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Tag: Anil Kumar

  • Anil Kumar joins Skandha Media as director of growth & biz development

    Anil Kumar joins Skandha Media as director of growth & biz development

    MUMBAI:  Cloud-based playout, broadcast, and OTT solutions provider Skandha Media Services has appointed Anil Kumar as director of growth and business development.

    Kumar brings over seven years of industry experience, having previously served as director of SaaS, south Asia at TVU Networks and India sales head at Amagi. He has contributed to high-profile projects with leading brands including Warner Bros. Discovery, Viacom18, Samsung TV  Plus, IndiaTV, and Shemaroo.

    In his new role, Kumar will spearhead Skandha’s growth strategy by driving adoption of its cloud and AI-powered ad monetisation tools within general entertainment and news platforms, while expanding its live sports streaming customer base. He will focus on gathering client insights, forging new technology partnerships, and expanding the company’s reseller network.

    Skandha Media Services founder & CEO Yogesh Salian said: “Anil’s proven track record in sales, data-driven decision-making, and his extensive industry network will be invaluable as we strategically broaden our presence across south Asia and beyond.”

    Said Kumar: “Skandha’s culture of creativity, leadership, and its reputation for delivering first-class playout services for major events like those on Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema were key factors in my decision. I look forward to contributing to its continued growth.”

    Kumar holds a bachelor of engineering from BIT Sindri Engineering College and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, where he was recognised as “the most creative mind” on campus. He is also a published author, sketch artist, and mentor to young professionals.

  • ECL 2024 announces BookMyShow as exclusive ticket partner

    ECL 2024 announces BookMyShow as exclusive ticket partner

    Mumbai: Tickets for the inaugural Entertainers Cricket League (ECL) 2024, an influencer-driven T10 cricket league, are now available on BookMyShow, the exclusive ticketing partner. The league starts on 13 September 2024 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi. ECL season one will feature 19 matches over 10 days, with six franchises and 96 content creators from various industries, including tech, finance, infotainment, gaming, fashion, and lifestyle.

    “With BookMyShow as our ticketing partner, we’re ensuring fans have easy and quick access to tickets for this one-of-a-kind cricket league. The ECL is set to redefine how fans engage with both cricket and entertainment, and we’re excited to welcome them to the stadium to witness their favorite creators live in action.  We look forward to an unforgettable season filled with intense competition and unmatched entertainment,” said ECL founder Anil Kumar.

    Cricket and entertainment fans can purchase their tickets starting today, with prices ranging from ₹150 for general entry to ₹10,000 for premium seats, offering a variety of options to suit every fan. Tickets are expected to sell out quickly, with fans eager to catch the action live. Given the combined following of over 700 million of the influencers involved, demand is high, so fans are encouraged to book early on BookMyShow to secure their spots.

    Also commenting on the partnership, BookMyShow COO – live entertainment & venues, Anil Makhija said, “We are excited to partner with the Entertainers Cricket League for what promises to be a groundbreaking fusion of sports and entertainment. At BookMyShow, we’re dedicated to providing fans with seamless ticketing as well as on ground experiences, and we’re thrilled to bring this unique league to cricket and digital content enthusiasts alike.”

    Day one on 13 September, has two group-stage double-headers lined up, beginning with Abhishek Malhan aka Fukra Insaan led Bangalore Bashers taking on Elvish Yadav led Haryanvi Hunters. The second match will feature Munawar Faruqui-led Mumbai Disruptors against the Anurag Dwivedi-led Lucknow Lions.

    The first game begins at 5.30 pm Indian Standard Time (IST), while the second starts at 8.30 pm IST.

    Following the group stages, the knockout games begin on 20 September 2024. Qualifier one will be played at 5:30 pm, with the eliminator match scheduled for 8:30 pm on the same day.

    Qualifier two is set for 21 September 2024, at 8:30 pm while the grand finale of ECL season one will take place on Sunday, 22 September 2024, at 8:30 pm IST.

  • Entertainers Cricket League live broadcast on Sony Sports Network

    Entertainers Cricket League live broadcast on Sony Sports Network

    Mumbai: The Entertainers Cricket League (ECL), the first-of-its-kind influencer-driven T10 cricket league, is set to be broadcast live on Sony Sports Network, ensuring fans across the country can experience the electrifying action of cricket and entertainment.  ECL, featuring six franchise teams captained by top social media superstars like Abhishek Malhan (Fukra Insaan), Anurag Dwivedi, Elvish Yadav, Harsh Beniwal, Munawar Faruqui, and Sonu Sharma is a unique convergence of India’s love for cricket and the power of digital content creators.

    The league will be broadcast live starting at 5 PM IST on Sony Sports Ten 3 channels, offering fans comprehensive coverage of all 19 matches, played over 10 days from September 13 to 22, 2024, at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Delhi. The grand finale on September 22 will have an extended pre-match coverage, starting at 7 PM IST.

    Speaking on the partnerships, Entertainers Cricket League founder Anil Kumar said, “The partnership with Sony Sports Network marks a major milestone in ECL’s journey. We aim to bring the best cricket entertainment to our fans, and this collaboration ensures we reach a wider audience. With Sony’s extensive sports broadcasting experience, we’re setting the stage for a cricketing spectacle like never before – and by bringing social media stars onto television, we are blending the excitement of digital influencers with mainstream sports entertainment.’

    With the combined following of over 100 crore fans across all content creators involved, ECL expects to generate significant viewership, surpassing projections from previous entertainment leagues.

    Six teams namely Punjab Veers. Dynamic Delhi, Haryanvi Hunters, Bangalore Bashers, Mumbai Disruptors, and Lucknow Lions will compete in the ten-day inaugural season featuring 19 matches. Fans can watch all the live action unfold live on Sony TEN 3 & Sony TEN 3 HD.

  • India’s BPC market to hit $34 billion by 2028: Nykaa Beauty Trends Report

    India’s BPC market to hit $34 billion by 2028: Nykaa Beauty Trends Report

    Mumbai: India’s beauty market, the fourth-largest globally, is at a critical point driven by premiumization, evolving demographics, and technology. To explore these changes, India’s leading beauty retailer has released the ‘Nykaa Beauty Trends Report,’ developed with Redseer. The report identifies key trends and insights on navigating the dynamic beauty market.

    A significant finding is the rise in premium beauty consumption, driven by access to global brands, expanding routines, and product innovations. This shift is supported by growing consumer aspirations, higher discretionary spending, and dual-income households.

    Nykaa has been central to this trend, offering over 3600 beauty brands and introducing global luxury brands to India. Gen Z, young millennials, and non-metro consumers are driving growth, supported by Nykaa’s content, educational efforts, and omnichannel presence, including over 200 stores and its e-B2B platform, Nykaa Superstore.

    Nykaa Beauty executive director and CEO Anchit Nayar said, “As India rapidly ascends to become one of the world’s most influential beauty markets, we at Nykaa are incredibly optimistic about its future. The insights from our Beauty Trends Report clearly show a market poised for extraordinary growth, driven by premiumization, technological advancements, and a new generation of discerning consumers. Nykaa remains committed to leading this transformation by democratizing access to the world’s best beauty brands, fostering innovation, and expanding our reach across both digital and physical channels. We believe that by staying true to our core values of authenticity and customer-centricity, we will not only grow with the market but also play a pivotal role in shaping the future of beauty in India.”

    Redseer Strategy Consultants founder and CEO Anil Kumar remarked, “The Indian beauty and personal care market, valued at $21 billion, is on the brink of a transformative journey, projected to grow at a robust 10-11 per cent CAGR over the next five years. This dynamic sector is not merely expanding; it’s rapidly evolving, with e-commerce expected to surge by 25 per cent annually, leading the way. The democratization of beauty expertise through social media, now influencing over 500 million users, is ushering in a new era of informed and empowered consumers. Brands that embrace this evolution, leveraging omnichannel strategies and innovative offerings, will not only thrive but will shape the future of beauty in India. The coming years will be pivotal as we witness a market that doesn’t just grow—it redefines itself.”

    The report offers a comprehensive roadmap for brands looking to navigate the rapidly evolving BPC market in India. With its deep analysis of current and emerging trends, the report underscores the importance of innovation, strategic expansion, and consumer-centric approaches in driving future growth.

  • Entertainer’s Cricket League targets 400 crore valuation in first season

    Entertainer’s Cricket League targets 400 crore valuation in first season

    Mumbai: The Entertainer’s Cricket League, the first of its kind social media celebrity-based cricketing league is expected to generate a revenue of over 30 crores in the first season alone. League founders, Anil Kumar and Himanshu Chandnani have rounded up an elite set of captains including Abhishek Malhan, Sonu Sharma, Elvish Yadav, Harsh Beniwal, Munawar Faruqui and Anurag Dwivedi who will pick their own team to compete in this T10 cricket league.

    “The Entertainer’s Cricket League presents a unique opportunity for corporates and brands as it opens them up to the world of Influencer marketing, the fastest-growing vertical in the marketing industry. Not only does this give them direct access to an individual team’s 15 social media celebrities but also broader access to the wider pool of talent that they can associate with. It’s simple, this is a one-stop solution for any brand because they will have 150 creators under the same roof at the same time.” said Entertainer’s Cricket League founder Himanshu Chandnani.

    The creators will each lead one of the six franchises with each team further picking in the form of the draft from a vast pool of 250 popular social media celebrities out of which 96 social media celebrities will make the final cut. These will include popular creators across multiple industries such as technology, finance, infotainment, education, motivation & self-help, and entertainment including vloggers, gaming, fashion and lifestyle from India. The Entertainer’s Cricket League will turn out to be the ultimate experience for content lovers across the country.

    “We are excited to be a part of this huge amalgamation between cricket and culture and are backing our initial aim of building an inclusive community for all kinds of social media celebrities. We look forward to the first step in what will definitely prove to be a legacy league in India and revolutionize the way brands and corporations can optimize their marketing strategies. With the launch of the ECL, we aim to make the community of social media celebrities more accessible for corporations and on the flipside also give smaller celebrities creative and monetary opportunities.” Entertainer’s Cricket League founder Anil Kumar signed off.

    ECL is currently in the process of finalizing broadcasting rights with an undisclosed broadcaster which will only elevate the scale on which this league will reach almost an expected viewership of 100 crore. The league is expected to be played in the latter half of the year. 

  • Dentsu Webchutney with UN Women launch #DrawALine campaign

    Dentsu Webchutney with UN Women launch #DrawALine campaign

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Webchutney, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has announced its partnership with UN Women with its new campaign #DrawALine through a short film ‘Lakeer’ that takes the viewers through a series of traumatic events in the life of a woman living in rural India. The campaign is aimed at raising awareness about the gender violence that goes unnoticed and spreading a message in a very clear yet powerful manner.

    UN Women programme analyst Salina Wilson said, “This is a short film we made with all our hearts – a cloud of despair, lined with the ray of hope that women, children, and just as importantly, men across the world, will find the courage to listen and speak about gender violence.” 

    Highlighting the idea behind the campaign, Dentsu Webchutney said, “Gender violence is a harsh reality that we can no longer ignore, and there will never be a better time to speak up, than now. The issue has been plaguing our society for way too long, and despite the country’s rapid rate of development, stories of domestic violence and physical abuse are repeatedly witnessed across different facets of society – be it urban or rural, high net income or below poverty line households.”

    Dentsu Webchutney chief creative officer and co-founder Sudesh Samaria added, “Violence against women and girls is something we all need to overcome, and as responsible individuals, it is time we come together to #DrawALine once and for all. Despite the film’s harsh visuals and narrative, we felt that this is a story that needs to be told."

    Dentsu Webchutney executive vice president Anil Kumar said, “This campaign aims at creating something simple, yet audio-visually powerful that stays with the people. As a cause, it is one we adamantly stand for, and we truly relished the opportunity to work with UN Women, and support the mission in the best way we can.”

  • Wavemaker’s Anil Kumar joins Spatial Access

    Wavemaker’s Anil Kumar joins Spatial Access

    MUMBAI: Anil Kumar from Wavemaker has joined Spatial Access, India’s first and largest media audit and advisory company, as its head of strategy. Kumar comes with over two decades of experience having worked in multiple markets and agencies, recently with Wavemaker, Mumbai.

    “Anil’s one point agenda will be to bring more transparency and better ROI for our client’s media spends,” said Spatial Access CEO Vineet Sodhani. “His deep and wide experience in media agencies and media houses will help us drive our transparency agenda. He will also enhance client deliveries by giving strategic inputs on their media spends with the objective of improving their ROI.”

    Prior to joining Spatial Access, Kumar was working with Wavemaker where he worked on multiple clients like Tata Sky, Kotak, Zydus and DPA among others. And earlier to that, he was with MediaCom, Starcom, Mudra Max, BCCL and Lodestar.

    On his appointment, he said, “I am excited to join Spatial Access to be able to offer more transparency and better value for our clients’ investments.”

    Spatial Access is India’s largest marketing and media audit and advisory company that helps advertisers increase their ROI on marcom expenditure. It uses proprietary tools and processes to analyse a marketer’s spends in traditional as well as digital media, print production, BTL, Ad Films, agency partnerships etc. and give them specific recommendations on how to improve both efficiency and impact. Spatial Access works with clients whose spends range from a few million to few billion – Indian start-ups and conglomerates as well as global MNCs.

  • Dentsu Webchutney appoints Anil Kumar as EVP

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Webchutney has roped in Anil Kumar as EVP and branch head. He will be based out of Delhi and will report to Dentsu Webchutney CEO and co-founder Sidharth Rao. Kumar will lead key accounts like Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Canon, Tetra Pack, Hike, Payback, DS Group and ITC amongst others.

    Rao said, “Digital is fast moving from a creative-communication arena to being a business-enabler. Anil, with years of mainline advertising experience coupled with extensive hands-on marketing experience, presents a combination that can help our teams appreciate the real-business issues more holistically and recommend solutions that can positively impact our client’s bottom lines. We look forward to Anil steering our largest branch to next levels of growth and recognition.”

    Kumar is a seasoned marketing professional with over 18 years of work experience with India’s leading advertising agencies – FCB, Grey, TBWA, Contract and Lintas. This long stint was followed by another five years as executive director, Millennium Spire, a Singapore based FDI fund that he helped grow from $20 million to a $1 billion operation. This success fuelled his passion for nurturing start-ups and led to co-founding of inQbis – a boutique business consulting firm focussed on providing strategic and marketing direction to early-growth ventures in infrastructure, agri-products, retail design and e-com sectors.

    He added, “I am seriously inspired by the impact of Digital, both as a medium and a technology, on our day to day lives. It is fast changing the human behaviour itself. For a marketing professional, Digital is the ultimate delight because of its tremendous ability to sharply identify and establish the shortest route possible to the target audience; and what better place than Dentsu Webchutney, the pioneers in digital, to immerse oneself into this arena and explore.”

  • Wipro & Verveba join hands to improve mobile radio network

    Wipro & Verveba join hands to improve mobile radio network

    NEW DELHI: Global IT service provider Wipro has entered into a partnership with telecom network engineering company Verveba Telecom to improve mobile radio network among other fields.

    The partnership brings together Wipro’s expertise in telecom sector and Verveba’s Mobile Radio Network Optimisation technology with services, intellectual property and solutions of both organisations.

    The companies will offer solutions to address industry challenges in generating measurable economic value from fast growing, mobile network technology deployments and optimisation especially in 4G and single RAN technologies.

    It will also provide the opportunity to combine the skills and talents of two great network services organisations. Verveba and Wipro will work together on business development activities and expanding solutions to the Telecom Service Providers globally.

    “Verveba’s solution augments our Telecom Network Services portfolio for the communications industry by delivering better business outcomes through cost reduction, improvement in turnaround time & process simplification, across the multi technology Radio Network Optimisation field. This aligns well with Wipro’s goal of offering comprehensive, cutting-edge customer experience solutions to our clients,” said Wipro senior vice president & global business head – communications business unit Anil Kumar. 

    “We are pleased and excited about this partnership with Wipro. This partnership increases the reach of Verveba’s services and solutions. Wipro’s reach in global markets complements Verveba’s capabilities to deliver incremental business value to the Communication Service Providers,” added Verveba CEO Manik Arora.

  • Wipro & Verveba join hands to improve mobile radio network

    Wipro & Verveba join hands to improve mobile radio network

    NEW DELHI: Global IT service provider Wipro has entered into a partnership with telecom network engineering company Verveba Telecom to improve mobile radio network among other fields.

    The partnership brings together Wipro’s expertise in telecom sector and Verveba’s Mobile Radio Network Optimisation technology with services, intellectual property and solutions of both organisations.

    The companies will offer solutions to address industry challenges in generating measurable economic value from fast growing, mobile network technology deployments and optimisation especially in 4G and single RAN technologies.

    It will also provide the opportunity to combine the skills and talents of two great network services organisations. Verveba and Wipro will work together on business development activities and expanding solutions to the Telecom Service Providers globally.

    “Verveba’s solution augments our Telecom Network Services portfolio for the communications industry by delivering better business outcomes through cost reduction, improvement in turnaround time & process simplification, across the multi technology Radio Network Optimisation field. This aligns well with Wipro’s goal of offering comprehensive, cutting-edge customer experience solutions to our clients,” said Wipro senior vice president & global business head – communications business unit Anil Kumar. 

    “We are pleased and excited about this partnership with Wipro. This partnership increases the reach of Verveba’s services and solutions. Wipro’s reach in global markets complements Verveba’s capabilities to deliver incremental business value to the Communication Service Providers,” added Verveba CEO Manik Arora.