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First Partners bags Home Credit India’s PR

First Partners, India’s premier business-outcome focused communications firm has won the public relations mandate for Home Credit India

Home Credit, one of the largest financiers of mobile phones in the world and with presence in 20 states, 179 cities in India, provides innovative retail financial services with a focus on mass-retail lending. The company uniquely focuses on responsible lending primarily to people with little or no credit history. With a strong network of more than 29,000 points-of-sale (PoS) and serving over 9 million customers, Home Credit India is committed to drive credit penetration and financial inclusion by offering large financial solutions that are simple, transparent and accessible to all.

First Partners was selected following a multi-agency pitch. The mandate encompasses a communication spectrum spanning reputation building, brand amplification and building a 360-degree communication programme covering all organizational functions.

Commenting on the mandate, Nidhi Malik, Vice President- Communications & CSR said “We are delighted to get First Partners onboard as our communications partner. At Home Credit it is our constant endeavour to enable customers realize their aspirations in a financially secure way and we aim to drive and broaden financial inclusion for the unbanked population by providing a positive and safe borrowing experience. We were therefore looking for an agency partner who could bring both the strategic oversight as well as effective execution capabilities to match our vast and growing needs. First Partners impressed us with their insights and business focused approach to communications. They’ve been tasked to lead strategic communications and provide integrated solutions for Home Credit’s corporate reputation and brand in India.”

Speaking on the appointment, Atul Ahluwalia, Founding Partner, First Partners, said “We are delighted to be chosen as the public relations partners by Home Credit India. India has among the largest pool of unbanked customers with no credit history and we are looking forward to work closely with the Home Credit team to build communication programmes which unlock this potential. We look forward to a long and successful association with Home Credit.”

About First Partners

First Partners is a full-service communications consultancy which specializes in integrating communication solutions with a single-minded focus on delivering business outcomes. The firm has been named as the Asia Pacific 2018 New Consultancy of the Year by The SABRE Awards, Asia Pacific, delivered by The Holmes Report, the authoritative voice of the global public relations industry.

First Partners team comprises of senior experts with experience in managing complex communication assignments for Fortune 500 companies and leading Indian corporates. The firm has offices in Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata, with the execution delivery network totalling to 31 cities across India.

IndiaFirst Life Elevates Sonia Notani

She will be working as the Chief Marketing Officer and will spearhead marketing, PR, strategic alliances and digital sale

IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company, promoted by Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank on Wednesday announced the elevation of Sonia Notani to the position of chief marketing officer, effective May 1, 2019. As a chief marketing officer, Sonia will spearhead the company’s marketing, products, customer experience, PR, strategic alliances, direct and digital sales functions. Commenting on this, RM Vishakha, managing director and CEO IndiaFirst Life Insurance, said, “Sonia has been instrumental in the advancement of IndiaFirst Life Insurance, bringing innovative and challenging ideas into the system. She has always been an integral part of strategic initiatives undertaken by the company. With her far-sighted vision and the ability to build robust teams, she aligns with company’s long-term objective.

Techmanch 2019: The World of Digital Marketing

The Indian Digital Media Awards 2019 will be held on June 27 and 28 at The Taj Lands End in Mumbai

The 10th edition of Indian Digital Media Awards 2019 (IDMA) celebrates and encourages talent within the digital marketing space specifically, internet, mobile, gaming, social media and the blogosphere. This year, the third edition of Tech???, a platform that brings together advertising, marketing and media fraternity of the country to discuss digital, will see some top ranking global influencers to give you an unmatched perspective into the world of digital marketing. Techmanch focuses on leapfrogging the digital marketing industry through small but defined steps. With a slew of top ranking global influencers, panels of luminaries’ and knowledge workshops by experts, Tech??? promises to give you an unmatched perspective into the world of digital marketing.

Amit Kumar Nanchahal joins PepsiCo

Amit Kumar Nanchahal, former Manager at Ola has joined PepsiCo as Senior Manager Communications

Amit Kumar Nanchahal, former Manager, Corporate Communications and PR at Ola has joined PepsiCo as Senior Manager Communications. In his new role, Nanchahal will be reporting to Viraj Chouhan, Chief Communications Officer, PepsiCo India. Nanchahal has over 15 years of experience on the Communications domain. An alumnus of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Nanchahal was earlier Manager, Corporate Communications and Sustainability at SABMiller India. SABMiller was acquired by AB InBev in October 2016, a global giant in the beverages and brewing businesses. A post graduate in economics, Nanchahal has 15 years of experience in corporate communications, spending nearly a decade at SABMIller.

Uber Hires Taj Alavi

Alavi has spent the last three years leading brand marketing at the Facebook-owned platform, Instagram

Uber has hired Taj Alavi as senior director and global head of marketing communications. Alavi is helping the company "to tell the next chapter of the Uber story," she wrote in a post on LinkedIn. Her first day at the company was March 4. From December 2015 to December 2018, Alavi was head of global brand marketing at Instagram, according to her LinkedIn profile. Earlier in her career, Alavi was head of brand and advertising at Intuit for nearly five years. She has also worked at Johnson & Johnson as product director and the Clorox Company as brand manager, according to her LinkedIn account.

#BalanceforBetter

Women See Gains in PR Leadership, Yet Balance Remains Elusive

This year’s theme for International’s Women Day is #BalanceforBetter, calling for gender-balanced board rooms, governments and media coverage. For the PR industry, the lack of balance has been particularly egregious considering the overall makeup of its workforce. It’s been four years since we spotlighted the industry’s stark gender bifurcation: women make up about 70% of the PR workforce, yet they only hold about 30% of the top positions in the industry. The good news is, when it comes to balancing this ratio, the PR industry is making notable progress. In 2015, none of the top five agencies were women-led — in fact, at the time, the #9-ranked Brunswick was the largest firm with a woman as global CEO.

Merged Text 100 and Bite

Text100 and sister agency Bite will formally launch as a combined firm, called Archetype

Five months after announcing their merger, Text100 and sister agency Bite will on Friday formally launch as a newly combined firm, called Archetype. “It’s just critical that we move forward as one agency with a shared vision,” said Bite CEO Helena Maus, whom parent company Next15 tapped to lead the new organization following the departure of Text100 CEO Aedhmar Hynes. “We also believe there is an opportunity to set the standard for the next generation of global agencies,” Maus told the Holmes Report. “When we talk about Archetype, we talk about being the archetype for the reimagined global agency.”

Yashodhara Lal : Marketing Director at Pizza Hut

Prior to this, Lal was leading the marketing team at British technology firm Dyson

Yashodhara Lal has been appointed as director – marketing of Pizza Hut (owned by Yum Brands). Prior to this, Lal, who is based out of Gurgaon, was marketing head of British technology firm Dyson. She was leading the marketing team for Dyson India and looked into research, and strategy for categories like home, health and beauty. She has driven Strategy and led execution in the areas of Corporate Social Responsibility and Diversity & Inclusion in a global ITeS organization. Lal is an IIM Bangalore alumnus. She started her career with Unilever as brand manager and has worked with HT Media Ltd, Micromax Informatics Ltd and Genpact.