Network Advertising Bags Creative Mandate for Essilor India

Among India’s leading independent advertising agencies, Network Advertising has won the above-the-line creative mandate for Essilor India, a world leader in prescription lenses, following a multi-agency pitch. The account will be serviced out of Network's Mumbai office; the mandate includes all consumer-facing and partner communication across India for Essilor India. Network Advertising is best known for its path-breaking campaigns for HDFC, Jet Airways, Henko, Mahindra Lifespaces, Goa Tourism, i-Pill, Vijay Sales, Charagh Din, Vinod Cookware, among others.

Commenting on the win, Vinod Nair, Managing Director, Network Advertising, said, "Essilor India is a strategic addition to our growing clientele and this is a responsibility we feel proud to own. It was basis our ability to understand their business challenges and our sound strategic thinkingthat has helped us win this mandate. The win is sweeter because a global organization, with global alignments has chosen us, a 100% Indian agency, for their India business." 

Shayondeep Pal, Chief Creative Officer, Network Advertising, has an interesting take, "From an advertising standpoint, Essilor is unlike many other categories. Because you are communicating with the end consumer indirectly through her optician, knowing very well that the buyer is more interested in the frame, than in the lens. Having said that, both strategically and creatively, we are working on new-world insights as Indians embrace a new work culture where our exposure to screens is maximum. We hope to create excitement in a category which for some reason has believed in functional advertising."

Speaking on the partnership, Neha Sharma, Head – Marketing, Essilor South Asia, said “We have decided to associate with Network’s seasoned teamdue to their long standing exposure to the changing advertising landscape, their creative consumermind-set, and agood strategic approach. This will help Essilor strengthen its brand presence further. We are delighted to have Network on board with us and look forward to an enriching association.”

Essilor is the world leader in the ophthalmic industry and prescription lenses. Globally, Essilor is committed to providing solutions to correct and protect the visual health of people. Essilor India, with its headquarters in Bangalore, was founded in 1998 and since then has been providing solutions to correct vision of Indians through their various brands like Crizal, Varilux, among others. They are the leaders in their category and have been maintaining this position in the post-Covid world with a lot of product innovations and trade programs.

About Network Advertising:

Network is an independent, fully-integrated, full-servicebrand, media and digital solutions provider. Its 25+year existence is defined by its ability to think fearlessly and help impact the client’s business. The agency has created several path-breaking and industry-defining creatives for the clients and the partners. From revolutionary Designs to comprehensive Business Strategy, and from Media Planning and Buying to Activations and Innovation, Network provides comprehensive services under a single roof. Network has been the communications partner helping create many sunrise industries through differentiated advertising for a host of sectors including Pharma, FMCG, BFSI, Real Estate, Travel, Logistics, Consumer Durables, among others.

COVID-19 Triggered Economic Distress Sees Sharp Spike in Smuggling of Goods

FICCI Cascade

* In order to create large-scale awareness of this menace, FICCI CASCADE has been conducting several interactions with government and enforcement agencies across several states in India on the ways and means to mitigate this challenge.

* Applauding enforcement agencies for recent seizures, FICCI CASCADE urges Government to keep up the vigilance as current tough economic environment leads to economic crimes

* Gold, Cigarette and Liquor, having high tax arbitrage top the list of smuggled goods

* Smugglers using innovative measures like ferrying illegal cigarettes in COVID-19 Special Trains

FICCI’s Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy, (CASCADE) has appealed to the policy makers that illicit trade should be treated as a national threat. Illicit trade has emerged as one of the most formidable challenges before our nation, especially during the current pandemic which has led to an economic distress. This comes in the wake of several cases of smuggling of goods such as gold, cigarettes, liquor which have been reported amid the COVID -19 pandemic.

Mr. Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE while congratulating the officers of the enforcement agencies for successful seizures, said, “The perpetrators of illicit trade are always looking at innovative ways to deceive the system to carry out their activities. This deeply harms the economic interests of the nation and the society ends up paying a huge cost. While the recent efforts of enforcement officers are laudable, we cannot afford to let the guard go down. At a time when the country is already dealing with the coronavirus triggered financial stress, it is even more important that the government maintains strict vigil to ensure that these offenders are kept at bay.”

In less than a week, the customs officials had two major seizures of smuggled cigarettes at New Delhi Railway station where the smugglers were using COVID- 19 special trains for ferrying these products. These seizures come on the back of two other major busts of foreign cigarette smuggling rackets, first in Mumbai and second one in Hyderabad. The combined value of the seizures is over Rs. 15 crores. Earlier this month, large seizure of smuggled gold worth Rs 1.5 crore and 15 crore was also made by the Kerala Airport Authority and customs at Thiruvananthapuram Airport respectively.

Not only does smuggling dent the government exchequer, by creating opportunities from tax arbitrage, but also threatens local industries on which livelihoods of many depend. In a recent study by FICCI CASCADE, it was estimated that due to smuggling over 16 lakh jobs were lost in India in 5 industry sectors alone in 2017-18. Besides unemployment and massive financial losses, it also creates large scale destabilization by fomenting crime and funding insurgency and terrorism.

New Web site for US imigration agency

The Obama administration launched a new Web site on Tuesday that U.S. officials hope will make citizenship and other immigration services more accessible.

The new Citizenship and Immigration Services Web site was unveiled Tuesday at an event with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, as well as White House and Homeland Security staff.

Napolitano said USCIS' Web site gets 230,000 visits a day, therefore it is important that it be easy to use and provides ``the kind of information that people seek.''

The site was revised in 90 days using in-house resources, officials said. CIS officials could not immediately provide a total cost for the revisions. Parts of the service, including its Spanish-language sections, were still under construction.

Citizenship and Immigration Services is responsible for processing millions of applications for citizenship, immigration to the U.S. and legal residency as well as claims for asylum and refugee status.

One of the highlights of the new site is a tool allowing users to get e-mail updates or text alerts about the status of their cases, as well as to check them online with their case number.

www.ImmigrationDirect.com/USCIS

Agencies