Author: Kashmeera Sambamurthy

NARS Cosmetics enters India, says country is the next ‘beauty hotspot’

"The Indian beauty market and consumer expectations have evolved significantly in the past few years, with discerning Indian consumers actively adding global brands to their collection of beauty products. With the launch of NARS in India, Shiseido also aims to strengthen its prestige skin beauty brand portfolio and accelerate growth in the Asia Pacific region," said Nicole Tan, president and chief executive officer of Shiseido Asia Pacific.

Nicole Tan, president and CEO of Shiseido Asia Pacific, talks about the enthusiasm of Indian consumers and what’s planned for them.

Marketing Mocktail: Narrow or broad – brand portfolio extension themes explained

The question is, do brands extend their portfolio randomly, or is there a thought process behind it? What is the basis of extending a brand? Is there an underlying theme? (Representative Image: Grant Durr via Unsplash)

There are five types of brands based on the theme that they use to extend themselves, straddling a scope from narrow and focused to broad and diverse.

Hip-hop is currently the fastest-growing music genre in the country and brands know it: Anshul Ailawadi

Anshul Ailawadi, Head of Youth, Music, and English Entertainment at Viacom18 states, "Our partnership with T-Series has significantly amplified our reach, a trend we aim to continue in the new season. Our goal is clear — take the music to the world. We're not gatekeepers; The Hustle stage is open to anyone wanting to express themselves through music and words."

Hustle from MTV (Viacom 18) is coming back for the third season with more brand partnerships and scope for the growing hip-hop community in India.

The ACE model: A path to leading with influence

Building credibility is equally vital. It's not enough to talk the talk; you must also walk the walk, both in and away from the presence of your team. Consistency is the key to building trust and credibility, writes Subramanian Ananthapadmanabhan. (Representative Image: Alexander Milo via Unsplash)

Take the first crucial step towards defining your leadership through humility and influence rather than the designation imposed by your title.

JWT stalwarts speak out on the death of the agency

Grasp will introduce a new route to partner with MiQ across all markets. The company will continue to operate as an independent business unit under MiQ’s ownership and will retain its current brand. There will be no change to either company’s organizational structure. (Representative Image: Tim Mossholder via Unsplash)

HTA/JWT veterans share their feelings about the merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R to create VML.

National Skill Development Corporation partners with Coca-Cola India to launch Super Power Retailer Program

The Super Power Retailer Program will offer industry-specific skills such as customer management, inventory and stock management, financial management etc. that are tailored to the professional needs of retailers.

The initiative focuses on providing training to small and micro retailers, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to better understand consumer behaviours and their preferences.

HDFC Bank’s Vigil Aunty in the face of storm

This backlash highlights the challenges brands face in navigating cultural sensitivities and symbols in their campaigns. (Still from the commercial)

The recently rolled out campaign featuring ‘Vigil Aunty’ led to backlash over her bindi resembling a stop sign.

Amul’s ‘Be more Milk’ campaign reaches New York’s Times Square

Amul is not the only brand to have featured on the Times Square billboard. Storyboard 18 earlier reported that brands like Classplus - an edtech startup, homegrown short video app Chingari, content marketplace Pepper Content and life insurance company ICICI Prudential have advertised on the Times Square billboard. (Still from the video)

Amul’s 15 second campaign will run on a billboard at Nasdaq MarketSite 20 times every hour.

77 percent are familiar with conversational AI: Accenture

As generative AI further evolves over the next few years, we can expect a large degree of automation of customer interactions. Companies will increasingly rely on marketing to own and optimize most of the customer journey. Marketing needs to take the lead in experimenting with new tools and integrating them with the workflows constantly evaluating what parts of customer journeys we can automate with the help of advancements in AI, writes Arun Pattabhiraman, CMO, Sprinklr. (Representative Image: Andrea De Santis via Unsplash)

As per Accenture’s 17th annual Life Trends report, 42 percent of consumers would be comfortable using conversational AI like ChatGPT for product recommendations, completing tasks at work (44 percent) and wellness and healthcare advice (33 percent).