By Papri Das

Since time immemorial we have been seasoned to believe that a bottle of good wine can only come from European nations, or the ?old world? wine as it is popularly connoted by wine connoisseurs. However, this notion has seen a gradual transition with wine connoisseurs increasingly giving the ?new world? wines a swirl as well, observes Sula Vineyard AVP marketing Shraddha Nathani.

Eloquent, dynamic with a soft spot for adventure, Nathani?s colourful and diverse career in advertising, media and marketing started with Lowe Lintas, where she had the opportunity to work with a number of brands like Close Up, Pepsodent, Lifebuoy, Wheel, Vim and Domex, primarily working on insight mining tools, new product development and creating communication strategies for South-East Asia markets. She later honed her marketing skills under Bloomberg TV (then UTVi) and Bisleri, where she successfully carried out the ?Stay Protected? and ?Kiss to Drink? campaigns, catapulting the company into the social media space.

Now with Sula Vineyards, which is rightly hailed as India?s leading winery, Nathani has taken up the challenge to build Sula as brand at par with international wines.

Indiantelevision.com?s Exec Lifestyle caught up with her to find out the challenges in marketing wine produced in India, her tryst with Bloomberg TV and her adventure filled travel experiences.

Excerpts:

In an industry where European wines are favoured, was it challenging to market ?Made in India? wines?

Before we delve into marketing techniques, it is important to note that the world is increasingly shifting its attention towards New World wines ? wines from areas such as United States, New Zealand, Chile and India to name a few. This is because the quality of the wines that these regions produce have been at par with the Old World regions.

Sula has invested in ensuring that we provide the right information to consumer. The world was unaware about the fact that India too can grow wine grapes. Sula has put Nasik on the world wine map, thus not only bridging the gap on this perception, but also competing internationally. The fact that Sula is the market leader in India and the top exporter for Indian wine goes to testify that we understand consumer psyche, global and Indian wine consumption trends and market nuances.

What is your marketing strategy for Sula Wines?

For a brand such as Sula, marketing plays a very important role given all the rules and restrictions on the alco-bev category in India. Our wine portfolio is broadly classified in categories like Elite, Premium, Economy and Value. Each segment caters to a specific target audience, with distinct and unique marketing strategies. We ensure through strategic brand alliances, events and cross promotional initiatives that we maximize brand recall.

How does Sula cater to it?s premium patrons? What range of Sula wines is exclusive to the elite?

Yes, we have a dedicated portfolio for the evolved wine lovers.

Our Elite and Premium portfolios contain the following wines:

• Sula Raza Shiraz ? Limited Edition
• Rasa Cabernet Sauvignon ? Limited Edition
• Sula Brut
• Sula Brut Rose
• Dindori Reserve Shiraz
• Dindori Viognier
• Sula Riesling

Do you think that the liquor industry is male dominated? Have you done any marketing targeting women patrons of wine?

It?s not just the wine and liquor industry, which is male dominated, but the entire corporate universe that has seen more men in decision-making roles as compared to women. However, in the last few decades industrious and ambitious women have risen to the forefront acquiring indispensable roles in organizations. This has made cosmopolitan India open up to the idea of women being at par with men. 

As for Sula?s marketing, certain brands may appeal more to women depending on personal preferences. However, wine as a category is flush with women consumers ? not just in India but also across the world.

What is your favourite wine experience?

One of my most memorable trips was a couple of years ago to Spain. But the highlights of the trip truly came down to some of the simplest of things - getting lost on our road trip from Seville to Cordoba, eating eating Gambas al Ajillo and paella on the Las Rambla streets and sampling the lovely Spanish wines.

In this episode of Talking Point, our host Papri Das chats up the charismatic CEO of BBH India. At forty something, Subhash Kamath strikes a fine balance between work and play. And by play we mean his guitar. Lead singer in a blues and classics rock band which is aptly titled Wanted Yesterday Subhash kamath shares his own tale of how he started ?Rocking On?, from being a creative ad man.

By Papri Das

Gone are the days when the kitchen used to be a pious space, kept secluded and strictly maintained by women of the family, and cooking and handling the kitchenware used to be an alien concept for the men. Indians today believe in a more open and welcoming kitchen that facilitates team work, where the entire family can get together. While the gender bias within the kitchen hasn?t dissipated completely, a large chunk of Indian kitchens is shared 50-50 by men and women. This was soon followed by a drastic change in the way kitchens were designed and decorated, and now the modern Indian kitchen has gone beyond functional changes to welcome fashion within its four walls as well -- a change that celebrated chef and entrepreneur Sanjeev Kapoor, who launched his own food and lifestyle channel Food Food,  has witnessed and promoted over the years.

While visiting the HGH India 2015 annual trade held at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre to launch of Sanjeev Kapoor branded Table and Kitchen Linen and Cutlery products, Kapoor talks about the evolution of the Indian kitchen, its tryst with fashion and his own brand positioning keeping all this in mind.

Excerpts:

What has been your observation on the changing indian kitchen?

The kitchen in Indian homes was a pious place with a lot of reverence. It was a space people preferred to keep to themselves rather than sharing it. Today, kitchen has come to the living room. As soon as that happened, there was an immediate need to give it a makeover. 

From design to the products you see in a kitchen, it all had to be presentable aesthetically. And the change isn?t just based on the functionality or utility of the things but it also on the attitude you have. It soon became a space where one can have conversations and get togethers as well. Earlier the kitchen was only used to cooking food, but now kitchen is where you cook stories as well.

What is the scope of branding when it comes to homeware and lifestyle goods in India?

The home category earlier was more about utility and functionality, but it is changing now. Earlier we didn't really care what lighting we use in the kitchen, but now we do. These days homes are adapting the lighting schemes, which are mostly used in restaurants. What is interesting is that people are willing to spend money beyond their functional needs to expand their horizon of lifestyle. 

With Sanjeev Kapoor as a brand, I plan to improvise and transform the entire kitchen and dining experience of modern-day consumers by developing quality houseware products that are trendy, aesthetically suited to modern settings, functionally more effective and safe. 

I see myself lending my name to not just cups, and saucers and plates and forks but more. Today food is not merely limited to the senses of taste and smell but has gone beyond this to also include the sense of sight.

Will you agree that the Indian kitchen has shrunk in size due to the over all space constraints in the cities?

Space used to be a problem earlier because people were in the habit of hoarding things. Today you get things ?a La Minute?, which means ?I want it now so I order it and get it?. So there is no point storing things. Earlier people used to store certain items for over a year in their kitchens, today there is going to be someone who will supply it round the year and that too to your doorstep with a  click of a button in your mobile app.

Do you agree that the kitchen is no longer exclusive to women?

Absolutely. My research data, which I have gathered from a trustworthy source, backs the fact that today the kitchen is used almost 50-50 by men and women. And it is not about gender anymore, but about experiencing something together with the entire family. Even kids are cooking these days under their parents' guidance, and therefore the kitchen is being modeled according to these emerging trends, a space that can safely support a child?s cooking experience.

Having said that, today?s kitchen and homeware products aren?t designed or marketed just for any gender. There is no need to think differently to cater to women. Whether it's a frying pan or an apron, it doesn?t matter if it?s a man or a woman using it, it?s produced and marketed in the same way. One may say that colour scheming will differ according to gender, but gone are those days when pink products were for women and blue was for men. The homeware lifestyle products are more about the family and its members.

Is this new age, are fashionable kitchens being accepted beyond the metro cities?

The growth of India is pan Asia, and thanks to the internet, people are more informed and aware of the lifestyle services that they can avail. Earlier the affluent Indians and those in the towns didn?t know that they could avail of such services that existed.

By Papri Das

From word of mouth information exchange amongst family members and classified advertisements in newspapers, to matrimony sites playing matchmaking -- the Indian wedding scene undergone a sea change. And yet, the outlook and approach towards marriage and relationships hardly saw any difference. In spite of matrimonial search going digital, families still looked for ?fair, beautiful and homely? brides while girls? parents were introduced to a new breed of would-be son-in-laws: NRIs. At times when the only thing catering to the dating plans of young single Indians were the other extreme like social media and apps like Tinder, Aisle.co came as a pleasant surprise. Founded by Able Joseph in 2014, Aisle.co gave young successful Indians a contemporary approach to dating, relationship and matchmaking, which they could relate to.

It?s been almost a year since its launch and the start up is not only doing great, but has plans to expand its coverage to other arenas of the wedding industry as well. Indiantelevision.com's Exec Lifestyle caught up with the dynamic co-founder and CEO Able Joseph to find out more.

Excerpts:

What made you come up with the idea to launch a matchmaking site?

When I was in Dubai, I had a couple of friends, who were attractive and well settled yet single. They had horrible experiences from the matchmaking sites. As soon as they sign up on these sites, they would be bombarded with invites, calls or messages from random users or fake profiles, which finally took a blow on their self-esteem. It is not uncommon for a beautiful independent woman in her late 20s to be single anymore. The reason being, the existing avenues don?t really comply with her taste or requirement. And that?s how the idea of Aisle came about. We wanted to build a more result oriented application, which focuses on bringing people together for the right reasons.

What makes aisle.co different from other matchmaking sites?

Aisle is a niche product. It is a community of urban Indian singles with the intent of having a long term committed relationship. Not everyone who applies becomes a member. We take the pain of validating every applicant. We don?t work on a monthly subscription revenue model, which promotes spam, in the form of uninvited phone calls or messages.

Moreover ailse.co has many new age elements like interest meters and preferences. This gives members a better understanding of the other?s personality, making it easier to connect with individuals of the same wavelength. We also ensure that Aisle profiles are handled by the users themselves and not by a parent or relative, nor do our own algorithms interfere with the choice people make. The power of choosing is given completely to the members.

What is the revenue model for the website? 

Aisle is completely ad free. Aisle users do not pay membership fees, but they need to purchase invites to initiate communication with other users. Each invite gets used up when the other user accepts the invitation to connect. The price for the invites ranges from Rs 1,999 ($33) for three invites to Rs 3,999 ($66) for seven.

What is your reason for getting well known novelist Nikita Singh on board as the brand ambassador?

Nikita Singh is going to be the most sought after romance novelist from India. She explores deeper issues and relationships in a very mature and organized manner in her books. She boldly dwells into topics that most people shy talking about. Each one of her books has something that the young Indians can easily relate to.  She is a perfect match for Aisle. We were one of the co-promoters of her book launch that happened last month while she was in India.

Are you happy with the progress the platform has made in a year?
We launched Aisle on 14 July, 2014 with two things -- good intentions and a good idea. Today, we have over 20,000 hand-picked members from more than 40 countries and have created thousands of connections. 

We have our apps on Android and iOS. So far it?s been quite a journey. We didn?t expect such a quick response in such a short period. The countless number of hours spent in building and scaling this unique members-only social network for Indian singles, today seems like the best thing we could?ve done for society. We are thrilled to see what lies ahead for us.

What more can we expect from Aisle.co in the future?

Currently, we are perfecting our technology and working on other projects than can serve as extensions to Aisle. One such effort is http://plannerbyaisle.com where we are organizing the massive wedding industry by handpicking some of the best wedding facilitators in the country. We are also working on expanding our team.

What are your thoughts on the current marriage scenario in India and the choices that young single indians are taking?

The situation among the independent youth today has deteriorated, having to give up on and almost go against, the institution of marriage. What I see today is a lot of unnecessary conditioning on social and other media against tying the knot, which is certainly not good for our society if you think about it. We believe that we can change that for some.

We will start by ironing out the flaws introduced by online and offline marriage bureaus. Slowly but surely, through creative methods of marketing, we wish to re-instil faith in marriage among the singles.

Can you share a few trends in dating amongst Indians today?

The term ?dating? is surely misunderstood in this part of the world but that is soon changing. Dating in the west is a term that is used to describe a romantic plan with another person or a period of courtship. But in India a date is usually referred to a casual hookup. The corresponding term for a 'date' in India would be 'meet-up' and for 'dating' would be 'relationship'. 

Can you share a few stories of the matches you have made?

We encourage our members to reach out to us no matter what the occasion. Not just with their compliments and words of appreciation, but also simple suggestions has helped us understand the changing needs of our members and let us grow. 

In just a few months, eight of my friends who signed up on Aisle found their soulmates. They are all engaged or married as of today. Thank you emails keeps pouring in from those who met their matches on Aisle. While most users want to keep their personal lives discreet, here?s the story of Riti and Arnab

Exec Life is back again with another episode of Talking Point, where we give you a sneak peak into the lives of successful media executives.

This episode follows our host to the lively office of Leo Burnett in Mumbai to catch up with the dynamic Chief Creative Officer, Rajdeepak Das.

Hailed as one of the youngest in the industry to have climbed the corporate ladder in a short time, Das calls hard work as his success mantra. Watch out for his jokes and infectious energy!

By Papri Das

Entrepreneur, artistic director and a poet, Ferriswheel Entertainment founder and creative director Shubhra Bhardwaj has over two decades of experience in managing large-scale events in the field of sports -- a field assumed to be primarily male dominated.

Her expertise is reflected through the success of some of India?s biggest sporting events like the Doha Asian Games 2006, Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010, First South Asian Winter Games Dehradun and Auli 2011, World Cup Kabaddi 2013 and 2014 Punjab and many more. In this candid chat with Exec Lifestyle, catch Bhardwaj open up on her love for literature, her tryst as a poet, and her journey from starting a company at 20.

Do you see any perks or disadvantages of being a woman CEO?
Gender difference is something I do not understand. There are no privileges based on gender. Expecting an easy or smooth start is the first step towards failing. There are no sign-boards, no guarantees and no given. In fact, as a person who is a non-conformist, I found it thrilling to play by my own rules and engage in an unstructured environment to create the brand and establish the company. 

The biggest challenges were what any man would have faced. Protecting our interest, liquidity crunch, team motivation, competition foul play, structure and procedures within the company were issues I had to deal with constantly. The biggest truth is that merit always wins be it a man or a woman.

What about event management attracts you?

Since childhood, I was always inclined towards art and culture. Music and dance brought soul to my life. Event management and the performing arts industry was the obvious career I saw myself growing in. Thus it was an automatic and gradual progression. I set up my first company at the age of 20 and kept it going for 15 years. With my keen eye for detail, I decided to set up an organisation which challenged norms, conventions in creatives and management practices and which would set a benchmark for the industry.

Ferriswheel was founded in the year 2009 as a result of a few years of wanting to create a cutting edge, niche and extremely professional agency. This whole process was extremely exciting and enriching for me.

What are the major challenges you face in arranging large scale sporting events?
Owing to the sheer scale of it, public events especially game ceremonies involve visualisation, creativity, meticulous planning, communication and venue management at a whole new level. The dynamics of these spaces is so large that there is a fine balance between operations, logistics, finance and creatives on which the end delivered product depends. Most of the times, we have to work in a physically challenging environment sometimes even in extreme weather conditions or a completely new environment.

New environment of course involves dealing with regional issues, language barrier and adaptability to the culture of the new space.  I can give you an example from my past experience of how things can go seriously wrong. During the ?South Asian Winter Games 2011?, the mercury had plummeted to as low as -16 deg C in Auli. The team was freezing and hence we had to borrow jackets from the army there. During the Commonwealth Youth Games, two of the panels of our 100 by 100 meter set collapsed due to a huge storm. We arranged for extra manpower immediately and worked through the night to put it back in place.

People sometimes have misconceptions regarding an event manager's job. How would you clarify that?

People think that we do not sleep, eat or have fun but just work all the time. The truth is although it is a high-pressure career; we do find time for everything that we love to do. At Ferriswheel, we strongly believe in organisation and teamwork. Hence, even during the most difficult and trying projects, we manage to engage ourselves beyond work. Work from the outside may look disorganized but it is not so. There is a definite science to the chaos and we understand it well and are used to it.

Do you feel that you could have done a better job at some of the events you organised?
I do feel that things could have been done differently and in a much better manner. When I was invited by the Mayor?s office for watching the London Olympics, I realised how well an event could be delivered. It was complete perfection! Due to the mishandling of the event, not only did we lose revenue and tourists but also most importantly, we lost face in front of the whole world. I had never seen a city so unenthusiastic about an event of this stature. If we could have employed all our channels well, everyone would have benefitted from this massive international event.

How do you balance work and family, as a mother?

Life isn?t overwhelming for me. All that I do is well within my capacity. It isn?t about being a superwoman, but just about having your priorities right and utilizing your time well.

I do not waste my time at all. There is no space for negative engagement in my life. I channel all my efforts into something productive and positive. I make sure I have time for my children and family, my team and work. I have limited but close friends and I am always available for them. The peripheral things do not occupy my time.

Do you play any sport yourself?

I do not engage in athletic activities but I love adventure sports. I have done all sorts of adventure activities like river rafting, bungee jumping, mountain climbing and sky diving.  

You are also known to be passionate about literature. Please share a bit about that.

I love writing poetry. It is my release. When something moves me, affects me, I need to write it out. I normally write whenever I can and on whatever I can find right then and compile it later on.