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Tag: Atul Hegde

  • Why Raj Nayak is getting into scalable IPs with the House of IP

    Why Raj Nayak is getting into scalable IPs with the House of IP

    MUMBAI: Is there still space in the content creation, event IPs, and the experiences verticals  despite the gadzillion or so producers, event organisers and individual creators  popping up from every nook and cranny all over India?

    Well, Raj Nayak, the former chief operating officer of Viacom18 and founder of House of Cheer, sure as hell believes there is. He has unveiled his next bold venture — House of IP — in partnership with digital marketing outfit Yaap.

    Positioned as a first-of-its-kind venture studio for event and entertainment IPs, House of IP promises to create, scale and monetise original properties across sports, music, digital content and branded experiences. From seed ideas to revenue engines, the studio aims to become a launchpad for immersive, culture-first experiences.

    “At a time when content is fragmented and brands are fighting for attention, scalable IPs are the future,” said Nayak who does not seem to be tiring despite being in the media and entertainment business for nearly four decades.

    He’s raring to go with his new venture, just like he was at the start of his career nearly 40 years ago.  “House of IP is built to turn bold concepts into cultural movements — and business success.”

    Yaap, known for its work in influencer marketing and digital media, brings its tech-driven, platform-first mindset to the collaboration. Founder Atul Hegde called the move a “natural evolution” of Yaap’s vision. “With Raj’s creative force and our digital DNA, this partnership will help build IPs that go the distance,” he said.

    House of IP is setting up shop in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Dubai, with plans to work both with original concepts and existing IP owners. The venture will offer strategic consulting, content creation, brand partnerships and monetisation models.

    “Think big ideas, deep culture connects, and long-term brand value,” Nayak added. “Welcome to the House of IP.”

    What should work in Nayak’s favour is the numerous relationships he has forged  and goodwill he has generated on almost every front throughout his career, whether amongst marketers or agencies or broadcast executives or event agencies.

    Then there is a bunch of startups as well as unicorns in almost every vertical which are looking for expertise to take them forward in the experiences department or their content needs. The new sports policy announced recently by the government is likely to see a plethora of new sports get a fresh impetus with administrators and the private sector getting together to make India a sporting nation and take it beyond just cricket. 

    Already, many leagues for many a sport have come up which need nurturing and guidance to make them grow a la the Pro Kabaddi League and the Indian Super League. Raj spent a large part of his early career selling sports and continues to do so with the Celebrity Cricket League, which should work in the House of IPs’ favour.

    Finally, with the overall live and experiential business literally exploding like never before, it’s most likely that his House of IPs will have a lot to cheer about. Just like his House of Cheer.

  • Raj Nayak bets big on bold ideas with ‘House of IPs’ launch in tie-up with Yaap

    Raj Nayak bets big on bold ideas with ‘House of IPs’ launch in tie-up with Yaap

    MUMBAI: Raj Nayak, the maverick media man behind House of Cheer and ex-COO of Viacom18, is back in the game with a fresh innings, ‘House of IPs’, a first-of-its-kind venture studio focused on creating and scaling blockbuster properties in entertainment, sports, digital, and beyond.

    Launched in strategic partnership with Yaap Digital, the new-age content and influencer marketing firm, House of IPs is being positioned as a creative powerhouse for India’s experience economy building original, ownable formats from scratch while also turbocharging existing ones.

    Think of it as a factory for future cult brands: be it music festivals, sporting formats, branded content, or digital-first properties, the studio promises to take bold ideas from pitch decks to packed stadiums and everything in between.

    “At a time when content is fragmented, attention spans are shrinking, and brands are seeking more immersive and ownable experiences, the need for strong, scalable IPs is more urgent than ever,” said Nayak. “This venture is about building cultural properties that connect deeply with audiences while delivering real value to brands and platforms.”

    The tie-up brings together Nayak’s deep industry muscle and storytelling savvy with Yaap’s fluency in the digital matrix and monetisation models. The joint effort will cover content development, strategic brand advisory, commercialisation, and full-stack IP management.

    Atul Hegde, Founder of Yaap, added, “At Yaap, we’ve always believed in the power of IPs to build lasting brand equity. Partnering with Raj  to launch House of IP is a natural extension of our vision. With his creative leadership and our digital-first DNA, we’re excited to co-create iconic, scalable properties that will redefine how brands engage with culture and communities.”

    With offices in the works across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Dubai, House of IPs is betting that in a world hooked to moments and memories, the real power lies in owning the story.

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  • Ignitee Digital bags the digital duties for Breakthrough

    Ignitee Digital bags the digital duties for Breakthrough

    MUMBAI: Breakthrough, a global human rights organisation, has appointed Ignitee Digital to prevent violence and discrimination against women by transforming the norms and cultures that enable it.

     

    Through this association, Breakthrough seeks to leverage the digital media platforms to educate the audience by establishing meaningful conversations and building a critical mass of change agents worldwide. By building an active presence on social media through its collaboration with Ignitee, Breakthrough intends to build a Breakthrough Generation—whose bold collective action will deliver irreversible impact on the issue of violence against women.

     

    Launched in 2000 by Indian-American human rights activist and cultural entrepreneur Mallika Dutt, Breakthrough has expanded online with a view to serve as a common platform for women’s general well-being, building a support network and advocate for gender equality and women’s rights.

     

    Ignitee has been appointed by Breakthrough to manage the #Selfies4School digital campaign to create a platform through which users can upload selfies and promote the campaign on their social media profiles.

     

    “At Breakthrough our aim is to make human rights real and relevant to everyone by creating innovative, relevant multimedia and pop culture that bring human rights issues and values into the mainstream. The Breakthrough – Vodafone Foundation Selfies4School is a call to educated, urban men and women to join our effort to delay the early marriage of girls till they attain legal age. Even today, one in two brides in India are married before they are 18. Globally too, three million girls are brides by the age of 15, if they were to stay in school, the number of child brides would reduce by half a million. By sending in your selfie to join this campaign, you will not only ensure the resources to support the right to education for girls, but also endorse the courage of these girls to fight against odds like poverty, gender discrimination and child marriage to realise their dreams,” said Breakthrough India VP and country director Sonali Khan.

     

    “To lead this transition, Ignitee has been the best choice as it has worked as an integrated partner with several NGO’s and has a deep understanding about their operations and objectives. Ignitee Digital’s integrated service offering that varies from social media optimisation to online reputation management along with unique creative campaigns which will help establish customer engagement in Breakthrough’s initiatives,” she added.

     

    The Ignitee team is also responsible to revamp the Breakthrough website which will focus on how the users can join hands with Breakthrough and work with them. Through this website, Ignitee aims to create innovative, relevant multimedia tools and programmes—from short animations to long-term leadership training—that reach individuals and institutions where they are, inspiring and equipping them to build a world in which all people enjoy their human rights. With an active presence online and a revamped website, Breakthrough will be able to engage with its followers and registered users, send them relevant invites for events based on their location and other parameters.

     

    Ignitee CEO Atul Hegde said, “We are extremely delighted to be associated with Breakthrough and look forward to support the campaigns with Ignitee’s expertise in the digital space. We are looking at building engaging content which will help bring a notable positive difference to the lives of all women and lead to a better society to live in. We, at Ignitee, will create unique and innovative campaigns reflecting the needs of the users and connect with them on a personal level by providing useful information to users and encourage them to join in the various initiatives.”

     

    Ignitee had previously been associated with cause marketing initiative like Be Brave (Godfrey Phillips India) and NGO like YouWeCan (Yuvraj Singh Foundation).

  • Ignitee Digital launches Social IQ

    Ignitee Digital launches Social IQ

    MUMBAI: Ignitee Digital, a To The New group company, has announced the launch of Social IQ, an integrated social CRM offering.

     

    The solution is designed to enable brands to harness the power of social media beyond advertising and derive tangible business performance.

     

    Ignitee Digital CEO Atul Hegde said, “The penetration of social media across all demographics of consumers has created a huge opportunity for brands and organisations to use social media for business. To The New developed Social IQ after much research and feedback and Ignitee Digital is well positioned to deliver this using our innovative SMACK services and proprietary technology platform.”

     

    Social IQ’s business framework offers an industry-leading bouquet of 25 end-to-end social CRM use cases ranging from strategy, engagement, response management, creative, content and analytics, underpinned through a strong layer of technology. Social IQ will leverage social platforms to empower various business functions including product innovation, sales & marketing and customer experiences, as brands seek to become more relevant to the social and mobile first consumer.

     

    To The New is bringing this solution across APAC markets through its group companies, Techsailor in Singapore and Ignitee Digital in India.

  • To The New raises Rs 750 mn from Four Cross Media

    MUMBAI: To The New, the company which holds Ignitee Digital Services, Tangerine and Intelligrape, has raised Rs 750 million from Four Cross Media.

    The investment will be made in the India operations of To The New over a period of three years.

    To The New said it will employ the renewed investments in further cementing its position in the Indian digital marketing industry by investing in people, technology, brand and infrastructure.

    With the fresh corpus of investment from Four Cross Media, To The New said it will target revenues of Rs 25 billion over the next three years.

    Looking for strategic acquisitions for growth, To The New had acquired Ignitee Digital Services in 2011.

    Four Cross Media co-founder Puneet Johar said, “There has been a burgeoning demand for digital services in India over the last couple of years and we see this market rapidly growing. As Indian consumers spend more time online, we are seeing many more businesses working this to their advantage. We aim to strengthen the ‘To The New’ brand so that it becomes the partner of choice for businesses which have the strategic intent of reinventing themselves for the digital consumer.”

    Four Cross Media is known for its investments in the Indian and ASEAN region. Since its inception, Four Cross Media has invested Rs 350 million in building the Indian business operations of To The New from ground-up and growing the organisation organically and through various strategic acquisitions.

    Ignitee Digital Services CEO Atul Hegde commented, “We are delighted to be a part of the TO THE NEW network. With a young and enthusiastic group of individuals and global domain experts, we are confident that we will be able provide world-class service delivery to our clients in India. We will focus on investing in developing the right skill-sets as we find innovative ways to develop and execute campaigns for our clients.”

    Founded in 2010, To The New offers a comprehensive range of digital services across marketing, media, content and technology.

    Through its various business units, To The New collectively manages the mandates for around 50 clients in India, across diverse sectors including BFSI, automobiles, e-commerce, FMCG/retail, hospitality and media and entertainment.

    To The New currently employs 300 people in India across its business units. As the industry continues to flourish, it is expected to ramp up the talent pool to 600 professionals in the next two years.

  • Ignitee bags American Swan’s Rs 200 million digital biz

    MUMBAI: Ignitee Digital Services has been awarded the digital mandate of global online and lifestyle brand American Swan. The digital agency will undertake to establish a strong digital footprint for American Swan in the growing Indian lifestyle and fashion segment.

    Ignitee has developed the corporate website for American Swan and will now manage the brand‘s social media campaigns and communication across assets including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and You Tube.

    Additionally, Ignitee will also manage the digital media planning and buying for the brand across platforms.

    Ignitee said that the size of the account is Rs 200 million.

    Ignitee Digital Services CEO Atul Hegde said, “The fashion and lifestyle segment in e-commerce has shown the largest growth this year, it‘s a crowded but very exciting space to be in. American Swan with its globally designed products is uniquely placed to leverage this booming trend online. Ignitee will put all its might in making American Swan among the premier fashion brand online.”

    The American Swan Lifestyle Company director and CEO Anurag Rajpal said, “The American Swan brand has been conceived and developed to be Aspirational, Accessible and Affordable. We aim for a differentiation through our brand proposition and positioning to offer affordable luxury to an aspiration-led audience that seeks international quality and fashion.

    “Going further, we want to give our customers the opportunities to interact and engage with the brand on the Digital and Social Media platforms. We want to bring our target audience closer to the brand through our digital activities and for this we have brought Ignitee Digital on board. Ignitee has been one of the key players in the digital marketing arena and their expertise and ingenious thinking will surely help the brand to reach its zenith.”

  • Ignitee Digital appoints Jaya Bhatia as director – West

    MUMBAI: Digital marketing agency Ignitee Digital has appointed Jaya Bhatia as the director – West.

    In her new role, she will formulate strategy for business development in an effort to drive profitable growth for the west region.

    She will be responsible for building the corporate identity of Ignitee and acquiring new business.

    Ignitee CEO Atul Hegde said, “We are extremely delighted to welcome Jaya Bhatia to the Ignitee family. Jaya brings with her immense expertise in new business development and will facilitate the growth and development of Ignitee Digital. Jaya has the ideal combination of experience, skills and talent to guide Ignitee Digital and drive the company‘s strategic vision and execution.”

    Bhatia said “I am indeed elated to be part of the core team (at Ignitee) and contribute to some of the best brands in the country. As director – West, I look forward to working with Ignitee‘s talent pool and assist Ignitee Digital in every step to become the greatest digital agency in the country.”

    Bhatia has over a decade of experience in the marketing and advertising industry in the traditional as well as the digital medium. With new business development being her forte, she will be responsible for steering Ignitee‘s business to the next level and broadening Ignitee‘s incredible client portfolio.

    She has previously worked as the VP- new business at Digital Law & Kenneth before which she had worked as an associate director, account planning and services at BC Web Wise.

    Early in her career she has worked as an account planner and servicing at Seamless Connections in 2000 and as a project supervisor at Ogilvy & Mather in 1998.

  • Ignitee wins Anchor Electrical’s digital mandate

    MUMBAI: Panasonic‘s Anchor Electricals has appointed digital marketing agency Ignitee Digital to leverage the popularity of digital media platforms and cater to the young tech savvy audience.

    The agency will be responsible for developing a comprehensive online presence and positioning Anchor and Panasonic as a young, contemporary brand for electrical accessories. This is Anchor‘s first step in the digital and social media space.

    With changing demographics and landscape of the internet in India, Anchor intends to engage with the ever expanding internet user base in India. With a portfolio of over 3000 products, Anchor Electricals has established itself as a trusted household brand and it plans to replicate this success in the digital world through knowledge dissemination, customer servicing and community build up.

    Ignitee Digital Services CEO Atul Hegde said, “We are delighted to have a brand like Anchor and Panasonic in our portfolio. Not many brands in this category have leveraged the digital medium in a big manner, and we are confident that we would be setting many ‘firsts‘ in this space for this category. We have planned a series of digital activities through the year and will lead in with a unique social media community”

    Anchor Electricals joint managing director Dinesh Aggarwal said, “As digital and social media have been growing at rapid pace, we felt the need to engage with our customers and our Community of Architects, Consultants and Interior designers online. To lead this transition, Ignitee has been the best choice as it has successfully demonstrated a strong online presence for a host of brands across industries. We hope to support our market leadership with Ignitee‘s expertise in the digital world!”

  • Ignitee GM Sreekant quits

    MUMBAI: R. Sreekant has quit Ignitee Digital Solutions as general manager – new business development.

    Sreekant‘s last day at the digital marketing and media agency was 5 October.

    Confirming his movement to Indiantelevision.com, Sreekant said, “Yes, I have quit the agency. It has been a great learning experience at Ignitee. During my stint, we won Maruti and have done some great work for them.”

    Talking about his next venture, he added, “I haven‘t decided anything yet. I have couple of options in digital and off-line and I am contemplating on which one to choose.”

    Ignitee CEO Atul Hegde said, “Sreekant has had an excellent innings with us. He has worked across functions and we wish him all the best wherever he goes.”

    His responsibilities at Ignitee include pitching for new business or clients for online communications and providing 360 degree solution in online space – creatives, search, search marketing, media plan / buy, social media and Online Reputation Management (ORM).

    Sreekant has over 11 years of experience in the industry. He had joined Ignitee in 2009. Prior to joining Ignitee, he had also worked with Hello FM 106.4, TV9 and The Times Of India.

  • Ignitee appoints Ranjoy Dey as COO

    MUMBAI: Ignitee Digital Services, a digital marketing and media agency, has appointed Ranjoy Dey as the chief operating officer.

    Based in Ignitee’s Gurgaon office, Dey will be managing the business across the offices of Ignitee in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

    He will be responsible to lead all aspects of marketing and operations for Ignitee, aligning the marketing strategy and brand positioning for the company’s growth in the evolving digital advertising industry.

    Dey will report to Ignitee CEO Atul Hegde.

    Hegde said, “Ranjoy joins Ignitee as we continue to expand, and offer our best practices to customers. We are very focused on bringing great value across our digital products and solutions, and Ranjoy’s appointment is central in helping us to achieve this. With his vast experience in successfully creating and delivering interactive marketing solutions and effectively managing diverse resources, he is the ideal person to help us achieve our growth goals and country-wide consolidation.”

    Dey added, “I am excited to take up this role as the growth driver for Ignitee. Ignitee has been doing some amazing work for their clients and the time is right to expand the business when clients are looking at differentiated marketing solutions while enhancing their digital footprint.”

    Dey brings in over 18 years of experience in sales and marketing. His last stint was with Publicis Groupe’s Digitas India as SVP. He has handled clients like Nestle, Reckitt Benckiser, ITC, Samsung, Audi, Volkswagen, Dabur, Axis Bank and JK Tyres at Digitas India. Prior to joining Digitas India, he had also taken up roles to set up and lead e-Marketing and CRM functions from scratch in IT and eLearning companies.