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Commenting on his appointment, Julie Bottner, Executive Vice President of Strategic Markets and Global Operations, Global Business Travel said, “We are delighted to announce that Sandeep will assume charge of the Global Business Travel for the India. In this role he will be responsible for driving the growth, transformation, and profitability of the market. Sandeep is passionate about the travel business and is a terrific leader. I am delighted to have him join my leadership team. For American Express, India is a strategic growth market and we are confident that this segment will experience buoyant growth under Sandeep’s able leadership.”

During his tenure with American Express, Sandeep has held various key leadership positions and responsibilities. He has been a part of the extended management team of Global Business Travel in Japan, Asia Pacific and Australia (JAPA) for the last seven years with roles in business transformation as well as regional client management in the Global Business Partnership segment in Asia Pacific. He has a strong network of relationships with global clients and key suppliers in Asia Pacific. Sandeep has significant achievements to his credit at the company having spearheaded the growth of global client portfolio by 50% in the last 2 years, increasing revenue streams, innovating the business model and leading online business strategy.

Detailing his appointment, Sandeep said, “I am delighted to be back at American Express India especially at a time when the country is poised to see accelerated growth due to a vibrant economy, strong consumption and healthy corporate growth. This position offers me an incredible opportunity to move Global Business Travel to a higher growth trajectory and I am excited to drive this change.”

Prior to joining American Express, Sandeep has worked with leading players in the financial services industry in India with Standard Chartered Bank and ANZ Grindlays Bank.

Sandeep is a qualified engineer and has an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. He has recently completed an executive MBA program with INSEAD and Tsinghua University in 2011 to increase his exposure to global strategy and the North Asian business environment. Sandeep is passionate about Golf and Cricket

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According to Shailesh Baidwan, Country Manager & Head – Consumer Cards, American Express Banking Corp., India, “This reward means a lot to us since it comes directly from our Cardmembers. Being voted as the Best Loyalty Credit Card not only in India but in Asia/Oceania & Middle East by the Frequent Traveler Award is a great endorsement of the premium service that American Express provides. This is a classic example of two strong brands getting together to create a product which provides customers with benefits, features and rewards that provide immense value and experience.”

“Globally and in India, we have deep experience with successful airline co-brand relationships and have some of the best co-brand cards. We count our partnership with Kingfisher Airlines with added value from Airtel to be among the best such arrangements in the world, ” added Baidwan.

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Lulu Raghavan, Country Manager for Landor Associates India, recently participated in the Leading Hotels of the World (LHW). In her more than nine years at Landor, Raghavan has worked in the San Francisco, New York, London, and Mumbai offices. She has led corporate and consumer branding programs for a wide range of clients, including Alcatel-Lucent, American Express, Dow Corning, Fidelity Investments, Hewlett-Packard, Jet Airways, One&Only Resorts, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony. She is also a member of Landor’s global naming network.

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Raghavan talks about her association with this event and Landor at large. “It is a great honour to represent Landor at such an important event for the industry. I’m looking forward to discovering a little bit more of Tokyo as well. This will be my second trip,” Raghavan said.

“Speaking to the group on the major trends happening in regards to sustainability and how consumers and business are approaching green,” she added was the focus in this event.

Lulu Raghavan leads the India office of Landor Associates and handles the overall client and employee satisfaction. Her key clients include Café Coffee Day, GMR/ Delhi International Airport Limited, Hindustan Construction Company, Sterlite Technologies, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, Tata Group, and Vedanta Resources.

Commenting on her rich experience in this industry, she said, “Landor has been working with Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces for over 7 years now on brand architecture and I have been involved since the very beginning. We have launched three brands – Ginger, The Gateway Hotel and Vivanta by Taj – and have helped the company move from a monobrand to a multibrand portfolio with focused brands for different segments of the market”

Also she further added,” Our work has spanned the spectrum of brand consulting and design services from consumer research, brand strategy, naming, visual identity systems, customer experience and internal brand engagement. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with One & Only Resorts when I was at Landor’s London’s office. Additionally, I’m a regular contributor on branding for Hospitality Magazine Asia.”

Raghavan’s key associations with Landor has been working on the some of the best global brands and having worked in 4 of Landor’s 22 offices (San Francisco, New York, London, Mumbai) and visited 10 of them. Another one has been an 18 month corporate assignment reporting to the then worldwide CEO Craig Branigan

She strongly feels that getting clients to really value the power of branding beyond advertising is the biggest challenge in this space. Talking about the current happenings at Landor, she commented, “We’ll be launching our annual trends piece in early December. Our current homepage (which changes every month) is focused on Innovation.” | Janees Antoo [janees(at)adgully.com]

American Express Logo

Conceptualized and created by Ogilvy Advertising, the above-the-line campaign carries a strapline ‘Realise the potential’ that went live on 5 October. The animated advertisements will shift the focal attention away from the business market and will promote the features that makes an American Express cardholder a walking example of prestige.

According to Alison Bain, VP and Head, International Advertising, American Express, the strapline is aimed at targeting the new generation of well-heeled consumers.

Amex also has plans to feature television ads that will speak about the way American Express customers received required/desired help in dire situations. The TV commercials will be complimented by American Express adverts in the print media that will be aimed at educating the masses about wider benefits of holding an American Express card.

We particularly like the tag line ‘Get any closer and you’ll be in the band’. This is going to be exercised in order or appeal to music lovers as the advertisement will convey the message that Amex customers can secure some of the best seating options available in the house/show.

Those who love to travel are targeted with an apt tag line saying ‘Be a traveller, not a tourist.’ A focus on rewards programme is also designed that will use the line ‘What if last night’s dinner could become an iPod?’

OgilvyOne has been roped in to support the direct marketing activities and a dedicated website will be made live soon. The three-month campaign will cover 27 countries while a separate promotional activity is being designed for the US.