Integral PR, the leading public relation consultants has recently set up an office in Gurgaon. The move is a part of the bigger picture which aims at strengthening their network throughout India. The agency currently has its presence in seven cities in India. It holds its footprint in Mumbai, New Delhi (Headquarter), Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

The PR agency has worked with brands like Samsung, Dettol, Big Adda and Coca Cola India to name a few. Speaking about their Gurgaon office, Sharif D. Rangnekar, Director and CEO, Integral PR said “A significant part of our new business has come in from Gurgaon. At the same time, some of our older clients have moved office to that part of the national capital region. Given the level of service we prefer to provide, it makes sense to have a team and office working out of that market so that access either way is convenient.”

Integral Pr has an experience of over 12 years in the industry and has a great deal of expertise that possesses varied knowledge about the industry.

Lakme has now been associated with the Fashion Week for a decade. This year it celebrates ten glorious years of association with the fashion event. Ravi Krishnan, MD, IMG (the event mgmt company which organizes LFW) said “The association with Fashion Week has helped Lakme to traverse the entire spectrum from the mass-end to the premium, unlike other cosmetic brands.”

Lakme officials aim to position the brand as a premium cosmetic that would appeal to the higher end. Lakme’s bid for the premium segment got a major push last month when Lakmé Salon launched a first-of-its-kind Lakmé Studio in Delhi which will offer ultra-premium beauty services. Lakme Studio has tied up with Nail Spa that uses the latest nail technology from the US to bring a bouquet of services like nail extensions and nail art.

In order to gain a competitive edge , the brand has also tied up with leading cosmetic house Milan-based Intercos Italia, Germany’s Schwann Stabilo and Paris-based Fiabila to combine international cosmetics technology with its understanding of the Indian woman’s needs.

L’Oreal is the market leader in the premium segment of cosmetics, which is estimated to be a Rs 300 crore market. Other players in the premium segment include Estee lauder, Shisiedo and Lancome. Overall, cosmetics industry is a Rs 2000 crore market.

However, Harish Bijoor of Harish Bijoor Consults, feels different about the strategy. He feels Lakme is still the Air Deccan of the Indian cosmetics industry. Its image of a budget brand for the masses will be difficult to shed. He also added that one-size-fits-all strategy won’t work. Lakme needs to create two distinct brands and formulate separate strategies for the masses and the classes.

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), the Congress arm in Maharashtra has decided to appoint Crayons Advertising as its creative agency till October 15, 2009.The agency will handle communication and media planning across all online and offline mediums.

The agency has earlier done campaigns for political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Samajwadi Party and the Akali Dal. The agency has been given the account after a rigorous pitching process of two weeks. JWT and Saatchi & Saatchi were among the other shortlisted agencies.

Crayons officials confirmed that the creatives will go live within a week, as the Maharashtra elections are due on October 13, 2009.

S Kumars Nationwide Limited (SKNL), the leading textile and apparel company has decided to revive the brand. The 60 year old brand will have a new name and logo, creating a new global corporate identity for itself. The company owns brands like Reid & Taylor, Carmicheal House and Belmonte.

The company officials say that the move is a part of the reorganization of its global assets which attempts to formalize a new identity for the group itself. All the global operations will now be taken care by SKNL International. The companies in the group are now geographically divided for operational purposes.

A global brand consultant has been appointed for the brand makeover. Apart from the image, the company is also shifting its headquarters to a spacious 20,000 sq ft space at Marathon Heights in Worli from the earlier Sriram Mills in Worli.

From school uniforms to high end clothing, S Kumars transformation from a commodity player to a brand-focused company has been recommendable

Advertising agencies have for a long time fancied cricket and Bollywood stars for brand endorsements. Various agencies are now thinking beyond and considering other sport celebs for the same. After making his way into the semi-finals of the World Boxing Championship in Italy on September 10, the world number two boxer, Vijender Singh has became one of India’s highest paid non-cricket sport star.

Vijender has signed a multi-crore image contract with Percept Talent Management. Vijender is expected to take home around Rs 3 crore a year, as compared to Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh for two brand endorsements of Pepsi and Bajaj Allianz.

Sania Mirza tops the list of non-cricket sports star as she earns Rs 8 crore annually from her current six endorsements, which include GVK Industries, Sahara, Atlas Cycles, Tata Tea and Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh. Most of her endorsement contracts are bound to expire during this year, and are expected to pay her less due to her poor performance in the game, confirm the industry sources.Followed by Vijender are sports personalities like Saina Nehwal (badminton), Abhinav Bindra (shooting) and Pankaj Advani (billiards).

Advertisers feel it is the talent, age, appeal and the achievements of an individual that helps them zero down their choice, irrespective of cricket or non cricket background.

After playing a style diva in Kambakht Ishq, Kareena is all set to share her style quotient with her fans. Bebo is all set to launch her exclusive clothing line. Not only this, the Bollywood star will be the first celebrity to be associated with an international fashion house for her clothing line. The deal is likely to happen with one of the five big international brands – Giorgio Armani, Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, Roberto Cavalli and Christian Lacroix.

The brand managers are preferably looking for a brand that has not yet entered the Indian markets, and will market in India through Kareena’s designer clothing. The actor is expected to fly off to Paris and Los Angeles to finalize all the details concerning the global alliance.
Bollywood actors like Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif and Malaika Arora have also expressed their desires to have their own clothing line. Karan Johar is all set to launch his designer label with Varun Bahl and will showcase the creations at the Couture Week in Mumbai on October 16.

With the international alliance and her personal iconic image, Bebo surely knows how to make a fashion statement.

Tanishq One, an exclusive collection of diamond finger rings, is the latest offering by the jewellery brand in India. The “Commitment Ring” encourages lovers to express their love with an ideal gift and celebrate the special moments in their life. The brand has launched an extensive campaign throughout the social media, making its presence felt online.

The site is a refreshing one with connectivity to the viral ad as well as blog, Twitter feed, Flickr photostream, downloadable widget, Facebook page and YouTube channel. The site also takes you through the range of products which can be delivered at your convenience. The campaigns highlight “The Love Express Contest”, where the lovers need to tell why they love their partners.

Although, the brand has taken the social media route, there surely are some lessons to be learnt. For Instance: The Tanishq One viral on You Tube has been tagged ‘Final Viral Video’….only if they knew that a tag makes the search more effective, and that we all know that it’s a viral. Also, the twitter feeds are nothing but links to their blog entries, again no interaction (which twitter is meant for).

One of the few things that I love about the medium is its flexibility. For Instance, you can edit, improvise and become more effective, Nothing is constant as opposed to traditional where there are no second chances. So Tanishq can take all the above suggestions into consideration and set an example for other brands.

This brand surely deserves some commitment….

The Indian men’s ready-to-wear market is worth around one billion dollars, and the total demand for men’s apparel, including custom-made garments, is closer to 9.3 billion dollars, which is expected to grow to 13 billion dollars by 2012. (Source: Technopak Advisors). This is one of the reasons behind the hyped event, which has been organized by Fashion Design Council of India, in partnership with global apparel giant Van Heusen.

The event in the capital New Delhi hopes to capture the interest of India’s millions of young males, many of whom have traded in traditional cotton outfits for shop-bought shirts and trousers.

Fashion Designers and buyers feel that men’s wear has been ignored for a long time and given stepchild treatment. India is only the fourth country to hold a separate men’s fashion week, despite the ready-to-wear men’s market being twice as big as the female sector, according to industry figures.

The male fashion week is expected to blend contemporary ethnic and modern western styles and is expected to take the men’s wear market to another level.