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Tag: Avinash Pant

  • WhatsApp’s privacy campaign ‘It’s coming home’ brings new TVC with star badminton player HS Prannoy

    WhatsApp’s privacy campaign ‘It’s coming home’ brings new TVC with star badminton player HS Prannoy

    Mumbai: On Friday, WhatsApp announced the launch of a new film under its privacy campaign in India. The campaign is focused on message privacy and WhatsApp’s interlocking layers of protection that come together to offer users more control and privacy over their conversations.

    Conceptualised by WhatsApp and directed by Jess Kohl, the second film under the campaign “It’s coming home” features Indian badminton player HS Prannoy, who created history by winning the Thomas Cup title in May this year.

    The film brilliantly depicts the value of privacy and how the team’s WhatsApp group, cleverly named “It’s coming home,” provided them with a secure, private setting where they could not only plan their strategy but also express their emotions in times of self-doubt.

    The film focuses on WhatsApp’s privacy features, such as end-to-end encrypted video calls, privacy settings like last seen, and hidden online presence, which guarantee users the privacy and security to share their most vulnerable moments and life-altering dreams, empowering them to live their dreams in private until they are ready to be shared with the rest of the world.

    The film comes after WhatsApp’s earlier-in-August launch of a global brand campaign that emphasised the messaging app’s built-in layers of privacy protections added over time and how various privacy features enable and empower people to have meaningful conversations in their most vulnerable moments.

    Embed Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCsz33JHUVk

    Speaking about the campaign, Meta India director of marketing Avinash Pant said, “WhatsApp’s mission is to connect the world privately and this campaign highlights the multiple ways we defend privacy so users can feel free and confident with their messages. Through this film, we want to celebrate our national champions who brought home the coveted Thomas Cup and demonstrate how WhatsApp provided them a safe space where they felt empowered to have private conversations even during vulnerable moments because they knew their messages were always protected and secure, no matter where they were. We want to show people the closeness that’s possible with WhatsApp’s built-in layers of protection without compromising on the assurance of privacy and personal space to live your dreams in private until they’re ready to be shared with the world.”

    Commenting on the film, Prannoy said, “Being a part of the Thomas Cup squad was an honour, and I knew to win the title as a team, we had to communicate as a team and go through those moments of hardship, emotional vulnerability, and self-doubt together. WhatsApp was that safe space for us where we could have conversations, strategize and share our most private moments, thoughts and ambitions away from the public eye. Every time I looked at the WhatsApp group name “It’s coming home” it gave me the confidence and fervour to make my dreams a reality. In a country that loves cricket, my dream was to make people love badminton as much as I do and to inspire the next generation of players to believe in themselves and the sport.”

  • Metaverse is an incredible opportunity infront of marketers currently: Meta India marketing director Avinash Pant

    Metaverse is an incredible opportunity infront of marketers currently: Meta India marketing director Avinash Pant

    Mumbai: Things are moving towards an immersive connection, which is being powered by technology. One can share an incredible amount of information with an incredible frequency. The metaverse will change our conception of the world’s businesses, industries, brands, and creators. Some devices can help you get there, but more technology will come.

    At The Advertising Club’s third edition of D:CODE Meta India, marketing director Avinash Pant enlightened the audience about the evolution of social connections and the exponentially growing metaverse space, empowering meaningful experiences.

    He said, “Metaverse will take what we love about the internet today, which is about connecting with someone not present in the physical space, and take it to another new level. This is an incredible opportunity in front of marketers.”

    A “metaverse,” he added, is a set of interconnected digital experiences that are able to make you feel present. One can do this from any device, with anyone and anywhere. But the myth he burst is that it is a dystopian reality where people are engrossed in headsets and are completely removed from the real world. That is not the case.

    All technologies put together will make things real and present. There will be a virtual home or many homes. There will be many social experiences. One could work with colleagues in the metaverse. The metaverse does not have to be a representation in the virtual world of one’s physical world. It does not have to follow any of those rules of time, space, or physics. He continued, “The ability to create incredible experiences provides a fascinating opportunity in terms of creativity, storytelling, brand narrative, and commerce.”

    He expects avatars to be synonymous with our digital identity. One way to think about today is that the digital identity is the Instagram handle. Ten years ago, it was an email address. The expectation is that, in time, the avatar will become the digital identity. How do you make it lifelike and more representational? How can it help you present yourself in the digital world? These are things to be considered by digital marketers.

    Felt presence, he said, is one of the concepts of the metaverse. One can be with a friend at a concert through things like a hologram or VR. It will provide an incredible personal social feeling, but you can also share that experience. Even in a professional environment, you can do your dream job while sitting anywhere.

    He further noted that Meta has a workroom product. You feel present because you see someone’s body language, get an idea of their expressions, and how they react as well. The potential this has in commerce is huge. When a consumer can fully immerse himself in an experience, it becomes a powerful tool for a brand.

    But it’s not just about showing off a physical product. He explained that if consumers are living in that reality, then brands have to rethink the concept of who they are. What is the business the brand is in? There is much more significant potential. The metaverse is not predicated on 2D screens. A more immersive setup is possible.

    He gave the example of helping students understand concepts like the solar system better. Meta has done work with the CBSE in this regard regarding the curriculum. He feels that Meta has a fantastic foundation in terms of technology and the platforms that it has built. The work being done in communities, creators, and commerce puts it in a great position to leverage the metaverse. The idea of community itself is evolving. On the creator side, Meta is doing a lot of work to build the creator economy. Also, the idea of storytelling is evolving. People want to interact with content, play with it, not just consume it.

    He also gave the examples of Instagram Reels and AR. In terms of commerce, he said that there was a time when if one had to buy something, you would walk over to the market. Then you started searching online. Today, it has moved from search and buy to discover and buy. People discover brands and services on social media. This spells a massive opportunity when you connect the dots to the metaverse. As a brand, you have to think about it to power demand. Digital collectibles are being unlocked on Meta. All this is coming to bear at a super speed. The ecosystem will be revamped.

  • Facebook celebrates the possibilities of connections with ‘More Together’

    Facebook celebrates the possibilities of connections with ‘More Together’

    NEW DELHI: Facebook has launched a new phase of its consumer marketing campaign in India – ‘More Together’. This phase marks the first anniversary of Facebook’s consumer marketing journey in the country, a key strategic focus area for the company, and continues to celebrate the power of connections and communities, and how people can do more together than alone.

    Facebook India director- marketing Avinash Pant said, “Facebook is deeply entrenched in the cultural fabric of India. The ability to connect and share with the world can lead to endless possibilities, and we feel humbled with the stories where our family of apps have provided this value to the people. Our consumer marketing journey over the past year has been focused on showcasing these diverse stories with the underlying belief that people can do more together than alone, and we continue to rally behind it.”

    The 360-degree campaign has been conceptualised and executed by Taproot Dentsu and Dentsu Webchutney and will go live in multiple languages across TV, digital, print, radio and OOH.  

    Taproot Dentsu Executive Creative Director Pallavi Chakravarti explained, “People want to be more, experience more, inspire more, help more, relax more, shine more – it’s in our DNA, this need to do more for ourselves and indeed for the world we live in. Facebook is a means to that end – a place where people come together resulting in delightful, sometimes entirely unexpected outcomes. This campaign will capture many such stories and trace the trajectories of people like you and me, who shared something with the world and got so much more back in return.”

    As part of the campaign, Facebook will leverage the power of its platform extensively to bring these inspirational stories to life and has partnered with Dentsu Webchutney to craft the creative strategy and communication across digital and social media including a digital campaign #FBPePoocho highlighting how people can get support and solutions by reaching out to their connections on Facebook. 

    Dentsu Webchutney vice president GD Prasad said, “On Facebook, everyone is just a conversation or comment away from unlocking the potential of achieving more together. With #FBpePoocho, we are celebrating the power of community. Our aim is to encourage people to activate their network, and in the process, help themselves and others grow. We've done this through interesting, everyday stories of people who've come together through the platform to realise impactful, incredible outcomes.”

  • Facebook launches another phase of More Together campaign

    Facebook launches another phase of More Together campaign

    NEW DELHI: Facebook has launched the next phase of its ‘More Together’ campaign in India ahead of the much-awaited cricket and festive season. The campaign underlines the brand belief that people can do more together than alone.

    Facebook unveiled its first ‘More Together’ campaign in India earlier this year with an objective to showcase how people across the country can do more together by harnessing the power of their connections on the platform. The underlying theme of the campaign was further amplified by real stories about how people came together on Facebook during the lockdown to help and support one another which was reflected in the second phase of the campaign. As we move closer to the widely celebrated cricket and festive season in the country, the latest phase showcases the power of connections and people coming together to help, support and celebrate with each other. 

    Read more news on Facebook

    Speaking about the campaign, Facebook India director-marketing Avinash Pant  said, "Over the last few months we have witnessed really powerful stories of how people came together through our platforms to face and conquer challenges during these unprecedented times. Our last two phases of the More Together campaign were a testament to this collective power. As we head into the festive season that's set to be unique this year, we wanted to highlight how our collective actions can create beautiful outcomes. We hope people are inspired by these stories, and see a world made better when they come together".

    The campaign will have four 30 second films over the course of the tournament and will be available in 6 languages. The first film showcases a girl making a post on Facebook expressing her desire to bring the cheerful atmosphere of a live cricket match into her house. This gets all her friends enthused and the excitement spreads.  And just like that, we see a jersey manufacturer getting a big order. 

    The core campaign has been conceptualized and executed by Taproot Dentsu, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India. 

    Talking about the inspiration behind the campaign Taproot Dentsu  senior creative director  Neeraj Kanitkar explains, “Our previous campaign told stories of people using Facebook to really look after each other. The upcoming cricket season presented us an opportunity to tell new stories- of the profound power of small but collective actions on Facebook which could lead to a deep and meaningful change in the lives of so many. We will keep rolling out such stories through the duration of the tournament, serving as an inspiration to people to keep sharing their ideas on the platform. And hopefully set in motion the wonderful consequences of people coming together.”

  • Facebook celebrates the power of people coming together to support one another in the next phase of its consumer marketing campaign for India

    Facebook celebrates the power of people coming together to support one another in the next phase of its consumer marketing campaign for India

    India, August 01, 2020: Facebook today launched the next phase of its consumer marketing campaign in India – ‘More Together’, to showcase how people across the country can do more together by harnessing the power of their connections on the platform – even more so in the current situation The latest campaign is inspired by real stories and celebrates the people who came together in these trying times to help and support one another.

    As a part of Facebook’s priority of transparently communicating the role its services play in the world, the ‘More Together’ campaign showcases stories that celebrate and highlight the power of connections. The campaign includes four 30 second films featuring young parents, grandparents, two roommates and a doctor and depicts how they found support through their connections to help each other during these extraordinary times.

    Speaking about the campaign, Avinash Pant, Director-Marketing, Facebook India, said, “At the core of this campaign is our brand belief that people can do more together than alone. Over the last several months, all of us have seen and heard many stories of people across India that have been the embodiment of this idea. People who were once strangers, connected with one another through Facebook, and together addressed many challenges that have surfaced in recent times. Through this campaign, we are shining a spotlight on the real stories that have inspired us, and hope more and more of our consumers will recognise that people are indeed each other’s best resources. Sometimes all you need to do is reach out to the world”.

    The core campaign has been conceptualized and executed by Taproot Dentsu, the creative agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India. As part of the campaign, Facebook will leverage the power of its platform extensively to bring stories to life and has partnered with Dentsu WebChutney to craft the creative strategy and communication across digital and social  media.

    Talking about the inspiration behind the campaign Pallavi Chakravarti, Executive Creative Director, Taproot Dentsu explains, “When it came to looking out for each other in the months gone by, we found that Facebook was a vehicle. People were the fuel. This is the simple truth the campaign tries to capture. When times are tough, we truly can do more together than we can alone.”

    Agency credits:

    ●        Co-Founder, Taproot Dentsu and Creative Chairperson, Dentsu Aegis Network India: Agnello Dias

    ●        Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer: Santosh Padhi

    ●        Chief Executive Officer: Umesh Shrikhande

    ●        Executive Creative Director: Pallavi Chakravarti

    ●        General Manager: Ayesha Ghosh

    ●        Head of Strategic Planning: Shashank Lanjekar

    ●        Senior Creative Director: Neeraj Kanitkar

    ●        Group Head (Copy): Gauri Burma

    ●        Account Supervisor: Ana Iman

    ●        Associate Vice President: Radhika Sabherwal

    Film credits:

    Equinox Films

    ●        Director: Sandeep Modi

    ●        Executive Producer: Manoj Shroff

    ●        DOP: Mikhaeil Shah

    ●        Production Designer: Anna Ipe

    ●        Directors Assistant: Nisarg Vaidya

    ●        Costumes: Maiti Shahani

  • Facebook Announces New Communications Head for India

    Facebook Announces New Communications Head for India

    March: Facebook today announced that it has recruited a new communications head to lead its growing corporate communications and public relations mandate in India. Bipasha Chakrabarti will take on the role of Communications Director at Facebook India, and will be a part of the India leadership team, reporting to Ajit Mohan.

    Bipasha comes with eighteen years of experience working with leading tech brands and PR agencies. In her last assignment as the Head of Corporate Communications at Cisco India and SAARC, she not only led the entire gamut of communications, including analyst, technology, and corporate communications, but also managed leadership and executive communications for the office of APJC President. Prior to Cisco, Bipasha was with Sun Microsystems. As part of her new role, she will lead the communications charter for both Facebook and Instagram in India.

    The announcement comes just a month after Facebook announced the hiring of Avinash Pant as the Marketing Director at Facebook India to drive the company’s consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps. Just a year ago, Facebook had also announced a new leadership structure in India bringing the company’s functions under Ajit Mohan, reporting directly to its headquarters in Menlo Park.

    Said Ajit Mohan, VP and MD of Facebook India, “Communications is a critical function for us as we continue to build Facebook’s story in India. We are grateful for the trust that our users, advertisers, partners, and the government have placed in us, and are committed to communicating openly and transparently. Bipasha is among the most seasoned communication professionals in the country and I am very excited to have her join us and lead this charter.”

    Over the course of last year, Facebook has spearheaded several India-focused initiatives with a strong focus on fueling entrepreneurship, boosting digital skilling, and breaking the gender imbalance on the Internet.

    In the last few months, Facebook has recruited for key roles across multiple functions such as Marketing, Sales, Partnerships, and Policy. Consistent with the new organization structure, several of these roles have been spread across the Facebook family of apps.

  • Facebook appoints Avinash Pant as marketing director for India

    Facebook appoints Avinash Pant as marketing director for India

    MUMBAI: Facebook today announced a new addition to its leadership team in India, which is driving the charter for the company’s deepening focus in the country. The latest addition to the India leadership team is Avinash Pant, who will take on the role of Marketing Director at Facebook India. 

    The role of Marketing Director will be a new one at Facebook India, with the mandate to drive the company’s consumer marketing efforts across the family of apps, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Pant comes with twenty-two years of experience working with leading consumer brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, The Walt Disney Company, and most recently, Red Bull. In his last assignment as the India Marketing Director at Red Bull, he was responsible for building the brand in India, especially amongst the youth, through unique partnerships and content related to sports, music, and dance. Pant is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He will report to Ajit Mohan, Vice President and Managing Director, India. 

    The announcement comes a year after Facebook announced a new leadership structure in India bringing the company’s functions under Ajit Mohan, reporting directly to its headquarters in Menlo Park. 

    Over the last year, the company has spearheaded several India-focused initiatives with a particular focus on fuelling entrepreneurship and breaking the gender imbalance on the Internet. ‘Boost with Facebook’ and the ‘VC Brand Incubator Program’ were aimed at accelerating the growth of SMBs. In 2019, Facebook also made its first minority investment in a company, Meesho, a social-commerce venture empowering first-time entrepreneurs, especially women in small towns. The company also announced a tie-up with the Government of India’s Common Services Centre (CSC) to provide tools and training to more than 25,000 women in 3000 villages around the country. It was also a year when Facebook announced a ground-breaking partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC) that made it the exclusive digital content rights partner in the Indian subcontinent for ICC global events.

    Said Facebook India VP and MD Ajit Mohan, “We’ve been working towards deepening our mission to build empowered communities, form stronger local partnerships, create economic opportunities for SMBs and entrepreneurs to grow in India, and, to do our part to break the gender imbalance on the Internet. Consumer marketing is a new strategic area of focus for Facebook and one where we will dramatically increase our investment in communicating directly to consumers. Avinash is one of the best marketers in the country, and am delighted that he is joining us on this exciting charter to shape the voice of Facebook’s family of apps in India.”
    In the last few months, Facebook has recruited for key roles across multiple functions such as Marketing, Sales, Partnerships, and Policy. Consistent with the new organization structure, these roles have been spread across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. 

    “We are dedicated to creating an environment where our people can be their authentic selves and unleash the power of their diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Teams at Facebook are focused on channeling that energy to be an ally to India in its exciting journey of transformation and growth,” added Mohan. 

  • Nike launches a digital campaign

    Nike launches a digital campaign

    MUMBAI: Be it any stadium, playground or a by-lane, children playing cricket is a common sight in the country where the sport is a religion.

    Playing on the same phenomenon, Nike has created a film called ‘Make Every Yard Count’. The film which is live on Nike’s facebook page was co-created with consumers through an active online participation and on-the-ground efforts. It has used over 1,440 crowdsourced action images of young cricketers in India who love the sport.

    Nike India marketing director Avinash Pant said, “At Nike, we understand that the cricket culture of this nation is not confined to team India and its players. It includes the millions of young cricketers who strive every day to be amongst the best tomorrow. This film is a dedication to each and every one of those young cricketers who relentlessly chase their dreams.”

    The campaign, which was launched on 22 February on Nike Cricket facebook and twitter, encouraged players all around the country to send in images and also involved over 100 photographers who travelled around the country to shoot young cricketers.

    The ‘Make Every Yard Count’ campaign aims to make the young cricketer the hero of the Nike film.

    Click here to watch the video

    The manifesto that captures the campaign idea best reads: ‘Yesterday was not good enough. Today is not over yet. Make Every Yard Count.’ 

    The digital film was created by JWT Bangalore and the song creation and sound design was done by Dhruv Ganekar and Taufiq Qureshi. 

  • Nike rolls out ‘Parallel Journeys’ campaign

    MUMBAI: Nike has launched a television campaign titled ‘Parallel Journeys‘. The ad campaign is a part of Nike‘s Bleed Blue campaign.

    The TVC has been created by JWT Bangalore. It has been directed by Abhinay Deo (RDP Films) with creative direction by Senthil Kumar (JWT).

    The TV campaign celebrates the millions of young cricket athletes in India who relentlessly pursue perfection in the sport, no matter where they are or on what field they play. It features a roster of the sport‘s best athletes, parallels the journey of hard work, training and dedication young cricketers take to achieve success, just as India‘s elite athletes do, the company said.

    Nike India marketing director Avinash Pant said, “Nike‘s ‘Parallel Journeys‘ captures the journey to perfection in the sport clearly demonstrating the passion and hunger of a new breed that will stop at nothing. In the true spirit of ‘Just Do it‘, a new generation of millions of young athletes can believe that one day they will be the voice of an entire nation.”

    According to the official communiqué, Nike‘s ‘Parallel Journeys‘ travels the length and breadth of the country capturing the determination, passion and aspiration through the eyes of every young cricket athlete. It also features a “dynamic” soundtrack inspired by the sounds that surround the street game in India by simply using nothing but voices.