As the year is closing towards its holiday season the war of experiential between brands is intensifying. While some are sticking to their original roots and reiterating their brand identities with creative on ground offerings to their target consumers, others are riding the digital wave to generate likeminded experiences. The month of September witnessed some of the most creative experiential campaigns by brands like Epson, Carlsberg, Nestle and others. In this list we at EE share, the 4 experiential campaigns that grabbed the most eyeballs last month. Medieval activation by Carlsberg This particular experiential initiative by Carlsberg proves yet again why it is considered as one of the most consumer centric brands across the world. As a part of this the beer brand had created a London pop-up bar which was Housed in The Vaults underneath Waterloo station. Executed in the last week of September, the overall concept of the activation was inspired from the idea of connecting the drink with 887 year heritage that it represents. It was themed in the style of the Grimbergen Abbey, where the drink was first brewed. An estimated 600 people attended this medieval activation and they were treated to a complimentary half pint of the blonde craft beer and music from The Retrosettes and High Jives. 2-Epson Giant Water Tank in Times Square This one is certainly one of the most path breaking experiential campaign to be executed in recent times. For the launch of their new line of EcoTank printers Espon created a giant water tank in Times Square and infused the elements of synchronized swimming performances to showcase them. Interestingly, the performers wore custom swimsuits which were designed with Epson printing technology. The bottom and rear panels of the tank were designed with the Epson ink cartridge to make believe audiences that swimmers were actually performing in ink. Additionally, pedestrians were also provided photo opportunities with the swimmers and the chance to test out the EcoTank printers. 3-Americas Cake and Sugarcraft Fair Everyone loves cake and everything related to it. The creamy frosting, the flavors, the scrumptious designs all make it a delight to cherish. However, what would your reaction be if one told you, you can also wear cakes now! Well, no kidding. Cake artists and pastry chefs from around the world participated in the first ever Americas Cake and Sugarcraft Fair, which took place September 18 to 20 in Orlando. The best part about the fair was undoubtedly how models in the event's fashion show wore outfits created entirely of edible materials such as chocolate, fondant, gum paste, and sugar art. Now that is some experience for the viewers. 4-National Cheeseburger Day This experiential initiative celebrated the love shared by New Yorkers for a Cheeseburger. Yes, to celebrate National Cheeseburger Day on September 18, the Melt (a fast-food eatery in the city) partnered with cheese sculptor Troy Landwehr to create a Guinness World Record-breaking cheese sculpture. This Cheeseburger sculpture was made with cheddar cheese from scratch and resembled the burger served in the restaurant. With over 30 hours spent on its creation, this delicious installation weighed 1,524 pounds and was a nice surprise for the customers of the restaurant who wanted to celebrate the day with great fervor.
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Forbes India has been celebrating entrepreneurial capitalism, in line with the Forbes DNA defined almost a century ago in the US. It shares the vision that over the next decade, India has a never-before chance to create an entrepreneurial renaissance. Forbes believes in the spirit of fairplay: that entrepreneurs need to follow the rules while creating value for all stakeholders. One way they seek out and recognise outstanding leaders who lead from the front every year is the Forbes India Leadership Awards. The brand has instituted the distinctive annual awards to recognise transformational leadership across the entrepreneurial firmament, from start-ups and mid-sized firms to the more mature organisations of global scale. The categories also reflect the magazine's charter. The nine awards recognising outstanding CEOs, entrepreneurs and business leaders who have built enterprises that have had a deep and enduring impact on the wider society were presented at a function attended by the crème-de-la-crème of India Inc in Mumbai recently. The achievement of this year’s winners assumes added significance since many of the business leaders felicitated have braved difficult local and global economic conditions to steer their organisations towards operational excellence. The process for organizing the awards started almost six months ago, with research on qualitative and quantitative parameters. The long-list of nominees for each category was whittled down by June. In late June, the jury headed by Mr Harsh Mariwala, chairman of Marico Ltd, examined the nominations and came up with the set of winners. The other members of the jury were Naina Lal Kidwai, chairman, HSBC India and director, HSBC Asia Pacific; Manish Sabharwal, co-founder and chairman of TeamLease Services; Noshir Kaka, managing director of McKinsey India; Sanjay Nayar, CEO of KKR India; and Akhil Gupta, former senior managing director and chairman of Blackstone India. KPMG, were the knowledge partners for the event and the ceremony was executed by Percept. Below mentioned are the winners of the Forbes India Leadership Awards 2015: 1)Outstanding Start-up for the Year Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati – Ola 2)Nextgen Entrepreneur for the Year Siddhartha Lal – Eicher Motors Ltd 3)Entrepreneur with Social Impact Samit Ghosh – Ujjivan Financial Services Pvt. Ltd 4)Conscious Capitalist Company for the year Godrej Consumer Products Ltd Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (Amul) 5)Best CEO – Multinational Company Uday Shankar – Star India Pvt. Ltd 6)Best CEO - Public Sector Arundhati Bhattacharya – State Bank of India 7)Best CEO - Private Sector CP Gurnani – Tech Mahindra Ltd 8) Lifetime Achievement Award for the Year RC Bhargava – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd 9)Entrepreneur for the Year Uday Kotak – Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd
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In a first move of its kind, Mumbai City FC has partnered with Haptik Inc to provide on the go information and further engage with it's fanbase across the country for the upcoming second season of the Indian Super League. The Haptik App serves as a personal assistant on Chat to its users and this is one of the first time ever that a Sporting Club has integrated with a Chat based app to help their fans get easy access to the club for the entire season. The partnership doesn't only mean FAQ and help for the Mumbai City FC Fans, but also enables ticket booking, live scores, players and match information, expert opinions on games and a lot more. It is pretty much, a Personal Assistant by the Club for its fans. Further taking its promise to simplify everybody's life, for Haptik this alliance takes convenience to the next level. Commenting on the announcement, Indranil Das Blah, CEO, Mumbai City FC said, “The season is almost here and with everyone having multiple things to do at the same time, Haptik as an app makes life a whole lot easier with its unique features. We see tremendous value and promise in the Haptik app for our fans.” All a user will have to do now is download the Haptik App and speak to their assistants on the Mumbai City FC channel for any help, information or trivia. With this, Haptik also becomes the only player in the Personal Assistant/Chat Space to foray into the live events/sporting domain, taking their first step into bringing their users a more holistic experience in a single app. “It’s a very exciting step for both Mumbai CIty FC and Haptik to take,”said Aakrit Vaish, CEO & Co founder, Haptik Inc, which has more than 150,000 loyal users of the app. “This is the world’s first Sporting Club assistant integration, and we are all excited to see what users think of it. As sports fans, we have always wanted a channel to talk about our favorite clubs, and Haptik is proud to finally offer that! This is going to be a very exciting ISL Season for all of us.” The Mumbai City FC Channel goes live on Haptik on the 3rd of October, until the end of the season. And users can also watch out for the some very special surprises in store for them through Haptik, every time Mumbai City FC wins a game.
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Following the footsteps of the government in Delhi with respect to pre-approved venues for organizing events, the Maharashtra government too yesterday pledged its support in the favor of single window clearance and giving pre-approved licenses to venues in the state. The announcement for it was made by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the inauguration of the Maharashtra International Tourism Mart. “We have decided to come up with a list of designated areas in Mumbai, where if any of the event organizers hold an event, none of the permissions will be required”- said Fadnavis at the MITM event yesterday. This landmark announcement by the government of Maharastra is being seen as a major step towards promoting the business of event fraternity and its members in the state which so far were facing hassles in licensing clearance for venues and events. An insider for the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) also revealed that the list pre-approved venues may include properties like Goregaon Exhibition Ground, Film City and BKC among others. Elaborating further on the subject Devendra Fadnavis stated, “The state government is also working towards giving online permissions to the hotel industry through single window systems.” These announcements from the Chief Minister of state have been welcomed by the members of the Events and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) with a big round of applause. Speaking on the announcement, Sabbas Joseph, President EEMA said, “We have been long waiting for this day and I would like to thank Andre Timmins, Rajeev Jain, Sushma Gaikwad and Vijay Nair for their support and active involvement to make this change happen. We now look forward to having the same change happening across each of the states and cities that we operate in.”
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Trifecta Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. has recently announced its newest family-friendly experience, well timed to kick off the festive season – the 10 Heads Festival. A unique, multi-dimensional four-day festival that’s scheduled to begin October 22, at the Dhanchiri Camping Resort on NH-8 – 10 Heads seeks to revive the concept of the great family outing. 10 Heads = 10 festivals = 10 handpicked curators creating 10 extraordinary elements = 1 unique experience With 10 festivals rolled into one the ‘big daddy of festivals’ packs in 10 key interest areas ranging from Music to Food, Fashion to Arts and Shopping to Technology. Band Baja Bass, the music festival, will be headlined by Daddy G (Grant Marshall), of the award winning British trip-hop group – Massive Attack. Legendary singer Lucky Ali and Indian Ocean will be among the other prolific Indian performers, including special collaborations and indie favourites to be featured prominently in the line-up. The gastronomical experience titled Foodistaan is set to be India’s most extensive food fest featuring over 30 varieties of culinary practices from nooks of corners of India as of the world. From top ranking restaurants to Street Food, Gourmet and Wellness Bazaars, a spice fair to Farmer’s Market this festival will be a foodies delight. Foodistaan has been carefully curated by the celebrated Chef Saby (Sabyasachi Gorai). Apart from a robust participation from leading names in the food and hospitality industry of India, Foodistan will also be bringing down exclusive pop-up restaurants/bars such as Ibiza’s Bar Barlovento, Berlin’s FluxBau and London’s Mavericks Pizzeria, 23 Grosvenor Gardens & Atlantic Bar and Restaurant. The 4 day fiesta will also see India’s 1st festival of Magic & Illusion — curated by Karan Singh — will showcase 10 disciplines of magic with street magicians, illusionists and mind-readers, among others. The pièce de résistance of the 10 Heads festival will be the Unburning, a special showcase — details for which will be unveiled close to the date of the festival. 'Unburning' will be led by the prodigious ‘Laserman’ from Italy. Laserman's show is the show of the moment, a show of manipulation of laser light, creating illusion and interacting with the audience. Dates: October 22-25, 2015 Location: Dhanchiri Camping Resort, NH-8, Delhi - Gurgaon Toll, Gurgaon 122002 Some of the 10 Heads are: Foodistaan – curated and managed by Chef Saby will host the finest gastronomic institutions from India and abroad. Highlights include: Street food rarities from across India, Toddyfest – A festival of drinkables. Arena dedicated to cocktails, wines, beers and mixology. Band Baja+Bass – A Festival of Music with some of the musical acts from across the globe. Fete De Luxe – A fair for high-end luxury products across categories of high fashion, technology, auto-mobiles, real estate, leisure & travel. Great Indian Bazaar – The flea festival. Experience popular & boutique brands through The Great Indian Bazaar's customized showcase, curated by the country’s leading Fashion magazine and our Fashion Flea Partner Cosmopolitan. Bachcha Party – A kids special, Bachcha Party will feature everything from games, to entertainment that tug at the heart strings of the young ‘uns Jaadunagari – India’s first ever Festival of Magic & Illusion festival with marquee and street magicians performing across venue mediums. Dramarama – An immersive theatre festival including diverse genres and styles of music, dance, technology and stand-up comedy.
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After extending a model initiative for single window licensing, pre-approved venues and online entertainment tax payment, AAP-led Delhi Government has extended an enthusiastic invitation to event planners to organize their marquee events in Delhi. In order to achieve this, the Delhi Government Cabinet led by CM Arvind Kejriwal and consisting of Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra have initiated certain policies to facilitate an environment that aims to establish Delhi as the hub of media, entertainment and events. In relation to this, the government is also encouraging event planners to organize events on the banks of Yamuna and has promised to supply them with a clean river by administering an aggressive cleanliness campaign. During his recent visit to EEMAX Global Conclave in Mumbai, Minister Kapil Sharma stated, "We want to be your partners and not overlords demanding a percentage cut from your well-earned business. The objective of our governance is to create a regulated and easy policy environment and get out of the way. My hope from our transformative policy vision is that we don’t have to meet ever again for work, but only as friends. You should forget where the government office is to do your work.” In an open letter to the event fraternity, Roshan Shankar- Advisor to the Government of NCT of Delhi said, "We want you to bring your best events to Delhi during the Delhi Festival in February and we want you to help develop 15 special tourism hubs across Delhi by working with associations of all the industries that encompass movies, media, film, tourism, hospitality, art, culture, retail and heritage. It is our government’s personal commitment to you that you will never have to pay a bribe and that the Delhi Government will facilitate all the things that you need to make this happen." Following the announcement Delhi tourism has uploaded an e-tender that seeks to empanel event and entertainment management companies to do events with the government in Delhi. Details of the tender can be found here. The tender no. is 2015_DTTDC_87653_1 Revising the timelines of the tender, the government has issued a corrigendum announcing the bid submission closing date as 12-Oct-2015 03:00 PM and the bid opening date as 12-Oct-2015 04:00 PM
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Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) partners with Maybelline New York, make up brand for the country’s most anticipated fashion fiesta, Amazon India Fashion Week Spring-Summer’16. The event scheduled from October 7-11, 2015 at NSIC Grounds, in the capital is a `fashion-meets-business’ event. It serves as a platform for young, as well as, established beauty and style talent, hand-picked after a nation-wide search. Maybelline New York, the trend setter & make-up partner for the New York Fashion Week is set to bring the latest trends and beauty expertise to their Indian consumers. Maybelline stands for freedom, modernity, ambition & self-expression, which translates into the brand’s latest mantra ‘Make It Happen’. Maybelline will bring these values and the signature New York edginess to their partnership with FDCI’s long standing Fashion property as exclusive beauty partners. Speaking on the association, Mr. Sunil Sethi, President, FDCI, said, “We are delighted to announce our association with Maybelline, for the India Fashion Week. The Indian cosmetic industry is burgeoning and this collaboration will only bolster our commitment towards adding a colourful landscape to the event.” Satyaki Ghosh, Director, Consumer Products Division, L’Oréal India said, “There is an inextricable link between fashion and make-up and with Maybelline New York at Amazon India Fashion Week, we’d like to showcase that to Indian women. This fashion extravaganza is the perfect platform for Maybelline to bring alive on the ramp its expertise from New York Fashion Week, perfectly customized for the Indian consumer. We’re very happy to be partnering with FDCI for this grand event and look forward to setting some new trends this season.” Pooja Sahgal, General Manager, Maybelline New York - India said, “Across the world Maybelline is strongly associated with fashion and is the make-up partner for the biggest fashion weeks across the world including New York, London, Berlin and others. We’re thrilled to be working with FDCI to create beauty trends this season. Through our presence at this distinguished platform, we hope to inspire women to create their own unique style statements with make-up and empower them with the mantra of ‘Make it Happen’. We look forward to an exciting season ahead where we will work with the best talent in the beauty industry and some of the most reputed designers in the Indian fashion fraternity to launch our innovative make-up range that encompasses our spirit and make-up looks from the catwalk to the sidewalk.”
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Percept Sports & Entertainment, the strategic business Unit of Percept One, bagged the brand activation & promotions mandate for Maharashtra Tourism. Percept Sports & Entertainment’s 360-degree scope of work encompassed conceptualizing the complete event design, managing and executing all promotional activities dedicated to promoting Maharashtra Tourism. Taking forward the mandate, Percept Sports & Entertainment conceptualized and executed a 3 day Road Show in Japan from 9th to 11th September, 2015 with support of the Wakayama prefecture, Japan. The Honorable Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis headed the delegation and was accompanied by top officials of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, including Mr. Paraag Jaiin Nainutia, Managing Director – MTDC, Hon. Secretary Tourism & Cultural Affairs Maharashtra – Mrs. Valsa Nair Singh, Hon. MP. Mr. Ramdas Athavle and Industries Minister – Maharashtra State - Subhash Desai. Hon. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met leaders and businessmen in Osaka on 9th September at Hotel New Otani and Tokyo at Indian Embassy where he pitched in for Japanese investments in India and also pitched for the Tour and Travel operators from Japan to increase the tourism footprint into India. This was followed by the historic signing of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and the Koyasan University. The MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) road show commenced from 9th September at Hotel new Otani Osaka, followed by a grand event at Koysan to inaugurate the Ambedkar statue at The Koyasan University, in Mount Koya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, on September 10th. On 11th September a road show was organised for Tour and Travel partners at the Indian Embassy of Tokyo. 12th September saw cultural performances by Wakayama Prefecture where the monks of Kumano performed the traditional trumpet shell act. The event also witnessed some vibrant cultural dance forms from the state of Maharashtra. Speaking on the occasion, Honorable Shri. Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, Maharashtra expressed, “Koyasan has been revered as a Buddhist destination, enchanting various tourists and spiritual Buddhists world over. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the creator of the Indian constitution, was also the man who revived Buddhism in modern India and thus, unveiling a statue of the father of Indian Constitution in the sacred Buddhist site in Japan is an utmost honor. I would like to thank the Government of Japan for this opportunity. Mr. Yoshinobu Nisaka, Governor of Wakayama also thanked Mr. Fadnavis and Maharashtra Tourism for this thoughtful gesture.” Secretary, Tourism Government of Maharashtra, Valsa Nair said, “With this road show in the commercial capital of Japan and one of the global cities of the world, we intend to have exchange of ideas and invite the tourist and businessmen alike to make the most out of the inflow of information that we bring along with this road show and explore the opportunities with regards to tourism and investment. This will definitely further strengthen the bond of both the countries with barter of cultural and financial thoughts.” Mr. Paraag Jaiin Nainutia, Managing Director – MTDC, while expressing his gratitude said, “We are very grateful to all those who have made this road show possible and smooth to conduct, my friends and colleague at MTDC, Government of Maharashtra officials, Mrs. Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, Tajima San the Director, Wakayama Prefecture and the very hospitable people of Japan. We sincerely hope that this exchange of information between the business communities, diplomats and the travel trade delegates result into a successful partnership and influx of tourists in both the countries.” Speaking on this significant account win and the successful 3 day road show across Japan, Mr. Sanjay Shukla, Chief Operating Officer, Percept One said, “It’s an honor to have won the MTDC mandate and we were determined to surpass their expectations with an innovative and memorable show. The entire event execution was a challenge given the distant location and lingo of Japan, but every element and detail was superbly synchronized and managed by every member of the Percept team to deliver a fantastic show that helped to achieve the goal of positioning Maharashtra as a prime investment and tourist destination. We appreciate the level of trust showed in us by MTDC and look forward to handling many such challenging and unforgettable events with them in the future.”
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