Max Protein has roped in actor Kartik Aaryan as their brand ambassador.

A campaign will soon be launched focusing on educating consumers about the importance of incorporating protein into one’s diet and promoting Max Protein's protein-rich snacks as a healthy snacking option under the concept of ‘Protein Police’.

Since Kartik Aaryan’s fitness and active lifestyle aligns with Max Protein’s vision of promoting health and wellness through its products that cater to every palette, this association will enhance the brand’s visibility and market value.

Expressing his zeal for being the face of the brand, Aaryan said, “As a fitness aficionado, I believe that adequate protein intake plays a crucial role in living a healthy lifestyle, which should ideally be a necessity rather than a choice. I am pleased to come on board with Max Protein to endorse and further boost the idea of healthy yet tasty protein bars and cookies.”

Commenting on the same, Vijay Uttarwar, CEO at Naturell India Pvt Ltd, “In the highly competitive snacking market, association with a popular celebrity like Kartik Aaryan will maximize the reach for the Max Protein brand. This will help the brand to stand out in the market and attract more customers. Our brand aims to cater to the younger generation who are looking for convenient and healthy snacking options. Thus, the credibility and trust factor of Kartik Aaryan will help to further cement Max Protein’s name in the market by reaching out to our key audience.”

Fantasy sports platform SportsBuzz11 has associated with Delhi Capitals as the official Fantasy Partner and back-of-jersey sponsor for the ongoing Women’s T20 League. The tournament is being played from March 4 to March 26 2023.

The SportsBuzz11 logo will be featured on the back of the match and training jerseys of the Delhi Capitals throughout the competition.

Speaking about the collaboration, SportsBuzz11's Managing Director, Mr Dashmeet Kawatra, said, “This collaboration is a significant milestone for us, and we are excited to provide the best possible fantasy gaming experience to cricket fans. Let's all cherish these moments together & pour our best wishes to Delhi Capitals and all the other teams.”

Meanwhile, the Delhi Capitals CEO Dhiraj Malhotra said, “We are excited to have SportsBuzz11 on board as our official fantasy partner for the league. Their innovative and engaging fantasy platform will help us reach out to our fans in a more interactive way, and we look forward to a successful collaboration."

On the partnership, Sumit Dhand Co-Founder of Hawk Ecommerce said, “We are confident that this partnership will help us expand our reach and increase our user base. The Women's T20 League is an exciting tournament, and we are thrilled to be a part of it. We look forward to working closely with SportsBuzz11 to offer a unique and engaging experience for their users." Hawk Ecommerce (Performance Marketing Agency) will be providing strategic support to SportsBuzz11 in multi-channel marketing campaigns and various brand engagement activities.

Clear, the packaged drinking water company, has roped in Hrithik Roshan as their brand ambassador.

"Clear is already a well-established national brand, but I am confident that the association with Hrithik Roshan will boost our aspirations to emerge as a pre-eminent brand," said Nayan Shah, Founder and CEO of CLEAR PREMIUM WATER.

Commenting on the association, the actor said, "I am excited to join CLEAR, one of the country's most preferred and premium water brands, in its journey to encourage people to drink safe and mineral-rich water. Together, we will promote a healthy lifestyle with CLEAR's premium products while working towards greater concerns like sustainability and environmental conservation."

Parimatch Sports has announced that Dinesh Karthik will be its brand ambassador. The wicketkeeper-batter, who plays for the Bangalore`s team in the IPL, will collaborate with Parimatch Sports to create an exclusive line of apparel for the Indian market, to be tentatively launched during the competition.

Commenting on being appointed brand ambassador, Karthik said, “I’m thrilled to be associated with Parimatch Sports, which I am confident will soon be sharing space with the known names in sports attire. Because it’s an upcoming and youthful brand, it’s the perfect fit for me, for I feel I still have a lot to offer the game and to my team-mates. I can’t wait to be in the dugout again for The Premier League, and to show others that age is only a number.”

The Parimatch Sports is a sportswear brand dedicated to all sports enthusiasts passionate about top–quality athletic clothes. Those who strive to take their sports experience to the next level and express their champion identity through clothes Parimatch Sports brand that represents unparalleled style, exceptional comfort, and strong winning spirit.

PUMA entered the Indian market in 2006, much later than competitors like Nike and Adidas did. However, within a decade, the sportswear brand captured the market, giving rivals a run for their money. 

In the digital era, when brands are pulling out all stops to stay relevant, PUMA is also trying out different marketing tactics to cater to the shifting needs of the new-age consumers, especially those hailing from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. In an exclusive chat with e4m, Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, PUMA India, and South East Asia spoke about staying ahead in the time of digital disruption.

The edited excerpts from the interview:

How has Puma been keeping its business relevant?

There is not one answer to this. There are various ways to keep up with the relevancy. First and foremost is the marketing funnel, one needs to appeal to the consumers in a language that they find relevant, and the time of putting the product in front of the consumer to buy has gone. One needs to have a story and a narrative around the brand. We have not come up with a campaign that is just copy-pasted because we are a global brand, as connecting with the Indian audience always requires the language that they understand. 

To be relatable, the channels also play a very important role whether you walk into our stores or it is online. Digital is not just a convenience medium today it's quite so that one needs to create the right experience for the consumer. 

How is PUMA connecting with the GenZs?

Every generation comes with different expectations or behaviour, their approach is very different. The young audience wants to express and be a part of a community, brands that are able to provide a platform where consumers can come in and exchange an expression and connect and build community, and in that process and delivering a message works well with the younger audience.

This audience is are also looking for a purpose around social causes our environment resonates a lot with young audiences. Convenience is also one of the factors today The E-Commerce mechanism as well as the payment mechanism has made life so much easier and young audiences today are starting with convenience. So Genz consumers seek relatability, being a part of the community, are inclined towards purpose-driven brands, and expect convenience.

With Anushka Sharma and now Harmanpreet Kaur as brand ambassadors, what is the messaging that PUMA wants to convey?

We are very focused on having the right kind of opinion leaders, especially women opinion leaders associated with us like a partnership with Mary Kom. Off late we’ve signed up more as a brand which is becoming larger we are trying to stay relevant with the various consumer segment. We want to provide a platform for women to come and express especially in India, for example, in our campaign Proper Lady well women came and expressed themselves breaking gender stereotypes. For years cricket has been called a gentleman's game and now it is changing, we are trying to enable this change to become faster. 

How did PUMA navigate the post-covid era in terms of business?

Before Covid, we have been in India for as long as 13 years. In the last three years including Covid time, we have doubled the sales seen during pre-covid times. We have always had a digital strategy not just during Covid times but for the last 5-7 years. 

How are you leveraging the tier 2 and 3 markets?

We are opening more stores and we will continue to do that for accessibility. e-commerce is obviously helping us to penetrate the market. In the last 3 years, we have grown about 4% point of our share from the non-tier 1 markets. We have almost 490 stores and a lot of them are in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

How much is the online and offline business in these figures - segregation in percentage?

56% of the business comes from physical stores, whereas 44% comes from various digital platforms.

Who has been more impactful for PUMA --  micro or macro influencers?

The truth lies in between as both are very important; it also depends upon your business scale. A very solid influencer strategy other than the selection and execution and the kind of content that goes out is to check credibility. Credibility should be really standing what your brand stands for. 

What's the marketing strategy lined up for the year?

Our choice of channel will be digital and given the kind of demographic profile of our market, it is very important for us to be there. We are going to every channel which is relevant right from search platforms to OTT platforms even news platforms, and sports platforms.

Ashish Naik has joined Infectious Advertising as Executive Creative Director. He has spent a large part of his career with Ogilvy, Mumbai. He has also had stints at FCB ULKA, Everest, Contract and Saatchi & Saatchi.

Naik has created campaigns for brands like Cadbury, Perfetti Van Melle, Fevicol, Amul Macho, Gujarat Tourism, Hindustan Pencils, Fiat, Castrol, Franklin Templeton, Essar, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Hindustan Times, among others.

Speaking on his appointment, Naik said: “I look forward to creating some spectacular work with Ramanuj, Nisha and the team. I believe I will be working with the best at Infectious.”

“Acquiring top talent is the simplest growth hack. We are fortunate to get a creative leader like Ashish in our team. Apart from being a super talent, Ashish is an affable and warm personality who shall surely create work that will be Infectious. We wish him every success at Infectious,” added Ramanuj Shastry, Nisha Singhania and Siddhartha Singh - Managing Partners of Infectious Advertising. 

PNG Jewellers has announced the signing of Madhuri Dixit as its brand ambassador for the next two years. Madhuri will represent the brand globally and across India. She was previously the brand ambassador for PNG Jewellers for a two-year period.

Madhuri will feature in PNG Jewellers' upcoming advertising campaigns, social media content, and other brand promotional activities, starting with the Gudhi Padwa campaign.

"We are delighted to have Madhuri Dixit as our brand ambassador, and we look forward to working with her over the next two years," said Saurabh Gadgil, Chairman and Managing Director of PNG Jewellers.” Our association with Madhuri goes back a long way. She and her family have been our customers for many years. She is still India’s sweetheart and a dancing diva beyond competition. Her values are aligned to ours as well. This association will help us to strengthen our brand's image and consolidate our position in the Indian and global jewellery market. Her presence in our ecosystem is an invaluable asset as we move into the next phase of growth. PNG Jewellers will be launching at least 5 more stores in the next financial year."

Madhuri Dixit said, "I am honoured to be associated with PNG Jewellers, a brand that is synonymous with craftsmanship, tradition, and elegance. I have always admired PNG Jewellers' stunning jewellery collections, and I am excited to be part of their journey once again. I look forward to representing the brand and connecting with PNG Jewellers' customers worldwide!"