Mahendra Singh Dhoni Figures in LAVA New Brand Campaign

Lava International Limited, one of the leading players in the Indian mobile handset industry, launched its latest multi-channel marketing campaign featuring its brand ambassador and India’s most successful national ODI Cricket team captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. With this campaign, Lava aims to strengthen its brand identity as the most trusted and reliable mobile handset brand in the mobile handset industry. The integrated 12-week long, 360 degree marketing campaign comprises three different television commercials along with out-of-home, retail and digital marketing initiatives.

Thrilled with the launch of Lava’s new brand campaign, Solomon Wheeler, Vice President and Head – Marketing and Communications, Lava International Limited, said, “We are very excited to launch this campaign with Mahendra Singh Dhoni on board as our brand ambassador. We, at LAVA, believe that to build a truly endearing brand one cannot rely on just tactical differentiators; it has to be based on core values which in our case are – Integrity, passion for excellence and adaptability. Put together these values create a culture that ensures we deliver reliable products and services to our customers every time. Also, various industry reports bear testimony to our excellent product quality and after sales service which are unmatched amongst Indian mobile handset brands.”

Lava recently brought on board Soho Square, part of the WPP group, to take on Lava’s creative mandate. This is their first campaign for the brand.

The three TV commercials, each 30 seconds in duration, were shot in different settings – in locker room, steam room and a table tennis room. During each sequence the brand ambassador can be seen in conversation with a Lava representative, played by Prateik Babbar, who is trying to convince MS Dhoni to endorse Lava and vouch for the reliability of Lava’s products. While the protagonist, MS Dhoni, tries to test the Lava phones in different situations, the confident Lava representative mentions how each Lava phone undergoes thousands of tests to ensure its reliability. The commercials conclude with the brand’s new tagline - ‘Never lets you down’.

On conceptualizing the campaign for Lava, Dip Sengupta, Senior Vice President and Head of Advertising at Soho Square said, “The story of Lava is the story of reliability. It is something that is hardwired in the DNA of the organization and the great products that come out of its R&D facilities and manufacturing centers. When we delved deep into the products, we realized that the rigor and the drive for excellence that goes into each Lava phone was a story waiting to be told. The campaign with MS  Dhoni was therefore a natural next step. We wanted the code of reliability to come across in an endearing manner and MS Dhoni's interactions with the Lava representative does that effortlessly." 

Ethihad Unveils New Innovative Mobile App to Enhance Travel Experience

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has launched a mobile application for the iPhone that enables guests to organise and manage their journey with even greater ease as the airline continues to adopt innovative technology to reimagine the flying experience.

Etihad Airways guests will enjoy 10 per cent off flights, and members of the airline’s loyalty programme Etihad Guest, will receive 250 bonus miles for every booking made through the mobile app before 30 May 2016. Those who attend the Etihad Airways stand (ME 2310) at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai from April 25 – 28, 2016 will be able to trial the app’s considerable features and functionality.

The Etihad Airways mobile app is simple and enjoyable to use, providing comprehensive trip management capabilities by taking full advantage of the latest innovations in mobile technology. Guests can organise their journey on the app including booking tickets, checking-in and viewing the status of their flight.

The airline also partnered with Abu Dhabi Airports Company, enabling guests to navigate their way around Abu Dhabi International Airport using indoor maps – a first in the Middle East. The mobile app also incorporates high resolution enhanced seat maps, giving passengers a detailed layout of the cabin and their chosen seat. 

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Etihad Airways is dedicated to delivering excellence in every single guest interaction, be it face to face or on digital channels. We strive to provide innovative solutions that ensure our guests enjoy a seamless world-class service. We are confident that our guests will be delighted with the speed of the app, its ease of use and its considerable functionality. Regular travellers will also appreciate the ability to organise their journey on the go – all on the mobile app.”

The Etihad Airways’ app allows passengers to check in for their flight by using their mobile phone to simply scan their passport page. Guests can also pay for their tickets by scanning their credit card, eliminating the need to enter passenger details and payment information manually.

The simple booking process allows guests to compare multiple fare choices and upgrade options. In the ‘My Trips’ section guests can view all their past and upcoming trips, which are automatically linked to their Etihad Guest reward programme account. Boarding passes can be viewed from the app or downloaded directly to iOS Wallet.

The app offers a ‘countdown to take off’ feature to ensure guests arrive at the departure gate in plenty of time. Live flight status updates provide real time flight information enabling passengers’ family and friends to track their flight.

The mobile app is one of many innovative solutions being developed across Etihad Airways as part of its Digital Guest Innovation strategy. This technology strategy ensures that Etihad Airways and its equity partner airlines embed world-class technologies to deliver a range of services and products that enhance the guest experience and ensure passengers’ air travel expectations are met.

Robert Webb, Etihad Aviation Group’s Chief Information Technology Officer, said: “The mobile app marks a great step forward in our Digital Guest Innovation strategy. Through technology, we’re creating more personalised and tailored digital services and products to benefit our guests. This is just the beginning as we continue to empower our guests with greater control and flexibility over the entire booking and travel experience including how they choose to interact with our airline.”

The new Etihad Airways iPhone app is available now to download via the App Store.

Gujarat Lions Appoints Reliance Games as Official Gaming Partner for IPL Season 9

Reliance Games, a leading publisher and developer of mobile games has announced partnership with Indian Premier League’s newest cricket team Gujarat Lions. With this partnership, Reliance Games becomes the Official Gaming Partner of the Rajkot based team, led by ace batsman Suresh Raina.

The games will allow players to customize their team, engage with their favorite T20 stars - Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch and other champion cricketers in the Gujarat team by playing with their favorite superstars in the game.

“The Gujarat Lions team is making waves this IPL and fans now have the perfect opportunity to engage and play with their favorite stars. The game will bring to life player management, cricket action and an immersive 3D gameplay experience,” Amit Khanduja, CEO, Reliance Entertainment-Digital.

Reliance Games’ has developed top chart cricket games in the past for tournaments like ICC World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy etc. Besides team management based game play, Reliance is also set to launch a series of exciting cricket themed games covering genres like casual, puzzle and real action for this IPL season. Customers can download these games from App Store & Google Play free of cost.

Commenting on the partnership, Amit Khanduja, CEO, Reliance Entertainment-Digital said, “We are excited to be the official gaming partners for Gujarat Lions and  Intex. Cricket lends itself to amazing player experiences & infinite potential for game design since fans adore their cricketers and the sport itself. With our new series of fun IPL games, we plan to enhance cricket enthusiast’s gaming experience both on the field and now on their smart phones and new Intex devices.”

Vineet Singh, VAS Head, Intex Technolgies (India) Ltd. said, “We are delighted to announce Reliance Games as our official gaming partner. Reliance Games has an incredible team with some amazing ideas for games for the Gujarat team. Being the latest entrant this IPL season we aim to enthuse our fans by giving them a larger than life cricketing experience with a multitude of games. This is a start of a new beginning for Intex and in future new high engaging products will be launched based on user’s interests & needs, which compliments well with our devices.

Pidilite’s New Roff Experience Centre in Bangalore to Showcase Adhesive, Grouting & Maintenance Range of Roff

Roff from the house of Pidilite, the industry leader in construction chemicals, has launched Roff Experience Centre in Bangalore, the first of its kind experience centre to spread awareness and facilitate exploration, while adopting latest solutions in tiling and stone installation. The experience centre was inaugurated by Dr. Sanjay Bahadur, Global CEO, Construction Chemicals Division.

Roff Experience Centre is designed to create an experience zone showcasing the adhesive, grouting and maintenance range of Roff. Consumers walking-in at outlets will be shown the advantage of tile adhesives and grouts over traditional methods of tile fixing. The wide range of adhesives options on substrates–stone, tile on tile and glass. The literature kept in the zone will look at educating the consumer on tile care, modern methods of tile fixing, generating architectural ideas and offering various solutions for difficult tiling areas.

Dr. Sanjay Bahadur, Global CEO, Construction Chemicals Division said, “Bangalore is essentially one of our key markets. Launch of Roff Experience Centre will facilitate innovation through showcasing the comprehensive range of tile and stone adhesives. This will help consumers to get a real life experience of the application and assist them in making correct decisions. Further, it will also assist people to get over conventional practices which are otherwise time consuming and ineffective in case of severe problems.“ 

Now SMBs in Mumbai Can Sell Using Amazon Tatkal Within 60 Minutes

In line with its vision to transform the way India sells, Amazon.in brings Amazon Tatkal, a unique initiative to help thousands of small and medium businesses (SMBs) to Mumbai. A one-stop-shop on the go, Amazon Tatkal enables SMBs to get online and sell on Amazon.in, in less than 60 minutes.

Amazon Tatkal is a specially designed studio-on-wheels offering a suite of launch services including registration, imaging and cataloguing services, as well as basic seller training mechanisms. It will enable thousands of interested sellers to start selling on Amazon.in in real time and experience the benefits of launching an online business.

Amazon Tatkal will be stationed at Linking Road and Elco Market today; Vashi Market and Nerul Market tomorrow, April 27 and Mulund Market and Dadar Market on Thursday, April 28. It will traverse the entire country, engaging with thousands of entrepreneurs, artisans, manufacturers and sellers and help them sell online on the spot. Mumbai-based sellers will now be able to sell local offerings like apparels, electronics, books, etc through Amazon.in within 60 minutes.

Talking about the concept, Gopal Pillai, Director and GM, Seller Services, Amazon India said “Our conversations with hundreds of SMBs reveal that there is a high level of interest among them to get online and start selling, but they are unable to overcome perception barriers of the process being time consuming, tedious and complex. As a result many interested sellers tend to put off onboarding tasks. As always, we worked backwards from seller needs and conceptualized Amazon Tatkal. We believe this initiative will help sellers to overcome these constraints, get them onboard, and start selling on the Amazon platform with speed and ease.”

Amazon Tatkal will visit seller-dense pockets across multiple cities in the country and engage with local businesses over the next several months.  Specially trained company representatives will educate sellers on the benefits of selling online, introduce them to the specialised seller services offered by Amazon.in including innovations like Easy Ship, Fulfilment by Amazon as well as Global Selling and launch interested sellers on the Amazon platform, helping them with on-the-spot imaging and  cataloguing tasks.

“We are very excited to see the high level of interest and enthusiasm from sellers to get online and benefit from the digital economy. A number of sellers on Amazon.in witnessed a growth of 250% (YOY) last year. We believe that initiatives like Amazon Tatkal will help thousands of SMEs in the country to experience the ease and convenience of selling on the Amazon.in marketplace in a matter of 60 minutes,” adds Gopal.

Since its launch in June 2013, Amazon.in has been working extensively to launch services that meet different business requirements of sellers and help them grow their business profitably online. Over the past two and a half years, Amazon.in has introduced the most comprehensive suite of offerings for sellers to sell online in India. From running an extensive education and skilling program for SMBs called Seller University, offering Fulfilment By Amazon (a pay-as-you-go fulfilment service wherein Amazon.in  packs, ships and delivers products to customers, manages returns and does customer service on behalf of the sellers), innovating Easy Ship (an assisted shipping service that makes it easy for sellers to ship products across India) and Seller Flex (bringing Amazon’s flagship FBA experience to the seller’s doorstep by implementing the FBA technology at sellers’ warehouses) , to  building the largest storage capacity in ecommerce in India for sellers to the tune of 5 million cubic feet, Amazon.in has been helping sellers reach millions of customers across the country. Amazon launched its Global Selling Program for sellers in India in May last year and today over 6000 sellers from India are selling their ‘Make in India’ products on Amazon’s nine global marketplaces to over 304 million active worldwide customers.

Amazon.in also recently launched a lending program for sellers through an independent, third party partner to offer secured and unsecured loans to sellers from 5 lakh rupees to Rs 2 crores at very competitive interest rates. 

India 2nd Largest Smartphone Mkt by 2017; 4G Phones will Account for 75% of 170 M Imports

According to the report on global technology and telecom, the country's smartphone market will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23% through 2018 and would account for 30% of the global growth during the period.

"We expect India to overtake the US next year as the second-largest smartphone market by units. India will grow nearly five times faster than the world's largest smartphone market China, where growth has decelerated," the report said.

It added, "We estimate a 23% CAGR in units in India, compared with 5% over the same period in China. By 2018, we estimate 192 million smartphones will be shipped to India, or 11% of global units."

Morgan Stanley said there are only 225 million smartphone subscribers in the country, accounting for 18% of the total population. "The improvement in demographics, as measured by declining age dependency, has been one of the most important factors supporting higher potential growth in India... We expect consumption to maintain a relatively high growth rate, driven by an increase in per-capita income growth and an emerging middle class," it noted.

On consumption of data, the report said the country is on the cusp of significant growth in data traffic driven by rising data users as well as growing data usage per user.

"We expect India's internet penetration to reach 50% by 2018, up from 26% last year, driven by rising smartphone availability and affordability, online content and changing user behaviour," it said.

The global consultancy estimates 4G smartphones will account for 75% of 170 million shipments by the next year, which currently has less than 1% subscriber penetration in the country. The report, which is based on 2,600 urban smartphone buyers, said the respondents paid an average of Rs 8,500 for their smartphones and plan to spend 40% more on their next phone. 

Ten Percent GDP to Make India $10 Trillion Economy: Amitabh Kant

India needs to grow at 10% to become $10 trillion economy and eliminate poverty by 2032, Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant said here on Thursday.

The country's growth rate was 7.6% in 2015-16 and its economy worth $1.7 trillion. In a presentation made during Civil Services Day function attended by Prime Minister and large number of civil servants, he said a growth rate of 10% would also help in creation of 175 millions jobs by 2032.

"Growing at 10% will transform India. India will be a $10 trillion economy with no poverty in 2032," his presentation reads. The presentation was made on the status of implementation of reports of 'Group of Secretaries' formed by the Modi government. A total of eight Group of Secretaries were formed in December last year on focus areas.

"These eight groups had officers from different ministries. Further, there were 16 groups of joint secretaries who simultaneously worked on their focus areas. We cut across silos so that we can act on the eight themes and act as agent of change," said Kant.

He said that current 7% growth rate would make India only a $6 trillion economy by 2032 and would still leave 5-6% of population Below Poverty Line (BPL). The groups has decided on sub-themes, Some of its recommendation have been acted on whereas a road map has been suggested for the rest to achieve intended target.

Under the sub-theme "accelerated growth", he said there will be Rs 2 lakh crore worth investment in roads and railways in FY 2017. It intends to complete 10,000 km of road project during the same period. LPG connections to below poverty line women through Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana and promotion of medical tourism are other action points suggested by the group under "health and pharma" category.