Sportiqo, a blockchain-based fantasy sports platform has announced ace Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa as their brand ambassador. Sportiqo marked the beginning of its operations in India in the month of February and so far, amassed 32,000 active users owing to its beta launch.

The stylish batter from Karnataka, Robin is a generational talent, wanted by every cricket league in the world. Uthappa was a part of the Indian squad which won the ICC World T20 in 2007. He is known for his masterful batting performances and his great impact on his team’s success.

Speaking on the association, Robin Uthappa said, “Sportiqo is the perfect platform where I am able to find a cohesive link between sports and technology. The stock market is something that is often portrayed as being meant for a particular segment of the audience but with Sportiqo sports fans across age groups would not only be able to learn how the stock markets work but at the same time be able to use their sporting knowledge and skills to do it in a fun and engaging manner.”

He further added, “Making the youth learn about investing and trading using cricket is a great idea. India needs creative options to improve the financial literacy of the masses and I am glad that Sportiqo is addressing that gap. I am proud to be associated with the platform.”

“We are delighted to welcome Robin Uthappa to the Sportiqo family as our new brand ambassador. He is one of the most exciting cricketers of his era. said Anindya Kar, Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder of Sportiqo. “With his disruptive and instinctively innovative approach to his sport, Robin Uthappa embodies the same pioneering spirit that will drive Sportiqo to keep pushing boundaries in the sector.”

Sportiqo will also launch a host of digital campaigns with Robin Uthappa in the near future.

Sportiqo has so far, raised $1.25 million (Rs. 10 crores) in the pre-seed round from angel investors with a focus on user acquisition in its first phase post-launch. The cricket stock market platform is already live for the ILT20 League, Pakistan Super League (PSL) and additionally, in the coming time, Sportiqo will add a portfolio of other sports and leagues as well such as the English Premier League and the Indian Premier League among others.

Appy Fizz has unveiled an upbeat summer campaign kicking off the new era of the sparkling fruit-flavoured brand. For the first time ever, megastars and brand ambassadors Kriti Sanon and Jr. NTR will be seen together onscreen, as a part of Appy Fizz’s campaign. The fresh onscreen pairing is testimony to the brand’s commitment to infusing new energy into the brand. The theme revolves around embracing the new i.e. doing something new, exciting and unique by inspiring consumers to take bold next steps for a much needed change.

The campaign also introduces the newly revamped packaging design of Appy Fizz through their summer brand film and activations for consumers across India.

Free of caffeine and a healthier alternative to colas, Appy Fizz continues to wow audiences with its edgy and exuberant campaigns. The ad film’s captivating cinematography pulls the viewer in on an exciting journey across highly stylised graphic backdrops. The seamless transitions seen in the Appy Fizz brand film adds to the mysterious, stylish and confident vibe of the brand. Kriti Sanon and Jr. NTR's enigmatic personalities invite audiences to ‘Feel the Fizz’ and embrace the new, against a setting of magnificent graphics and catchy, pulsating music.

Commenting on the summer campaign, Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director & CMO, Parle Agro said “This season’s summer campaign for Appy Fizz is symbolic of our legendary brand of 20 years, shedding its old look and marking a new chapter in its prolific legacy. We are celebrating this elevated identity in a massive way as our brand ambassadors, Kriti Sanon and Jr. NTR join forces for a memorable multi-channel campaign. With our commitment to innovation and quality, we have plans to further drive growth of the sparkling fruit flavoured category that we’ve created, to newer heights and reinforce consumer affinity for the much loved brand.”

Along with the ad film, there are activations planned across TV, outdoor, digital and radio to amplify the new avatar of Appy Fizz. An aggressive outdoor campaign has been put into action. Large impact hoardings and branding at heavy footfall and traffic areas have been set up to drive enormous visibility and reach for the brand. Appy Fizz is the associate sponsor for the IPL this season and the new campaign will play out during the entire run of the much-awaited sports event, capitalising on its massive reach and high viewership. Apart from ads, there are numerous innovations that will be done within prime-time TV shows across channels to feature the product. The idea is to focus on building the brand through in-show integrations, going beyond showcasing the product via advertisements. Appy Fizz retails at an unbeatable price of Rs.10.

Kroll, the leading independent provider of global risk and financial advisory solutions, announced today the launch of the eighth edition of its Celebrity Brand Valuation Study titled, “Beyond the Mainstream”. The study provides a ranking of India’s most powerful celebrity brands based on brand values derived from their brand endorsement portfolios and relative social media presence. The overall brand value of the top 25 celebrities in 2022 is estimated at USD 1.6 billion (bn), an increase of 29.1% from 2021.

 Key findings of the report include:

• Ranveer Singh becomes the most valued celebrity of 2022 with a brand value of USD 181.7 million (mn)
• Virat Kohli secured second position with a brand value of USD 176.9 mn and Akshay Kumar stays steady at the third position with a brand value of USD 153.6 mn
• Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna feature on the top 25 list with brand values of USD 31.4 mn and USD 25.3 mn, making it the first time for a South Indian celebrity to be featured on the list
• Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra debuted with a brand value of USD 26.5 mn at No. 23

Aviral Jain, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll, said: “This year’s theme ‘Beyond the Mainstream’ is driven by the stupendous rise of South Indian movie stars and sport celebrities. Notable names from the Tollywood industry, Allu Arjun and Rashmika Mandanna, were featured on the list of India’s top 25 celebrities along with India’s T20 captain Hardik Pandya and Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra. Amongst the Bollywood stars, Ranveer became the most valued celebrity brand in India, given his mammoth endorsement portfolio and widening global presence. Kiara Advani, Kartik Aaryan and Sara Ali Khan were other Bollywood debutants on our top 25 list.” 

2022 has been the second successful year for South Indian movies at the box office, resulting in many Tollywood faces being sought after in the advertising and media industry nationally. Further, with a splendid performance at the Olympics followed by the Commonwealth Games, Indian sports stars continue to bag several marquee endorsements benefiting because of lower competition from Bollywood stars with a limited box office collection. 

We present the list of our top 25 celebrity brands for 2022 below: 

 2023 marks 25 years of Kroll’s presence in India. Kroll Advisory Private Limited is a SEBI registered Category 1 merchant banker, enabling the company to provide fairness opinions and a wider range of valuation services to listed companies. In 2018, Duff & Phelps acquired Kroll, and the entire firm unified under the Kroll brand in 2020.

Homegrown communications agency Madison World has turned 35 today. The agency holds the distinction of being the largest independent communications group in India and the fifth-largest independent media agency in the world.

We turn 35 today!?

Thank you for being an integral part of this journey!✨ pic.twitter.com/rbc24sDhGx

— Madison World (@MadisonWorldIND) March 21, 2023

Founded on March 21, 1988 by media veteran Sam Balsara, the company has 24 business units across 11 specialised functions of advertising, media, business, analytics, outdoor, activation, events, PR, retail, entertainment, mobile and sports. The company posts a gross billing of Rs 4,000 crore.

Over 1,000 communications professionals work for the company in offices across India.

exchange4media Group is back with the on-ground Mumbai edition of its flagship property - Pitch CMO Summit after three years. The upcoming edition of the conference will be held on the 24th of March, 2023 from 10am onwards.

Fancode and WebEngage are the Co-Powered by Partners for the summit while the Co-Gold Partners are ABP News, DoubleVerify,  Pepper Content and Torc ai. 

Pitch CMO Summit Mumbai 2023 brings India's most reputed brands and top management to interact and share insights on their game-changing success stories under one roof.

The theme of this edition of the conference is ‘The Agile Marketer’.

The summit will witness two panel discussions apart from various spotlight sessions.

The first panel will discuss ‘Adopting Agile Marketing: Need For A Mindset Shift’. Organizations today need a proper structure and a strong underlying system to function efficiently and achieve a common goal. Constraints are often seen as limitations and obstacles when in reality, they complement each other to provide a team with true project flexibility. It’s no secret that change is hard and can be difficult to navigate, but in an agile work environment, the strong underlying system of guidelines offers teams the agility to optimize their work for improved and more efficient delivery.   

In this panel discussion at the Pitch CMO Summit Mumbai 2023, we aim to explore and understand:

• How is the agile mindset different and how it can prove to be a precursor to agile marketing?
• Why is there a need for teams to cultivate an agile mindset and adopt an agile marketing approach?
• How does an agile mindset help in today’s VUCA environment?
• How can brands & marketers try and understand the ‘why’ of being agile clearly to nurture the ‘how’ naturally?
• How can agile marketing be the perfect approach during uncertain times?

The session will be moderated by Jaiti Hariani, Sales Director, DoubleVerify and the members of the panel will be: 

• ESHA NAGAR, Managing Director – APAC, Nepa
• HAREESH TIBREWALA, Joint Chief Executive Officer , Mirum India
• JAYA JAMRANI, Vice President - Marketing, Castrol India
• MANASI NARASIMHAN, Vice President and Head, Marketing & Communications, South Asia, Mastercard
• NIKHIL GULATI, GM- Marketing, Clovia
• SAPANGEET RAJWANT, Head – Marketing & Digital, Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18
• VANDA FERRAO, Chief Marketing Officer, WOW Skin Science 

The summit will also see the coming together of another panel to discuss ‘The Playbook for Building Agile Brands’. 

With the increasing demand for consumers’ attention, brands need to enhance the consumer journey as they have a plethora of options to choose from. Creating and deploying fresh content regularly is the key to keeping your audience engaged. Today, uncertainty and volatility have been the most used terms in the business arena over the last few years due to the pandemic. For this, a number of brands are adapting the agile approach to marketing to keep pace with the constantly changing consumer sentiment. Agile marketing is believed to leverage and help brands lead the next wave of growth for the businesses of the future. 

In this panel discussion at the Pitch CMO Summit, Mumbai 2023, we aim to understand: 

• How has the marketing playbook evolved over the years to accommodate agile marketing?
• Can there be a playbook to abide by when talking about agility as the core approach to brand building?
• What does being an ‘Agile Brand’ mean in today's scenario?
• The DOs and DON’Ts of building an agile brand
• Do marketers today need to move beyond a playbook to build brands that are future-proof? 

The session will be moderated by NIKHIL KUMAR, Vice President -  India, SEA & ME, mediasmart and the members of the panel will be: 

• DIPPAK KHURANA, Co-founder & CEO, VServ
• ANUJ ARORA, Chief Marketing Officer, Symphony
• KAVITHA GANESAN, General Manager – Marketing, TVS Eurogrip
• VIJAY KUMAR PAMPANA, Director & Head of Marketing, P&G Health India
• VIRAT KHULLAR, AVP & Group Head – Marketing, Hyundai Motor India Limited
• YANNICK COLACO, Co-Founder, FanCode

The conference will be followed by the award felicitation ceremony of The Pitch Best CMO Awards 2023.

For more details, please check out the microsite:

https://e4mevents.com/pitch-cmo-summit-2023/

To attend the summit and awards, get in touch with

Chandrakant@exchange4media.com or kapil.ramudamu@exchange4media.com

MuscleBlaze, a sports nutrition brand, announced the appointment of Shubman Gill as its new brand ambassador for endorsing the brand’s MB Fuel One Sports range amongst the youth.

Talking about his association with MuscleBlaze, cricket’s rising star Shubman Gill said, “I'm excited to be a part of MuscleBlaze since I've always been passionate about working out every day and maintaining a fit lifestyle. With everyone getting busy and always juggling with their lives, nutrition takes a backseat; so my association with MuscleBlaze will promote the healthy way to be ahead in the game of staying active by dispelling the myth that consuming supplements and protein is a barrier to fitness”

Commenting on this brand ambassador announcement, Sameer Maheshwari, Founder & CEO, HealthKart, said “The ethos of MuscleBlaze is to foster a Ziddi attitude, and Shubman’s journey reflects exactly that. He is a rising star and we are thrilled to fuel his achievements with our products like Biozyme etc. This partnership will scale great heights.“

Adding to the excitement, Kaustuv Paliwal, Business Head, MuscleBlaze said, “We’re thrilled to have Shubman Gill represent us as a brand ambassador. MB has a penchant for being the harbinger of great talent, and what we see in Shubman Gill is an unassailable potential to stand out with his champion mindset, exactly what MB stands for. Our association with such a trailblazing batsman, who has dauntlessly pursued his Zidd against all odds to make sure failure does not loom close, also reiterates our vigor to fuel the future of Indian sports with genuine supplements specially crafted for athletes. With this, we’re expecting to further motivate our young consumers and infuse them with the right supplements.”

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.”