Career Portfolio Highlights Muhammad Saqib Khan

Career Portfolio
Muhammad Saqib Khan
2007 - To date

Senior Brand Manager
2015-Present

Atlas Group as a whole is quite active in CSR
activities, having a number of foundations
under its wing.
Atlas Battery as an individual entity had never
done CSR properly. I came up with the idea of
initiating CSR in the month of Ramadan,
pitched it to the ad agency and together we
came up with the idea of installing Mist Fans
at Bus Stops all over Karachi to counter the
heat wave that killed so many pedestrians in
last year’s Ramadan.
The idea became the talk of town on social
media.
2016 – CSR: Mist Fan
Campaign

The Orphanage Campaign was a sort of an
extension of the Mist Fan Campaign, in that we
decided to donate the mist fans at the end of that
campaign to the orphanages.
The idea was to distribute Eidi to children in
different orphanages all over Karachi while
providing them entertainment in the form of Magic
Show, Puppet Show, Jumping Castle and other
interactive activities.
In many companies, CSR activities is the domain of
either HR or a separate department dedicated to
PR and stuff. Since at Atlas Battery we didn’t have
that, I decided that marketing ought to be the one
leading these efforts, and the rest, as they say, is
history.
2016 – CSR: Orphanage
Campaign

Before this sponsorship, I had been placing the
TVC on a number of news and entertainment
channels. The problem with that strategy is
unless you have a budget of colossal proportions,
you end up spreading your resources thin and
not getting prominence on any one channel.
By focusing the budget on a specific event on just
one channel, I was able to get the spotlight on
our brand as never before. Of course the fact that
it was an exceptionally well-made TVC with a
catchy jingle helped matters.
The PSL campaign in particular created a lot of
hype at a very reasonable investment.
2016 – Sponsorship of PSL
and England Series

Atlas Battery was not the main sponsor of this
event but the way I got branding elements
placed at strategic locations all over the Al-
Hamra Complex, the venue for this event, it
created the perception we were.
What’s more, I didn’t have to incur any
additional expense getting these made, since
we had the Multan Auto Show less than a
month ago, and I had anticipated this well in
advance that it would be more cost-effective to
transport that branded material to Lahore
instead of making it all over again.
2016 – Lahore Mystic Festival

In order to add some innovation to Pakwheels
brand activations, I made use of helicam
technology to add a new dimension to the
coverage of our activity at Multan show, a
summarized video of which can be seen on the
right.
This was the first time we were doing a show
in Multan, and to spice things up, I got a real-
life replica of a NASCAR made and put on the
show as part of an interactive activity involving
batteries.
2016 – Brand Activations

1. Video Tutorials
2. Travel Log Webisodes
3. Augmented Reality Project
4. Kidz Dunya Brand Engagement
2016 – Ongoing Projects

2015 was the year where I experimented the most
in brand activations.
I came up with the idea of using live streaming to
cover the event and created a dedicated domain
www.atlasbattery.tv to cover it. The idea was to
use an apparently neutral host to cover the
Pakwheels auto show and then subtly embed
content in favor of my brand.
Then the idea of using drones was also conceived
this year although the implementation was
perfected the next year.
The cherry on the cake was reserved for the last
event of the year where I got African performers to
come in and perform in front of our stall at the
event.
Flash Mob | Live Streaming
Pakwheels Autoshow Islamabad
2015 – Lake View Park
Music Band | Afro Dance &
Acrobatics
Pakwheels Autoshow Karachi 2015 –
Port Grand
Carnival Band Performance
Pakwheels Autoshow Faisalabad
2015 – Iqbal Stadium
Khattak Dance
Pakwheels Autoshow Peshawar 2015 –
Islamia College

JETRO, or the Japan External Trade
Organization, is a government-related
organization that works to promote mutual
trade and investment between Japan and the
rest of the world. In Pakistan they are active in
arranging events in collaboration with
Japanese partnership companies. Atlas
Battery being one of them, whenever they
arrange an event, I work together with them to
create Atlas Battery’s presence at that event
which includes creating branded stalls,
arranging manpower to man the stall and
ensuring ample brand visibility at the event.
2015 – JETRO Exhibition

This was the first time we were shooting the TVC
of AGS, a brand which had been without it for the
last 50 years.
It was the one of the most challenging brand
briefs I had written owing to the fact that this 50
year old national brand meant different things to
different people. In the end I worked with the ad
agency to come up with a concept and pitch it to
successfully to the CEO. What was more difficult
was the fact that it was going to be the most
expensive project ever undertaken by me,
courtesy the multitude of locations and the use of
foreign talent behind the camera. Ahsan Rahim,
the talented director behind all of Ufone’s TVCs,
and the famous DOP, Kelvin Koche, responsible
for shooting Don 2.
2015 – AGS TVC

The first season of the AGS roadshow met with
such overwhelming response that we decided
to come up with the second season, covering
even more towns and cities.
And because of the magnitude and scale of the
second season, I decided to split it into two.
The first leg was conducted at the end of 2015
while the second leg at the start of 2016.
We kicked off the season by formally
inaugurating the Float by the CEO and then
getting it on the road.
2015-16 – AGS Roadshow

Almost all the brand activations I had carried
out until this point in time had been done in
major urban centres. AGS however was a
national brand not confined to just the urban
cities.
In order to penetrate the semi-urban and
rural segments of the target market, I came
up with the idea of AGS roadshow whereby a
float would go all over Pakistan focusing on
just the small towns and cities, and the team
would conduct battery check-ups, carry out
small quizzes and contests hand over AGS
branded gifts to the customers.
2015 – AGS Roadshow

By the end of 2013, I had grown Atlas
Battery’s brand activation to a large extent in
terms of scale and magnitude. But it was all
linear with the entire activity revolving
around the core activity of battery check-up.
I got an additional dimension to the whole
proceedings by introducing customer
engagement activities like Talent Show and
‘Kuch Kar Kay Dikhao’, activities that made
my brand land on top of all the other
sponsoring brands in the consumers’ mind.

From visiting the Indonesian and Thai
Market to study hybrid battery dynamics, to
coming up strategies based on House of
Brand Model and Branded House Model to
finally launching the brand, it took two years
to get this project off the ground.
And finally when it was launched, it was the
biggest launch ever in the history of Atlas
Group. None of the 16 companies before had
done a 360 launch, which I was able to
achieve for the Atlas Group of Companies.
2014 – Launch of Atlas Hybrid
Brand : 360⁰ Campaign

The Atlas Hybrid TVC was going to be the first
major TVC that I was going to shoot.
And to get it absolutely right, I worked in close
coordination with the Strategy department of
the ad agency, creating a detailed
demographics and psychographics of the
potential consumer, gleaning insights of the
Pakistani consumer and then finally tying all
together to create 5 different concepts to pitch
to the management. Once the concept was
locked, selecting the director,producer, talent,
props and the locations for the shoot. The
shoot took place in two cities, both outdoor
and in the studio.
2014 – Atlas Hybrid TVC

One of the Immutable Laws of Branding is that if you
want to make a new brand successful, it’s better to
create an entirely new category around it and then
wait for the competitors to enter that category to
validate it.
In line with this law, I created a short documentary to
both to highlight the finer points of this new product
and also to position it as a whole new category of
batteries.
Easier said than done, as the battery category itself is
a boring category for the average consumer. So to
make it enticing, I had this documentary spun into a
form of story and shot in full cinematography style,
taking inspiration from science-fiction flicks like
Minority Report and Iron Man. The result is a visual
masterpiece that not only entertains the viewer but
also educates him.
2014 – HB Documentary

I had the team run a number of
competitions and contests to
support the on-ground activations
like Pakwheels, Mystic Festivals etc.
Moreover a game was also developed
to promote the Atlas Hybrid battery
on the social media front.
2014-15 – Social Media
Campaign

After completing overhauling the website
in 2008, I again set about the task of
revamping it, in line with the prevailing
trends.
This time around, I focused on making
the site completely interactive with a
graphical user interface.
It also incorporated the use of Google
Maps to pinpoint the exact location of
dealers all over the country to facilitate
the customers.
2014 – Website Revamp

I teamed up with the organizers of the
inaugural edition of the Karachi Mystic
Festival to create a prominent brand
presence at the event held at the Beach
Luxury Hotel.
A free battery check-up was also organized
for the visitors to this event.
2014 – Karachi Mystic Festival

A lot of effort went into the creation of this brand.
From coming up with a prototype design for the
bottle, to getting the mold made for the design in
conjunction with Technical Development department,
I was involved in all stages of the product
development. And then came the launch itself which
was my very first launch. It went well and the new
brand has gone from strength to strength in the three
years since its launch.
2013 – Battery Tonic Launch &
Promotions

Up until that point, Atlas Battery had been
conducting its free battery check-up
campaigns at small events. I saw this as the
ideal opportunity to scale our efforts many
notches up, negotiated a reasonable deal with
the Pakwheels management and so we took
part in what was to become one of the most
lucrative partnerships for the AGS brand.
I didn’t change the format much from the
previous activation we did at DHA, but I
scaled the activities many notches up to be in
line with the magnitude of the event.
2013– Sponsorship & Brand
Activation at Pakwheels Auto
Shows

Why the comic strip?
Battery is a pretty boring category. Whether it be car
battery or UPS battery, people aren’t really interested
in it other than for its basic use. We wanted to stir an
interest in the category, pique the curiosity of the
general public.
Therefore we sat down and had a series of grueling
brainstorming sessions. We wanted to humanize the
brand, lend a personal touch to it.
The idea is to have a conversation about everyday
topics and blend battery into the mix.
Our primary target market as far as this campaign is
concerned is 24-28 year old males,
Nomi and Shezi epitomize this target market. Of
course there’s the female interest as well into this
segment which is evident from the queries we’ve
received from this segment on our FB page. This is
because of not only the battery being used in the
household segment as part of UPS where the battery
is in front of the ladies of the house 24/7, but also
because of the growing number of single women going
to work in their own cars. Most of them don’t have a
driver, so they’re pretty much on their own when it
comes to maintenance.
2013 – Nomi & Shezi Digital
Campaign

After a gap of 6 years, I went back to the
place that had started our free battery
check-up campaigns in the first place.
This time around we were equipped with a
jingle, brand ambassadors, free samples of
Battery Tonic, and a number of gifts for our
customers, culminating in a far more
memorable experience for the consumers.
I also created an upscale lounge which
served multiple purposes, including
product display and brand awareness.
2013 – Battery Check-up
DHA Sunday Bazar

This was the first time ever that Atlas Battery created
a TVC either for itself or one of its brands.
I worked with the ad agency to come up with a
number of concepts and present it to the
management, out of which one was chosen by the
CEO.
It was a two-day shoot which took place at different
locations all over Karachi including a field on the
outskirts of Karachi. I was there on location
throughout to ensure that the technicalities of a
battery were not overlooked.
2013 – Battery Tonic TVC

I’m constantly being approached by a
number of universities to sponsor their
events.
While it’s not possible to entertain all
requests, I make it a point to at least
accept some from the top universities in
Pakistan, including IBA, LUMS and NED.
While these sponsorships are spread
throughout my nine years tenure, the
bulk of the sponsorships took place in
2013.
2013 – IBA, LUMS & NED
Sponsorships

For the first time in the history of Atlas Battery, AGS
was able to pull off an almost 360 marketing campaign
that encompassed television, OOH and social media.
The central theme, the premise for this strategy, the
basis of this strategy was to strengthen the association
between AGS and Japanese car manufacturers who
prefer to use AGS exclusively in their vehicles.
In the first phase billboards were placed at strategic
locations all over Karachi, including an electronic
billboard placed on the way to Boat Basin that garnered
substantial interest.
In the second phase a synergy was created between the
billboards and the social media by engaging the fans in
a contest that entailed guessing the location of the
billboards, as well as a quiz, both of which led to a huge
fan following and consequently a renewed interest in the
brand.
The campaign culminated in the form of a telope which
was run on major television networks nationwide to
hammer home the point about AGS being the only
battery that powers Japanese cars in Pakistan.
2012- OOH Campaign
Combined with Digital

At that point in time, I was looking after
exports as well, and in order to both create
brand awareness and clinch export deals
from the MENA region, I persuaded the
management to participate in the
Automechanika Exhibition held in Dubai.
And in order to reduce cost of participation,
I forged a deal with Trade Development
Authority of Pakistan [TDAP] which was also
participating there, which saved the
company 50% in the participation fees.
2012 – Participation in
Automechanika Exhibition,
Middle East

Building upon my past effort of
creating the corporate brochure, this
time around I opted for a sleek and
sophisticated look so that it was in
line with the potential MENA
customers as well.
This brochure has been in use since
then for all export related queries.
2012 – Creation of New
Brochures for Corporate
Branding

This was the first time that Atlas
Battery forayed into sports
sponsorships. It was a small event
organized by the Pakistan Army and
held in Islamabad.
2012 – Sponsorship of 44th
National Athletic
Championship

Assistant Brand Manager
2007-2012

This was my very first negotiation deal,
done with the Dreamworld Resort
Management. This deal helped us not only
to brand the Dreamworld Resort for a
limited time, it also gave AGS the perfect
platform to interact with its customers,
provide them with value-added service in
the form of free battery check-up and
generally create a memorable experience for
them.
2012 – Sponsorship & Brand
Activation at Dreamworld Car
Rally

them.
Rally

We had a co-branding venture with
Total Parco whereby we started
selling our motorcycle batteries at
their select outlets in Lahore.
In conjunction with this plan, we
created a battery check-up
campaign to check batteries of bikes
getting their fuel replenished at
Total Parco stations.
2011 – Free Battery Check-up
at Total Parco

In order to increase footfall at ABL’s recently created
model shops, I came up with the campaign of free
battery check-ups outside these model shops all over
Karachi.
In order to enhance customer engagement, each
customer was given an opportunity to rotate a fortune
wheel we had placed at the venues and win a prize.
The activity was able to significantly increase footfall
and ultimately sales at these shops which were still in
their infancy stage.
2011 – Battery Check-up
Campaigns At Model Shops

We had plans for brand alliances
with petrol and CNG stations.
As the first step, we started out
branding select CNG stations in
different parts of the country with the
emphasis primarily on the brand
AGS.
2011 – CNG Station Branding

Atlas Battery was transporting batteries
on almost a daily basis to upcountry
using contract trucks. I facilitated a
deal with the transporters which gave
me the opportunity to brand the
transport containers using the most
cost-effective medium- paint.
That gave us a moving advertisement
non-stop on highways all over Pakistan.
2010 – Branding Of Transport
Vehicles

After creating the very first Facebook
page of the company on my own, I
ran a number of campaigns including
quizzes, contests and developed apps
to create interest in the battery
category online and increase the fan
base to an acceptable level.
2009-12 – Social Media
Campaigns

them.
Rally

Atlas Battery introduced factory-charged
batteries which was an initiative to provide
batteries in the market that were already
filled with electrolyte and charged properly
at the factory itself.
The need for this initiative arose because
the quality of AGS batteries was taking a
hit because of sub-standard electrolyte in
the market and improper charging.
This strategy was devised to create a
paradigm shift in the market whereby
consumers got slowly shifted to purchasing
plug n play batteries.
2009 – Introduction of
Factory-Charged Batteries

The strategy of creating posters and other relevant
POS material existed when I joined. However, the
process wasn’t streamlined in that the agency made
up the theme on their own with no real direction from
the brand.
I made it a point to give some purpose to every poster,
that every poster should aim to address either a single
segment or if the complete range of batteries, then it
should be aligned behind a specific
2009 – POS Material for Retail
Outlet Branding

Atlas Battery had in the past a haphazard
packaging strategy.
Cartons came in all sizes and shapes with
no real identity.
In short the packaging didn’t give a
uniform brand image. I first worked with
the ad agency to create a single design that
could become the hallmark of the brand
across all SKUs, and then worked with the
Supply Chain department to ensure a
smooth transition from the numerous old
designs to a single identity.
2009 – Revamp & Launch of
Uniform Packaging

I successfully initiated contact with the organization Brand
Exhibitors and leveraged the brand essence of AGS in such a
way that it won the Brand of the Year Award for the year 2008.
The following are the post-event activities I conducted to
leverage the Brand Of The Year Award, generating
publicity both for the brand as well as the award itself:
1. Letter distributed to all the dealers/retailers informing
them about the award and thanking them for helping us
win this award.
2. Exact replica of Award certificates distributed to all the
zonal/regional offices and dealers.
3. Placement of the award-receiving photo/news in various
newspapers.
4. Special advertisement for the award created by Adcom and
placed in major dailies/magazines.
5. Exclusive AGS Brand Supplements were published in
Express and Qaumi newspaper.
6. Placement of the award-receiving photo/news on the Atlas
Battery corporate website.
2008 – Brand of the Year
Award

Atlas Battery had a bland website that
nothing to write home about.
I rewrote the entire website, adding sections
and getting them verified from different
department and gave a new look to the
website.
I was instrumental in overhauling the
website, rewriting it myself, arranging it in
different sections and making it more
interactive.
2008 – Revamp of AGS
Corporate Website

I teamed up with different people to
give a new look to the AGS brochures
which served the dual purpose of
corporate image as well as export.
2007 – Creation of New
Brochures for Export

In line with the aim of corporate social
responsibility, Atlas Battery conducted a
public service campaign at the Defence
Sunday Bazaar where anyone wishing to
get the battery and the electrical system of
his car checked was provided service free of
cost irrespective of the brand of the battery
installed in his or her car.
This was the first time Atlas Battery
introduced the concept of free battery
check-ups and I went on to spawn this
idea into a full-fledged brand activation
activity
2007 – Launch of Free Battery
Check-up Campaigns

Miscellaneous Projects
2007-Present

In addition to being a man of action and
taking care of the operational side of
marketing, I also contribute at the
strategic level, formulating three year
strategies, creating annual business
plans, making and managing the
marketing budget, and assisting the
Finance department in the theme
development of the Annual Report.
Three Year Marketing
Strategies, Annual Business
Plans, Annual Reports

I conducted a number of studies, surveys
and analysis for Atlas Battery, some with
the collaboration of the sales team, others
with the aid of Nielsen market research
company. The purpose of each of these
surveys was to solve a real world business
problem.
Nationwide Surveys, U&A
Studies, Market Analysis

Wall Calendars was something that was
already being done when I joined Atlas
Battery. However, mostly it was the same
usual conventional themes like cars being
done over and over again.
I teamed up with Adcom to come up with
thought-provoking themes like Muslim
scientists contributions, the historic places
mentioned on the Pakistan currency, Alternate
Energy Solutions etc.
Moreover, I initiated the creation of table
calendars along with the wall calendars to
target the corporate sector.
Table & Wall Calendars,
Ramadan Calendars

Creation of Giveaways,
Stickers and Miscellaneous
items
Throughout my career, I’ve worked with
different vendors and printers to create a
number of promotional items and
giveaway, ranging from the conventional
items like stickers and pens to more
unique items like tissue boxes and
keychains molded in the shape of a
battery.

Not only getting the creatives made
by the ad agency, but the cost
negotiations and actual printing of all
POS material by the vendors is also
handled by me.
World Cup Schedules,
Posters, Magazine Ads

I’m a through and through digital aficionado.
I’ve been blogging for the past 12 years,
creating a number of blogs on different
content management systems including
Blogger, Movable Type, Tumblr and
Wordpress.
I’ve created profiles on some of the most
popular social media platforms including
Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, 500PX,
Periscope, GoodReads, Twitter and of course
Facebook.
As a result I’ve been able to leverage my
digital influence to effectively propagate my
brands’ activities into the social media
sphere.
Personal Digital Efforts

Contact
• Email: saqib.iba@gmail.com
• Linkedin:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/muhammadsaqibkhan
• About Me:
http://www.about.me/Muhammad.Saqib.Khan
• Google Plus:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/+SaqibKhanMuhammad/
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/brandasy
• BLOGS:
1. Branding - www.brandasy.com
2. Travel - www.travelhustling.com
3. Restaurant Reviews - www.restaurants-uncut.com

“The best way to predict the
future is to create it.” – Peter
Drucker

Career Portfolio Highlights Muhammad Saqib Khan

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