Brands

Brands shift ad spends to digital platforms to tide over COVID-19 crisis

Published

6 years ago

April 3, 2020

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The emergence of COVID-19 has thrown the near-to-mid-term strategies of businesses off-track. Global media ad spending has been hit as well. According to industry experts, the long-term impact will be positive. However, the next quarter is going to be very crucial for the advertising world.

Indiantelevision.com spoke to industry stakeholders to get their feedback.

Havas Media Group CEO India and South East Asia Anita Nayyar says, “In the short-term, only the most necessary, topical and critical advertising will see the light of the day. There will be brands that will look at the situation positively and continue building in a comparatively non-cluttered environment.”

Brands have to be sensitive to people’s worries as well as that of manufacturers. The consumer is wary of buying, at the same time the manufacturer can’t produce and supply goods. Advertising, then, has to take into account these factors, too.

Lionsgate South Asia MD Rohit Jain believes that the impact is likely to last two to three quarters before returning to normalcy. “Unfortunately, for most advertisers at this point, it does not make sense to advertise when they can’t deliver or make available on the shelf. Outliers at this point are perhaps the personal hygiene industry and the media and entertainment industry where consumption has shot up.”

Dentsu Aegis Network India CEO Anand Bhadkamkar says that the advertising plans, which were under execution before the pandemic broke out, are consistently being evaluated by clients before execution. But, it is a wait-and-watch situation till 14 April when the lockdown is likely to be lifted and things can get back to normal. He feels that it would be a slow walk back to growth. However, he is sanguine about the long-term outlook. “As far as the Indian market is concerned it will bounce back. According to me, the long-term impact will be positive,” he says.

Even as the world practices social distancing, people are still connected through social media and that gives brands and agencies hope. 82.5 Communications chairman and chief creative officer Sumanto Chattopadhyay says, “Social media is helping brands work around media and production limitations and still reach out to consumers. This is a temporary surge for the medium, which will also have a long-term impact as brands get used to communicating this way.”

On the consumer front, people are locked down at home with genuine concerns about their health, safety, and even livelihood. In such a case, they do not wish to be bombarded with ads. Chattopadhyay adds, “In today’s time, a lot of regular advertising is irrelevant. Add to that the shutdown of newspaper printing and severe challenges in video production. Yes, media plans have to be rejigged.”

The advertising industry is quickly evaluating what is doing well and what is falling flat. In the wake of the pandemic, advertising firms are introducing swift changes in their media plans.

According to Bhadkamkar, clients are reviewing and revising media plans as the market situation unfolds. The evolving COVID-19 situation is compelling businesses to consistently evaluate their strategies. "Media plans which were conceptualised prior to the virus outbreak would not be relevant and effective in today’s uncertainty. The coming three weeks will be crucial for brands," he notes.

BARC India and Nielsen's data has revealed that a lot of viewing is taking place both on TV and OTT platforms. This opens up opportunities for ad spends in the digital medium. Bhadkamkar says, “People are getting used to more digital markets in terms of ad spends. The digital market will grow much faster as compared to what it was earlier.”

Lionsgate had plans for an OOH campaign but the pandemic has caused it to realign its focus by upping digital investments to engage with consumers and inform them about the latest offerings. “While we have a big release in April, John Wick 3, the first digital premiere, we are trying to optimise our creative and spend on digital to increase our reach and create top-of-mind recall. OOH would have further helped us widen the reach but, in such times, we are looking at higher impact properties on digital and strong showcasing on the partner apps,” says Jain.

The fraternity believes that this pandemic has also given an opportunity to rethink how various industries want to conduct the business. In every adversity, there is an opportunity. The 2008 recession taught marketers to find efficiencies with much lower spending. Today’s situation may relook at the need for physical movement in favour of online interactions. Warming up to ad spends on digital could be the long-term positive impact of COVID-19.

Related Topics:ad spends Anand Bhadkamkar Anita Nayyar Impact of COVID-19 Rohit Jain Sumanto Chattopadhyay

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Brands

Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

Published

5 days ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.

Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.

“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.

The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.

Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.

The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.

Brands

Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion

Published

5 days ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

Bengaluru: Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.

The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.

The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.

Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.

To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.

Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.

Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.

The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.

The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.

Brands

TechnoSport taps quick commerce with launch on Slikk’s 60-minute platform

Published

5 days ago

January 31, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

NATIONAL: TechnoSport has launched on Slikk, the ultra-fast fashion app offering 60-minute delivery, as the activewear brand accelerates its push into quick commerce to capture Gen Z and young millennial shoppers.

The debut brings more than 150 high-performance styles to Slikk’s platform, with an average selling price of Rs 450, expanding TechnoSport’s reach across over 80 pin codes.

The partnership follows strong momentum for TechnoSport across Q-commerce channels, where the brand has recorded around 60 per cent volume growth over the past six months. The company expects quick commerce to contribute nearly 20 per cent of its revenue in the coming years as hyperlocal delivery gains scale.

Slikk, which recently raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed, has rapidly gained popularity among youth consumers seeking speed, trend relevance and impulse-led shopping experiences.

Activewear remains one of Slikk’s fastest-growing categories, driven by shoppers increasingly treating fitness-led fashion as an everyday essential. The platform has reported a 30-fold year-on-year increase in items sold, reflecting rising demand for performance wear that blends comfort with style.

TechnoSport chief executive officer Puspen Maity, said the collaboration would help the brand engage more closely with young consumers whose fashion choices are shaped by instant needs and lifestyle aspirations. He added that rapid delivery bridges the gap between intent and purchase, allowing shoppers to access activewear exactly when they want it.