Category: iWorld

Mumbai: Talkwalker, a consumer intelligence and deep listening company in partnership with Twitter, released its latest Birdseye report, focusing on the #FinTwit (financial Twitter) community.

As an official partner of Twitter, Talkwalker was able to dive deep into the conversation on Twitter to provide consumer insights on this audience and the conversations they are having.

As the financial crisis is felt across the world, it’s critical to understand what’s behind those monetary conversations, the audience driving them, and how brands can use these insights to enable their consumer connections.

According to the report, while the majority of #FinTwit profiles are focused on cryptocurrency and NFTs, those most active in the conversation are still discussing investment opportunities (42 per cent).

In India, tech-savvy millennials are helping grow the popularity of crypto, while Southeast Asia is seeing a vibrant web 3.0 scene.

The growth of crypto and NFT-focused discussions is encouraging the expansion of the community, up by +102 per cent in Asia, +57.3 per cent in Europe, and +19.7 per cent in North America from August 2021 to August 2022.

The community is broadly forward-thinking, moving away from traditional finance and looking more towards a decentralised finance model, the report added.

As an industry-leading consumer intelligence platform, Talkwalker uses proprietary AI technology to derive insights from the community. Their ongoing investment in AI means Talkwalker clients can identify actionable insights faster and more accurately than ever before.

The report helps brands understand this audience and quickly take action based on the insights provided, providing a vital resource given the fast-moving nature of the FinTwit community.

“Twitter is a soundboard for the world,” said Talkwalker CMO David Low. “When it comes to finance, #FinTwit has its finger on the pulse, discussing the major changes of the day as they happen. If there’s a monetary issue bubbling, they will know about it first. By partnering with Twitter on this report, Talkwalker analysed the audience in-depth to uncover vital insights.”

Mumbai: After a successful 13-week run, the popular Telugu dance reality show Dance Ikon has finally come to an end. It has been one of the top-rated Telugu shows on the streaming platform Aha.

Emerging as the winners of aha’s Dance Ikon after battling 12 other aspirants, Asif and Raju reached many unprecedented highs. While Asif walked away with the prize money of Rs 20 lakhs and the sought-after Dance Ikon trophy, as promised, Raju got a chance to choreograph for a top Tollywood actor. The winner announcement was held at the Dance Ikon sets, where Asif and Raju were presented the Dance Ikon trophy by the judges and producers.

The gala evening witnessed some remarkable performances by contestants in the presence of Tollywood producers who are the owners of the contestants: Geetha Arts’ Allu Aravind, Mythri Movie Makers’ Ravi Shankar, SVCC’s Bapineedu & Hanshitha, and Sithara Entertainments’ Naga Vamsi. The producers raised the finalists’ energy levels as the participants reached the finish line.

While speaking on winning the competition, choreographer Raju said, “Words can’t begin to describe what Dance Ikonmeans to me. Dance is my passion, my one true love, and today it has brought me to a new destination and labelled me as the winner of Dance Ikon! I would like to thank my contestant Asif for standing by me throughout my journey, my fellow choreographers for challenging me at every point, and the judges for inspiring me week after week to give Dance Ikon my very best. Thank you, viewers, and aha, for making my aspiration a reality.”

“Dance Ikon has been very entertaining. We managed to rope in an eclectic mix of contestants, bring in varied dance forms, and put together some extraordinary acts. This show was about many firsts. I would like to congratulate not only Raju and Asif but all the other contestants and choreographers who contributed to making Dance Ikon a memorable one,” commented aha CEO Ajit Thakur.

Mumbai: It’s almost the end of 2022, and the sentence I have said almost every day this year is that short-form video content is the key to marketing. At By The Gram (BTG), we work with numerous OTT platforms and are responsible for marketing all of the many great movies/shows. Here are five short-form content marketing strategies we live by:

1.  Keep it short: We say this to everyone. Gone are the days where viewers had the time, patience, and energy to sit through really long pieces of content. While the viewership is increasing, the attention span is decreasing. We have reels and Tik-Tok to thank for that. Keep in mind that the average user decides whether to continue watching or scroll to the next video within the first five to 10 seconds. So you should ensure your video is engaging and short. You have to squeeze as much information and brand awareness into the shortest amount of time as possible. This past year, we analysed the different pieces of content that we produced, ranging from six minutes right down to 30/15 seconds, and found out that length really does matter for videos/content. The very fact that your video is long may explain why it’s not doing so well.

2.  Engage, engage, engage: Because your content is usually going to be short, you have to ensure your content is engaging. It has to grab the attention of your target audience, give them the information they need. Ensure you’re getting your ROI because creating content is an expensive task, so you need to get the most bang for your buck as a platform. Engaging content for platforms is a little more difficult due to the bulk of content already out there and the numerous titles they are marketing on a daily basis. So when we start conceptualising a campaign for an OTT platform, we ensure it’s different from the other titles they are actively marketing at the same time. Sometimes, as an agency, we are working on multiple titles for the platform. In that case, we ensure that we have different creative teams working on the titles to ensure each campaign is unique and engages the audience.

3.  Authenticity is important: Let’s face it, there are so many OTT platforms out there today, all competing to be the best and most unique. All of them want their content to trend, and it’s so easy to go down this wormhole as a creative agency. So it’s imperative, while ideating and strategising, to be authentic to the brand you’re representing. You can’t reuse and recycle the same strategies, you can’t even do that for the way the content is shot/edited. In my opinion, everything you create has to be in tune with the brand identity; only then will it resonate with the audience.

4.  Behind-the-scenes content: Social media platforms allow you to connect with your audience on a one-on-one basis. For mammoth OTT platforms, it’s almost impossible to avoid BTS content for their films and shows. We curate campaigns around the BTS we capture on set. It’s an all-access pass to your favourite shows and movies. You don’t want to miss the chance for the audience to connect with your characters and take a deep dive into the world that you have created. Give them a chance to be emotionally connected with your cast/crew before your movie even releases. It is also extremely cost-effective, saving you a lot of money on creating specific, costly marketing concepts after shooting your film or website.

5.  User generated content: As a marketer, you may think your main goal is to create content that reaches users, but a true winning moment is when the user engages with your content to the point of using it as a basis to create their own content. You want to create a campaign that’s 360. Plan your content drops in such a way that user generated content can be the last leg of your campaign. I.e., you want those trending songs, you want those parody dialogue videos, and you want those memes to go viral. You want your film or television show to be the talk of the town. Whether you do this by hiring the correct influencers to kick off these trends or not, you want your key cast to promote, promote, promote. All of it has to align with the larger campaign and feel like a cohesive whole.

I’ll leave you with one extra tip as the cherry on top of a great marketing strategy. Whether you’re a marketer or an OTT platform, you must invest in quality. The quality of your content matters, even when it is super short. Don’t rush, and don’t skimp on production quality. As an agency, we invest in high-quality equipment, experienced videographers and photographers, and editors who are well-versed in various software programs. As a platform, you need an agency/studio that understands you and has a vested interest in the success of your titles. That is not a place you want to cut costs. If this year has taught us anything, it is that content is more important than ever before.

The author of this article is By The Gram (BTG) co-founder Eman Batliwalla.

Mumbai: The internet has boosted the startup scene all over the world, including India. Many homegrown startups have not only attracted a good customer base but are seeing investors of all sizes plug their money at different stages of the startups’ expansion in their respective markets.

Here’s why the startup space is a priority asset class for most domestic investors in the modern era.

Investing capital for increased returns is critical in everyone’s life, especially after the covid-19 pandemic loomed uncertainty by rocking the global financial markets. As the investment sphere is heavily sentiment-driven, the massive job losses, slashed incomes, and irregular business cash flows led to the crash of indices on the back of arrested investments and demand for liquid funds.

The investment sphere is slowly regaining traction on the green side as we steadily put behind the adverse effects of the pandemic. In these times, the hot topic for most has been investment in the startup space. As India builds its way toward increased adoption of digitisation, most startups in the digital sphere have thrived as their investors and customer base are all here on the internet, irrespective of their physical presence.

So, why are so many startups in India succeeding in attracting investors of all types at various stages of their funding requirements?

High Reward Potential – With a small capital fund investment, the returns can be subsequently 2x-10x basis of the scale at which the startup is attracting customers. Though they are high-risk assets, an investment in a startup can be highly rewarding. Take for instance Google which was a startup once and led its path to go public and raise $500 million for early-stage investors. A whopping return on investment is what startups are known for among investors.

Change-maker – Most startups have principles that state how the firm strives to bring about an adaptable change in society, leading to the betterment of the environment and promoting sustainability. See, for instance, how most startups have been operating digitally instead of with brick-and-mortar stores, which subsequently reduces their carbon footprint. They regularly measure and report about their emissions and the means to bring them down through their learning.

Side hustle – As the invested capital keeps giving good returns, most investors invest in this space to use the generated profits to meet their operational costs. As a result, for many investors, investing in startups is a side hustle.

Gain market recognition – Being a part of the start-ups’ journey, as an investor, you get the chance to meet several industry veterans who are likewise investors, board members of the company, or just meet several industry experts at many forums where all of them come together. As an investor, you stand a chance for increased recognition in the market.

Early investing – Saving from shelling out more capital for a larger share of the startup, early-stage investing often helps the investor reap better and higher returns when the start-up starts to thrive. One must be mindful of the amount of investment in any startup, while also being mindful that the model is subject to failure.

Diversifying your portfolio – As many investors park their capital in stocks and share markets, in a bid not to fall prey to the market volatility risk with their investment every time, they can consider investing in a startup. While a startup is too subject to market risk due to demand-supply fluctuations, etc., they are not as sensitive and are affected daily by the shift in market dynamics. They are focused more on targeted sectors, so the risk of fluctuation in the investment is lesser. It thereby diversifies one’s investment portfolio. Invest in 10 different start-ups in 10 varied categories for a dynamic understanding and diversification of your portfolio.

High potential for buy-outs – A startup, on the back of its high performance and high returns can be subject to be acquired by any of the investors eyeing to take control of the operations. Offering fair compensation for the acquisition, as an investor, one can potentially see the brighter side of capital gain with the buy-out of the startup/s that they have invested their money in.

While it cannot be denied that startups are subject to failure and there’s a risk of your investment getting razed altogether, there’s risk in your investment in the stock and share markets, real estate assets, gold, and other bonds. Why not put your hands in and get a first-person experience of how investing in startups works?

The author of this article is Om Dayal Group founder Sanjiv Agrawal.

Mumbai: MX Player has been recognised as a top employer at the India Workplace Equality Index (IWEI) 2022.
MX Player has been honoured with the bronze badge, which recognises the development of inclusive policies and the initiation of activities that promote LGBT+ inclusion at work.

MX Player has worked consciously to create a work environment in which all people are truly welcomed, valued, and respected—for all of who they are.

Considering diversity and inclusion to be critical pillars for an organisation’s success, MX Player launched #PressPlayForAll in June 2022 for its 100K+ LinkedIn family.

With gender-neutral medical and leave policies, attracting LGBTQ+ candidates through its LinkedIn page, and using social media platforms to lead conversations on LGBTQ+ equality, the brand has also actively engaged with the LGBTQ+ community at the grassroots level.

Speaking on being awarded the bronze badge at IWEI 2022, MX Player CEO Karan Bedi said, “We are humbled to receive this recognition and acknowledge the contribution of every stakeholder in this journey. At MX Player, we have always invested in pioneering initiatives and introduced policies that accept and cherish all employees, thus helping to build a progressive work environment. The IWEI 2022 recognition is a testament to the people-first culture that MX Player has built over the years.”

Commenting on making the workplace diverse and inclusive, MX Player Global HR Head Anjani B. Kuumar said, “As an organisation that is deeply invested in the well-being of its employees, our leadership team is committed to building a healthy and safe workplace culture, and inclusion is one of our top priorities. For a young organisation like ours, this recognition by IWEI will further propel us to strengthen our inclusion policies and initiatives.”

IWEI is India’s first comprehensive benchmarking tool for employers to track their progress toward lesbian, gay, bi, and trans (LGBT+) workplace inclusion. The index assesses nine areas: policies and benefits, employee lifecycle, employee network group, allies and role models, senior leadership, monitoring, procurement, community engagement, and other work.

MX Player also participated in Pride Circle’s Ally Challenge 2022, pledging to be active allies and inviting all employees to participate by sharing their pledges, in order to encourage and lead the workforce toward being allies.

Mumbai: Amazon miniTV – Amazon’s free -video streaming service, sets its foot in the patriotic genre with Rakshak: India’s Braves as the nation commemorates 77 years of Independence. The patriotic drama narrates the supreme sacrifice made by Lt. Triveni Singh on 2 January at Jammu station when he saved over 300 civilians while surrendering his own life without hesitation. The film has piqued the curiosity of audiences from all corners of the nation owing to its inspiring and gripping narrative, top-notch action and battle scenes, and on-point dialogue delivery. 

While Rakshak: India’s Braves is available for viewers to witness Lt. Triveni’s sacrifice for the nation only on Amazon miniTV, the lead star cast, Varun Mitra and Kanika Mann, recently jetted off to New Delhi to celebrate the success of the hard-hitting film in the national capital. The lead actors visited India Gate to take a step closer to make the viewers acquainted with the bravery and sacrifices made to keep our country secure, as seen through the eyes of a key soldier. Making pit stops and sharing insights with multiple media in Delhi, Varun Mitra and Kanika Mann visited India Gate, as they paid homage to our security forces while passing by numerous places of historical significance garnering the adoration of fans in the city. 

Rakshak- India’s Braves weaves a narrative of passion, heroism, and ultimate sacrifice to tell a story of bravery, Lieutenant Triveni Singh and his formidable squad heroically thwarted a terrorist attack at Jammu Tawi Railway Station, thereby saving the lives of innocent people. The film features an all-star cast led by Varun Mitra, Kanika Mann, Mrinal Naval, Mrinal Kulkarni, and Mohit Chauhan, and it was directed by Akshay Chaubey and produced by Juggernaut.

Unfold the courageous and heroic story of Lt. Triveni Singh in Rakshak- India’s Braves, streaming live on Amazon miniTV, for free within the Amazon shopping app and on Fire TV.