Small brands are now receiving a lot of attention from Times Private Treaties which has a portfolio that includes Sumeet Industries, Refex Refrigerants Ltd., Lucifer Lights, Micro Technologies, Refeel Cartridge Engineering, Nik Nish Retail, Access Atlantech, Thyrocare, ICRI, IIHT Ltd. and Raj Oil Mills.

Entrepreneurs who were earlier hesitant about investing in brand building due to cash flow constraints that most start-ups face in their early stages of business life cycle have now realized that they can partner with Times Private Treaties which backs through advertising currency. This enables more and more start ups to unlock the full potential of their brands while continuing to deploy funds on other immediate areas of attention such as customer experience, people and product development, logistics management etc.

Many brands have also realized while working with Times Private Treaties that it is not huge expenditures but simple strategies adopted in media & advertising, which enables them to create brand differentiators that positively impact their business. More and more start ups now understand importance of building brands in their overall business strategy.

A few examples are:

Lucifer Lights is an example of a consumer durable brand that has taken the innovation route. Lucifer Lights manufactures and exports LED based lights for various applications and unlike conventional lights, there are no emission of gases and rays. It is the first company in the world to receive a test report from CPRI (Central Power Research Institute of India) which indicates the energy efficient nature of their lights. In its own way, the company has been trying to promote small measures for much bigger cause of “Global Warming”.

Sumeet Industries, another investee company, INR 1200 million conglomerate with varied business interests that has been creating successful B2B brand across various categories.

Nik Nish Retail, a Times Private Treaties investee company, has become a name synonymous with lifestyle giftstore chain by undertaking strong brand building campaign. The company has grown ten times in last 2 years and is a clear leader in its category.

Times Private Treaties has a strong portfolio of companies in the increasingly favoured Media and Entertainment Space. These include companies like Manhattan Communications, Ok Play India, Percept Picture Company and Nimbus Communications (through it Nimbus and its associate company NEO Sports Broadcast).

Blackstone, a private equity fund, recently paid Rs 225 crore for an undisclosed stake in the Rs 846 crore Jagran Prakashan, the publishers of Hindi daily Dainik Jagran.

In turn, Dainik Jagran has acquired Midday through a shares swap. The recent action underscores the growing interest in media vehicles. This interest and investments in media and entertainment space is, of course, not without a reason. According to Farokh Balsara, Media & Entertainment Leader, Ernst & Young Private Ltd. in India, “The media and entertainment industry in India has been, and will continue to be, one of the biggest beneficiaries of India’s favorable demographics.” He further adds, “Volumes of content consumption, vibrant indigenous content creation and a favorable regulatory framework, make India an attractive investment destination for global media and entertainment companies.”

“Global media and entertainment companies are increasingly focusing on the role emerging markets play in content consumption and creation. Leading global companies that fail to understand and optimize the opportunities in emerging markets may lose out on significant revenue growth,” said John Nendick, Global Media & Entertainment Leader for Ernst & Young.

A recent report released by Ernst & Young “Tune in to emerging entertainment markets: spotlight on Brazil, Russia, India and China,” highlights that in India, there is an increase in the number of channels and adoption of digital distribution platforms; the country has also become a hot bed for media content outsourcing and is the largest film-producing nation in the world. Satellite television subscribers in India, which currently account for 15% of the total 130 million television sets, are set to double in the next 2 years.

Times Private Treaties has invested in various financial companies who have benefited with successful branding and advertising. The client list includes Almondz Global Securities Pvt Ltd., Artha Money, India Infoline Ltd., Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. and SMC Global Securities Ltd. Through this alliance, Times Private Treaties consults them on building brand identity and provides business insight and solutions to their problems.

Times Private Treaties is enabling companies in the financial sector to build strong brands through advertising strategies that help overcome the clutter.

After commencing operations in August 2005, India Infoline faced major obstacles in its way. Financial services were restricted only to the metros and certain select cities of the country and were a commoditized category.

However, India Infoline has managed to generate awareness and expand its reach pan India, covering B and C segment cities as well.

Today, India Infoline has broken through the metro-centric barriers of financial services and has 759 business locations catering to over 800,000 customers.

A recent Times Private Treaties Campaign has brought the value that  advertising know-how can bring to early stage companies who are creating new market categories. The success in the financial services space clearly underscores the role that brand advertising can play in market generation, despite a much commoditized and high decibel campaign.

In today’s financial market with high competition and large number of players offering similar services, a clear branding and positioning strategy is required to make the company stand out and connect to customers.

As many as 20 Indian company names made it to the 2009 Forbes’ “Asia’s 200 Best Under a Billion” list and two Times Private Treaties’ clients- Allied Digital and Micro Technologies featured in it.

Allied Digital (the world class IT Services and Solutions Provider) and Micro Technologies (the Information Technology Innovator), both TPT investee companies, rubbed shoulders with other Indian biggies like AIA Engineering, AurinoPro Solutions, Biocon, Bang Overseas, Birla, Deepak Fertilisers, Divi’s Laboratories, Everest Kanto Cylinder, FDC, Geodesic, GSS America Infotech, ICSA, IVRCL Infrastructure, Nitin Fire Protection, Opto Circuits, Parekh Aluminex, Raj Television Network and Selan Exploration Tech who featured as the Top 20 Indian companies on this list.

Featuring for the second time on the Forbes’ ‘Asia’s 200 Best Under a Billion List’ Allied Digital, has over 2000 employees spread over 132 locations. The company has built a brand name that can compete with the best in the industry. From being ‘just a server maintenance co’ to a complete IT services company, the brand now stands for reliability and strivers for innovation in the IT services field in India.

Another Indian company featured on the Forbes Asia’s 200 Best Under a Billion List’ for consistent growth of sales and profit was Micro Technologies. A leading technology innovator, Micro Technologies have tapped various domestic and international markets and aim to display not just the technological innovation but also product diversity in various segments of vehicle, premises, mobile, other assets and also energy, health segment and rural informatics.

The top 20 Indian companies on the Forbes list have found presence due to an aggressive entrepreneurial streak that is constantly backed by strong and functional infrastructure. From world class offerings in clothing, IT and engineering etc. the Indian brand has made its presence felt globally. These companies have transformed over the years and have shifted gears to churn out consumer focused products that are fast becoming brands to reckon with.

Companies from China and Hong Kong led the prestigious list, while India featured as No. 4. Singled out for constant growth of sales and profit over the last three years, moderate indebtedness and future prospects, all these companies have sales of less than a $ 1billion (Rs. 4,850 crore).

The survey done by Forbes outlined ‘consumerism’ as the key driving force behind most of the companies in the list, and which also outlined the Asian miracle as been built on the sweat of small and midsize enterprises.

Closer home, Times Private Treaties enables small and mid size companies to secure a greater share of mind and consequently market share, thus increasing enterprise value. The unique model of Times Private Treaties is designed to share risk, accelerate growth and augment the brand value proposition.