Author: Aashrey Baliga

Martech firm Punt Partners raises first round of capital from investors, entrepreneurs

Sidharth Rao was the former group CEO of Dentsu McGarryBowen Group and the co-founder of Dentsu Webchutney, which was the Global Agency of the Year at Cannes Lions in 2022. Madhu Sudhan has led growth teams at SaaS companies such as Lio, Sensehawk and has founded startups Loanzen & Voxapp. Earlier this year, the duo announced the launch of Punt Partners, India’s first full-serviced martech venture that uses first party data, technology and design to deliver better user retention for brands.

Co-founded by Sidharth Rao and Madhu Sudan, Punt Partners fund-raise saw participation from Point OneCapital, Namma Capital and Real Time Angel Fund along with creative agency Talented.

Simply Speaking (from the FIFA World Cup 2022): Copo Del Mundo – Qatar emerges the winner

"As a marketer, I saw an end-to-end attention to detail, focus and singularity of intent. They followed the dictum – do well that which matters to your customers - to near perfection," writes Shubhranshu Singh in this week's Simply Speaking. (Image source - Twitter @LSPNFC_)

Musings on the FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar, controversies and the David versus Goliath narratives which played out on and off the pitch.

Weekly Shorts: How brands are using hybrid models for influencer collaboration

A long-term influencer and affiliate hybrid campaign gives creators the opportunity to boost impressions, engagement and sales. Followers continue to engage with brands’ posts over a period of time and move through the customer journey with special or discounted affiliate codes. (Representative image via Unsplash)

What’s buzzing in influencer marketing and the creator ecosystem? What’s the next big thing coming down the line? Catch the big trends and hot topics in our weekly shorts.

‘Om Shanti Om’ to FIFA: The making of brand Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone's self-care startup 82°E is planning to raise Rs 50 crore for expansion, growth, and corporate purposes.

Some people were made for the headlines. There’s a month to go for the release of ‘Pathaan’, her forthcoming film with Shah Rukh Khan, and until then, there’ll be more and more of Deepika Padukone in the news.

Netflix’s Srivats TS and boAt’s Aman Gupta on the partnership to launch ‘Stream Edition’

"India is a market that is rich with colour and stories and if we can figure out a way to generate more joy for our members, it's a perfect win-win for both Netflix and boAt and also both of our consumers." - Srivats TS, Vice President, Marketing, Netflix India.

boAt and Netflix also released a 360-degree campaign called ‘Made for India to Keep Watching’

Crypto investing app CoinSwitch reveals new brand identity, logo

The brand new colourful, contemporary but sophisticated colour palette resembles CoinSwitch's core motto — simplicity and inclusion and embodies our vision and the way forward — to become a preferred investment destination for all Indians. (Image source via Twitter - @CoinSwitchCo)

The brand has focused on creating bite-sized information, aided by visuals, enabling users to make data-backed investment decisions.

Indians prefer to learn new languages before traveling to various holiday destinations

Thomas Cook (India) plans to broaden its hotel portfolio to encompass 65 properties by 2025, a significant expansion from its current operation of around 3,000 rooms, with an ultimate target of reaching 5,000 rooms.

As per the 2022 Duolingo Language Report, the majority of Indians feel the need to learn new local languages before travelling in order to embrace and indulge in socio-cultural experience in the most authentic way possible.

From CMO to CEO: Unilever’s global CMO Priya Nair in the running for Hindustan Unilever’s CEO position?

Unilever's global CMO Priya Nair stated, "Increasingly, we will see brands using the latest tech to move diversity and inclusion forward in product offerings. The See My Skin campaign from Vaseline is one example of how to address the lack of diversity in images that dermatologists use for diagnoses. It’s just one example of how smart tech combined with great creative can drive positive outcomes for different groups."

Priya Nair is currently Unilever’s global chief marketing officer for beauty & wellbeing. If Nair does become top boss, she would also make history as HUL’s first-ever female CEO.

What’s next for JioCinema once the FIFA World Cup ends and football fever cools?

"We promised to give consumers easy access to the world-class presentation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and on the back of that, the tournament became the most-watched global sports event on digital where India has not participated" - Viacom18 Sports CEO, Anil Jayaraj (Image source via Twitter - @Sports18)

As per industry reports, JioCinema is estimated to cross 500 million downloads by the 2022 FIFA World Cup final match.