Digital Agencies

Influencer marketing ready to explode in India: ClanConnect’s Kunal Kishore Sinha

Published

5 years ago

March 22, 2021

MUMBAI: Even as the economy and businesses were reeling under the global upheaval in 2020, there were some that saw an opportunity in the disruption and took off during this tumultuous period. One such business was ClanConnect, a start-up born during the lockdown. Inspired by the growing investor interest in the digital and influencer marketing sector and the sustained visibility of brands on it during the lockdown, the ClanConnect team decided to take the plunge six months earlier than they had initially planned. In an in-depth conversation with Indiantelevision.com’s Anupama Sajeet, ClanConnect COO and co-founder Kunal Kishore Sinha talked about the booming influencer marketing industry, the impact of the recent ASCII guidelines, and how the fledgling firm plans to transform the digital marketing landscape with artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Edited excerpts:

On ClanConnect’s business model and what it means to be ‘India’s only AI-driven influencer marketing agency’.

Influencer Marketing (IM) is in its infancy in India right now. It has opened up lots of opportunities for brands to connect with their consumers. But, it remains largely unorganised, which also led to fraudulent activities as creators began exploring unethical means to increase their followers. There was no scientific method to decide which influencer would be most suitable for a brand or campaign.

We started ClanConnect to make this entire process more scientific with the help of machine learning. We came up with a marketplace where a brand has all possible tools to discover the right influencer for its campaign, engage with them online and also help them to manage its entire end-to-end campaign in an automated form.

The technology engine is an amalgamation of some of the leading influencers across scale, categories, and geographies. Our AI recommendation tool can pull out any data point of any influencer with a following of more than 1000, across any geography in less than 24 hours. It also distinguishes between genuine and fake followers. We are trying to build an ecosystem where technology becomes the big differentiator.

On the size of the influencer-driven market in India and globally.

A global survey done by Business Insider on 5,000 marketers showed that 80 per cent of the marketers budgeted 10 per cent of their total advertising spend in influencer marketing. Globally, the influencer marketing spend was $9.7 billion for 2020 and it is expected to go up to $13.8 billion in 2021. It can be more in the case of some categories like online gaming. In 2019, the ad spend on gaming influencers in the US was $849 million. In India, companies engaging in mobile phones, automobiles, fashion, lifestyle, entertainment use a huge chunk of their ad spend on this segment.

Two platforms have emerged in a big way – Twitch, an online game streaming company, and TikTok, though the latter has been banned in India. There are Indian companies like Rooter which provide a platform for online gamers to stream their game. With the increasing number of user-generated content platforms, there will be more and more content creators and this will translate into more advertising budgets. So this market is only going to explode.

On the Tiktok ban effect.

We were going live with our Instagram and YouTube and our next platform was TikTok. But, by the time we were ready with the TikTok platform engagement, it was banned and our six months of technology development work went down the drain. By far, TikTok is leading in the global IM space in terms of ad marketing spend. We are hopeful that other equivalent players will emerge. In short video format, we already have Instagram Reels, Mitron, Chingari, Moj, and some other local players. Each of them has some share of the market. The scale of the market is huge and I am sure brands are not going to wait to invest in it.

On the new ASCII guidelines and challenges it entails for the industry.

ASCII came out with these policies because they realised that influencer marketing was becoming a mainstream advertising space. We welcome this move because it highlights the potential of this market. We do not expect the guidelines to affect the influencer business per se, because most influencers anyways tag the brand while sharing a post. Instagram had, in fact, started this concept of tagging the brand when it’s a paid content much before ASCII came out with the policy.

Also, I do not think any brand wishes to short-change their users by pushing something as organic when it’s a paid content. The influencers too want to ensure authenticity in their content. Now, if the influencer can provide visibility and awareness to a product that helps translate into sales, it generates RoI. It does not change if they mark it as a sponsored content. I believe this is going to help the market to become better. The problem, however, lies in implementation as there is still a grey area as to what is organic and what is paid content. How will you define the transaction between two parties when it’s a self-regulatory guideline? That will be a challenge for ASCII.

On the way ahead for digital IM trend for consumers and brands.

We are starting to see brands – be it hotels or cruise companies – who want to get their customers back after a year of bad business and less revenue. But they want to do it at a cost that has a larger RoI. They are following a cautious, focused approach. We have also had brands that had not experimented with influencer marketing until the lockdown happened. They saw the impact of the campaign on digital and increased their budget for influencer marketing.

There are many young start-up d2c (direct to customer) brands, whose influencer spend is as much as 50 per cent of their total marketing spend. This is only going to grow. The pandemic opened up opportunities, which were previously not considered by the brand managers. Even in a back to pre-Covid scenario, the immersive valuation that an influencer could bring about a product or service would be difficult to achieve through say, an outdoor campaign, internet banner, or a newspaper ad. So there will always be space for all categories of advertising, including influencer marketing, in times to come. And just like digital marketing fought for its place in the past, this is a digital disruption that will eventually become the mainstay.

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Digital Agencies

GUEST COLUMN: Deepankar Das on the feedback problem slowing creative teams

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

BENGALURU: For years, creative teams have learned to live with ambiguity. Vague comments, last-minute changes, feedback that arrives without context, clarity, or conviction. It became part of the job – something teams worked around rather than getting it solved.

But as we head into 2026, that tolerance is wearing thin.

Creative work today moves faster, scales wider, and involves more stakeholders than before. Teams are producing more content across more formats, often with distributed collaborators and tighter timelines. In this environment, guesswork is no longer a harmless inconvenience. It’s a cost – to time, to budgets, and to creative mindspace.

The real problem isn’t feedback, it’s how it’s given

Most creative professionals you see today will tell you they’re not against feedback. In fact, they rely on it. Good feedback sharpens ideas, strengthens execution, and pushes work forward. The problem is ‘unclear’ feedback. When someone says “this doesn’t feel right” without context, they aren’t just revising – they’re basically decoding. They’re guessing what the problem might be, trying different directions, and burning time in the process. Multiply that by a few stakeholders and a few rounds, and suddenly days disappear.

In 2026, when teams are expected to deliver faster without compromising quality, interpretation is a luxury most can’t afford.

Scale has changed rverything

Creative projects used to be smaller and simpler. A designer, a manager, maybe one client contact. Feedback loops were short, even if they weren’t perfect.

Today, the same project might involve internal marketing teams, agencies, freelancers, brand reviewers, and regional teams. Everyone has a say. Everyone leaves comments. And often, those comments don’t agree. More people reviewing work means alignment matters more than ever. Clear feedback isn’t just about being nice to creative teams, it’s about keeping projects moving when complexity increases.

Guesswork quietly wears teams down

One of the less talked-about impacts of unclear feedback is what it does to people.

When feedback is vague or contradictory, creatives second-guess their decisions. They hesitate. They overwork. They keep extra time buffers “just in case.” Over time, confidence drops. Ownership fades. Work becomes safer, not stronger. Creative energy gets spent on managing uncertainty instead of pushing ideas forward. And in an industry already grappling with burnout, unclear feedback adds unnecessary mental load.

Actionable feedback is a shared skill

Clear feedback doesn’t mean controlling creative decisions or dictating every detail. It means being specific enough that someone knows what to do next.

Actionable feedback answers three basic questions:

What exactly needs attention?
Why does it matter?
What outcome are we aiming for?
This applies whether you’re reviewing a video frame, a design layout, or a copy draft. The clearer the feedback, the fewer follow-ups it creates. In 2026, teams that treat feedback as a skill and not an afterthought, will move faster with less friction.

Tools shape behaviour (whether we admit it or not)

The way feedback is delivered is often dictated by the tools teams use. Comments buried in long email threads, messages split across chat apps, or notes detached from the actual work all contribute to confusion.

When feedback lives outside the work, context often gets lost. When it’s disconnected from versions and timelines, decisions get questioned. When it’s scattered, accountability disappears. More teams are starting to realise that feedback problems aren’t just communication issues, they’re workflow issues. How work moves between people matters just as much as the work itself.

From Opinions To Alignment
One of the biggest shifts happening in creative teams is a move away from purely opinion-driven feedback. Instead of “I like this” or “I don’t,” teams are asking better questions:

● Does this meet the brief?

● Does this solve the problem?

● Does this align with the goal?

This change reduces unnecessary back-and-forth and helps feedback feel less personal and more productive. It also makes decisions easier to explain and defend. As creative work becomes more strategic, feedback has to support that shift.

2026 Is About Fewer Loops, Not Faster Loops

There’s a misconception that speed means moving through feedback cycles faster. In reality, the most creative teams aren’t just accelerating loops, they’re reducing them. Clear, actionable feedback upfront leads to fewer revisions later. Clear approval stages prevent last-minute surprises. Clear decisions stop work from circling endlessly.

In 2026, efficiency won’t come from working harder or longer. It will come from designing workflows that respect creative time and attention.

Ending guesswork is a mindset change

Ultimately, ending creative guesswork isn’t just about better tools or processes. It’s about mindset. It’s about recognising that clarity is an act of respect – for the work, for the people doing it, for the time invested and for the mindspace used. It’s about moving from “figure it out” to “here’s what we’re aiming for.”

Creative teams that embrace this shift will find themselves not only delivering faster, but also enjoying the process more. And in an industry built on imagination, that might be the most valuable outcome of all.

Digital Agencies

Kunal Wanvari steps up as senior brand and digital marketing manager at Franklin Templeton India

Published

2 months ago

January 19, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Franklin Templeton India has elevated Kunal Wanvari to senior brand and digital marketing manager, signalling a continued push towards data-driven brand building and digital-first engagement in a crowded asset management market.

Wanvari has spent nearly eight years with Franklin Templeton India, steadily rising through the marketing ranks. Prior to this role, he served as marketing manager and assistant marketing manager, working across brand strategy, content, digital media and campaign execution from the firm’s Mumbai office.

Before joining Franklin Templeton, Wanvari built his digital credentials at WATConsult, where he handled brand strategy and account leadership roles, and earlier at Kush Infosystems, focusing on SEO and performance marketing. His career began in sales and marketing roles, giving him a ground-up understanding of commercial storytelling.

A computer engineer by training with deep digital marketing expertise, Wanvari’s elevation reflects Franklin Templeton’s bet on hybrid marketers—equal parts brand, data and digital—as competition for investor attention intensifies.

Digital Agencies

PSB Xchange appoints Ankush Aggarwal as CXO, Sahil Sikka as CBO and CFO

Published

2 months ago

January 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: PSB Xchange, India’s digital marketplace for financial solutions and a flagship platform of Veefin Solutions Limited, has reinforced its leadership team with two senior appointments as it prepares for its next phase of growth.

Ankush Aggarwal has been named chief experience officer, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience across corporate banking and the SME ecosystem. In his new role, he will focus on shaping simple, seamless and results-oriented experiences for banks, corporates and ecosystem partners. Aggarwal has previously held leadership roles at Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank and SG Finserve, where he led initiatives across customer onboarding, credit processes, servicing operations and digital transformation.

Widely recognised for connecting technology, operations and business strategy, Aggarwal has consistently built scalable and compliant experience models. At PSB Xchange, his focus will be on strengthening platform thinking, governance and continuous improvement to enhance efficiency and customer outcomes.

Alongside him, Sahil Sikka joins PSB Xchange as chief business officer and chief financial officer. With over 15 years of experience in banking and financial services, Sikka has played a key role in building and scaling businesses. He was part of the founding leadership team at SG Finserve, where he helped create a listed NBFC, overseeing business strategy, capital planning, product development and governance. His work earned him the best CFO financial services award at the India CFO Awards 2024.

Earlier in his career, Sikka worked with HDFC Bank, Aditya Birla Finance and Kotak Mahindra Bank, driving growth across corporate banking and structured finance. In his dual role at PSB Xchange, he will focus on strengthening growth strategy, scaling operations sustainably and delivering long-term value through strong governance and collaboration.

Commenting on the appointments, PSB Xchange and Veefin Solutions Limited CEO Sorabh Dhawan, said the additions reflect the platform’s ambitions as it expands its engagement with banks and financial institutions. He added that Aggarwal’s experience-led approach and Sikka’s strategic and financial expertise will be central to driving sustainable growth and value creation in the years ahead.