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Category: MAM

  • Team Pumpkin changes nappies and narratives for Mamypoko Bangladesh

    Team Pumpkin changes nappies and narratives for Mamypoko Bangladesh

     MUMBAI: From diaper duty to digital strategy, Team Pumpkin is now parenting in pixels. The digital-first marketing agency has bagged the digital mandate for Mamypoko Pants Bangladesh, marking its newest win in the baby care aisle and extending a longstanding relationship with the Unicharm brand beyond Indian borders.

    Team Pumpkin will manage Mamypoko’s digital strategy and execution across social media, influencer marketing, and performance campaigns all with the aim of making parenting a little more connected (and a lot less chaotic). The brand’s Bangladesh presence will now be helmed from the agency’s Gurgaon office, bringing a cross-border blend of insights, creativity, and cute content to the table.

    Having worked on MamyPoko Pants India since 2017, Team Pumpkin already has baby-soft experience in handling the unique challenges of the category. “With the Bangladesh mandate, we’re not just replicating what worked elsewhere,” said Team Pumpkin co-founder and chief business officer Swati Nathani. “We’re building solutions that ease parenting pain points and deliver value with every scroll.”

    Mamypoko Pants, a flagship offering from Japan’s Unicharm Corporation, has long enjoyed trust among young parents across Asia for its absorbent innovation and comfort-first ethos. With a growing footprint in both India and international markets, the brand is now leaning into regional relevance through digital storytelling and parent-centric content.

    As the digital terrain in Bangladesh evolves, this mandate reflects how brands are investing in building genuine communities not just campaigns. For Mamypoko, that means moving beyond product talk to create content that reflects the sleepless nights, sippy cups, and small joys of real parenting. And for Team Pumpkin, it’s another nudge toward becoming the agency of choice for brands that want both strategy and soul.

    Looks like this partnership is already off to a clean start.

  • Sam lands the real deal as Exp Realty names him India head

    Sam lands the real deal as Exp Realty names him India head

    MUMBAI: The cloud just got a new address and Sam Chopra is at the helm. In a move set to reshape India’s real estate skyline, Exp Realty, the world’s fastest-growing cloud-based brokerage has appointed industry trailblazer Sam Chopra as president and country leader for India. With the 250 billion dollars Indian real estate sector projected to quadruple by 2030, this isn’t just a leadership update; it’s a strategic land grab.

    Exp Realty, which operates in more than 25 countries and boasts nearly 87,000 agents worldwide, is betting big on India’s digital-first, post-RERA real estate evolution. And Chopra is no stranger to breaking ground quite literally. As the former founder of RE/MAX India and a long-time champion of professionalising the property space, he’s been instrumental in ushering credibility, global best practices, and regulatory alignment into an often-chaotic market.

    “India’s real estate industry is undergoing a tectonic shift. Transparency, technology, and trust are no longer optional, they’re expected,” said Chopra. “eXp’s agent-first, borderless model fits perfectly into this new era. It’s not just about closing deals; it’s about opening up possibilities.”

    This isn’t Chopra’s first rodeo. His three-decade career reads like a masterclass in market transformation from his role as founding chairman of the Association of Property Professionals to his leadership at International Real Estate Partners and India Accelerator. His voice has echoed through boardrooms and policy circles alike, from FIABCI to FICCI, as he’s pushed for an industry grounded in innovation, accountability, and growth.

    “Sam is more than a real estate veteran, he’s a visionary,” said Exp Realty international expansion leader Adam Day. “With his leadership, we’re not just expanding into India. We’re helping rewrite the future of the market.”

    Exp Realty’s India play isn’t just about adding another pin on the global map. It’s about redefining what real estate careers can look like. With its fully digital, agent-owned platform, the company offers agents ownership, training, tech, and freedom tools rarely found together in India’s fragmented landscape.

    And as Indian homebuyers become savvier, developers more transparent, and agents more entrepreneurial, Chopra’s appointment signals a serious bid to lead the next era of real estate.

    From legacy to leverage, from metro markets to Tier II towns with Sam Chopra steering the ship, Exp’s Indian innings may just become the model for global real estate reinvention.

  • Stand-up guy goes the distance as Zakir Khan hits the road with 60-city tour

    Stand-up guy goes the distance as Zakir Khan hits the road with 60-city tour

    MUMBAI: Knock-knock… who’s there? 60 cities, 160,000 fans, and a punchline for the history books. In a mic-drop moment for Indian live entertainment, comedian Zakir Khan is hitting the road for the country’s largest-ever stand-up comedy tour and it’s no joke. Spearheaded by a powerhouse partnership between Only Much Louder (OML) and Bookmyshow’s TribeVibe Entertainment, the tour will criss-cross more than 60 cities and play to over 160,000 fans making it the biggest deal ever signed by an Indian comedian.

    Dubbed a “comedy caravan”, the mega tour is poised to redefine the scale and seriousness with which homegrown stand-up is staged. From Delhi to Dibrugarh, Bengaluru to Bareilly, Zakir’s signature brand of heart-tugging humour and rustic storytelling will now reach audiences far beyond metro hotspots. And the numbers tell a story too 60 plus cities, lakhs of fans, and a deal that’s set a new benchmark in Indian comedy.

    “This isn’t just a personal milestone, it’s a statement,” said Zakir Khan, reflecting on the road ahead. “We’ve long hoped that Indian comedy would be treated like mainstream entertainment with scale, with respect, and with reach. This tour is proof that we’ve arrived.”

    The collaboration combines OML’s reputation for talent management with Bookmyshow’s data-backed audience intelligence and Tribevibe’s strong production footprint across India’s emerging markets. Together, they’re building a live comedy blueprint to rival the touring economies of the West.

    “This is about more than tickets and tours,” said Tribevibe CEO Shoven Shah. “It’s about rewriting how India consumes culture not just in big cities but across every corner of the country.”

    And it’s not just about one artist’s journey. As Rishabh Nahar, SVP at OML put it, “This is a blueprint for what’s possible. Artists building legacies. Audiences accessing quality entertainment regardless of location. Data and creativity working together. This is the future of Indian live entertainment.”

    With Khan at the helm, this isn’t just a road trip, it’s a movement on wheels. And as India’s laughter map gets redrawn city by city, one thing’s certain: this tour’s punchlines are poised to echo long after the curtains fall.

  • Bipin R. Pandit pens his passion in new biography, ‘Impassioned’

    Bipin R. Pandit pens his passion in new biography, ‘Impassioned’

    MUMBAI: Goafest 2025 witnessed more than just gold metals — it saw the unveiling of ‘Bipin R. Pandit – Impassioned’, a vibrant biography celebrating the Advertising Club’s spirited COO & founder of the soulful live music IP, Khumaar. The book was launched by Havas India group CEO SEA & North Asia, and Ad Club president  Rana Barua  during the 58th Abby Awards in front of an industry-packed house.

    The biography captures Pandit’s 28-year rollercoaster with the Ad Club, where he’s been the behind-the-scenes heartbeat of events like the Abbys, Effies and Emvies — awards that have since become institutionally iconic. From his early days at Baroda Rayon and Castrol India to being the anchor of over 1,000 stage shows, Impassioned weaves the personal with the professional — with equal notes of nostalgia, humour and humility.

    The book features:
    * Reflections from all 13 Ad Club presidents Pandit has worked with
    * Insights from 30 managing committee members, with a back-and-forth of perspectives
    * A tribute to Khumaar, now in its 20th year
    * A peek into the Pandits’ love story — a romance that began in school and blossomed into 40 years of marriage
    * And plenty of anecdotes that spotlight Bipin’s love for cricket, music and people

    With a foreword by Padma Shri Piyush Pandey and a special note by Padma Shri Prasoon Joshi, Impassioned isn’t just a biography — it’s a masterclass in loyalty, legacy and leading with heart.

    “I just wrote a LinkedIn blog after last year’s Abbys. Rana called, said this should be a book — and the rest is literally history,” said Pandit, thanking Gour Gupta and the team at Tribes for their support, and co-author-curator Gokul Krishnamoorthy for shaping the narrative.

    “Bipin has been the pulse of The Ad Club,” said Rana Barua. “His journey is a reminder that true leadership doesn’t always wear the loudest hat — sometimes, it sings from backstage.”

    Ad Club past president Ramesh Narayan added, “Bipin has always had that reassuring smile and an enviable ability to juggle committees, concerts, and cricket scores with ease.”

    The biography is priced at Rs 750 and available on www.bipinpandit.com. Ten per cent of the proceeds will go to Light of Life Foundation, supporting marginalised communities — yet another testament to Pandit’s impassioned legacy, both on and off stage.

    Credits
    Publisher & co-author: Bipin R. Pandit
    Curator & co-author: Gokul Krishnamoorthy
    Cover design: Vikram Gaikwad
    Book design: Mediaedge
    Cover photo: Himanshu Mestry
    Supported by: Tribes

  • Clean sweep for style as Specta and Gauri Khan surface a tough truth

    Clean sweep for style as Specta and Gauri Khan surface a tough truth

     MUMBAI: “The designer in me prefers beauty; the mother in me prefers safety.” With one evocative line, Gauri Khan slices straight into the modern Indian homeowner’s dilemma and Specta, the engineered quartz brand, serves it up with a sparkling side of design and conscience. Specta’s latest campaign, fronted by the celebrated interior designer and entrepreneur, poses a deceptively simple question: are your kitchen countertops just pretty to look at, or are they also safe enough to eat off? In an age when style and sanitation are often seen as strange bedfellows, Specta’s quartz surfaces promise to bridge that gap with panache.

    In the campaign film, Khan’s voiceover articulates the dual identities of many homeowners aesthetes and caregivers alike and challenges the idea that one must choose between elegance and everyday hygiene. Specta, with its NSF-certified, non-porous, germ- and toxin-free surfaces, makes a compelling case for having it both ways.

    “This campaign is about stirring the pot,” said Specta Quartz Surfaces founder Ankit Jain. “We use kitchen surfaces more than we realise and more roughly than we’d like to admit. Yet, the conversation around what’s safe to touch our food, and our families, is largely silent. We wanted to change that.”

    Designed with Indian kitchens in mind from oil splatters to hot pots and the occasional atta massacre, Specta’s engineered quartz promises durability without compromising on design. The surfaces have been tailored for both performance and polish, making them fit for fast-paced homes and fastidious designers alike.

    The campaign also follows Specta’s continued collaboration with Gauri Khan, including the ‘Gauri Picks’ collection that debuted at the AD Design Show 2024. It reaffirms the brand’s ambition to disrupt the surface segment one hygienic, high-fashion countertop at a time.

    So, the next time someone compliments your chic kitchen the only question worth asking might just be: “But can you eat off it?”

  • Chirag Alawadhi takes the leap from agency life to advisory heights

    Chirag Alawadhi takes the leap from agency life to advisory heights

    MUMBAI: From pitch decks to knowledge stacks Chirag Alawadhi is switching gears, not goodbye notes. After nearly a decade in the trenches of digital marketing, Chirag Alawadhi has stepped down as co-founder and CEO of The Leapfrog Network, closing a chapter that began in December 2021. But don’t expect another agency launch. Instead, Alawadhi is taking a wider lens approach diving into content ecosystems, strategic consulting, and marketing tech for a new generation of brands and builders.

    Alawadhi announced his decision on LinkedIn, marking the end of a journey that started as a solo founder and scaled into a full-fledged creative agency. “After 9 years of building businesses, I’m now focused on building the infrastructure and knowledge systems that will empower the next generation of marketers and entrepreneurs,” he wrote.

    His résumé reads like a digital marketer’s highlight reel: 1,300 campaigns delivered, over 7 million dollars in revenue generated, and content networks reaching more than 10 million followers. Along the way, he’s partnered with marquee names like Emami, Lenskart, Airtel, Reliance, OTT Play, and Tata Motors.

    What started with basic tools and delayed wins evolved into an agency known for bold campaigns and real community engagement. “This isn’t goodbye to the industry that shaped me, it’s a shift toward deeper impact,” Alawadhi said, reflecting on his departure as a move away from operations and towards enabling transformation at scale.

    His exit also mirrors a growing trend among agency veterans: trading day-to-day grind for advisory and ecosystem-building roles. Alawadhi joins a cohort of leaders looking beyond billing cycles and into future-facing industry infrastructure.

    Under his leadership, The Leapfrog Network carved out a niche in storytelling and strategy. While Alawadhi steps away, the agency rooted in its founding mission to create meaningful brand connections is poised for its next phase under fresh leadership.

    As for Alawadhi? He’s taking the leap again only this time, it’s beyond the agency playbook.

  • SW Network Wins Integrated Digital Mandate for – Fujifilm India instant camera brand instax

    SW Network Wins Integrated Digital Mandate for – Fujifilm India instant camera brand instax

    MUMBAI:  SW Network has landed a picture-perfect win with Fujifilm India, snapping up the integrated digital marketing mandate for its cult instant camera brand, instax Following a multi-agency pitch, the agency will now helm everything from D2C performance marketing and media planning to influencer collaborations, SEO and scroll-stopping creative.

    Leading the charge will be SW Growth Labs, the growth vertical of the agency, alongside SW Creative, which will craft platform-first content and thumb-stopping narratives aimed at Gen Z and Millennial audiences hooked on vintage vibes and tangible memories.

    instax, already a darling of creators, collectors, and cool kids, is capitalising on the global revival of instant photography. With smartphones saturating digital memories, these pocket-sized snap-and-print gadgets have made a comeback—one polaroid at a time. From designer film cartridges to smartphone printers, instax has firmly positioned itself as the go-to for the #aesthetic generation.

    SW Network  cofounder Raghav Bagai shared his enthusiasm on  the partnership: “instax is more than just a camera brand. It is an experience that blends nostalgia with creativity, allowing people to capture and share moments in a tangible way. SW Growth Labs will lead performance marketing and SEO, while SW Creative will drive creative, influencer, creative, and social strategies. Together, we are building an integrated approach to accelerate the brand’s digital growth in India. At SW Network, we believe in the power of data-driven creativity to build meaningful brand connections. We look forward to strengthening brand presence and engagement in the market.”

    Fujifilm India instax division digital marketing manager Shaiphali Galhotra  added, “Our partnership with SW Network is a key step in strengthening the brand’s digital-first approach. By integrating media, social, and performance marketing strategies, we aim to build a stronger, more engaging brand presence while enhancing our D2C experience. We are confident that SW Network’s expertise will drive meaningful results and solidify the brand’s market leadership in India’s instant photography market.”

    With this win, SW Network adds yet another feather to its cap, proving that when strategy meets sentiment, you get more than just clicks—you get keepsakes.

  • Havas gets a CX glow-up with Enverta Digital acquisition

    Havas gets a CX glow-up with Enverta Digital acquisition

    MUMBAI: Havas is flexing its customer experience (CX) muscle in North America with the acquisition of Toronto-based Enverta Digital, a boutique CRM and digital transformation outfit known for its tech-savvy mojo and smooth client integration model.

    With operations across Canada and Poland, Enverta brings a potent mix of Salesforce, Adobe, Microsoft, and Braze expertise to the table—making it the perfect fit for Havas’ converged strategy, which blends creativity and tech to craft personalised, data-led brand journeys.

    ““I’m delighted to welcome Jacob and the entire Enverta Digital team into the Havas family. This addition represents a meaningful step forward in our ongoing mission to  redefine and elevate customer experience. By placing CX at the core of our Converged strategy, this move underscores our unwavering commitment to innovation and strengthens our ability to lead in the CX space with transformative, tech-enabled solutions that are fully integrated across our service offerings,” shared Havas CEO & chairman Yannick Bolloré.

    The move sees Enverta absorbed into Havas CX Canada, adding serious firepower to the agency’s North America operations—particularly its growing US client base. Enverta’s offshore setup in Poland will also give Havas added scale and cost efficiencies, with its recurring revenue model sweetening the deal.

    Havas CX Canada president Alex Chepovetsky summed it up neatly: “With Enverta’s CRM game and our creative chops, we’re now better placed than ever to deliver end-to-end brand experiences that move the needle.”

    “Our focus on CRM and digital enablement aligns seamlessly with Havas’ commitment to delivering holistic, customer-centric solutions. This partnership will allow us to combine Havas’ global resources and creative expertise with our strengths to deliver a full service digital offering, centered on driving highly-personalised consumer experiences across all touchpoints and channels,” shared Enverta Digital founder & CEO Jacob Ciesielski.

    It’s a win-win deal wrapped in customer-first thinking—just the way modern marketing likes it.

  • Alia Bhatt turns up the gloss with L’Oréal Paris’ bold new hair colour drop

    Alia Bhatt turns up the gloss with L’Oréal Paris’ bold new hair colour drop

    MUMBAI: L’Oréal Paris has turned up the shine dial with its latest campaign featuring global ambassador Alia Bhatt, who’s riding high on her Cannes red carpet glow. The new launch? A revamped Casting Crème Gloss range, now supercharged with glycolic gloss complex and promising 5X glossier hair — minus the ammonia.

    The tagline says it all: “My Time To Shine… Is Now.” 

    And Alia Bhatt, in full glossy glory, is living proof. Flaunting her vibrant locks on-screen, she spells out why this latest innovation is more than just hair colour — it’s a confidence coat.

    The new formula offers visible grey coverage, healthier hair, and a commitment to self-expression. Hair, as the campaign argues, is more than strands — it’s a symbol of transformation, bold choices, and personal reinvention.

    L’Oréal Paris India  general manager Dario Zizzi said:  “Alia has brought incredible energy to the L’Oréal Paris family, and we’re delighted to see her light up the screen in this new campaign with us. With this campaign, we’re celebrating powerful milestones, and the role of beautifully glossy hair in helping women feel confident, proud, and ready to shine. At L’Oréal Paris, we remain committed to delivering cutting-edge innovations that not only elevate hair color but also resonate with our consumers’ evolving aspirations.”

    This drop reaffirms L’Oréal Paris’ spot at the top of the global beauty leaderboard, combining science-backed formulations with empowering messaging. With 40 years of research heritage and a mission to inspire women everywhere, the brand is more than make-up — it’s a movement.

    So whether it’s covering greys or making a glossy statement, L’Oréal’s message is crystal clear: when it comes to self-expression, you’re worth it.

  • Ad-scrollers welcome VDO.AI’s new format puts static in motion

    Ad-scrollers welcome VDO.AI’s new format puts static in motion

    MUMBAI: Scrolling just got a serious glow-up. In a bid to rewire how static ads grab attention, advertising tech innovator VDO.AI has unveiled a first-of-its-kind In-Scroll Display Ad Format, breathing 3D motion and interactivity into the previously one-dimensional world of banner ads. This dynamic new format features a slick 50-50 split-screen design half static brand imagery, half immersive product storytelling. But the real twist? As users scroll through content, the ad responds with subtle 3D transitions and interactivity, making viewers stop mid-scroll and engage.

    The result? A 25 per cent uplift in engagement rates, proving that the future of display isn’t just visible, it’s scroll-activated.

    VDO.AI co-founder and CEO Amitt Sharma said, “This format infuses static creatives with vitality and dimension. As consumers grow more selective in their digital interactions, ads must not only be seen they must be felt. This format helps brands do both.”

    Designed to work across desktop and mobile, the ad unit marks a step-change for marketers aiming to break the banner-blindness curse. The format brings storytelling to the scroll, letting users explore USPs, features, and even animations within the ad frame without clicking away.

    VDO.AI, CTO Co-founder Arjit Sachdeva, added, “This is more than just a format, it’s a reimagination of what static ads can be in a performance-first world. We’re constantly evolving our ad tech stack to keep brands a step ahead in crowded digital spaces.”

    As attention spans shrink and scroll speeds soar, VDO.AI’s latest innovation gives brands a tactile edge proof that in today’s digital game, motion may just be the new emotion.