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Tag: Uma Talreja

  • The campaign is titled Hum Hai Roshni

    Shoppers Stop brings beam of hope this Diwali

    By A Correspondent

     

    Shoppers Stop’s latest campaign Hum Hai Roshni for Diwali attempts to create a positive sentiment in the midst of this pandemic.

     

    Said Uma Talreja – Customer Care Associate, Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Shoppers Stop Ltd: “As we progress through different stages of Unlock, it is important to be cautious and safe while we try to reclaim a sense of normalcy in a way. The film empowers us to overcome dark times and retain our values, culture, and togetherness. This Diwali, Shoppers Stop offers safe shopping at stores and also digital assistance on WhatsApp and through the website and app.”

     

     

  • The series of videos aims at breaking the stereotyped beauty standards, notes a communique

    Shoppers Stop unveils second leg of EyeStoppers 2020 event

    By A Correspondent

     

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CGX6TOCFRcq/

     

    Leading beauty and fashion chain of stores Shoppers Stop has unveiled series of videos attempting at breaking stereotypical beauty standards and perceptions. Their pop culture show #StopTheBias is the second leg to their talent show property – EyeStoppers 2020.

     

    Sharing her thoughts, Uma Talreja, Customer Care Associate, Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Shoppers Stop said: “The beauty industry has seen a shift during the pandemic. Lipsticks have dominated the segment but with the wearing of masks, the focus has shifted. Indian culture has been deep rooted in the use of eye makeup and eye art, and there is plenty of cultural context that has been amplified in Bollywood and many other occasions. During the pandemic, we believe that eye makeup can open the doors to artistry and creativity in makeup and give women a feel-good factor while they wear a mask.  We have seen over 2350 entries in a week of very elaborate videos and the effort taken by each participant in creating their designs and looks is truly exciting.”

     

    Added Ameesha Prabhu, CEO, Trust for Retailers & Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN): “We live in a world where no matter how you look, you will get judged. It is up to us to use that in a positive manner and conquer the world. At TRRAIN we believe in social inclusion and creating livelihoods for persons with disabilities & young women. We train our trainees to take on the world with their confidence. Vidya and many more youths like her have paved the path for not only being independent but have shown the ability of the youth and the contribution they can make to the society.”

     

     

  • The campaign reflectied the true essence of the festival dedicated towards including our house help and caretakers into the family and celebrations

    Shoppers Stop’s “Celebrating Sisterhood” campaign touches upon idea of extended family bond

    By A Correspondent

     

    With Raksha Bandhan round the corner, Shoppers Stop unveiled a new campaign reflecting the true essence of the festival dedicated towards including our house help and caretakers into the family and celebrations.

     

    Said Uma Talreja, Customer Care Associate, Chief of Marketing & Customer Officer, Shoppers Stop: “Traditions have taken on new meanings with the onslaught of social media. They have also become more inclusive and participative and are celebrated uniquely by individuals that find their own meanings in the tradition. Women lead celebrations in India, the campaign captures the spirit of women in different roles and includes the extended support system that helps women move ahead at home and careers both.”

     

     

  • Shoppers Stop will donate 1 against every beauty category bill towards the cause of acid attack survivors to give them the courage to restart a new life

    Shoppers Stop celebrates women in new campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading retailer Shoppers Stop has in its latest campaign It’s our Time reached out to its largest customer base of women.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Uma Talreja, Customer Care Associate, Chief Marketing & Customer Officer said: “The campaign is a bold but positive expression of women who want to be a part of progressive times, through their own progress. It touches upon real barriers that women have been trying to overcome in order to have equal representation. Women audiences are important not just for shopping, but their social influence is also extremely important, as is their contribution in building a more whole some workforce. At Shoppers Stop, almost half our revenues come from women’s categories, we are also the leading retailer for premium beauty. Women are important segment that we want to grow our relevance for through both product and marketing actions. This campaign is an important step towards that.”

     

    Added Vineet Mahajan, Head of Art – India, Contract: “That women take a lot of time to get dressed, put on makeup, and get ready is something we’ve all heard. We thought it’s time we said the unsaid. That the world actually took a lot of time in getting ready for women. #ItsOurTime takes on a stereotype and leaves with a much larger statement. One that needs to be said right now.”

     

    Additionally, as a socially responsible brand, Shoppers Stop will donate 1 against every beauty category bill towards the cause of acid attack survivors to give them the courage to restart a new life.

     

     

  • Customers can also recycle their old garments and earn reward points

    Shoppers Stop celebrates India’s diversity with #ShareMyNewYear campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Shoppers Stop is celebrating India’s diversity through its latest campaign. #ShareMyNewYear. The campaign encourages the customers to exchange New Year greetings, experiences and share cross-cultural rituals among each other.

     

    Said Uma Talreja, Customer Care Associate, Chief of Marketing & Customer Officer, Shoppers Stop: “Shoppers Stop has 83 stores across 38 cities. Over the years, we have seen different regions get a festive boost during this .What is interesting is that even stores that don’t belong to a specific region that is celebrating at this time also experience a festive effect. As people move across cities, regional boundaries blur with different communities celebrating the festival of their residence beyond the festival of their origins. That is the beautiful insight that we used for this campaign, where we share and celebrate New Year in our unique way that is only possible in our country.”

     

    The TVC for the campaign has been conceptualized by Contract. The campaign captures the essence of these festivals that signify the advent of New Year across many parts of the country.

     

    Added Vineet Mahajan, Head of Art, Contract: “#ShareMyNewYear was born out of a wonderful revelation. In the month of April, practically everyone celebrates a new year. Yet the concept of New Year celebrations is associated primarily with January 1st. So, we wanted to celebrate our ethnic wear range through a campaign that encourages exchanging New Year greetings across the different ethnicities of the nation.”

     

     

  • As the CMCO, Talreja will be responsible for evolving customer centric strategies

    Shoppers Stop appoints Uma Talreja as Chief of Marketing & Customer Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Shoppers Stop has appointed Uma Talreja as Customer Care Associate, Chief of Marketing & Customer Officer (CMCO).

     

    Speaking about this appointment, BVM Rao, Customer Care Associate &Head HR – Shoppers Stop Limited said: “We are delighted to have seasoned marketing professional like Uma, who shares the same vision like us, and can help make informed decisions that will have positive impact on delivering delightful customer experiences”.

     

    As the CMCO, Talreja will be responsible for evolving customer centric strategies and create seamless shopping and service experience across the customer lifecycle.

     

    Said Talreja on her new mandate: “Shoppers Stop is a leader when it comes to creating experiences for customers. It has very strong customer and partner relationships that have helped the brand over decades in creating a strong position for itself. As consumers have evolved and with the changing environment, the role of marketing has transformed and am excited to see how the next era of the brand will evolve.”

     

     

  • This campaign is getting promoted on the app with the launch of ‘Fact Cards’

    Inshorts aims to build Khadi awareness via latest ad campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Inshorts has launched a new ad property, ‘Fact Cards’ along with the Khadi campaign to help advertisers engage with their audience in what it calls an “innovating and non-intrusive ad format”.

     

    The Khadi campaign, in association with Raymonds is an initiative by the brand to build awareness and promote Khadi amongst consumers. Talking about the campaign, Azhar Iqubal, CEO & Co-founder – Inshorts, said:“Attention-grabbing marketing that inspires emotion and prompts consumers to share can become valuable experiences for the consumer. Hence it is imperative that brands be more consumer-centric and create content that serves the consumer first, and then the brand. We at Inshorts serve both the advertiser and consumers by providing innovative ad formats that keep intact a person’s attention span. We hope that with this Khadi campaign and the new ad format we are able to communicate our advertiser’s message in a less cliched form so as to generate more interest.”

     

    Added Tarun Arora, Chief Marketing Officer at Inshorts: “We operate in a world where gauging a consumer’s attention span is extremely difficult. We as marketers are constantly finding out new ways of approaching the audience. The Khadi campaign aimed at engaging with the advertiser’s audience in a more creative way. We hope that with these unique visuals we have successfully helped the brand to reach out to its effective target group.”

     

    Said Uma Talreja, Chief Digital Officer, Raymond Ltd: “The story re-spun is a strategic effort towards promoting Khadi as the new age fabric for the next-gen digital audience. Khadi has been the price of India and through this initiative, Raymond has committed to reviving the traditional Indian art by collaborating with artisans and craftsmen. Making Khadi driven fashion which have relevance for our target audience today is at the core of our strategy to reposition and revive Khadi. Inshorts is a relevant app platform that helps us communicate this to consumers that are interested in news and the latest development in our country. Today’s consumer has skin in the game in the future of our country and Inshorts allows for brands to integrate this common interest and value system and hence an apt platform for communicating the new face of Khadi created by Raymond”.

     

     

  • The lines are actually blurring in terms of how you treat your marketing mix, says Uma Talreja, CMO, Burger King India, adding that she doesn’t think the "traditional rules really apply anymore"

    BTL Baatein: Uma Talreja, Burger King India… Powered by VISCOMM

    She has served as Deputy General Manager, Marketing and Communications, Shoppers Stop Limited, Head, Marketing and Branding (Supermarkets) at Aditya Birla Retail. She was Marketing Head at Westside where she handled all aspects of marketing including strategy, branding, advertising & communication, public relations, online initiatives, loyalty & CRM, market research, promotions & events and visual merchandising. In this edition of BTL Baatein, Uma Talreja, Chief Marketing Officer, Burger King India speaks with Dyanne Coelho on the importance of BTL vis-à-vis ATL for a new brand in the Indian geography.

     

    What is the importance of BTL in the FMCG and QSR space?

    The lines are actually blurring in terms of how you treat your marketing mix. It’s no longer just ATL and BTL, but you look at a 360 degree view in terms of how you reach your consumers, and of how you remind consumers of your presence and product offering. So it’s a balanced mix, I wouldn’t say that you have an over balance of one element, but of course there is BTL as well, but it’s no longer just ATL and BTL, there’s digital, there’s public relations which has become very important, there’s influencers and bloggers which are very important, so I don’t think the traditional rules really apply anymore.

     

    How important is BTL to your overall marketing plan?

    I think all marketing elements currently are playing an important role, and while we’re launching stores, it’s important for us to create location awareness apart from our own offering to the Indian consumer. So it is an important element for us.

     

    Can you also specify the range of activities that you undertake as part of the below-the-line advertising and promotion?

    We do a lot of local store marketing which is aimed at increasing traffic from catchments and neighbourhood stores and consumer segments. So we do a lot of things from couponing, to out of home which is targeted to various segments. We do use a lot of these activations for our marketing. We’ve done a lot of in-mall activations as well right from using drones, to using celebrities to create an engaging experience for customers on ground about the brand, and educating them about the brand, and about innovations on various aspects of the brand. We’ve done a lot of things recently related to couponing creating more awareness and trials for certain products in our product mix. We use couponing for that which is a localised activity for us. Apart from that we’ve done roadshows and things like that as well.

     

    Can you give a broad idea of your spends pie of ATL v/s BTL?

    About 30 percent of our spends is on BTL.

     

    Do you prefer to do this through BTL agencies directly or via your existing creative/media agency?

    We use specialist agencies for these activities.

     

    In terms of generating results especially from consumers and in B2B, do you find BTL a more sure shot avenue than ATL?

    I think both work, it all depends on your objective.

     

    While sales and salience are good indicators of its success, what are the attributes you look at to measure the success of a BTL campaign?

    I think traffic is important, and participation is also important. I think these two things are important from a retailer’s point of view. So if you are engaging with the audience through some outside activation, then how many people really took part is a factor, the second is to generate actual traffic into your restaurant.

     

    There are many organisations that often do new launches almost entirely on BTL aided with an outdoor and/or digital blitz? Your view on this. Given rising media costs, do you see BTL managing on its own, without ATL?

    I don’t think that marketers think like that. I think it’s a very polarised view. I think for certain objectives and activities you could survive only on BTL, but as a brand I don’t think one survives on any one particular activity. I don’t think that’s the case.

     

  • …with comments from Sanjay Tripathy, Uma Talreja, GK Suresh, Anuradha Narasimhan and Chinmay Bajpai

    The Changing Role of the CMO in the Digital Era…

    L to R : Sanjay Tripathy, Uma Talreja, GK Suresh, Anuradha Narasimhan and Chinmay Bajpai

     

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    At the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)’s marketing conclave last week, industry stalwarts delve into the topic of ‘Untangling Marketing Convolutions’. In this digital era, the role of the chief marketing officer (CMO) has expanded at a fast pace and it now requires him or her to act as the Digital Media Officer, Customer Experience Officer and Chief Content Officer all rolled into one. The CMO’s role is no longer about just creative skills, but about being able to crunch data and interpret and analyse the behavioural patterns and buying habits of consumers. Dinesh Mishra, Partner – Advisory Services and Customer Practice Leader (India), Ernst & Young, who moderated the discussion said: “The speed at which the CMO needs to react is increasing gradually. The CMO is enjoying his/her role in an organisation, as compared with other C-Suite roles. About 44 per cent of senior leadership says the CMO cannot strive without big data. By 2020, the CMO will spend more than the CIO on IT.”

    Now, let’s hear it from the CMOs.

     

    Chinmay Bajpai, Head – Enterprise Sales and Alliances, Thoughtbuzz

    It is important to understand that a marketer is more connected to the consumer. Hence, he or shee needs to be more connected to the CIO to get consumer details from IT systems. The customer experience design has always been important. Before, the customer never had a voice after he purchased the product. That has changed with the digital era. We cannot rely on just customer service teams any more. Today analytics have to move beyond the product to the consumer. That’s where the skillsets of technology partners have to be imbibed by CMOs.

     

    Anuradha Narasimhan, EVP – Sales and Marketing, Global Consumer Products

    I don’t believe the CEO is the stakeholder for the CMO. The CMO-CIO relationship is the youngest in an organisation. The partnership with the CTO is yet another new one. The consumer is no longer a passive participant in the process. The customer experience design is not a new thing for the CMO role, it has always existed. The customer experience has always been the focus. The CMO needs to be like the conductor of an orchestra, someone who leads it. Then, it won’t matter who plays in the orchestra as long as s/he is a specialist.

     

    GK Suresh, Head of Marketing – Foods Division, ITC Limited

    I don’t believe that the CMO will spend more than the CIO. As a marketer I have to know my consumer, even if that means spending the entire day with the consumer at his/her house. I would say invest in the consumer rather than on technology. A lot of communication going into the digital space is unsupervised. I don’t know if youngsters should be handling digital. It’s as good as saying that a housewife watching TV seven hours a day should make TV ads. The fundamentals of brand building don’t change. At the end of the day, engagement has to result in business. The rules of the game have changed. Just like in hockey, we’ve moved from grass to Astroturf. So now the way you play changes and the way you score a goal also changes.

     

    Uma Talreja, CMO, Burger King India

    We all have a vision for the consumer. But contact with the CIO is necessary to deliver that vision. You need to change the environment for your consumer. Public opinion on your brand is out there. Your consumer is reaching out to other consumers. If you don’t reach out in time, then you have no control of the situation. Today, data is moving faster than you; public opinion is moving faster than you.

     

    Sanjay Tripathy, Senior Executive VP – Marketing, Product, Digital and E-Commerce, HDFC Life

    We are seeing spends in the digital space increasing in our industry. But the question to ask is, is the CMO capable enough to deploy the money? Who is taking the lead in understanding what is needed for the company? People are changing today; the ways of interaction and engagement have changed. CMOs are now ahead of others in the C-Suite in terms of understanding what is happening in the market. Marketing understands the consumer, but cannot enable the systems and processes. We at HDFC Life have created a team to digitise the company. It has become an organisation within an organisation. Ours is an intangible product that lots of people buy. What customers talk about is very important. With digital, marketing has moved from one channel to multiple channels. Now marketing gets information from various channels and needs to pass it on to multiple channels as well.

     

  • As Burger King opens its Mumbai restaurant, only its second in India, we speak to CMO Uma Talreja on her marketing gambit

    The Whopper gets big on Social

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    Global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants Burger King (BK) opened its first outlet in New Delhi earlier this month (Nov 9) with plans to set up more across the country soon. In fact the Mumbai outlet at the Oberoi Mall in Goregaon is scheduled for the next weekend (Nov 22-23). Every day, more than 11 million guests visit across 13,000 Burger King restaurants worldwide. As it enters the country in a socially hyperactive environment, Burger King took the digital route to announce its entry and Made-in-India menu. A quick interaction with CMO Uma Talreja on the marketing plans of restaurant chain.

     

    Could you share with us your broad marketing message in the light of the fact that there are many offerings available and with some large international players already quite well-placed?

    Burger King is synonymous with taste and quality across the world. The menu for India is specially designed based on indepth research carried out with consumers across the country. The marketing strategy is focused on creating awareness for the differentiated platforms on which our menu has been built. We have created new platforms and concepts for Indian guests which will be new experiences. We recently launched the Whopper for India in three new variants – veg, chicken and mutton. Our guests will also be served different burgers and cravers under a new platform called The King’s Melt which has a cheese infusion in every patty so that u have a ‘melt in your mouth’ experience. This again is available in three different variants. The other important part of our strategy is to deliver an equally delightful experience for vegetarians. Our vegetarian guests will have a unique patty in every burger and can choose between bean, paneer, cheese, vegetables, the Veg Whopper and even more. Our intent is to offer a very good and wide choice to every consumer who comes to our restaurants. And we have done this through quality products and unique recipes with 100% vegetables, chicken and mutton that deliver the wholesome taste in every bite.

     

    You’ve had an interesting social media execution which possibly only a Taco Bell may have had among the international QSR majors. In terms of marketing spends, could you share what your spend pie is like. So TV, Radio, Outdoor, Print and Digital Display and Social. Also, any other BTL?

    The way we plan our marketing media is by selecting the right medium to deliver the message in the most effective manner. We found 4 lakh Facebook accounts in India that liked Burger King from their experiences internationally. This showed us that our guests were online and we started our plans with an online effort. We haven’t split our marketing plan by spends but by objectives. We have a set of audience who know Burger King but not what’s new in India, and we have a set of audience who don’t know Burger King at all. Our media mix is designed to address the target group and not governed by a split on spends. It will also vary by every location that we open depending on how the equity of the brand evolves and the customer base growth.

     

    We hear that the social media acquisition has been quite effective. Do tell us more. Also, what’s about the booking your burger on eBay?

    So far I can say we are encouraged by the response. Our engagement on social media is high. Our fans show active interest and response in our communication to them. And we have had very good support from our fans in building awareness for us to other consumers and the audience at large. We are definitely going to keep that effort on to engage our audience and grow our base.

     

    We offered a pre-launch booking of the Whoppers on eBay India and had planned a 3-day promotion to guests who would like to prebook the Whopper  for the opening day of our debut restaurant at Select CityWalk, Saket, New Delhi. It has been tremendously encouraging as we sold 1200 Whoppers in 36 hours itself. It has been a very fruitful association and gave us a good indication of what we could have expected for our launch.

     

    There are some who have been exposed to Burger King outlets internationally and they will miss the beef Whoppers, as is evident from the comments on your Facebook page. While I am sure others like McDonald’s also face this, but given that you are entering in an era when there is interactivity with the consumer, how are you addressing these comments?

    We encourage all guests to try our Indian menu as it has very good variety. We look forward to feedback of all guests to our menu and hope that we will satisfy our every consumer’s taste buds. Our menu has been tested through a structured research with 3000 respondents and with successful outcomes. We are hopeful to see a similar response in our restaurants as well.

     

    Do we see Burger King go on television in a big way now or only once you have a national footprint?

    These are early days. It depends on how the brand performs and what the business needs as we grow.

     

    How much are your team and you  personally at BK hands-on on the social media?

    There is never a dull moment and we work on this all the time between the marketing team and all agency partners. Everyone is closely involved at this stage including our management. It is an extremely passionate team who are striving hard to deliver best results.