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<ul><li>The role of a Chief Marketing Officer has changed as a consequence of the global pandemic. It has now transformed into Chief Motivational Officer during the second wave of coronavirus.</li><li>In India, brands are trying to figure out the right way to communicate with their audience during a national emergency and change their message, which makes marketing – and the role of CMO – more critical than ever.</li><li>In our latest interview series, we speak to a few CMOs to understand how they are helping out their organisations find the right ways to connect with consumers.</li><li>Third-party delivery platform Dunzo has been using its social media platform to amp up people’s SoS requests. Sai Ganesh, Marketing Lead, Dunzo tells us how this lockdown has changed his role as a marketing officer.</li></ul>With India’s healthcare system severely stretched, many brands have been leveraging their social media presence to either amplify citizens’ SoS for ICU beds or to spread awareness around vaccination registration. One such brand is Dunzo. It was quick to convert its social media page into an SoS helpline for its users. Very early on during this on-going pandemic, Dunzo also reminded consumers that we are all in this together by swallowing its pride and uplifting its competitors in its social media posts. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Lately, Dunzo has stayed away from all promotional posts. After the cases started rising in India during April 2021, Dunzo decided to pause, reflect, rework its strategies and most importantly, prioritise consumer interest. It was after an internal discussion that Dunzo decided it should use its reach to help people, who are crying out for help. The delivery platform also started using Instagram Reels to beat misinformation around COVID-19 vaccination and spread awareness. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Dunzo is also using its humor to bring a smile to our lips and help us laugh in the face of adversity. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> So, Dunzo has been using its advertising tools to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, amplify user requests and express its gratitude for frontline workers. Apart from that, the platform has reduced the number of posts on social media and is only focusing on helping out its users. Before the pandemic, organisations were looking for CMOs who were data-driven, focused on the customer, and were able to anticipate needs people didn’t even know they had. Today, a CMO is also required to be agile because consumer needs are changing overnight and most importantly, the need of the hour is a marketing leader who is empathetic and caring. CMOs set the right tone for the organisation at the top and lead the brand to connect with consumers. They are also expected to protect the health, safety, and well-being of their employees. And when all of this is over, it will be brands like Dunzo that will be remembered by consumers for its humanitarian aid and looked up as examples by SMBs and start-ups. So, as a leader who is supervising these much-needed marketing activities during a crisis, we reached out to Sai Ganesh, Marketing Lead, Dunzo to understand how this lockdown has changed his role as a marketing officer. Excerpts: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How has your schedule changed during the second wave? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?" text="Q. How has your schedule changed during the second wave? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?">Q. How has your schedule changed during the second wave? Can you draw a comparison between last year's lockdown with this year's?</cmsannotation> To be honest, it is similar in many ways, but except that this time the pandemic feels more intense and closer home. Last year, we were getting used to the WFH setup, taking care of our mental health while doing great work. This year, it has gotten more exhausting personally to witness the pandemic unfolding the way it has, so we do ensure that each of us takes regular breaks to recuperate. People who are known to us have passed away or are struggling to survive, so it's definitely overwhelming. For a creative team especially it's even more difficult to work during these times. So, we have prioritised self-care and helping others over everything else for now. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication, which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?" text="Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication, which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?">Q. No communication or relevant/empathetic communication, which route should a brand take during difficult times like these?</cmsannotation> ALWAYS relevant empathetic communication. Without any doubt! We saw that last year and this year, consumers don't want brands to be “salesy", but they also want brands to stand up and help others in trying times. The power users on Social media call out brands that are tone-deaf / not able to take a stance during tough times. So yes, consumers are going to call you for inaction so "No communication" is a bad idea. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?" text="Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?">Q. As a leader, how are you trying to be there for your employees?</cmsannotation> Ensuring that employees are safe and healthy (both mentally and physically) is our top priority. We have been trying to do that by having regular non-work calls, making sure there is a balance between ensuring people have clarity on work to be done, at the same time, giving them enough freedom to take breaks. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How are you using your advertising tools to help out other people?" text="Q. How are you using your advertising tools to help out other people?">Q. How are you using your advertising tools to help out other people?</cmsannotation> Right in the beginning, when we saw that people on Social media were looking for ways to help each other out, our focus has been on using our communications platforms to amplify such calls for help. We are also connecting those who can offer help to those who need help. Like last year, we are also using our communications to spread awareness on Social distancing and precautions to stay safe. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q. How have your goals changed due to the second wave?" text="Q. How have your goals changed due to the second wave?">Q. How have your goals changed due to the second wave?</cmsannotation> Goals haven't changed much, just revised as per the external macro-environment.

Dunzo has prioritised self-care and helping others over everything else for now: Sai Ganesh, Dunzo

<ul><li>Quick commerce platforms like <keyword id="3275685" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dunzo" source="Orion">Dunzo</keyword>, <keyword id="12437554" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zepto" source="Orion">Zepto</keyword>, Blinkit are getting ahead of the retail stores in terms of fast delivery at your convenience.</li><li>Grocery shopping in India’s major cities is set to undergo a never-seen-before tec(h)tonic shift led by quick commerce platforms, says a report.</li><li>Meanwhile, <keyword id="2407038" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dmart" source="Orion">DMart</keyword> is still aggressively opening stores in parts of the country to get back to pre-covid levels.</li></ul>The stores are coming to the consumers – figuratively. The local kirana store or India’s largest retail chain, all of them are keen on getting a piece of the <keyword id="1410674" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-grocery-delivery" source="Orion">online grocery delivery</keyword> market. DMart, for instance, has set up its app and pick-up centers for home delivery after handling its bulk delivery orders during the pandemic. Reliance Retail too stepped into this delivery business with its app, <keyword id="8506093" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jiomart" source="Orion">JioMart</keyword> with little success, though it has also invested in Dunzo. Time does matter When it comes to the delivery market, it’s not about what you deliver, how you deliver but it’s all about ‘when’ you deliver. Most of the online <keyword id="2709620" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="grocery-delivery" source="Orion">grocery delivery</keyword> hinges on timing which is why quick commerce companies are walking away with a lion’s share of the pie. “Grocery shopping in India’s major cities is set to undergo a never-seen-before tec(h)tonic shift led by quick commerce platforms,” said a report by JM Financial. Online grocery market has two segments -- quick commerce and scheduled e-grocery. Only Jiomart, Bigbasket and DMart are scheduled e-grocery stores, all the other platforms are in a race of quick delivery business. And the segment seems to be ruled by the ‘10-30-minute delivery’ offered by platforms like <keyword id="6358977" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="swiggy" source="Orion">Swiggy</keyword>, Blinkit, Zepto and Dunzo. Most of the retail chains who intend to deliver groceries however have a one-day lag period between order and delivery. Added to that, quick commerce platforms are addressing multiple consumer pain-points such as convenience, speed, curated assortment, value, and round-the clock standardized services. Online food ordering business is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/grocery-business-is-like-poison-pill-for-zomato-after-failing-miserably-two-times-as-per-analysts/articleshow/92202068.cms">aiding growth in the e-grocery as well</a>. Customers who order food online for convenience, wider selection, discounts and standardized customer support are also likely to be more amenable to ordering grocery items online for the very same reasons. This opens up cross-sell opportunities for food-techs like Swiggy and Blinkit, which is merging with Zomato. Paan to curds - quick commerce delivers it all A February 2022 Survey by LocalCircles indicates that 71% of the households used q-commerce platforms to either order daily use items such as milk, bread, eggs, curd, fruits and vegetables, etc. They also ordered indulgence items such as soft drinks, ice creams, chocolates and paan. Though, only 29% of the surveyed households used q-commerce for ‘all their grocery’ purchases. For the bulk purchases however, the large format stores are still in the running as people are going to the stores. DMart is still aggressively opening stores in parts of the country to get back to pre-covid levels. “We believe it will look to accelerate store expansion and the benefit of recent expansion is yet to fully kick in – revenue intensity is lower than pre-Covid levels,” said analysts at ICICI Securities post its March quarter earnings. Redseer estimates the grocery market size in India was worth $620 billion in 2021, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8% over the next four years to reach over $850 billion by 2025. Quick commerce is all set for the long haul Quick commerce players are also vying for a bigger piece of the entire pie. The quick ordering might start with fresher foods like fruits and vegetables, meat, dairy and other ready-to-cook items; and also indulgence categories like chocolates, biscuits, snacking items, cold drinks, and tobacco. But it could extend to others too. “We also expect grocery staples, cooking essentials, medicines, baby and personal care, home care and pet care, amongst others, to pick up as consumers become more habituated to ordering through the platforms,” said the JM Financial report. Recently, Swiggy raised $700 million for quick-commerce grocery service Instamart. Zomato poured $150 million into quick commerce startup Blinkit. Zepto raised $200 million and lastly Reliance Industries also caught the quick commerce train by investing $200 million in Dunzo. This also means that competitive intensity is likely to be severe in the near term, between them and also with the big retailers. “Only those platforms that have very strong customer recall, robust back-end supply chain and/or strong balance sheet are likely to survive this battle of attrition,” said the report. JM Financial believes that quick delivery platforms have what it takes to disrupt the unorganized grocery market including neighbourhood kirana stores or even retail chains like DMart in large cities. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Platform </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Earliest delivery option </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jiomart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">No timeline committed </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bigbasket </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Next day morning </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">DMart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Next day morning </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Instamart </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">25 mins </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Blinkit </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">50 mins </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zepto </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">23 mins </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Dunzo </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">41 mins </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bigbasket Now </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30 mins </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ola Dash </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">10 mins </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amazon Fresh </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3-4 hour </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Flipkart Quick </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">90 mins </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Fraazo </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">90 mins </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FreshToHome </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Next day morning </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Licious </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3-4 hour </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/gautam-adani-gives-a-tenth-of-his-networth-to-charity-azim-premji-is-impressed/articleshow/92426271.cms">Gautam Adani gives a tenth of his networth to charity, Azim Premji is impressed</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/cryptocurrencies-show-signs-of-life-after-a-bloodbath-but-future-remains-uncertain/articleshow/92427941.cms">Cryptocurrencies show signs of life after a bloodbath, but future remains uncertain</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/rejected-i-banks-manufacturers-for-not-having-enough-women-on-board-says-mamaearth-founder/articleshow/92429742.cms">Rejected i-banks, manufacturers for not having enough women on board says Mamaearth founder</a>

DMart and JioMart are unable to keep pace with Dunzo, Swiggy Instamart, Ola Dash

<ul><li>According to Kanter Worldpane, <keyword id="34523" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="fmcg">FMCG</keyword> sector in India is expected to report a 4-5% volume growth in FY21, driven by rural areas that are expected to grow two percentage points ahead of the urban regions that are hit harder by COVID-19 pandemic. </li><li>This is expected to impact Q1FY21 earnings of FMCG companies, however, it will be better than some of the consumer discretionary sectors like apparel, retail, paints etc.</li><li>The pandemic has also led to resurgence of the good old nearby <keyword id="6425985" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="kirana">Kirana</keyword> store which offered the most convenience (home delivery and credit) to consumers where maintaining social distancing and restriction on out of home trips are the norms in urban centres.</li></ul> As COVID-19 started to spread across the nation, the lockdown announced in the last week of March did have a knee jerk reaction on the overall demand for the FMCG sector. The pain continued to be seen until the first week of April after which relaxations in terms of continuing manufacturing operations for essential products started to get streamlined as situations improved in terms of manufacturing and supply, although issues with labor availability and logistical challenges continued, which now have normalized to a very large extent. According to Kanter Worldpane,l FMCG sector in India is expected to report a 4-5% volume growth in FY21, driven by rural areas that are expected to grow two percentage points ahead of the urban regions that are hit harder by COVID-19 pandemic and which continue to battle with the lockdown flip-flops at the local level. This is expected to impact Q1FY21 earnings of FMCG companies, however, it will be better than some of the consumer discretionary sectors like apparel, retail, paints etc. During the gharbandi period there has been change in consumer buying behavior towards purchasing more of essential products and cut down on discretionary spends due to continued lockdown, job losses and salary cuts in urban areas. The money was largely spent on essential products like food (biscuits, milk, noodles), immunity boosting foods (chywanprash, honey etc), drinks &amp; beverages, health &amp; hygiene (sanitizers, masks) and even on homecare &amp; skin cleansing products (floor, toilet &amp; surface cleaners, anti-bacterial soaps etc). Personal care and grooming products, however, took a hit both in urban and rural India given the discretionary nature. Also, preference has clearly been for value packs and smaller SKUs across product categories especially in rural regions. While, in urban regions it’s a mix of value and premium products depending on the income pyramid. Moreover, owing to the fear of contracting the virus by going out, a notable shift is being observed of doing purchases online resulting in tie ups between FMCG companies and various e-commerce platforms like <keyword id="964794" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="BigBasket">BigBasket</keyword>, Grofers, Amazon, <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, <keyword id="3275685" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="dunzo">Dunzo</keyword> etc. The pandemic has also led to resurgence of the good old nearby Kirana store which offered the most convenience (home delivery and credit) to consumers where maintaining social distancing and restriction on out of home trips are the norms in urban centres. While the frequency of trips to the grocery store has reduced to 30.5 in May from 34.4 in March, there has been a rise in basket value by 4.3% YoY to Rs. 3,734 between March and May 2020 as against previous year. Rural India contributes to ~36% of FMCG spends and is thus an important growth element. Managements across organized FMCG companies thus have their eyes on the rural economy to drive growth in the current trying times that have displayed relative resilience. Driving distribution expansion by increasing stockist network and direct reach could therefore be a tactical growth driver. Besides distribution, the rural economy has been relatively resilient owing to a lower impact of <keyword id="8764262" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid">COVID</keyword>. Despite the migrant labour issue, the hinterland has shown relative strength all through the gharbandi supported by government proactive measures of increased allocation to MGNREGA (led to more jobs), higher farm incomes due to aggressive MSP fixation, good monsoon, higher Kharif acreages, lower disruption in retail channel and other social sector schemes (PM-KISAN, PM Garib Kalyan, distribution of free foodgrain through PDS etc). This is also reported in a surge in demand for products like agrochemicals, hybrid seeds, fertilizers, tractors, tillers and even entry level two-wheelers alongside FMCG products. Further, rising aspirations and an improved standard of living in the rural areas could direct a faster than expected recovery in FMCG volumes and also the Indian economy. We believe for a sustained growth in FMCG sector, structural administrative reforms like amendments to Essential Commodities Act, creating a law to allow free inter-state movement of farmer’s goods and strengthening the post harvest agri-infrastructure backed by effective implementation will give the much needed boost to agri sector and rural economy thus doubling farmers income resulting in increased consumption for FMCG and other products. (The article was written by Suvarna Joshi. Suvarna is a Senior Research Analyst at Axis Securities with over a decade of experience in fundamental research. She is an expert in tracking FMCG, Speciality Chemicals, and Mid-cap stocks &amp; sectors.) SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coovid-vaccine-from-oxford-serum-institute-and-astrazeneca-shows-promising-immune-response/articleshow/77069321.cms">The COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford and AstraZeneca shows 'promising' results in early human trials</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/dil-bechara-kissing-booth-2-and-other-movies-you-can-watch-on-netflix-amazon-prime-disneyhotstar-this-week/slidelist/77142498.cms">Dil Bechara, Kissing Booth 2 and other movies you can watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+Hotstar this week</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/work-from-home-effect-these-companies-are-shelling-out-for-employees-power-bills-internet-cost-and-more/articleshow/77139229.cms">WFH effect – These companies are paying for employees' power bills, internet cost and more</a>

An FMCG analyst shares a picture of what's selling in rural India and what's not

<ul><li>Last week, Zee Entertainment Enterprises mentioned FMCG brands like Pepsi, Maggi, ITC Dark Fantasy, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Red Label Tea and Amul Lassi in its OOH campaign and a week before that, Lay’s also thanked other brands for their services. </li><li>But it wasn’t just brands from unrelated categories uplifting each other. Brands like Dunzo, Swiggy, Dettol and Lifebuoy have also shown in the recent past how difficult times are about putting competition to rest and working together towards a common goal. </li><li>We reached out to experts to understand how well it bodes for brands to opt for this empathetic strategy. They opined that consumers respect brands that care about things other than business and work together for a single, larger cause. </li></ul>For years, <keyword id="9575066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="rival-brands">rival brands</keyword> have engaged in ad wars that called each other out on social media or pulled each other down publicly to achieve one-upmanship. However, we are in the midst of a global pandemic and many SMBs and even well-established brands are struggling to survive in this highly volatile environment. Therefore, it is time for big brands to pause, reflect, rework their strategies and most importantly, keep aside competition to prioritise consumer interest. A few brands like Dunzo, Swiggy, Dettol and Lifebuoy that provide essential services swallowed their pride and decided to uplift each other in their brand campaigns. By acknowledging their competitors, these brands reminded their consumers that we are all in this together. With its wit that it is known for, Dunzo had posted a creative on social media saluting those who chose to do the ‘ride’ thing and thanked Swiggy, Grofers and BigBasket. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> After Dunzo’s post, Swiggy launched a video campaign called ‘Sukhriya Kare’ with leading social media influencers to thank heroes who wear a helmet and drive around on their scooters to deliver essential products -- risking their lives. It also mentions rival delivery partners Dunzo, Medlife and Grofers. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> In yet another heartwarming gesture, bathing soap giant Lifebuoy released a public service print ad that urged the audience to buy a soap they have access to -- be it Lux, Dettol, Santoor or Godrej No 1. <div type="twitter" handle="ambimgp" handlename="Ambi Parameswaran" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1075309911880421378/egNXy-cA_normal.jpg" favoritecount="258" retweetcount="82" status="⁦@HUL_News⁩ Great initiative to advertise the importance of hand wash ⁦@htTweets⁩. And a big hurray for mentioning… https://t.co/66U8bINm4x" createdat="1580453185000" id="1223135428984725504"></div> But does this really work? Unusual times call for unique solutions. Lloyd Mathias, Business Strategist and Angel Investor said it is a great idea to keep aside competition and collaborate, especially during times of crisis. Mathias said, “The Covid pandemic is a moment of great human suffering as brands coming together – even with competitors – speaks well about our larger need to fight this together. Very early on during this pandemic, Apple and Google came together to partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology. A positive step by two tech giants signalling the seriousness of the challenge and the need to bring all hands on deck.” Highlighting how this strategy can help brands gain consumer affinity, Mathias added, “At times of any major disruption or calamity, brand wars must take a back seat and rise to the occasion keeping consumer interest in mind. Consumers will see this as a positive and mature sign, recognizing that brands can put behind their differences when it comes to larger concerns of humanity.” In the age of social media, anything that is a little different from regular communications generates a lot of chatter. And emotions go a long way. Lay’s had also launched a digital campaign to express gratitude towards the unsung heroes of India who have brought joy to millions even in these challenging times like Dunzo, Zomato, Flipkart, Whisper, to name a few. One might argue this strategy looks opportunistic but Nidhi Sinha, Head of Content, Mintel India told us that brands who care about things other than their business are not only bought more often but gain their consumer’s respect. Sinha said, “In times of the pandemic, Indian consumers have reflected a strong sense of affinity with the environment and local communities. As brands come together for a single cause, it certainly puts them in a good light as consumers respect the fact that these brands 'care' and are not just focused on their own business. According to a Mintel research conducted in February 2020, prior to COVID-19, 26% of Indians said that they expect brands to support environmental issues. As the country fights the crisis together, these initiatives not only show gratitude but also reflect a sentiment of care and selflessness, much needed in these times of need.” Telling us why inclusive ads would work more than <keyword id="9575064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="competitive-ads">competitive ads</keyword> in today’s environment, N Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research said, “Empathetic advertising instead of adversarial advertising is what people appreciate, especially in stressed situations like extended WFH, threat of Covid etc. Consumers do not want to be pushed to take sides in such a situation, and they want unadulterated information. Not only are such ads like a breath of fresh air, but they are also non-intrusive and gentle. Which is why they work well.” However, Chandramouli also said that brands will be brands and even in these instances, they subtly show how they have an upper hand over other players. He said, “The competitive spirit of brands comes when you are fighting for survival, market share and mindshare. In some categories, if the category is the beneficiary of this crisis, they may keep the combatant side silent, but soon after the dust of the crisis settles, the pugilist in them will be out with gloves again. Even in these empathetic ads for instance, brands will be brands and they tend to subtly show their advantages against competition. After all, brands exist in a competitive world, and they do not exist to do philanthropy.” Not just in communications, crisis calls for long-term relationships Mathias said brands need to lend each other their expertise and fight the bigger battle together. “The lockdown severely impacted most businesses and in these times collaboration worked as an effective risk mitigation strategy to minimize revenue loss by ensuring supply and fair distribution. Brands may need to collaborate with their competitors in areas that they would normally compete for e.g. combining deliveries and sharing of logistics and manufacturing. Some may even consider doing joint messaging,” said he.

Brands are forgetting competition and patting rival businesses on their back, here is why

<ul><li><keyword id="6359432" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="britannia">Britannia</keyword>'s essentials products such as biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissants, milkshakes, wafers, ghee and dairy whitener will be sourced by <keyword id="3275685" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="dunzo">Dunzo</keyword> from its distribution centers.</li><li>Earlier two FMCG makers - ITC Foods and Marico - had announced such partnerships to get their products delivered at consumer's doorsteps by using the service of app-based aggregators.</li></ul>FMCG major <keyword id="146218" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Britannia-Industries">Britannia Industries</keyword> on Tuesday said it has partnered with Dunzo, an on-demand e-commerce platform, to deliver its range of products during the nationwide lockdown. Customers can get Britannia products at their doorsteps through the Dunzo app in less than an hour of ordering from the 'Britannia Essentials' store. The first store in Bengaluru will be operational from Tuesday onwards and would be extended to other cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Hyderabad and Chennai, a joint statement said. "During this unprecedented time, it is critical for us to maintain a continuous supply of our products which are daily staples in millions of Indian households. With a significant rise in demand for at-home delivery, we are happy to leverage Dunzo's innovative and most advanced technology platform, to enable seamless delivery of products every day," Britannia Industries Managing Director <keyword id="459296" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Varun-Berry">Varun Berry</keyword> said. Britannia's essentials products such as biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissants, milkshakes, wafers, ghee and dairy whitener will be sourced by Dunzo from its distribution centers. "Across the country, there is a demand for essentials and in these extraordinary times, companies need to rise to the occasion. We at Dunzo are committed to helping our cities fight the COVID-19 pandemic," Dunzo CEO and Co-Founder Kabeer Biswas said. Earlier two FMCG makers - ITC Foods and Marico - had announced such partnerships to get their products delivered at consumer's doorsteps by using the service of app-based aggregators. ITC Foods has announced partnership with Dominio's Pizaa and launched "Domino's Essentials" to deliver groceries and packaged foods to customers during the lockdown period. Marico has partnered online food ordering platform Swiggy and <keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword> to deliver essential food items to consumers. Under this partnership, Swiggy and Zomato would deliver essential food items under the Marico portfolio which includes Saffola Oils, Saffola Plain Oats, Saffola Masala Oats and Coco Soul Virgin coconut oil, from their homes. India is presently going through an unprecedented complete lockdown of three weeks, ending on April 14, to prevent the spread of <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword>. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-and-swiggy-both-get-raise-funds-but-swiggy-leads-with-a-higher-valuation/articleshow/75008445.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Zomato and Swiggy both raise funds – but Swiggy leads with a higher valuation</a>

Britannia started home delivery of biscuits, cakes, rusk, croissants, milkshakes, wafers, ghee and dairy products

New Delhi, Apr 15 () Startup Cipla Health, a subsidiary of Cipla, on Wednesday said it has partnered with Swiggy, Zomato and Dunzo for home deliveries of over-the-counter wellness products in the wake of the nationwide lockdown. Leveraging on the extensive service delivery mechanism of the partners, Cipla Health will cater to 4 lakh people and cover 250 stores in 45 cities across the country. A home-delivery system makes it very convenient and safe for customers to get access to the wellness products, which otherwise might be difficult due to these lockdown conditions, the company said in a statement. Cipla Health CEO Shivam Puri said, "We have collaborated with these premier delivery partners as their expertise coupled with our suppliers will allow us to reach out to a larger segment of the population." Further, he said, "Our set of offerings are specially curated to meet the varying needs of our consumers especially in these times and hence, this association helps us in ensuring our products reach their consumers who are finding it difficult to purchase them due to the lockdown..." Zomato COO - Food Delivery - Mohit Sardana said, "Through our partnership with Cipla Health, we will employ our logistics capabilities to ensure our users have easy access to OTC wellness products from the safety of their homes. "Currently available in the metro cities, we will expand this partnership to tier-II cities by the coming week." Similarly, Swiggy COO Vivek Sunder said, "Our partnership with Cipla will ensure that health, hygiene and wellness products, which are just as essential, will reach customers in need as required. This is another step forward in helping citizens stay at home during the nationwide lockdown." Dunzo CEO and Co-Founder Kabeer Biswas said whether it is medicines for the sick or groceries for the elderly, the company is committed to helping cities and users fight the Covid-19 pandemic. RKL ANSANS

Cipla Health partners Swiggy, Zomato, Dunzo for home delivery of OTC wellness products

One in eight adults who are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus experience long term <keyword id="44308" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="symptoms" source="Orion">symptoms</keyword> due to COVID-19, according to a large Dutch study published on Friday in The <keyword id="6361830" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="lancet" source="Orion">Lancet</keyword> journal. The study provides one of the first comparisons of long-term symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection, called 'long COVID', with symptoms in an uninfected population, as well as those in individuals both pre- and post-COVID-19 infection. The inclusion of uninfected populations enables a more accurate prediction of long-term COVID-19 symptom prevalence as well as improved identification of the core symptoms of long COVID. "There is urgent need for data informing the scale and scope of the long-term symptoms experienced by some patients after COVID-19 illness. said Professor <keyword id="14640089" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="judith-rosmalen" source="Orion">Judith Rosmalen</keyword> from the <keyword id="269633" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="university-of-groningen" source="Orion">University of Groningen</keyword> in The <keyword id="44173" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netherlands" source="Orion">Netherlands</keyword>. However, most previous research into long COVID has not looked at the frequency of these symptoms in people who haven't been diagnosed with COVID-19 or looked at individual patients' symptoms before the diagnosis of COVID-19, said Rosmalen, lead author of the study. The study looked at the symptoms most often associated with long COVID, including breathing problems, fatigue and loss of taste and smell, both before a COVID-19 diagnosis and in people who have not been diagnosed with the disease. The researchers collected data by asking participants to regularly fill out digital questionnaires on 23 symptoms commonly associated with long COVID. The questionnaire was sent out 24 times to the same individuals between March 2020 and August 2021, meaning participants who had COVID-19 during this time were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha-variant or earlier variants. Most of the data was collected before the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in The Netherlands so the number of vaccinated participants was too small to analyse. Of 76,422 participants, 4,231 participants who had COVID-19 were matched to 8,462 controls taking account of sex, age and time of completing questionnaires that indicated a COVID-19 diagnosis. The researchers found that several symptoms were new or more severe three to five months after having COVID-19, compared to symptoms before a diagnosis and to the control group, suggesting these symptoms can be viewed as the core symptoms of long COVID. The core symptoms recorded were chest pain, difficulties breathing, pain when breathing, painful muscles, loss of taste or smell, tingling hands and feet, a lump in throat, alternately feeling hot and cold, heavy arms or legs and general tiredness. The severity of these symptoms plateaued at three months after infection with no further decline, according to the researchers. Other symptoms that did not significantly increase three to five months after a COVID-19 diagnosis included headache, itchy eyes, dizziness, back pain and nausea, they said. "These core symptoms have major implications for future research, as these symptoms can be used to distinguish between post COVID-19 condition and non-COVID-19-related symptoms," said PhD candidate Aranka Ballering, first author of the study. Of the study participants who had submitted pre-COVID symptom data, the researchers found that 21.4 per cent of COVID-19-positive participants, compared to 8.7 per cent of the control group, experienced at least one increased core symptom at moderate severity 3 months or more after SARS-CoV-2 infection. This implies that in 12.7 per cent of COVID-19 patients their new or severely increased symptoms three months post-COVID can be attributed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. "By looking at symptoms in an uninfected control group and in individuals both before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection, we were able to account for symptoms which may have been a result of non-infectious disease health aspects of the pandemic, such as stress caused by restrictions and uncertainty," Ballering added. "Post-COVID-19 condition, otherwise known as long COVID, is an urgent problem with a mounting human toll. "Understanding the core symptoms and the prevalence of post-COVID-19 in the general population represents a major step forward for our ability to design studies that can ultimately inform successful healthcare responses to the long-term symptoms of COVID-19," he added. The authors acknowledge some limitations in the study as it included patients infected with the Alpha variant or earlier variants of SARS-CoV-2 and has no data from people infected during the period when the Delta or <keyword id="1609796" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="omicron" source="Orion">Omicron</keyword> variants were causing most infections. Also, due to asymptomatic infection, the prevalence of COVID-19 in this study may be underestimated, the researchers said. Another limitation to the study is that since the beginning of data collection other symptoms, such as brain-fog, have been identified as potentially relevant for a definition of long COVID but this study did not look at these symptoms, they added. SEE ALSO : <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/lic-housing-finance-profit-rises-6-fold-to-925-crore/articleshow/93351429.cms">LIC Housing Finance profit rises 6-fold to ₹925 crore</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/reliance-backed-dunzos-b2b-logistics-arm-arrives-on-ondc/articleshow/93351531.cms">Reliance-backed Dunzo's B2B logistics arm arrives on ONDC</a>

One in eight patients develop long Covid symptoms says Lancet study

<ul><li>YouGov's latest report reveals that <keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword> and Big Basket are the most used apps for ordering essentials during the COVID-19 <keyword id="91743" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="lockdown">lockdown</keyword></li><li>Although people have engaged with delivery apps during this period, only half are satisfied with the online ordering experience.</li></ul>YouGov’s latest survey reveals that despite the lockdown and strict norms around social distancing, the majority of urban Indians (52%) are stepping out and buying essentials from local retailers and hypermarkets. 39% are getting it delivered locally by neighbourhood vendors. The survey was run among 1000 respondents from 14th- 17th April. Most people have used delivery apps to order essential supplies during the lockdown period and Paytm is the most used app for this purpose (39%), followed by Big Basket (21%) and Big Bazaar (18%). Although slightly late but Swiggy and Zomato have entered the fray, and one in six people admitted to using these apps for the delivery of necessary items (16% and 15%, respectively). Amazon Pantry (16%), Reliance Fresh (15%), Grofers (14%) and Dmart (14%) were some other popular channels of delivery. Comparatively, Flipkart Supermart (10%), Domino’s Pizza (7%), Milk Basket (5%), Nature’s Basket (4%) and Dunzo (3%) were less popular for ordering daily supplies. While people have indulged with delivery apps at some point during the lockdown, currently only one in five (20%) Indians are ordering essentials online through these apps. Residents in North India were more likely to say this- at 27%. Similarly, a higher number of tier-1 and tier-2 city residents are likely to order online through delivery apps as compared to tier-3 residents. Among the different age groups, people in their thirties (28%) are more likely than the rest to shop everything online. Even though Paytm emerged as the most used delivery app for essentials during the lockdown, when it specifically comes to those who are currently only ordering online, Big Basket takes the top spot (at 44%), followed by Paytm (34%) and Grofers (33%). The e-grocer is especially popular among respondents from tier I cities, with 58% saying they shopped from Big Basket during the lockdown. Paytm on the other hand, is more popular in tier-2 and 3 cities. The high volume of people stepping out to buy necessities or getting them delivered locally could be due to problems faced with online grocery shopping. Unavailability of goods is the top concern among buyers ordering essentials online (40%), followed by lack of variety as well as unusually long delays in deliveries (32% each). Some respondents experienced cancellation of their orders (22%), received partial deliveries (17%) and faced issues with order policies (16%). Few witnessed payment issues (11%) while few others received low quality products (10%). However, a quarter seem pleased with the experience and claim to have had no problems with their delivery. At an overall level, half the respondents are satisfied or very satisfied with the experience of ordering essentials online. One in six (16%), however, are either unsatisfied or very unsatisfied while a third (33%) are unsure of their experience. Unsurprisingly, satisfaction is higher among those who currently order online as compared to those who either step out or order essentials locally through neighbourhood vendors and this presents an opportunity for e-grocers to win these consumers by offering better service and experience. Speaking about this Deepa Bhatia, General Manager, YouGov India, said, “While the COVID-19 crisis has adversely impacted most businesses, it has also opened opportunities for some e-commerce players, especially those catering to the daily needs of people. Along with serving new customers, it is imperative to satisfy and retain the existing ones. In such an environment, it is important for brands to win consumers’ trust by understanding their needs and concerns, and then targeting them with the appropriate communication and marketing strategies.” Data collected online by YouGov Omnibus among 1000 respondents in India between 14th - 17th April 2020 using YouGov’s panel of over 6 million people worldwide. Data is representative of the adult online population in the country.

People are depending most on Paytm and BigBasket for ordering essentials during the Covid-19 lockdown

<ul><li>As the country continues to grapple with the second wave of coronavirus pandemic, healthcare and frontline workers are racing against time to contain its spread.</li><li>In this fight against coronavirus, a few <keyword id="31174" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="brands">brands</keyword> have stepped forward to help our country deal with the crisis.</li><li>From amplifying requests on Twitter to donating money to government bodies, here’s how brands are trying to do their bit.</li><li>This is a regularly updated list to track how brands are helping India. </li></ul>As of April 27, there are 17.3 million+ active COVID cases in India. Several health institutions have run out of beds and oxygen supply and have kept the patients on a long waiting list. Our social media feeds are full of appeals for help, looking for plasma donors, oxygen concentrators or ICU beds. As India’s healthcare system continues to be under pressure, citizens have taken to Twitter to help each other out during these testing times. Indian corporations, multinational brands and young home-grown start-ups have also stepped forward to do their bit and help the country survive this phase. Tech giants Tech giant Amazon has come forward to donate 10,000 oxygen concentrators to India. Google's Sundar Pichai has announced that the company will be donating a relief fund of Rs 135 crore to UNICEF and the non-profit Give India for medical supplies, supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information about the deadly virus. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella said that the company will continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices. FMCG FMCG Giant P&amp;G announced that it will contribute towards the vaccination of over 5 lakh Indian citizens by pledging Rs 50 crore in partnership with the government and local authorities in India. It will also continue to extend its support to the broader community through the donation of products, in-house manufactured masks and sanitizers especially to aid frontline and essential workers who are tirelessly working to combat the spread of COVID-19. The company will continue to leverage its advertising and brand voice responsibly to increase awareness on health, safety and hygiene measures among consumers and the community. FMCG giant Amway is donating US $1 million (approx. Rs 7.50 crores) to support the COVID relief efforts. The donation amount will be used to facilitate COVID-19 resources such as ventilators, oxygen concentrators among others, to accelerate the <keyword id="8764728" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID 19</keyword> relief work. Mankind Pharma also pledged to donate a sum of Rs 100 crore for the families of deceased doctors, police officers, pharmacists, and other healthcare workers. Marico Limited has donated sanitizers worth Rs 1 crore across various cities to frontline professionals including government <keyword id="6411917" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="organisations">organisations</keyword>, police, hospitals and health staff. The distribution of these kits has already begun in Tamil Nadu and the FMCG giant will continue to expand its reach to include more beneficiaries across multiple states. Start-ups Delivery platforms Zomato and Dunzo have assured help to India as it continues to fight a ravaging crisis. Foodtech platform Zomato and its NGO Zomato Feeding India rolled out a priority delivery feature for Covid-19 emergencies, including oxygen, Chief Executive Officer Deepinder Goyal announced on Twitter. It is aiming to raise Rs 50 crore. Dunzo has opened its social media platform to those who need their request amplified. CRED’s Founder Kunal Shah announced that the platform will be sourcing 1 billion litre of oxygen for India. In association with NGO Milaap, every 10,000 CRED Coin will go towards 1,000 litre of oxygen. Another payment platform Paytm claims to have sourced supplies of different sizes of oxygen concentrators and is raising ₹10 crore to donate them to health institutions across the country. It has already collected ₹1 crore. <a href="https://info.coindcx.com/crypto-covid-care/" data-type="tilCustomLink">CoinDCX</a>, an Indian cryptocurrency exchange platform, allows you to donate your cryptocurrencies. It is donating the collected funds to Help Uday Foundation to provide Care Kits to Fight Coronavirus and Donate Dry Ration to families struggling with hunger in Covid Second Wave. International brands Mobile brands Xiaomi and OnePlus have also come forward to help ease the burden off India’s healthcare system. Xiaomi has pledged Rs 3 crore for relief efforts and OnePlus is amplifying the appeals of those facing COVID-19 emergencies and seeking help on Twitter. Vivo, another smartphone brand, announced donation of Rs 2 crore to aid COVID-19 relief efforts and help acquire Oxygen concentrators. The Walt Disney Company and Star India have pledged financial support of Rs 50 crore towards the ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts in India. The proceeds will be utilized to aid relief efforts and towards the procurement of critical healthcare equipment, including oxygen concentrators, BiPAP, and ventilators along with setting up oxygen plants across hospitals. Indian corporations The Tata Group announced that it is importing 24 cryogenic containers to transport liquid oxygen and help ease the oxygen shortage in the country. Its subsidiaries like Tata Steel are also supplying 200-300 tons of Liquid Medical Oxygen daily to various State governments and hospitals. Honda India Foundation will be setting up temporary COVID Care isolation centers and Oxygen Production Plants. A 100-bed facility is being created at Honda’s warehouse facility in Manesar in Haryana and another 50-100 bed facility at the Government Girl School in Tapukara, Rajasthan. These temporary COVID-19 care centers are expected to commence operation from May 17 onwards. Similar isolation centers are being explored in other locations. The foundation is also working with State Governments to set up Oxygen Production Plants in the districts of Kolar (Karnataka), Gautam Budh Nagar (Uttar Pradesh), Alwar (Rajasthan) and Manesar (Haryana). Last but not the least, Reliance Industries is donating 100 tonnes of oxygen to worst-hit COVID states in India.

From CRED to Google, here’s how brands are helping India fight against COVID-19

Mumbai, Mar 26 () Amid a lockdown across the country to curtail the spread of COVID-19, there are many apps that are trying to make life more involved and a little easier with contactless delivery options, maintaining health and wellness, gaming, navigation guidance and even providing seamless education.MapmyIndia Move app is one such app that aims to empower citizens to help authorities about lapses in enforcement related to COVID-19."In these difficult times every bit, even the smallest action taken in the right direction, counts. We are enabling the citizens to help authorities. Our objective is to facilitate better governance through better coordination or cooperation amongst citizens and authorities," MapmyIndia CEO and Executive Director Rohan Verma said.With limited resources and many constraints, the government authorities are doing their best to maintain calm and keep Indians safe and sound and using resources like the Move app and MapmyIndia maps citizens can act as force multipliers for the authorities, he added.Another app HealthifyMe is an artificial intelligence (AI)-led health and fitness app that launched a slew of initiatives to help people improve their immunity and adopt a healthy lifestyle during the 21-day lockdown. The company has launched Immunity Assessment Tests which can be taken by anyone free of cost.Those who score low on the test will also receive a free consultation by a trained coach. HealthifyMe has also launched home workouts on its app and daily live workouts with coaches, along with trackers for sleep, smoking and handwashing, factors that are the bedrocks of long-term immunity. These offerings are available for all users under the "Immunity Tab" in the HealthifyMe App.HealthifyMe CEO Tushar Vashisht said that it takes 21 days to build a habit and the app aims to use the lockdown to build healthier habits and improve their immunity."So we have launched the biggest ever upgrade to our app with several new features centered around eating balanced diets, exercising at home, sanitizing hands and sleeping better. We are also giving away free nutritionists and exercise consultations to anyone who needs help and together I am confident we shall overcome this virus and this crisis," he added.Meanwhile, edtech platforms like Edubrisk are also rising up to the occasion to help solve the educational crisis in the country. They are running free learning sessions for teachers or institutions so that they can take online classes for their students. Also, they are providing free demo entries for students who need to finish their courses on their platform.The dating and gaming industry is also not far behind as during this time of lockdown, dating apps like Gleeden are providing alternatives for individuals to spend their time at home doing something that they find pleasurable. The platform has registered a hike of over 70 per cent on its platform during this period. The gaming platforms are also not far behind and are giving lucrative offers to woo the customers. Falling the suit, Fantasy and online gaming platforms like the Baazi Games have also witnessed a hike of 8-10 per cent on its online poker platform, PokerBaazi. These platforms are proving to be very handy in order to divert the attention of the masses locked at their homes.As the social distancing measures in the wake of the COVID-19 are critical for both delivery executives and consumers, leading security and community management solution MyGate has partnered with Swiggy, Licious, Grofers, Dunzo and other leading e-commerce companies to enable contactless deliveries of essential services.The company's Leave at Gate feature, which establishes a clear process for contactless deliveries, is being made available proactively to all the 1.5 million homes on its platform. The over 7,000 gated communities on MyGate can now also elect to make it mandatory for their residents to pick up their parcels at the gate.Urban Company, formerly UrbanClap has partnered with Srinidhi Foundation to set up a relief fund to support gig workers and independent contractors on its platform during the COVID-19 crisis.This fund will be used to provide sustenance support to deserving individuals and their families over the next few months, till the situation comes back to normalcy. Shared living start up Stanza Living has also set-up a dedicated 'employee contingency fund' of nearly Rs 10 lakh to cover basic medical expenses for any employee in case of contraction of COVID19.The fund includes voluntary contributions from employees across over 10 cities, who have pledged a part of their salaries to the fund, with the co-founders pledging 50 per cent contribution to the fund collection. SM MKJ

COVID-19 lockdown: Many apps trying to keep people engaged

<ul><li>In our latest interview series, we talk to brands to understand how they are coping with the new normal and their strategies towards navigating these difficult times.</li><li>Samir Singh, Global EVP, Skin Cleansing at <keyword id="45009" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unilever">Unilever</keyword> tells us what kind of demand it has seen for its flagship brand Lifebuoy and how the organisation has increased its production to meet the increasing demand.</li><li>The global monthly production of Lifebuoy hand sanitizer increased by 56 times and liquid hand wash by three times compared to a typical month in 2019, Singh shares the challenges they faced and brand’s marketing strategy. </li></ul>The global threat from Coronavirus is continuing to grow, and at a rapidly accelerating rate. This has made even slackers wash their hands at least four times a day. As a result, FMCG brands that manufacture hand sanitizers and liquid soaps have seen their sales swelling up. Furthermore, the increase in awareness about personal hygiene and care is also driving the market’s growth. According to Technavio, Market Intelligence Agency, the <keyword id="9361507" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="hand-sanitizer-market">hand sanitizer market</keyword> in India is poised to grow by USD 405.31 million during 2020-2024 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Its analysts estimate the market to grow at a CAGR of 61.02% till 2024. To meet this increasing demand, the global monthly production of Lifebuoy hand sanitizer increased by 56 times and liquid hand wash by three times compared to a typical month in 2019. And now, as people start stepping out, Unilever’s Lifebuoy is expecting a higher demand for its hygiene products. “We have obviously seen an increase in demand for hand hygiene products. Handwashing has never been more important, and, at Lifebuoy, we believe that we have an important role to play to ensure that people can get hold of the products they need. As people start venturing outdoors and returning to work, school and other aspects of their lives, we anticipate an increase in demand for more portable hand hygiene products such as hand sanitizers,” shares Samir Singh, Global EVP, Skin Cleansing at Unilever. Telling us how the brand managed to meet the ever-increasing demand in the past three months, Singh said, “Throughout the pandemic we have been working hard to ensure continuity in our operations and supply chain to help meet demand and ensure products reach the communities we serve. We have achieved this by prioritising production of hand wash, soap and hand sanitizer on lines across Unilever’s factories; setting-up new factories; and working with manufacturing partners.” A lot of companies like RSH Global, Nivea, Emami, Cipla Health, Dabur have made their maiden entries into the hand sanitiser market to ride the demand and to help people stay safe. Lifebuoy will also continue to look for newer opportunities and innovate to help its consumers. “At Lifebuoy, we continue to explore opportunities to help our consumers feel protected and safe. For example, we anticipate that as countries ease out of lockdown, many people will be looking for more portable, ‘on-the-go’ formats such as hand sanitizers and wipes to help maintain good hand hygiene,” said Singh. Moving beyond competition The pandemic has also made brands to keep competition aside and remind its consumers that everybody is in this together. Globally, brands like Nike and Adidas joined hands to protest against George Floyd’s murder. Closer home, brands like Dunzo, Dettol and Lifebuoy have left competition aside for the moment and are thanking each other for their services in marketing campaigns. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> <div type="twitter" handle="ambimgp" handlename="Ambi Parameswaran" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1075309911880421378/egNXy-cA_normal.jpg" favoritecount="256" retweetcount="83" status="⁦@HUL_News⁩ Great initiative to advertise the importance of hand wash ⁦@htTweets⁩. And a big hurray for mentioning… https://t.co/66U8bINm4x" createdat="1580453185000" id="1223135428984725504"></div> Spilling its marketing strategy, Lifebuoy’s Singh said, “We’ve been working quickly and flexibly to ensure we’re advertising in the places where it will help to inform consumers. As a brand and as part of our purpose, we use a variety of methods and channels to promote and inspire good hand hygiene practices. In response to the pandemic, we are using the power and influence of our media reach to improve handwashing behaviours by rallying millions of people to #dothelifebuoy in an engaging and ‘sticky’ manner. We’ve launched this global challenge across Instagram and Tiktok, with about 50 billion views and counting, across India, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa and the Gulf. On mentioning competitors, he said, “When the pandemic first emerged, we launched a public service campaign which encouraged the use of all soap – not just Lifebuoy but competitor brands too – with the line ‘Please use the soap nearest to you. Not just Lifebuoy but any soap like Dettol, Lux or Hamam.’” Coronavirus is the biggest teacher This highly volatile market, Singh said, has taught him the importance of being authentic, responsible, and consistent in communicating with your consumers. Elaborating on the lessons he has learnt lately, he said, “Authenticity, because your brand purpose has to be in the DNA of your brand, it can’t be invented artificially during the time of crisis. People see through that kind of purpose washing. Responsibility because people expect especially at these times for brands and institutions to do the right thing, even if it is not immediately business apparent. That’s why we have advocated the use of even our competitors' soap brands since January, and that’s why we continue to direct people to official sources of information from reputed government health bodies. Consistency, because otherwise brands won’t have impact at scale. Brands need to do tangible things on the ground that make a difference, rather than only talk about things in communications and advertising.” The need for hygiene products has never been higher, which has made Lifebuoy realise how important a role it plays in consumer’s life. “Never before in history has a consumer goods category played such a central role in the future wellbeing of the world – that is a huge responsibility for everyone who works in this industry, and that’s what drives us every day to make a small difference, one soap at a time,” concluded Singh.

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