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Tag: Ankit Khirwal

  • BBH India wins creative mandate of upGrad for its upcoming campaign

    BBH India wins creative mandate of upGrad for its upcoming campaign

    Mumbai: BBH India, a leading creative agency renowned for its innovative campaigns, is proud to announce its recent victory in securing the creative mandate for upGrad, Asia’s largest integrated learning skilling and workforce development company for its upcoming brand campaign scheduled this year. The partnership aims to usher in a new era of brand repositioning and transformation for upGrad through an integrated campaign.

    With a solid reputation for building brands in the digital-first environment, BBH India emerged as the clear choice for upGrad in a multi-agency pitch process to redefine its brand repositioning and creative campaign.

    upGrad, founded in 2015, has become the go-to destination for learners seeking high-quality pedagogy backed by experiential learning, which arms them with industry-ready skills and knowledge for stronger career growth. The collaboration with BBH India comes at a pivotal time in the online higher education landscape, as upGrad looks to further consolidate its position as the skilling giant emerging out of India.

    BBH India chief operating officer & MD Himanshu Saxena stated, “Partnering upGrad is a matter of immense pride and excitement for us. upGrad comes with a legacy of great brand & business building. However, this new journey that promises ‘Career Acceleration’ to a wider cross-section of Indians, is an extremely powerful moment in the brand’s life stage. We are committed to delivering the power of ‘Zag’ creativity for upGrad and accelerate upGrad into next orbit of growth and fame.”

    upGrad head of marketing Ankit Khirwal said, “upGrad has built a strong brand identity among working professionals in the last eight years and it’s critical we talk about our evolved portfolio that addresses individuals’ entire learning value chain from the time they exit school and become domain experts or thought leaders. Our partnership with BBH India goes beyond creative synergies to inspire New India including working professionals and students alike, to accept constant upskilling as a Lifelong learning event. This will also mark a fundamental step in the nation-building process and shall prepare an army of market-ready professionals, equipped to tackle any industrial challenges.”  

  • upGrad teams up with SonyLIV for new series ‘Khud Ke Liye’

    upGrad teams up with SonyLIV for new series ‘Khud Ke Liye’

    Mumbai: Ed-tech major upGrad has taken its original content game a notch higher with the launch of a multi-starrer anthology film titled “Khud Ke Liye.” Conceptualised and written by The Glitch’s digital-first division – Flux, the film series is currently streaming on upGrad’s YouTube channel and streaming platform, SonyLIV.

    The series emphasises the fact that the absence of ‘life-long learning’ in the era of constant evolution adds tremendous pressure on working professionals, without having them realise it. This jeopardises their professional growth and mental well-being in the long run. “We wanted to depict the most ordinary of lives, with their self-consciousness erupting from an uncomfortable incident or series of events, which leads them to choose higher education. The idea was to make the characters brave but at the same time relatable and vulnerable, to appeal to the potential audience and consumers,” said Flux creative director Tathagata Ray.

    Besides Flux, two other production houses Melting Clock and Upward Fall Films also collaborated on the series over a period of three weeks, the company said.

    “We are committed to making quality and affordable higher education a reality for millions. Our strategic partnership with India’s leading OTT player SonyLIV to tap into the right set of audience is another step forward in that direction,” commented upGrad head of marketing Ankit Khirwal.

    Speaking on the association, SonyLIV head – ad sales revenue Rnajana Mangla stated, “At SonyLIV, we believe in offering unique and relevant entertainment to our viewers. The upGrad original ‘Khud Ke Liye’ hence is the perfect fit. We are excited to bring this thought-provoking anthology for our diversified audience.”

    “While the world competes to break formats, score big on innovations, and run behind short video-led engagements, we wanted to do something a little less conventional,” remarked Flux associate VP – content strategy and business Varun Anchan. “Leveraging the roots of branded content, we tried to bring back long-format storytelling through this content series. With upGrad, we saw mutual respect for long-form and thus entered OTT with #KhudKeLiye.”

    Directed by filmmakers Rahul Nangia, Smrutika Panigrahi, and Pranjal Vaid, the three independent films “Pehchaan,” “Saahas,” and “Koshish” depict the real-life journeys of upGrad alumni. The cast comprises names such as Priya Bapat, Sharib Hashmi, Tanmay Dhanania, Alam Khan, Jihaan Hodar, Maya Sarao, Joy Sengupta, and Shiwangi Peswani.

  • upGrad appoints Ankit Khirwal as VP – marketing

    upGrad appoints Ankit Khirwal as VP – marketing

    Mumbai: Homegrown ed-tech company upGrad on Saturday announced that Ankit Khirwal has joined the upGrad management team as vice president – marketing.

    As part of his new role, Khirwal will lead the end-to-end marketing efforts across the organisation. He will manage all aspects of brand marketing and public relations, performance marketing, CRM marketing, creative and content marketing.

    Khirwal was earlier associated at Pepperfry as marketing head. As a part of its senior leadership team, he managed the entire marketing function. In addition to marketing, he has also led various verticals including category management, financial planning & strategy. Prior to Pepperfry, as an analyst at RBS International, he worked on key Debt Capital Market transactions for Indian corporates.  An IIM-Bangalore alumnus, he is a CA by qualification and a graduate of the Shri Ram College of Commerce.  

    Welcoming Khirwal on board, upGrad India, CEO, Arjun Mohan said, “We are thrilled to have Ankit onboard. His proven experience in deepening brand presence, expanding the consumer funnel, and scaling up revenue will be invaluable in helping upGrad maintain its rapid growth to meet the strong demand with the expansion of our footprint in international markets and new verticals.”

    Talking about his new role, Khirwal said, “I was the first person in my entire family to pursue studies beyond under-graduation. I understand and value the importance of education in life. It is an exciting time to be part of the global online education revolution and it will be a fulfilling experience to take upGrad’s philosophy of lifelong learning ahead.”