foundation expressed her gratitude and delight.Looking forward she said, “Bengaluru has some serious talent and we are really looking forward to an enjoyable, musical evening. As always, we are overjoyed with the support from our singing CEOs! Their love for music and their commitment to our cause of supporting critically ill children’s treatment, makes this event both, fun as well as meaningful.” Over the years, CEOs Sing for GF Kids has become aplatform for supporting critically ill children from under-privileged backgrounds to Give Life a Chance. In keeping with the Foundation’s purpose to build a participatory culture of giving, musically-inclined CEOs come together to raise funds for these children. The uniqueness of CEOs Sing for GF Kids lies in its ability to give otherwise busy corporate honchos an opportunity to indulge and showcase their own passion while raising resources for the lesser privileged in the same beat.
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AAS a NPO in Delhi/NCR had organized an event with Punjab’s leading entertainers to create awareness about Cervical Cancer, Save Girl Child & Educate the Girl to mark the Independence Day celebration with Punjabi Tashan. The event was marked by the presence Gippy Grewal, Kainaat Arora, Ammy Virk, Deep Money, Dilbag Singh, Ashok Masti and Shankar Sahney who enthralled the audiences with their musical performances in a live concert. Dilbaag gave musical salute to the nation with a famous patriotic song “Mera rang de basanti chola” and concluded by Gippy Grewal with a Punjabi Song. With over a 3000 spectators the show was well received by the audience with many foot tapping numbers like “Angreji beat pe”, “Ena vina dope shope marya karo”, “Chammak Chhallo” and many more. Gippy Grewal extending his support to the cause said, “This is really a very important issue for me on a personal level, I would request all my fans that they should give priority to the health and safety of women in India. I am thankful to AAS that they have given me this platform to express my concerns on this matter.” On this occasion Mrs. Varsha Goel, President, AAS said, “ Issues related to girl child are numerous and covers many aspect of her wellbeing and being a girl she is the one who educates the next generation of the society at various levels hence her education, her safety are our priority. We are glad that we are promoting few bright ones by taking care of their education and would want to extend this to other under privileged girls.”
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Vanesa Group, the company behind the trusted brand Denver in the Indian personal care segment, has partnered with Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE), the licensing and merchandising arm of media conglomerate Turner International India Pvt. Ltd., to launch a range of ‘Denver Superman’ deodorants for the first time in India. Launched at a press event at The Park Hotel in New Delhi, the Denver Superman deodorants are available in two variants - Power & Strength. Priced at Rs. 250, the products will be available soon in stores across India. The collaboration between the two successful brand names is the first of its kind in the personal care segment and promises to be a long association as shortly after the launch of the Denver Superman deodorants, Vanesa Group and CNE plan to launch Denver Batman deodorants and Denver Superman and Denver Batman perfumes. Additionally, Vanesa also plans to launch limited edition Denver Superman & Batman range of products. Mr. Siddharth Jain SVP and Managing Director – South Asia, Turner International India Pvt. Ltd, was present at the launch event and said, “Cartoon Network Enterprises has recently been appointed as the Master Licensee for the Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) portfolio for South Asia. This deal with Vanesa Group will expand the WBCP brands of Batman and Superman into new and exciting categories and draw consumer excitement.” In an exclusive conversation with EE, Mr. Saurabh Gupta, CMO, Vanesa Care Pvt. Ltd revealed the plans for brand Denver down the road and the marketing strategies it will adopt to penetrate into the tier 2 and tier 3 cities of the country along with the metro cities. “We wanted to introduce a new product in the deodorant segment as we felt that the category was becoming monotonous and the same vanilla products were being sold in the conventional marketing trends. Customers today have changed for the better and they are constantly on the lookout to experiment with newer experiences even while they want to stick to their favorite brand. At Denver we want to deliver such experiences to our customers hence we launched the ‘Denver Superman’ deodorant”-says Saurabh Gupta. When asked if the price of 250 INR was too exorbitant for a product that aspires to penetrate in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as well? Saurabh responds by explaining that product pricing has been done after considering over all aspects of market competition, brand identity and the Superman association. He says, “Currently in the market there are plenty brands that are present in the range of 190-200 INR and most deodorant brands in the country today already exist in the 250 INR segment. Considering the association and the brand identity that we bring to the table with this product its price range is completely justified. However we also understand that not all customers would want to spend that much and would want to experience the product first. Hence we are also in the process of figuring out a way to launch smaller trial packages of the product.” In 6 months Vanesa will be launching the ‘Denver Batman’ deodorants and then an entire marketing strategy by the brand comprising of both ATL and BTL campaigns will be unveiled. Revealing more about it Mr. Gupta says, “We are going to start with our full fledged marketing strategies soon and our main focus will be to capitalize on the release of Turner Internationals ‘Batman v/s Superman’ film which is expected to release around March 2016. Our BTL activities will for the launched products will majorly circle around this films launch as I feel the products and the movie release will be a beautiful marriage that will complement each other. The main idea is to carry out an on-ground in cinema activation for the products through usage of product fragrances inside the cinema halls, contest videos and other such fun activities and we look forward to carrying such activations across 400 cinema halls in the country.” When asked if there is an activation agency that the brand has already hired to execute the campaign? He says, “Well, we have a lot of event agencies currently pitching in for the campaign execution but nothing has been fixed on yet. Our spends on this BTL activity will be around 50 lakhs and we want an agency that has an experience to handle international IP’s, the capacity and intent to work in a closely guarded atmosphere and a strong background to comply with all legal formalities. We are looking for an agency that does not compromise on the quality of execution at all.”
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With an event debut in 2014, Hindustan Times GIFA (Great Indian Football Action) is back in 2015 on demand from readers, viewers and participants alike. A four week long tournament held in Delhi NCR the event will see 200+ teams under two divisions – under 13 and 13-18, battle it out on the fields to bring glory to the localities they represent. “GIFA is the largest inter neighbourhood football tournament. We conceptualised it to drive outdoor sports and build bonding amongst people and localities. The overwhelming response we have gotten for HT GIFA shows that in this age when everyone is hooked onto their smart phones, there is a need for such platforms in the market. The innovative football stadium-shaped outdoor we have done for HT GIFA with Social Street brings the spirit of the sport alive through its innovative design” Says Ashu Phakey, Business Head, Delhi NCR HT "Coincidental with this year’s GIFA was the launch of The Social Street in the country. We are already a formidable presence with offerings across all modern communications formats such as Digital, Retail, Activation and Out of Home and have cornered generous size of market goodwill and business in our maiden month. The team in Delhi and Hindustan Times have been old partners over many campaigns and the brief to take GIFA 2015 to heightened awareness levels was a natural fit for our desire to bring enhanced value to the table of an old association” said- Subhashish Sarkar, TSS. “The idea was to execute, within limited budgets, an Out of Home campaign, that generated enough conversation to carry the event awareness beyond readers, participants and last year’s visitors. Carefully selected locations along all connecting routes between Delhi and Gurgaon, a 3D football stadium in mid-air and footballing action in relief leave no one in doubt of the size of the event. The stadiums themselves were fabricated overnight with artificial turf and LED cluster lamps to mimic the real thing in as much detail as possible. The resulting installation is visually so different from large distances, that travellers are bound to stay eye-locked on it till they are close enough to read the event description. We thank Hindustan Times for the opportunity and the support”-said Madhav Joshi, TSS
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As Kurlon celebrated 10 years of Kurlon Kare Klub, their dealers enjoyed the privilege to be a part of a grand event organised in association with CRI events at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. Dealers from all across the country had gathered to attend a night full of entertainment and fun. Kurlon Kare Klub is a special initiative to felicitate the top dealers with rewards and incentives. This time, 450 dealers from across the country came together for a felicitation award night and cherished the moments of past through a nostalgic audio visual showcasing their previous events. Anchor and Singer Vandana Vadhera along with Bad Salsa dance group and Avijit Tinku (winner of India’s got talent) performed at the event. The event was hosted by Dilruba Pandey. Yoga artists and tarot card readers were also there to engage the guests. Modelling the mattresses as a muse for the evening, the event was themed around Dreams. With a tagline – Dream Believe Achieve – the event churned out the enthusiasm of the dealers towards believing in their dreams to achieve them and make them a reality. Mr. Bala Rajan, Kurlon said, “The event had been a huge success and the set up was awesome. The planning was quite superb and it was executed even better. The evening was enjoyed well by all guests and it could absolutely not have been possible without the efforts of CRI events.” Talking about the artists and performances, he added, “The spirit of the show was elevated with rock on performances by amazing performers. Dilruba as an emcee was great and Vandana was an absolute singing delight. The mesmerizing performances by Bad Salsa and specially by Avijit Tinku captivated the attention of the audience and added a wow factor in the event. Talking about the initiative, Mr. Ashish Malhotra, head, planning and production, CRI events said, “It has been a pleasure and a great honour working with Kurlon group. We are happy that our sincere endeavour was appreciated by the group and we look forward to organising many more such events in future. This was a multi agency pitch and we are glad we won and delivered as per the client expectations.”
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