TLE, a Sydney-headquartered company of Enero Group, has strengthened its Asia presence with the launch of operations in India. The Gurgaon office adds to TLE’s presence in New York, Sydney, UK and more recently Brazil. Previously known as The Leading Edge, TLE is positioned as a multi-disciplined global boutique offering services across research, brand management and strategy, innovation and shopper marketing.
Shweta Sabharwal Mallik, who was part of the leadership team in Singapore, will head India operations.
On the India foray, Mallik said, “Initial efforts to start operations in India began last year. We’re now proud to announce our launch with two key accounts – Coke and Unilever (Lifebuoy).”
She further added, “A lot of global Lifebuoy work emerges out of a combination of India and Singapore teams. Since I've joined from the Singapore office where I’ve worked for more than four years, my job is to really continue the same in India; strengthen our relations, not just with Unilever and Coca-Cola India but also other clients that we’ll look at partnering in the future.”
On focus areas are for the Indian market, she explained, “Since we’re a research and strategy company, our focus will be on solving our clients’ problems using key insights from our research. We will make sure that the solutions that we deliver to clients are relevant and in sync with company objectives.”
Mallik informed that the biggest challenge for TLE in India would be to adopt a certain localised strategy while keeping the global philosophy of brands intact. “In India, we will need to look at things like culture, unique insights and consumer behaviour – which is so very different from other markets. So even as a brand follows a global strategy, be it (from) Unilever or Coca-Cola, one has to look at what is more relevant in the local market, and to be able to make those changes is the key.”
Clients in the Asia region include Coca-Cola, Unilever, Starbucks, Visa, The Walt Disney Company, and Virgin Active. The Asia team which comprises of 14 professionals in the area of research and strategy draws on the company’s global resources.
Global CEO Andy Bateman said in a statement: “TLE now serves more clients in more markets than at any time in its history, working across 35 markets. We’re seeing rapid growth in developing markets with up to 30 per cent of our revenue now coming from developing markets across Eastern Europe, Asia and South America.”
He added, “You need to start in a different place, ask new questions, and find new ways of thinking. We bring an eclectic and deeply experienced bunch of researchers, strategists, data scientists and creative thinkers to look at the problem from every possible angle and really get under the skin of it. It requires rigour but our people also have the ingenuity and inspiration it takes to make the leap to breakthrough ideas.”
