TBWA, PHD Of Omnicom Group Wins Creative And Media Mandate For EdTech Major LEAD School

LEAD School, a major K-12 EdTech player, today announced the appointment of TBWA and PHD, as its integrated creative and media partner. The mandate, won during a multi-agency pitch, will be managed from Mumbai.

TBWA and PHD are part of US based Omnicom group, a global leader in developing marketing communications for over 5,000 clients in 100 countries. While TBWA will develop a strong communication, creative strategy and campaign for the brand across television, outdoor and digital media platforms, PHD will be responsible for media buying and planning focused on building a resilient digital footprint for the EdTech enterprise.

LEAD School’s Integrated System is a one-of-its-kind solution that provides tangible results in student and teacher performance across 2,000+ schools catering to over 8 lakh students across the country. Over the next five years, LEAD School is on a mission to make excellent learning affordable and accessible to over 10 million children across 25,000+ affordable private schools in India.

Anupam Gurani, Chief Marketing Officer, LEAD School said, “TBWA and PHD are admired globally for their campaigns that are testimony to their disruptive and digital-first brand storytelling and creative thought process. We are confident that this synergy will create a strong brand story for LEAD School which complements with our proposition of delivering a highly enriching and personalized educational experience to students, parents through our partner schools and teachers. We are excited to partner with TBWA and PHD in our journey of building LEAD School as India’s most loved education brand.”

Govind Pandey, CEO, TBWA India said, “It is inspiring for us to partner with LEAD School in creating a disruptive brand with the purpose that every child deserves an excellent education. We look forward to this journey together of fulfilling this vision.”

Parixit Bhattacharya, Managing Partner-Creative, TBWA said, “The Edtech category is ripe for a disruption. We look forward to creating an inspiring brand with the energising team at LEAD School. After all, it is not every day that you get to work on the future of the nation.”

TBWA brings a unique dimension to creativity by using the ‘Disruption thought process’. Named one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company for 2019 & 2020, TBWA’s global clients include Adidas, Apple, Gatorade, Henkel, Hilton Hotels, McDonald’s, Nissan, and Singapore Airlines. 

Monaz Todywalla, CEO, PDH Media said, “We are excited to partner with LEAD School for its national media mandate. Customization is the keyword of the decade and LEAD School is bringing that to education by seamlessly integrating it with technology but through a unique platform that enables the entire ecosystem. We hope to bring their mission to life with our resources and lead LEAD School to a resounding digital growth.”

PHD Media with a strong tech affiliation and expertise in digital-first mandates will be responsible for media buying and planning to build a resilient digital footprint for the EdTech brand. Some of the successfully executed media campaigns of PHD for global brands include Rammed with Confidence for Volkswagen and What a Coinci-Dance for Skoda.

About LEAD School

LEAD School is promoted by Leadership Boulevard, one of the fastest growing EdTech companies in India. It combines technology, curriculum and pedagogy into an integrated system of teaching and learning, thus improving student learning and teacher performance in schools across the country. LEAD School partners with 2000+ schools with an estimated 8 lakh+ students in more than 400 cities, including tier 2 to tier 4 cities, in 20 States.                     

About TBWA\Worldwide

TBWA is The Disruption® Company: the cultural engine for 21st century business. Named Adweek’s 2018 Global Agency of the Year, we create disruptive ideas that locate and involve brands in culture, giving them a larger share of the future. Our collective has 11,300 creative minds across 275 offices in 95 countries and also includes brands such as AUDITOIRE, Digital Arts Network (DAN), eg+ worldwide, GMR, The Integer Group®, TBWA\Media Arts Lab, TBWA\ WorldHealth and TRO. Global clients include Adidas, Apple, Gatorade, Henkel, Hilton Hotels, McDonald’s, Michelin, Nissan, and Singapore Airlines. 

About PHD Media

PHD is a growth-obsessed agency that believes in the remarkable power of imagination. Since it was founded in London in 1990, as the first media agency to offer strategic and creative planning, PHD has been helping clients achieve disproportionate growth. Using its proprietary gamified operating system: Omni Studio by PHD, which connects the network’s 6,000 minds, PHD creates and harnesses ideas that go beyond expectations; ideas that enable brands to move beyond incremental improvements and make the leap above their competitors. PHD is ranked in the top four most globally awarded networks in the world (according to the 2020 WARC Media 100). The PHD network is part of the Omnicom Media Group, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC). PHD | Make the Leap | www.phdmedia.com

Microsoft India Announces Winners Of Cloud Champions 11 Program

* Recognizes 11 Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers for accelerating SMB cloud growth

Microsoft India today announced the winners of the inaugural edition of Cloud Champions 11, a unique engagement program designed to strengthen its commitment to partners in India. The program recognized 11 Microsoft Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs) for accelerating cloud growth for SMB customers between December 2020 and March 2021. The program received over 1000 registrations from 777 partner organizations across 92 cities in India. Open to all active Microsoft partners in the country with CSP business, or direct and indirect resellers catering to SMB customers, the program evaluated participants basis their cloud business growth across Microsoft Azure, Modern Work and Security as well as Business Applications.

Harish Vellat, Senior Director, Small and Mid-Corporate Business, Microsoft India said, “Our partners have been at the forefront of delivering cloud innovations to help customers transform and become more agile. Through the Cloud Champions 11 program, we acknowledge the resilience, commitment and customer obsession of our partners to empower our SMB customers in these challenging times.”

The winners received special recognition at a virtual Champions’ Night on June 17. The Champions Night attendees also gained access to a business session by entrepreneur Ankur Warikoo. The prize winners will receive professional mentoring from business coach Mitali Chopra. They will also receive a choice of virtual experiences, especially curated from across the globe, including sessions on positive thinking, family fitness, piano meditation, cooking masterclasses, and interactive music festivals.

Atlassian Ranks Among Top 20 Companies By Great Place To Work Across Indian Market

* The company is recognised for its unique work culture involving openness, teamwork, and innovation 

Atlassian Corporation Plc (NASDAQ: TEAM), a leading provider of team collaboration and productivity software and the maker of Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, and Trello, today announced that it has been certified as one of the 2021 Best Workplaces in India by the Great Place to Work Institute. This comes off the back of its local growth plan to hire 300 R&D engineers in India as part of a major recruitment drive in 2021. 

Atlassian, which established a local presence in 2018, has grown its office in Bengaluru into a world-class R&D center by hiring the smartest technical minds. This was Atlassian’s first time participating in the submission in India, ranking #19 in the prestigious list for the period of December 2020 to November 2021. The ranking was based on the results of the Great Place to Work’s Trust Index survey, which was completed by Atlassian’s India-based employees, as well as a culture brief that heavily focused on how companies supported employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Atlassian provides its employees with a variety of resources to support their personal and professional growth including - employee first policies and health benefits, extended leave, employee engagement policies, physical and mental wellness, etc. 

Dinesh Ajmera, Site Lead and Head of Engineering, Bengaluru, Atlassian said, “We are honoured and humbled to be recognised as one of the best workplaces in India. This award is a tribute to all of our team members and their commitment to building a great company, as they’re the ones who make Atlassian a fantastic place to work. We believe that by empowering our own employees to unleash their potential, we will fulfil our mission of helping our customers around the world unleash their potential too." 

With the global shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, Atlassian re-looked at how it could engage and support employees across the globe. In addition to rolling out a new distributed work model, Atlassian is building on its updated employee benefits, including increased mental health support via subscriptions and access to expert resources, special leave during the pandemic, and additional resilience workshops for staff. It also announced a USD$500 stipend for staff to create an optimal workspace.  

During the second wave of COVID-19 in India, the company temporarily switched its team in India to a four-day work week to acknowledge and support the challenges they are facing, as well as supporting staff with access to medical care and vaccines. The Atlassian Foundation team has coordinated more than 16 internal COVID relief campaigns to support the most vulnerable around the world. Working with local organisations, it is supporting these communities and matching every donation up to USD $500,000 to go towards these relief efforts. 

“India's technology talent is world-class. Not only is it our fastest growing R&D site globally, but it’s also our fastest growing talent location. After only three years, we are thrilled to be one of the best places to work. We do what it takes to attract, nurture and retain incredibly talented people,” said Mike Cannon-Brookes, 

Co-founder and Co-CEO, Atlassian. 

In order to help candidates succeed during the interview process, especially during the pandemic, the company has also created the Candidate Resource Hub, a space to house and centralize all of the resources that it offers externally for prospective candidates, candidates actively interviewing, and anyone who wants to learn more about Atlassian. Learn more at https://www.atlassian.com/company/careers/resources. 

About Atlassian 

Atlassian unleashes the potential of every team. Our team collaboration and productivity software helps teams organize, discuss, and complete shared work. Teams at more than 212,000 customers, across large and small organizations - including Bank of America, Redfin, NASA, Verizon, and Dropbox - use Atlassian’s project tracking, content creation, and sharing, and service management products to work better together and deliver quality results on time. Learn more about our products, including Jira Software, Confluence, Jira Service Management, Trello, Bitbucket, and Jira Align at https://atlassian.com/. 

About Great Place to Work 

Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees around the world and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Great Place to Work helps organizations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. Emprising®, their culture management platform, empowers leaders with the surveys, real-time reporting, and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Their unparalleled benchmark data is used to recognize Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies and the Best Workplaces™ in the US and more than 60 countries, including the 100 Best Companies to Work For® and World’s Best list published annually in Fortune. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a Great Place to Work For All™. 

ICICI Bank Extends Instant ‘Cardless EMI’ For Online Shopping; Enhances Affordability Of Customers

* Millions of pre-approved customers can instantly and digitally convert their high value purchases into easy EMIs

* They can avail the facility across 2,500 e-commerce brands

* First bank in the country to offer this facility

ICICI Bank today announced that it has introduced the instant ‘Cardless EMI’ facility to online purchases made on e-commerce platforms. The facility enhances affordability to millions of the Bank’s pre-approved customers, as it allows them to instantly buy products or services online through Equated Monthly Instalments (EMIs) in just a few clicks by using their mobile phone and PAN. Customers can convert the transactions up to Rs. 5 lakh into easy monthly instalments by simply entering their registered mobile number, PAN and OTP (received on mobile number) at the check-out section of the e-commerce website or app. The facility can be availed across a host of categories such as electronics, home appliances, laptops, mobile phones, travel, fashion apparels, sports-wear, education and home décor.

ICICI Bank is the first in the industry to introduce convenient and instant cardless EMI facility for online shopping, seven months after it launched the same service at retail stores. The Bank has tied up with leading digital lending platforms namely FlexMoney and ShopSe to offer this facility across 2,500 brands including Bata, Bajaj Electricals, Career Launcher, D Décor, Decathlon, Duroflex, Flipkart, HealthifyMe, Henry Harvin Education, Kurl-on, Lenovo, Lido Learning, Myntra, Makemytrip, Morphy Richards, Nokia, ONLY, Panasonic, Pristyn Care, Raymonds, Simplilearn, Tata Cliq, Think & Learn, Toppr, Vedantu, Vero Moda, Vijay Sales and Urban Ladder. The Bank will add more brands to this facility in future.

Speaking on the new facility, Mr. Sudipta Roy, Head- Unsecured Assets, ICICI Bank said, “We, at ICICI Bank, believe in providing innovative, convenient and hassle-free products to our customers. With this thought, we had introduced instant ‘Cardless EMI’ facility for retail stores in the last festive season to help our customers to purchase products of their choice in a completely contactless, digital and secure manner. Inspired by the encouraging response from it, we have now extended the facility for online shopping. With this, our customers can shop from over 2,500 e-commerce merchants and brands just by using mobile phone and PAN. The new offering improves affordability to millions of our customers as they can purchase high value products on EMIs and in a secure, convenient, instant and digital manner.”

Mr. Yezdi Lashkari, Founder & CEO of FlexMoney Technologies said, “We are delighted to partner with ICICI Bank and enable their customers to shop with ‘Cardless EMI’ at their favourite e-commerce merchants and brands. We share ICICI Bank’s vision that the future of purchase finance will be a frictionless, integrated, and cardless digital credit checkout experience for the consumer. FlexMoney’s InstaCred platform provides a seamless and secure merchant integrated checkout experience to customers of ICICI Bank enabling them to shop across our multi-category merchant network.”

Mr. Pallav Jain, Co-founder & CEO, ShopSe added, “At ShopSe, we are passionate about providing best-in-class EMI solution to our merchant partners and customers. That’s why we are proud to get an opportunity to partner with ICICI Bank on their innovative and first-of-its-kind Cardless EMI product. It’s been a delight working with ICICI Bank team, which is equally passionate about the experience at point of purchase.” 

Benefits offered by ‘Cardless EMI’ for online shopping:

·         Digital & instant process: Customers can avail the EMI facility in a completely digital, instant and secure manner

·         Wide transaction limit: Customers can get pre-approved limit for purchases from Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 5 lakh

·         Flexible tenures: Customers can select tenures of their choice from 3, 6, 9 and 12 months

·         Exclusive convenience: No other bank in India offers this convenience

·         Wide range of categories: The facility is available across 2,500 e-commerce brands of electronics, home appliances, laptops, mobile phones, travel, fashion, sports-wear and home décor

Here are simple steps to opt for the ‘ICICI Bank Cardless EMI’ facility: 

·         Log on to the website/ app of any of 2,500 e-commerce brands

·         Choose the products or services > Choose ‘Cardless EMI’ as the payment option

·         Enter registered mobile number > enter PAN > enter the OTP

·         Transaction gets approved at this stage instantly

ICICI Bank customers can check their eligibility for ‘Cardless EMI’ for online shopping by sending SMS ‘CARDLESS’ to ‘5676766’ or check the offers section on iMobile app.

Beauty Salons, Distance Education And Pet Care Services Lead The Online Searches

 

A study undertaken by Sulekha, India’s leading tech-AI platform for expert services has unveiled interesting insights about demand for services in Indian cities.

This study is based on visits and searches by nearly 2,00,000+ consumers across top 8 Indian cities that landed on Sulekha from May 15th – June 15th, 2021.

Key findings of the study:

·  The Top 3 service categories that have seen a spike in online searches include Beauty Salons, Distance Education and Pet Care services.

·  The top five cities that are leading in online searches across services include Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai followed by Chennai and Bangalore.

·  In Delhi, the top three services that are leading include Beauty Salons, Pet Care services and Visa Consultants. These services have grown by 74%.

·  In Hyderabad, the top three services that are leading include Internet Service Providers, Pet Care services and Beauty Parlours. These services have grown by 34%.

·  In Mumbai, the top three services that are leading include Job training, Beauty Salons and Distance Education. These services have grown by 53%.

·  In Chennai, the top three services that are leading include Beauty Salons, AC services and Diagnostic centers. These services have grown by 59%.

·  In Bangalore, the top three services that are leading include Beauty Salons, Computer Repair & Services and Pet Care Services. These services have grown by 62%.

Satya Prabhakar, Founder & CEO, Sulekha, said, “In the month of May we see a variety of trends in terms of online searches, from Beauty Salons to pet care services. 

Across cities, people have looked up for services that were either completely unavailable due to lockdown restrictions or partially available.”

Honeywell Launches Authentification Technology To Prevent Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Products In India

* Technology introduced as a preventative measure for counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs in India

* Software features digital code in packaging and authenticator smartphone application for iOS and Android

Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) today announced digital authentication technology for pharmaceutical products in a bid to fight rising counterfeit crime in India.

An acute shortage of drugs to treat symptoms of COVID-19 has led to increased circulation of counterfeit medicines in recent times. There are reports of fake antiviral medicines and spurious injectable immunosuppressant in the market, jeopardizing the lives of COVID-19 patients, and even leading to fatalities.

With rising demand for vaccines, there is concern that fake vaccines could find their way into circulation. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization sounded an alarm over criminal exploitation of an unmet global demand for COVID-19 vaccines. Already, counterfeit vaccines have been detected in countries such as Mexico and Poland.

The coronavirus pandemic has led to an influx of fake medical products worldwide. Interpol’s Operation Pangea reported a rise in fake medical products related to the pandemic, with 4.4 million units valued at $14M having been seized in 2020 alone. Worryingly, counterfeiting is not restricted to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines alone. Per one report, 10% of drugs in circulation in low- and middle-income countries is either counterfeit or substandard.

“Honeywell is deploying its authentication technology for the pharmaceutical industry in response to the growing menace of counterfeit products,” said Hitesh Mehta, General Manager, Advanced Materials, Honeywell India. “Our sophisticated authentication technologies feature printing and substrates which can be easily identified but are difficult to alter and duplicate. Our technology offers brand protection for manufacturers and assurance of authentic products for end users.”.

The solution comprises a digital code that is embedded in the packaging of pharmaceutical products. The end user can validate the authenticity of the product by scanning the digital code with the help of a smartphone letting the end user know it is safe to use. The software that validates the product’s authenticity through a database is accessible through a Honeywell app available for download for iOS and Android users and gathers market intelligence.

Honeywell Authentication Technologies provides many of the world’s leading brands, governments, and monetary institutions with authentication solutions. (https://www.additiveschemicals-honeywell.com/authentication/).

About Honeywell India

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 technology company that delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help everything from aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. All of Honeywell’s global businesses have a strong legacy in India, built over the last eight decades. Honeywell’s India commitment is evident in three state-of-the-art manufacturing and engineering operations, and four global centers of excellence for technology development and innovation. Honeywell employs ~13,000 people across different locations including Bengaluru, Chennai, Dehradun, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Madurai, and Pune.  

Nutrify Today Announces Roll Out Of New Business Services For U.S.-Based Nutraceutical Companies

Nutrify Today, India based global organization focused at enabling and empowering responsible nutrition business worldwide is continuing to rapidly grow and transform its platform as it works with nutraceutical innovators and industry stakeholders to provide curated market access, financial and brand marketing knowledge. Nutrify Today is officially rolling out a host of new business services for U.S.-based nutraceutical companies. In the initial planning and development stages are a series of educational forums.

During the intense 2020 pandemic global lockdowns, Nutrify Today (previously known as Nutrify India), completed numerous business transactions valued at over US$9 million through its idea-to-commercialization solutions platform, with companies launching nutraceutical innovations. With its strong Asia reach, Nutrify Today commands a network of over 8,000 senior industry members and investors. Nutrify Today intends to create a seamless gateway connecting global nutraceutical industry channels with new business opportunities, thus potentially providing a faster and more visible Nutra growth for industry stakeholders.

Working with Chief U.S. Marketing Advisor Sheldon Baker, Chief Executive Officer of nutraceutical brand marketing firm Baker Dillon Group (www.BakerDillon.com), the first forum, scheduled for June 17, will focus on various aspects of the CBD (cannabinoid) and hemp supply chain and observations regarding regulatory issues that may affect CBD marketing. 

Moderated by Baker, the forum included Dave Neundorfer, CEO for Open Book Extracts, Mike Hennessy, Chief Innovation Officer for WANA Wellness and Henry Baskerville, partner with Fortis Law Partners. 

“A shared wealth economy goes well with the philosophy of Nutrify Today,” said Baker. “The next generation of global economic growth is going to be through shared wealth of multipoint collaborations and in the pursuit of inducing shared wealth growth in nutraceutical industry, Nutrify Today is rolling out series of nutraceutical industry educational platforms for the benefit of the Nutra industry at-large.”

Amit Srivastava, Nutrify Today founder and chief catalyst said, “We are committed to enabling and empowering responsible nutrition globally and it’s a privilege to serve a market like the U.S. We have formed a strong relationship with Sheldon and Baker Dillon Group, and we look forward to welcoming global nutraceutical leaders through our series of online educational programming.” The CBD forum can be accessed from the Nutrify Today home page at www.nutrifytoday.com.