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Tag: Aditya Kuber

  • Dentsu turns up the volume with India’s first agency-led podcast network

    Dentsu turns up the volume with India’s first agency-led podcast network

    MUMBAI: Mic check, India branded storytelling just got a whole new sound. Dentsu India has launched the Dentsu Podcast Network (DPN), a dedicated vertical set to make podcasts the next big stage for brands to converse, connect, and create communities across Bharat.

    Podcasts are no longer just background noise. With over 650 plus shows, 100 plus brands, and 120 plus creators already under their belts, the trio of Aditya Kuber, Agith Kuruvilla, and Ashwin Gangakhedkar now vice presidents at dentsu are bringing their podcasting prowess from Ideabrew Studios into the global agency ecosystem. Their experience spans seven languages, from chart-topping Hindi originals to fast-growing regional formats, making them uniquely placed to amplify dentsu’s branded content play.

    Reporting to Dentsu Creative Isobar CEO Sahil Shah,  the new team will collaborate across dentsu’s media, creative, and CXM businesses to push the boundaries of branded audio. “Podcasts are no longer a niche; they are the most immersive and authentic way to connect with audiences,” said Shah, adding that DPN will help brands “tap into India’s cultural pulse” like never before.

    With India’s diverse subcultures and rising appetite for vernacular content, the opportunity is huge. As Dentsu Creative & Media Brands South Asia CEO Amit Wadhwa put it, “This is more than a media launch; it is a bold step towards shaping narratives that travel from the heart of Bharat to audiences across the globe.”

    In the months ahead, DPN will roll out original branded series, vernacular-first IPs, large-scale creator collaborations, video podcasts, and immersive storytelling innovations. The goal: to ensure every dentu client can harness the intimacy of podcasts and the diversity of Indian languages to build deeper, more meaningful brand affinity.

    For India’s podcasting scene already one of the world’s fastest growing, this could well be the big leap from playlists to power plays, with dentsu tuning brands into conversations that echo far beyond the metros.

  • The Podcast Pulse: Unveiling India’s podcast landscape

    The Podcast Pulse: Unveiling India’s podcast landscape

    Mumbai: The Podcast Pulse, the first-of-its-kind comprehensive report on podcast consumption in India, is set to revolutionize the way we understand this dynamic medium. Developed by UNPAC Research (OPC) Pvt Ltd with the support of Ideabrew Studios, this landmark report offers unprecedented insights into the evolving landscape of podcasting in India.

    In a world where podcasts are reshaping the audio entertainment landscape, The Podcast Pulse emerges as a crucial tool for industry professionals and stakeholders seeking to unlock the full potential of this medium. Despite the gradual adoption of podcasts into daily media consumption routines, a lack of comprehensive data on consumption patterns has hindered its recognition as a powerful platform for connecting with consumers.

    India has surged to become the third-largest market for podcast listeners globally, yet only 12 per cent of Indians are currently engaged, leaving a vast untapped audience waiting to be explored. The Podcast Pulse addresses this gap by offering actionable insights into consumer preferences, content choices, favored hosts, and preferred platforms.

    The methodology behind The Podcast Pulse involved a meticulous blend of quantitative and qualitative research techniques. Engaging 2,170 individuals across 10 cities in India, including Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Indore, Patna, and Jaipur, the report gauged awareness and listenership statistics. Additionally, detailed interviews with 1,800 active listeners provided invaluable insights into their behavior and preferences.

    Key findings from the report include:

    1  82 per cent of respondents were initially unaware of podcasts, highlighting a significant opportunity for awareness-building efforts.

    2  78 per cent of consumers discovered podcasts less than a year ago, indicating a recent surge in interest.

    3  Authenticity and vulnerability in podcast conversations are highly valued by listeners, fostering a deeper connection with hosts and content.

    The report also explores consumption patterns, including weekday vs. weekend trends, preferred episode lengths, and the rise of regional language content. Regional podcasts are identified as a driving force in shaping the industry’s future, offering audiences a more relatable and culturally resonant listening experience.

    Furthermore, The Podcast Pulse profiles the Aware listener – detailing gender, occupation, age, and level of education – and conducts a deep dive into genre dynamics and explores the nuances between audio and video podcasts.  It charts the four stages of podcast enthusiasts’ journey, from their curious Exploration and Discovery phase to Advocacy as they actively promote and champion their favorite podcasts.

    UNPAC Research director Sheetal Choksi said, “We believe The Podcast Pulse is a game-changer, providing insights into India’s podcast consumption and offering a roadmap for creators and platforms to navigate the evolving preferences of Indian audiences, empowering industry professionals and stakeholders to unlock its full potential. As a podcaster myself, I experienced firsthand the challenges in accessing comprehensive data about our audience. Beyond some basic data, no one was able to answer questions like who was listening to podcasts, when, why certain genres did well, etc. This realization was the genesis of The Podcast Pulse – an earnest attempt to fill the void and provide actionable insights for the entire industry.”

    Ideabrew Studios CEO Aditya Kuber said, “At Ideabrew Studios, we are passionate about fostering innovation in audio storytelling. The Podcast Pulse not only showcases the immense potential of podcasts in India but also underscores the importance of diverse and authentic narratives in shaping the future of audio entertainment. This report will be a definitive look into podcast consumption data for advertising agencies, brands and everyone looking to meaningfully engage with a large audience.”

    As the podcast landscape continues to evolve, The Podcast Pulse serves as an invaluable resource for creators, platforms, and advertisers. By shedding light on the preferences and behaviors of Indian podcast listeners, this report paves the way for a more audience-centric approach to content creation and distribution.

  • Spotify launches Spotify Audience Network

    Spotify launches Spotify Audience Network

    Mumbai: Continuing its investment in the advertising business, Spotify announced the launch of the Spotify Audience Network in India, as well as in Sweden, Brazil, Mexico and Japan. The audio-first advertising marketplace will bring scaled, audience-based podcast buying to brands in India for the first time, and presents a unique opportunity for podcast publishers and creators in the markets to effectively monetize their content. The first publishers in India that will leverage the Network to monetise content through advertisers, include Audio Pitara and Ideabrew Studios.

    The Spotify Audience Network launched in the U.S. in 2021 and is now available in more than a dozen global markets across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. Over the past 12 months, advertisers participating in the marketplace have grown over 45 per cent while opted-in podcast publishers have increased more than 70 per cent.

    “In Q3, our global advertising revenue grew 16 per cent YoY and podcasts played a critical role. Building on the same success and keeping in mind that India is a significant growth market for podcasts, we are unlocking this growing marketplace for  local advertisers and publishers. This expansion is the latest in a series of investments Spotify has made to take podcast and audio advertising to the next level by enabling brands to reach these uniquely engaged listeners at scale”, said Spotify head of sales – India, Arjun Kolady.

    “We are always looking for new ways to bring in advertising that not only drives greater revenue but also provides personalised and valuable messaging for our listeners. The Spotify Audience Network will be a critical addition to our monetization efforts by bringing us incremental, unique demand that helps ensure more of our impressions are filled by high-quality and brand-safe ads,” said Audio Pitara co-founder Tapan Gupta.

    “Podcasts are an immersive medium, and so, while we focus on finding innovative avenues to integrate advertising, we also want to ensure that the brand and the messaging is relevant to our audience. The inclusion of the Spotify Audience Network is pivotal to our growth strategy, as it adds distinctive demand”, explained Ideabrew Studios co-founder & CEO Aditya Kuber.

    Here’s what the Spotify Audience Network means for advertisers and publishers:

    1.    Beginning today, advertisers in India will be able to reach podcast listeners at scale across the Spotify Audience Network.

    2.    Our audio-first advertising marketplace connects advertisers with listeners using audience-based targeting tools, while they listen to their favourite podcasts from leading third-party podcast publishers like Audio Pitara and Ideabrew Studios.

    3.    Through this offering, advertisers across India will be able to target podcast listeners – at scale – both on and off Spotify.

    4.    For eligible and opted-in podcast creators, the Spotify Audience Network enables them to monetise impressions generated by listeners in the market.

    5.    From major podcast publishers with a global audience to smaller independent podcasters with a fiercely loyal fanbase, opting into the Spotify Audience Network will give all publishers scaled access to advertisers in-market that are interested in reaching your audience.

  • Weekend Unwind with: Aditya Kuber, CEO & co-founder Ideabrew Studios

    Weekend Unwind with: Aditya Kuber, CEO & co-founder Ideabrew Studios

    Mumbai: Moving on to the next in our series of lighthearted snippets that peek into the minds of corporate executives by having them share their mantras to deal with the curveballs that life throws at them—not necessarily revolving around work life—and sometimes going beyond work.

    This week’s guest is Aditya Kuber, CEO and co-founder of Ideabrew Studios. Kuber is a media professional with over 20 years of experience in B2C, B2B, and market and business development, having worked with Sportz Interactive, Yahoo!, Times of India, and Sakal Media Group, as well as assisting in the establishment of Audioboom India in 2016. He led the launch and scaling of BookMyShow Jukebox, its music and podcast streaming business, before going on to launch his entrepreneurial venture, Ideabrew Studios, “one of India’s largest podcast networks” in August 2020.

    So here goes…

    Your mantra for Life

    Try. Don’t be afraid to fail.

    A Book you are currently reading / plan to read

    The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday.

    Your Fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic

    Tennis and regular workouts at the gym.

    Your comfort Food

    Almost anything homemade!

    When the chips are down a Quote/Philosophy that keeps you going

    This is a new challenge. Face it.

    Your guilty Pleasure

    Bad movies and ice-cream!

    When was the last time you tried something New?

    That would have to be when I started yoga a few months ago.

    A life Lesson you learnt the hard way

    No substitute for hard work.

    What gets you Excited about life?

    Possibilities and the fact that there’s so much left to experience.

    What’s on top of your Bucket List?

    Watching at least one match of every tennis Grand Slam.

    If you could give one piece of Advice to your younger self, what would it be?

    Get smarter! Work harder! There are no shortcuts in life.

    An Activity that keeps you motivated/charged during tough times

    Looking around to see that I am not the only one fighting a battle.

    What lifts your Spirits when life gets you down?

    My family and friends.

    Your go-to Stress Buster

    TV! Any action film will do!

    One thing you would most like to Change about the world

    Lack of opportunities for so many underprivileged people.

  • The Quint & ManoramaOnline partner with Ideabrew to distribute podcasts

    The Quint & ManoramaOnline partner with Ideabrew to distribute podcasts

    Mumbai: Ideabrew Studios has partnered with The Quint and ManoramaOnline to create, host, and distribute podcasts. As part of this partnership, Ideabrew studios will host, distribute, and monetize over 30 existing shows, including top shows like Urdunama, Qisse Kahaniyan, and The Big Story. Together, they will also work to create rich content through new brand-led shows that appease the listener as well as benefit the brand partner.

    The Quint executive editor Shelly Walia said, “The Quint has been a leader among digital news media companies in leveraging the power of sound through its episodic and serialised podcasts. Collaborating with Ideabrew Studios opens exciting prospects for us in terms of not only reaching out to our habitual listeners and finding a new audience – but also getting to know them better.”

    She further added, “The data provided by Ideabrew is helping us better measure user numbers, understand user behaviour, and study demography in a more systematic manner. This year, there’s been an uptick in listenership across podcasting channels as the world returns to post-pandemic normalcy – and for The Quint, the tie-up provides a timely opportunity to capitalise on this revival.”

    Ideabrew and ManoramaOnline launched a strategic podcast collaboration in early 2022, resulting in significant amplification and reach for their podcasts as well as scale for the business partnership.

    ManoramaOnline CEO Mariam Mammen Mathew said, “We are happy to start our relationship with podcast creators and hosting platform IdeaBrew. In a short time, our listeners have responded well to the interesting and rich content in English and Malayalam languages on different podcast platforms. Podcasting is disrupting the traditional radio space, making it an exciting time for the news industry. We are happy about creating rich news content that’s true to our brand and a refreshing cultural and technological change across our newsrooms.”

    With 23 popular shows across genres in Malayalam and English, this is already a head start. Mariam added, “This partnership is going to give us a fillip to push out the several projects in our pipeline.”

    Ideabrew CEO Aditya Kuber said, “Whether it’s Covid-19 updates, political discord, a new space launch, or the latest celebrity shenanigans, news channels carry 24-hour news, giving you something to constantly ponder or worry over. Through our medium of audio content, Ideabrew aims to disrupt the way the audience receives and responds to daily news. Our podcasts are designed to engage in healthier outlets that allow our audiences the flexibility to choose when they want to consume their news and also provide stimulating formats in the form of in-depth analysis, interviews, or opinions from experts on the subject to make the news informative, wholesome, and entertaining.”

    He further added, “We are excited about making steady inroads into the news category by partnering with the best news providers across the country to make audio the preferred medium to receive national, regional, and local news in different languages. Our premier association with the HW News Network has been phenomenal, attracting a new and far younger audience through podcasts, giving the brand a distinctive extension to get their content out.”

    Ideabrew Studios’ current partners for whom they create and host audio shows are Sakal News, HW News, and Reason.

  • Sakal Media Group launches four flagship podcasts with Ideabrew Studios

    Sakal Media Group launches four flagship podcasts with Ideabrew Studios

    Mumbai: Sakal Media Group has joined hands with podcast company Ideabrew Studios to launch a multi-genre lineup of podcasts. As part of the association, the company will create, produce, distribute, and monetise the podcasts for Sakal Media Group.

    The launch is in line with the group’s objective to expand their digital foray and create newer avenues to reach out to newer, younger, and digital-first audiences, said the media company in a statement.

    “As we begin a new chapter for us at Sakal Media, we are glad to associate with one of the leading platforms for podcasts. Ideabrew will be instrumental in giving shape to our audio shows through their insights and industry expertise,” stated Sakal Media Group head of platform – content Stefanie Maria Feicht. “With the association, we want to explore newer avenues to reach out to audiences by being present on the platforms where our target audience are consuming content.”

    The lineup featuring varied podcast content covering news, inspirational stories, sports, and general news trivia includes “Sakalchya Batmya – Top 10 news of the day,” “IPL Run-Sangram” – an IPL-focused show with daily previews and reviews of the matches, “Lakshya Asta Maaza” – a news-commentary podcast hosted by Prasann Joshi, and “Inspiring Stories” – a show focused on sharing motivational stories of people who have had to face struggles to make it big in their fields.

    “With listeners consuming content through different platforms, we wanted to expand our digital footprint and also our offerings. Our various offerings feature eminent industry experts, who, through their insightful conversations, aid in inculcating a sense of innovation and motivation amongst the people,” said Sakal Media Group’s head of digital business Swapnil Malpathak.

    The podcasts will be available on all audio platforms including Spotify, JioSaavn, Gaana, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Prime Music, Wynk, Hungama, Epic On, and over 50 other platforms globally, said the statement.

    “At Ideabrew, our vision is to create content that appeases the listener and benefits the brand,” commented Ideabrew Studios CEO Aditya Kuber. “Sakal Group aims to inform people and elevate the brand to newer heights through digital avenues. The podcasts offer multi-genre content, right from daily news to IPL trivia to inspiring stories, while also getting experts on board for the listeners.”