Indian Brands Risk Long-Term Business Harm While Relying On Third-Party Cookies

* 82% of Indian brands still rely heavily on third-party cookies

* 61% cookie-using Indian leaders say they view cookies as a “necessary evil,” even though they realise continued overreliance is a losing strategy for the long-term

* 96% Indian leaders use Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), out of which 57% say they’ve already gained more direct relationships with customers, 46% have seen a rise in customer loyalty (46%), and 43% have seen an increase in the number and value of completed transactions

Today, Adobe has released new research that shows brands aren’t taking the necessary steps to evolve their data strategies, despite serious near and long-term impacts on their businesses. The global survey of more than 2,600 marketing and consumer experience leaders (including 405 India respondents) also explores the marketing investments and strategies that set industry leaders apart from the competition.

In India, the majority (82%) of brands still rely heavily on third-party cookies, with over half (61%) of leaders expecting the end of third-party cookies will hurt their businesses. The research shows that one in every two respondents (53%) agree that the ambiguity over cookie deprecation is causing an overall acceleration in the prioritization for readiness for a cookieless world.

According to Anindita Veluri, Marketing Director, Adobe India, “Third-party cookie landscape is moving towards becoming outdated soon.  This calls for business leaders to diversify their strategies now and increase focus on first-party data to build more direct and personal relationships with customers based on the data willingly shared thereby fostering trust.”

Brands rely heavily on third-party cookies

Although deprecation is on the horizon, 64% of India leaders still spend at least half of their marketing budgets on cookie-based activations – and 86% plan to increase spending on cookie-dependent activations this year. Most (87%) leaders in India still rely heavily on third-party cookies because they feel they’re very effective and a quarter (29%) of respondents surveyed believe that they do not have the resources to evolve their strategy.

An overdependence on third-party cookies is about to backfire on brands

Many India leaders expect the end of third-party cookies will hurt their businesses, in some cases profoundly: 40% said it would “devastate” their businesses, 22% anticipate significant harm, and 24% predict a moderate negative impact. Many heavy third-party cookie users believe they don’t have a choice, with over half (61%) of cookie-using leaders saying they view cookies as a “necessary evil,” even though many realise that continued overreliance is a losing strategy for the long-term. One in four respondents in India (29%) say they can’t get the resources to evolve their strategies.

While many companies are now on the path to abandoning cookies, some (11%) say they’re not changing out of a perceived lack of urgency. Others (22%) plan to change but are delaying preparations.

Customer data platforms (CDPs) are helping brands prepare for a cookieless future, and a cookieless now

The research found that 96% of leaders surveyed in India are already using Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), out of which over half (57%) of India leaders who use CDPs have already gained more direct relationships with customers, a rise in customer loyalty (46%), and an increase in the number and value of completed transactions (43%). CDPs also improve internal workflows, with 47% in India saying it enabled better and faster work across marketing and IT and more efficient ROI production (36%).

Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform (Real-Time CDP) now delivers billions of predictive insights a year based on real-time customer profiles. These insights empower teams to engage customers who are likely to buy – or who may be considering switching to a competitor. The platform has become the customer experience engine of choice for leading brands across numerous industries.

About Adobe

Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more information, visit http://www.adobe.com/in.

DE-CIX And Lightstorm Advance Ongoing Partnership To Offer New Capabilities To Enterprises

DE-CIX, one of the global leaders in interconnection platforms, is advancing its existing partnership with Lightstorm, a provider of digital infrastructure for hyperscale networking, to now provide access to Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS) as part of the collaboration suite of services and enhance the customer experience via Polarin, a unique Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform by Lightstorm. As part of the ongoing partnership, Lightstorm has added 17 DE-CIX-enabled data centres to the 17 independent data centres DE-CIX India currently has a presence in. DE-CIX India, which already has a strong presence in the Indian internet sector, has strengthened its position through this partnership, doubling its presence in India. 

Access to MAPS will allow the users to benefit from reliable and optimized connectivity, latency telemetry and security alerts for Microsoft Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). It also offers a dedicated, controlled, secured, and direct connection to the Microsoft network for businesses of all sizes to improve user experience.

Polarin platform helps enterprises to consume instantaneous network services with complete transparency, enabling them to access and utilize them on-demand as they would consume Cloud. This is done by eliminating the cumbersome process of months of network setup and multiple partner onboardings, allowing faster GTM execution. The integration of Polarin with the DE-CIX fabric in India will enable customers to enjoy a seamless experience in connecting to the exchange. 

The partnership helps customers of DE-CIX and Lightstorm directly access DE-CIX’s internet exchanges, thus allowing them to benefit from extended network coverage and superior network performance. Powered by utility-grade fibre and leaf-spine mesh network architecture, Lightstorm is empowering digital enterprises to realize their business vision without network issues becoming an obstacle. Joining hands with DE-CIX further allows the enterprises to benefit from its global presence and a track record of providing first-rate interconnection and peering services. 

In markets where internet traffic is perpetually on the rise, the enhanced services under this partnership come with optimising connectivity to meet the needs of the fast-paced business world, boosting online operations and the overall productivity of enterprises. Additionally, the new set of services includes customised interconnection services and improved security, the capability to build private ecosystems in the form of closed user groups, and the provision of direct connections to clouds. 

Commenting on the partnership, Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX, says, "The collaboration with Lightstorm is an important step for us as we continue to expand our partner network in India. In the digital world, dependable connectivity is crucial, and we are delighted to offer Lightstorm's customers direct access to our DE-CIX India Internet Exchanges and to the digital ecosystems that form around them. This will provide Lightstorm’s customers with lower latency and more reliable connectivity to other networks, better performance of content and applications, and advanced interconnection services for their business needs. We look forward to working alongside Lightstorm to offer truly exceptional connectivity to India’s enterprises."

On a similar note, Amajit Gupta, Group CEO and MD of Lightstorm, said, “Partnership with DE-CIX is in line with our commitment to provide the best digital infrastructure  for business of all sizes. Lightstorm is bringing a paradigm shift in the industry by introducing Network-as-Service. Collaboration with DE-CIX allows us to offer greater value and superior experience to our customers and accelerated revenue growth by reducing time to market.”

About DE-CIX:

DE-CIX (German Commercial Internet Exchange) is the world’s leading operator of Internet Exchanges (IXs). DE-CIX offers its interconnection services in more than 40 metro markets in Europe, Africa, North America, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. Accessible from data centres in over 600 cities worldwide, DE-CIX interconnects thousands of network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers and enterprise networks from more than 100 countries, and offers peering, cloud, and interconnection services. DE-CIX in Frankfurt, Germany, is one of the largest Internet Exchanges in the world, with a data volume of almost 34 Exabytes per year (as of 2022) and close to 1100 connected networks. In India, they operate four IXs, with DE-CIX Mumbai being the largest IX in the APAC region. 

Since the beginning of the commercial Internet, DE-CIX has had a decisive influence – in a range of leading global bodies, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) – on co-defining guiding principles for the Internet of the present and the future. As the operator of critical IT infrastructure, DE-CIX bears a great responsibility for the seamless, fast, and secure data exchange between people, enterprises, and organizations at its locations around the globe.

About Lightstorm:

Lightstorm is building infrastructure for hyperscale networking in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Middle East to accelerate the region's growth and spur innovation in the digital economy. Lightstorm is a pioneer in building a first-of-its-kind utility-grade resilient fiber network, SmartNet, in several countries in the region. Lightstorm’s Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform, Polarin opens new opportunities for enterprises by providing a simple, secure and smart way to enhance their application performance and user experience. A trusted partner of several Fortune 500 companies, Lightstorm is creating a robust foundation of digital infrastructure to create new sources of value and differentiation for businesses.

Agri-Focused NBFCs And Fintech’s Plays Critical Role To Augment Credit Requirement For Agricultural Innovation

~ Attributed to Mr. Prabhat Chaturvedi, CEO, Netafim Agricultural Financing Agency Pvt. Ltd. (NAFA) ~ 

Agriculture is a dominant sector of the Indian economy, with approximately 85 percent of farm holdings being less than 2 ha in size, still producing sufficient food and fiber for our large population of 1.41 billion. In addition, it generates some net export surplus. It would not have been possible without a massive credit infusion to farmers. Access to adequate, timely, low-cost credit from institutional sources is essential, especially for small and marginal farmers. The policymakers have initiated several measures to improve the accessibility of farmers to institutional sources of credit. These policies have emphasized progressive institutionalization for providing timely and adequate credit support to all farmers. Thus, focusing on enabling small and marginal farmers to improve agricultural practices.  

Even though the country has taken some proactive steps in heralding reforms in agri-credit to provide financial assistance to the farmer community, it is still behind compared to some neighboring nations. While the volume of credit has improved over the decades, its quality and impact on agriculture have only weakened. Agriculture requires substantial capital commitment, as procurement of equipment remains a significant spend for most farmers. Still, most agricultural credit extended to farmers is of a working capital nature, thus stagnating more than 80 percent of farmers' income. 

The analysis of Indian credit demand suggests that even though the banks and other financial institutions are aggressively increasing their reach to the farmer community under priority sector lending, the penetration continues to be low. In this scenario, the Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) sector focusing on Agriculture mechanization has scripted a remarkable success story. It is a testimony to the truly diverse and entrepreneurial spirit of India. From large Agri infrastructure financing to small farmers' microfinance, these NBFCs have innovated over time and found ways to address the debt requirements of the farmer community as a whole. Over time, agri-focused NBFCs / Fintech’s have evolved to be well regulated and, in many instances, adopted best practices in technology, innovation, risk management, and governance. Thus, act as conduits and have furthered the Government's agenda on Financial Inclusion. 

The agri-focused NBFCs /Fintech’s can meet the long-term credit needs of the farmers as most of them have high penetration in rural India, and the bulk of their credit disbursements are focused only on small and marginal farmers. Public domain data suggests that only 30 percent of total small and marginal farmers have access to banks and other formal credit channels. Some of the issues faced by banks in providing credit to the farmers are difficulty in reaching far-flung and remote areas and lack of critical technology. 

Further, banking activity involving lending to small farmers is plagued by various limitations like higher acquisition and servicing costs for marginal farmers and a greater risk of loan default. There are other problems that banks have faced, like difficulty in gathering farm-level data and getting information such as the cash flow and credit history of farmers. This is where the role of Agri-focused NBFCs /Fintech’s becomes critical. They have leveraged technology to derive essential insights into the farm domain and individual farmers to give out loans seamlessly and fairly. They also quickly offer credit to the farmers through lower paperwork and documentation. Adopting advanced analytics and rural market intelligence helps them bring efficiencies in the lending mechanism and cut the time taken to disburse a loan. 

The various purposes for which agri-dedicated NBFCs lend money to the farmer include loans for equipment and machinery, modern and efficient methods of irrigation, and various other components in the value chain of cultivation. They have also brought down the interest rate of loans to as low as 12-18 percent compared to 24-60 percent available in the informal credit system in the vast rural parts of India. The use of modern technology to draw estimates of loan demand, visibility of usage of credit, tracking irrigation facilities, etc., to come up with the exact products and offerings for the farmers are another set of distinct advantages these NBFCs offer. 

It's time the policymakers support such NBFCs who are charged up to bring radical and profound changes to the formal farm financing. The major challenge these NBFCs are trying to tide over is inclusion under reforms that currently are limited to banks and their Agri credit business. The policymakers must ensure that agri-focused NBFCs/ Fintech’s are included in effective programs such as the government subsidy schemes, a benefit hitherto available only to the Banks. It will enable them to lend efficiently, and mitigate farmers' credit requirements, thereby supporting their income growth. It will also go a long way in boosting agriculture financing and help India dominate global leadership of the agrarian economy. 

Sawai Fragrances Forays Into B2C Segment With The Launch Of Its First Perfume Brand ‘Eze’

~Launches new campaign #ExpressYourEze to showcase 8 gorgeous variants~

Sawai Fragrances, the leading manufacturer of fragrance elements, launched its first D2C brand, Eze Fine Perfumes amid much fanfare in Mumbai. The brand has a rich legacy as a designer, manufacturer and supplier of essential oils and fragrances to leading names around the world. The homegrown Indian perfume brand, which targets the new generation, marks Sawai’s foray into the B2C space in the perfume industry under its new marketing vertical, Incredible Indriya. The Eze brand launch saw high-powered attendance from the city, which included the who’s who from the world of beauty and fashion. They were taken through the new range of perfumes, The Eze musical, the campaign film, a specially composed rap song and an enthralling dance performance.

Eze takes its inspiration from an Igbo word in Nigeria, which means 'king'.  The letter ‘e’ in the name inspires the circular design of the bold-coloured bottles with its glass base and an ABS click-on cap. It comprises a range of 8 fragrances - 3 for men, 3 for women and 2 in the unisex category.

Mr. Pushkar Jain, CEO and Perfumer, Sawai Fragrances, says “With a rich legacy of over 6 decades, Sawai Fragrances has carved a niche for itself in the world of perfumery as a designer & manufacturer of essential oils and fragrant elements. With our foray into the B2C segment, Eze fine perfumes is a culmination of three generations dedicating their lives to the development of perfumes. As firm proponents of the Made in India initiative, we are giving the country its own home-grown perfume brand. What fuels this passion is our aim to put the country on the world map as a fragrance force to reckon with.”

He further adds, “At Eze, we don’t create fragrances just to make you smell good. We fashion them to transform your world. It’s not just a range of perfumes, it’s an encounter that makes life more fun and exciting. It is also the most intimate way of sharing a little bit of your innermost thoughts and persona through a carefully curated selection. The balance of these mild fragrances do not aim to dominate, but ensure that your presence is always felt through its lingering notes.”

Ms. Kanishka Jain, Director, Incredible Indriya, says, “The Indian fragrance market is dominated by deodorants, which helps mask body odour but are not ideal for social occasions. This turned out to be a great opportunity, to introduce the young generation to an exciting and proudly home-grown perfume that delivers a world-class fragrance experience. We are confident that Eze will resonate with our young audience and will be savoured as everyday wear.”

She further added, “Our perfumes have been curated in such a way that it allows the young consumers to make a signature statement about their unique persona, to express their Eze, their distinct uniqueness as they navigate through the many facets of their lives.”

The campaign for the new perfume brand is unique as it features real-life heroes and achievers. The theme, #ExpressYourEze that drives the campaign, taps into the young generation’s need to express their individuality.

Eze Perfumes will be available online on www.Ezeperfumes.com, in e-marketplaces (Amazon, Flipkart) and soon in stores for Rs 1395 (75ml), Rs 695 (30ml), Rs 495 (a discovery box of 4 vials of 3ml) and Rs 1895 (a gift box of 4 sets of 30ml bottles).

Sawai Fragrances was founded in 1965 by Mr Sawailal Jain who set up the first hydro-distillation plant for the production of natural attars, in the perfume capital of India, Kannauj. The company continued to expand as a manufacturer of essential oils and perfume sprays under Mr Prabhat Chandra Jain. Mr Pushkar Jain, the third generation perfumer, has played a pivotal role in making it a modern perfume house with in-house manufacturing, bottling and packaging solutions and taking it across the globe.

About Sawai Fragrances

A leading name in the craft of perfumery, Sawai Fragrances has a rich legacy as a designer, manufacturer and supplier of essential oils and fragrances to leading brands around the world. The journey began with a whiff of rose petals in Kannauj by founder, Mr Sawailal Jain who set up the first hydro-distillation plant for the production of natural attars in 1965. The brand has distillation centres and plants in Silvassa, Kannauj, Nilakkottai, Orissa, Tirupathur and Surat to develop the finest quality of perfumes. Sawai Fragrances, one of the leading B2B companies continues to evolve and has recently made a transition into the B2C segment. It has recently launched its own perfume brand Eze, which is a carefully curated range of perfumes that has a young and global vibe to them.

To learn more about Sawai Fragrances visit: https://sawaifragrances.com/

HPCL And Chevron Partner To Introduce Cutting-Edge Technology Lubricants In India

Chevron Brands International LLC (Chevron), a subsidiary of Chevron Corporation, has entered into a long-term trademark licensing agreement with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). This collaboration encompasses the licensing, production, distribution, and marketing of Chevron’s lubricant products under the Caltex® brand, including Chevron’s proprietary Havoline® and Delo® branded lubricant products.

This Agreement paves the way for Caltex-branded lubricants to be manufactured, distributed, and marketed in India by HPCL. Consumers in India can look forward to the supply of quality Caltex lubricants under this development.

Commenting on the agreement, Brant Fish, President of Chevron International Products stated, “We are extremely pleased to partner with HPCL to bring quality Caltex lubricants technology and performance to India. HPCL is a market leader in India, and together we plan to build on the strength of the Caltex brand and our premium product portfolio. We look forward to a long and successful partnership with HPCL to complement their product offerings with Caltex’s premium Havoline® and Delo® products in India.”

From his side, Amit Garg, Director Marketing of HPCL added, “This exciting partnership paves the way to leverage HPCL’s market leadership to add value via a broader, premium products offering to Indian consumers through synergies between HPCL and Chevron. The long-term comprehensive cooperation we have with Chevron is built on HPCL’s success in the field of lubricants production, distribution, and marketing. We look forward to a fruitful and long-lasting journey with the Caltex brand in the Indian market.”

About HPCL

HPCL is one of the largest integrated public sector enterprises, engaged in the business of refining crude oil and marketing of various petroleum products like petrol, diesel, LPG, natural gas, branded fuels like Power and Turbojet ATF, besides naphtha, bitumen, marine fuels, HP lubricants throughout India and in select foreign countries. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, one of India's frontline oil majors, committed to providing energy and fueling growth in every significant area of development. More information about HPCL is available at www.hindustanpetroleum.com

About Chevron

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies. We believe affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy is essential to achieving a more prosperous and sustainable world. Chevron produces crude oil and natural gas; manufactures transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals, and additives; and develops technologies that enhance our business and the industry. We are focused on lowering the carbon intensity in our operations and growing lower carbon businesses along with our traditional business lines. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.

Madame And Tara Sutaria: A Fashionable Collaboration Extended For 2023-24

Madame, the leading western wear fashion and lifestyle brand, has renewed its collaboration with the effervescent Bollywood sensation, Tara Sutaria, for the year 2023-24. As an established provider of pret styles and looks for the modern-day woman, Madame's designs reflect a perfect blend of classic and contemporary trends, allowing them to articulate their individuality and create a mood that resonates with them.

The Madame x Tara Sutaria collaboration showcases exclusive designs from the Spring/Summer '23 and Autumn/Winter '23 collection. The Spring/Summer '23 collection takes its inspiration from the vividness of the season and boasts a fresh and exotic appeal. The collection exudes an air of charm and freshness, with floral essence at its core. The silhouettes comprise flowy dresses with puffed and fluttery sleeves, coupled with eye-catching necklines, making them perfect for the quintessential fashionista. The fabrics include flowy, plain, and textured, embellished with modern details, to ensure that every woman feels empowered in her skin.

Tara Sutaria, who has carved a niche for herself in the Indian entertainment industry, is thrilled to continue her association with Madame and showcase their new collection. On this she added that "I am thrilled to continue my affiliation with Madame and unveil their new collection. The right look paired with confidence can help every woman take on the day, and Madame provides precisely that”.

Ms. Sumedha Jain, Marketing Head, Madame expressed her delight on the renewal of the collaboration, saying that "We at Madame are proud to support modern Indian women who dare to achieve their dreams and inspire them to feel confident about themselves. Our designs aim to provide an immersive experience, making our customers feel more empowered, confident, and ready to take on the world. We are confident that our new collection and collaboration with Tara Sutaria will elicit excitement among our loyal clients and attract new buyers”.

Madame's latest collaboration with Tara Sutaria is a perfect representation of the brand's vision and values, empowering the modern Indian woman to embrace her individuality and channel her energy into creating a statement. With a fresh take on classic and contemporary fashion trends, Madame's designs are the ultimate reflection of the sophisticated, yet edgy, woman of today.

About MADAME

Madame is India’s leading western-wear women’s fashion brand that offers young fashion-conscious woman, looks for every season and styles for every reason. Madame celebrates this woman’s spirit to live each day as an occasion and treat each look as an expression. Launched in 1993, Madame offers hottest international trends at coolest price points - from denims to dresses, tops to jackets, festive edits to lounge-wear, vacay styles to work-wear. 

Owned by the Jain Amar Group (one of India’s multi-brand fashion conglomerates), and with quality as its hallmark, Madame engages over 2,50,000 women every week, across 500 retail touchpoints, including 150 Exclusive Branded Outlets (EBOs), Large Format Stores (LFS), and other leading Retail Outlets. Madame is also available on leading fashion portals and its own online store www.glamly.com. 

Blue Dart Focuses On ‘Bharat’; Increases Its Reach In “Tier 2 & Tier 3 Cities”

Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia's premier express air-integrated transportation and distribution express logistics company, launched its new campaign capturing the wide reach of its services, including in Tier II & III cities of the country. Through its efforts on customer centricity, Blue Dart is available across 55,400+ locations in the country, including its underserved markets.  

Digitisation, affordable data, and smartphones are bridging the long-standing gap between India, which resides in cities, and Bharat, which is home to the country's Tier II and III cities. The impact of this can be seen  in  the spike in the number of e-commerce platforms,  which  serve nearly all the PIN codes in the country, bridging geographic, linguistic, and social divides along the way, benefitting both buyers and sellers. The market share of tier 3 cities, in e commerce industry, grew from 34.2% in 2021 to 41.5% in 2022, while that of tier 2 cities rose from 19.4% to 21.4%, during the same period.  Also, Government’s programs like Make in India, Vocal for Local, have fuelled this growth, leading to an increase in the logistics requirements of smaller towns in the country.  

Equipped to service these needs, Blue Dart is available in towns and villages like Saifai in Uttar Pradesh, Dhar Kalan in Punjab, Ani in Himachal Pradesh to Balua in Bihar, Zunheboto Sadar in Nagaland, Haflong in Assam to Khammam in Telangana, Sringeri in Karnataka, Manamelkudi in Tamil Nadu to Vadali in Gujarat, Quepem in Goa, Sonhat in Chhattisgarh and Ashti in Maharashtra, among many other locations that are part of the nation’s geography. Blue Dart, as a provider of choice for its customers, has dedicated and specialised infrastructure required for handling shipments, from sending a document to a charter load of aircraft. The company has a fleet of 6 Boeing 757 freighters, 2 Boeing 737 aircrafts (to be inducted soon), 12,000+ on-ground vehicles along with 2,347 facilities across the country. Additionally, as part of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s DHL eCommerce Solutions division, Blue Dart accesses the largest and most comprehensive express and logistics network worldwide, covering over 220 countries and territories.  

Commenting on the reach, Ketan Kulkarni, Chief Commercial Officer, said, "Blue Dart is serving the length and breadth of the country, particularly the underserved markets in Bharat, with an emphasis on customer delight. Hence this campaign rings true to our commitment of being ‘The Logistics Company of Bharat’.  Our continued focus remains on being the Provider of Choice for all our customers, across markets.”  

Through its services, Blue Dart is enabling effective and efficient operations for SMEs and MSMEs across all the pin codes, by working with them to expand their services to reach even the remote pockets of the country. When it comes to operational efficiency, Blue Dart acts as a catalyst in facilitating business for sectors such as Ecommerce, Pharmaceuticals & Medical devices, BFSI, Consumer Electronics and Automotive among others.  

Blue Dart, a market leader in technology and digitisation, uses application programming interface (API) integration-based solutions to improve the exchange of manifests at the most detailed levels, ensuring an automated and seamless supply chain. Teams operating using this real-time solution can command nationwide activity, which involves the first mile, network connection, and last mile delivery, including returns and reverse logistics.