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Tag: Ed-Tech

  • KAM Summit ’21- Decoding the digital native kid: How kids influence the decision-making process

    KAM Summit ’21- Decoding the digital native kid: How kids influence the decision-making process

    Mumbai: Children have become an important consideration for marketers when they plan promotions for products/services meant for family consumption. Marketers are weighing in on buying decisions on products and services beyond those meant for children.

    At the session, ‘Decoding the digital native kid: How kids influence the decision-making process’ held on the first day of the KAM Summit 2021, Kantar senior executive director Puneet Avasthi decoded what today’s children are all about and how do the little ones connect with the world around them in the current times. He dived deep into what kind of idioms and personality type do they actually aspire for and how technology impacts their decision-making.

    Decoding the digital native kid, Avasthi went on to explain how the Indian kid has evolved. He mentioned that the children are probably more tech-savvy than most of the other members of the house, hence a larger influence. “Kids are the key pillars of growth for a variety of digital sectors, including entertainment, edutech, gaming and influence that extends well beyond.”

    He further added, “Kids highly influence food (buying as well as what they eat) followed by household items and kids’ products. Parents allow the kids to dictate their media consumption. More than a third of TV viewing kids buy the product seen in the ad, if they like the ad.”

    At least 75 per cent of the time, the child’s sanction and permission is non-negotiable when shopping for them. Parents today dare not pick anything for their children without the approval of their kid. In circumstances where something was picked up without the child’s approval, they did not use the product at all in most cases. The emotional state of the kids is linked to their performance. Doing well in studies/sports makes them happy, confident, and proud; while doing bad in studies makes them sad.

    Instead of the child seeking approval, parents are seeking approval when it comes to buying anything for the house, like furniture. So, the shopping decisions of the kids these days go beyond food, clothes, and stuff meant for them. Parents rely a lot on children and the choices of the young ones go beyond simply picking products based on their favourite colour or cartoon. They decide what they like on the basis of their exposure to technology and the advertisements they watch. Avasthi went on to say that if at all there is a negotiation, “the child is the winner clearly.”

    At 33 per cent of the purchase decisions concerning buying cellphones are taken by kids, as Avasthi’s survey pointed out. Similarly, in 33 per cent of the cases, the little munchkins end up influencing their family’s decision to buy TV sets as well. 

    “Indian kids like affectionate and intelligent characters like Doraemon and Chota Bheem. So, if you want to aim at mass appeal for their age-group, do more sober, simple, and intelligent characters. Communicate with the kids. They are the buzz creators with lots of positivity and influence,” pointed out Avasthi.

    Kids prefer ads that are reality-based. Although kids like ads with their favourite celebrities, they may not always like the product. But, an interesting ad generates word of mouth. Although fitting in with a group of friends is important for more than half the kids, the majority of them don’t want to copy or blindly follow their friends. They are individualistic. 

    “Kids are very impressionable. One in three kids end up buying what they see in advertisements online or on television. Children have a strong influence on purchase of high value items for the household, besides merchandise they need,” Avasthi concluded.

    You can watch the session here from 50:02

  • Results and Outcomes onboards Anand Chakravarthy as co-founder

    Results and Outcomes onboards Anand Chakravarthy as co-founder

    Mumbai: Newly formed ed-tech firm Results and Outcomes on Thursday announced Anand Chakravarthy as co-founder of the company. He will work alongside founder Tarun Katial to design and deliver upskilling courses focused on areas impacted by digital transformation, for working professionals, the company said in a statement.

    Anand is a digital marketing & business leader with more than two decades experience of working across brands and businesses. With his diverse set of skills, he will help scale up the offerings from the company and drive future growth, it added.

    Speaking about his new role, Anand said, “I am thrilled to be a part of this venture and glad to be doing this with Tarun. Having worked in the digital marketing ecosystem, the impact of digital disruption on businesses and people is very evident. Results & Outcomes is focused on building distinctive courses for specific cohorts of working professionals. Our focus is on offering them genuine upskilling programs, creating value for both associates and organizations alike. With an exciting portfolio of courses coming up, focused on the future of work, I am looking forward to this journey.”

    Tarun Katial commented, “Anand’s depth of experience and expertise across digital marketing and media will be very beneficial for Results and Outcome. His inclusion to the company will help us explore various avenues and build a distinctive EdTech platform, for working professionals across the industry.”

  • upGrad names Shreyas Shevade as Head of Creative & Content Marketing for India

    Mumbai: Higher ed-tech start-up upGrad on Thursday announced the appointment of Shreyas Shevade as the head of creative and content marketing. Shreyas’s role will be to integrate upGrad’s brand messaging across traditional and new media.

    An award-winning creative professional, Shevade brings with him over 11 years of experience in integrated advertising, digital marketing, PR, and relationship marketing. He has previously worked with leading and multi-national agencies such as MRM//McCann, Edelman, Contract Advertising, Rediffusion Y&R, and Grey Worldwide.

    Through the course of his career, Shevade has crafted clutter-breaking campaigns for brands like Volkswagen, Durex, Surf Excel, Dove, Bajaj Allianz, and IndiaFirst Life Insurance, which have won several national and international awards.

    On welcoming Shreyas to his new role, upGrad, CEO-India, Arjun Mohan said, “Smartly-crafted branded content and storytelling skills have the potential to connect with audiences at an emotional level. Shreyas’s rich marketing experience and cultural inclination will help us strengthen our brand presence across the country. We are thrilled to welcome Shreyas to the upGrad family.”

    Talking about his new role, Shevade, said, “Edtech is at an interesting juncture of revolutionising education, changing the norms of how, where, when, and who it is made accessible to, and upGrad is at the helm of this revolution. The fact that upGrad’s philosophy of Lifelong Learning matches my own, and that I get to work closely with entrepreneurs I’ve admired from afar, is what I’m pumped about the most.”

    Inclined to the tradition of imparting knowledge and education even outside of work, Shreyas gives guest lectures at Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad. He also works with home-grown businesses within his networks, to guide and mentor them in their marketing initiatives, said the company in a statement.

  • Tata Studi shows the right way to learn in its new ad campaign

    New Delhi: E-learning application, Tata Studi has launched a new ad campaign, positioning the platform as a ‘perfect’ after-school coach for students.

    Conceptualised by Gozoop, the campaign – Padhne ka Sahi Tareeka (the right way to learn’ highlights the functionality of the application and showcases the science of learning that helps a child become an independent learner. The app also lets parents know how their child is performing, through a feature called ‘Progress Tracker’.

    Tata ClassEdge, chief- B2C, Sachin Torne said, “We want to enable students to plan and schedule their studies across different subjects, learn systematically instead of cramming and rote-learning and use effective study strategies to confidently face exams. There’s a science behind effective learning and Studi packs in some of the best principles from this science.”

    The ad series is aligned to emphasise on dedicated facets provided by Studi, which is part of the Tata group and caters to CBSE students of Class 1 to 8. The campaign was released on both electronic and online platforms.

    “Parents want their children to be more independent in their studies. They want them to experience more, get inspired more, shine more – Studi is a means to that end – a coach in the life of the child where he / she can learn concepts that last for long,” said Gozoop, group director, brand communications, Megha Ahuja. “This campaign will capture many such stories and trace the trajectories of children and parents like you and me, who can benefit from edutech learning, but in the right way. Our aim has been to capture the same story throughout.”

  • This Mother’s Day, Great Learning helps women reboot their career

    This Mother’s Day, Great Learning helps women reboot their career

    New Delhi: In a bid to encourage mothers to re-start their careers and return to work, ed-tech company Great Learning has rolled out the second edition of the #HerFreshStart campaign, this Mother’s Day.

    As a part of this initiative, the company will offer a scholarship of up to 50 per cent to selected mothers who can enroll in the choice of career-critical programs like data science, business analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, software engineering for data science, blockchain, IoT, management and digital marketing. 

    According to a report by KPMG, 58 per cent women feel less confident about returning to work post-pregnancy. The initiative aims to help such mothers on a career break by enabling them to regain confidence in their professional abilities through upskilling, said the company in a statement.

    Great Learning is inviting people to nominate mothers in their circle to comment on their posts on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with #HerFreshStart and tag Great Learning. The nominees can submit their form with a Statement of Purpose (SOP) with a brief introduction of their background and why they believe they deserve the scholarship. The nominations can be sent between 6 May and 10 May by visiting Great Learning’s social media channels – Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Mothers can also self-nominate themselves.

    “As a working mother myself, I am well versed with the challenges and responsibilities of wearing two hats. While motherhood is a journey, so is one’s career. At Great Learning, one of our many endeavors is to enable new moms to take charge of their career and continue to achieve greater heights professionally,” said Great Learning chief marketing officer Aparna Mahesh. “Through this campaign, we aim to do just that by providing an opportunity for mothers to resume their career by helping them hone their skills. Upskilling will enable mothers who are looking at re-starting their career as opportunities continue to open up in various fields.”

    The first edition of the #HerFreshStart campaign was launched last year amidst the onset of the pandemic and received applications from over 200 mothers out of which five mothers were provided scholarships.

  • Hero Group forays into edtech with ‘Hero Vired’

    Hero Group forays into edtech with ‘Hero Vired’

    New Delhi: Tapping into the booming ed-tech market, the Hero Group has launched a new ed-tech company – Hero Vired – to adequately train and empower the workforce of the future. The launch accompanied the release of its new brand campaign, Be Made for BIG Things, which went live on social media and OTT platforms.

    National award-winning actor Ashish Vidyarthi has lent his voice to the brand campaign, which attempts to showcase the importance of an end-to-end learning ecosystem for today’s workforce. It talks about how individuals have plans for their future that are larger than life, pushing them to try newer frontiers. “It is often this drive that sets them apart from the crowd. This is where Hero Vired will help individuals, learners and professionals to achieve them. The concept for this campaign was born from the fact that life is more than just another job,” stated the company during the launch.

    Hero Vired head of programs & marketing Sushma Bharath said, “We believe that there’s more to life than just another job, increment or a degree. We want to bridge the gap between learning and employability by ensuring our efforts result in the real transformation of life and ambitions. Be Made For BIG Things is a campaign that will inspire people to look beyond the subjects and see the possibilities of tomorrow.”

    AVDS founder and chief creative officer Arun Verma said, “Today's generation is not fixated on just another job title, salary or designation. They are looking for a larger purpose and a reason for being. Show them a dream that adds a purpose to their life, beyond just a career or organisational growth and they will be all in, committed to your vision. That is what Hero Vired creates – youngsters who want to be made for the human race, not the rat race.”

    The film will be promoted across OTT platforms Disney+ Hotstar and Zee5 and social media platforms. It went live on YouTube on Tuesday evening.

  • upGrad promises #KaamKiDegree for MBA aspirants in new ad

    upGrad promises #KaamKiDegree for MBA aspirants in new ad

    NEW DELHI: Ed-tech company upGrad has come up with a new campaign called #KaamKiDegree to promote its MBA vertical. Conceptualised by The Womb, the ad taps into the surging demand for online upskilling amid the pandemic, and seeks to spread awareness on the importance of getting a degree which will help execs climb the corporate ladder to a better position and role.

    Shot remotely, the video reflects on the nostalgia of the quintessential childhood game of musical chairs. It highlights the dearth of seats for MBA degrees from ‘good’ universities, thereby reinforcing the brand positioning of Sirf Naam Ki Nahin, Kaam Ki Degree.

    The company’s previous campaign featuring a donkey was a big hit and generated quite a buzz on social media. The ad showed employees coming to lick a donkey – or an ass in other words – in hopes of pleasing him. The donkey symbolises the boss, who gave priority to sycophancy over talent. At the end, the protagonist refuses to lick the donkey and ends the film by saying that he needs specialisation, not ass-licking, to get ahead in his career.

    upGrad CEO – India Arjun Mohan said, “Our Donkey ad, owing to its bold messaging, was received well by our target audience and saw tremendous traction amongst users. We have also been able to translate the traffic into revenue, especially our management vertical which has seen an uptake for MBA programs.”

     The Womb co-founder Navin Talreja said, “It is a poignant take on the education system and admissions infrastructure in the country which is enabling the growth of the ed-tech industry. We believe it will connect with students who despite being good do not get opportunities to pursue their dream education.”

    Suyash Khabya, creative head at The Womb, added that the ad is rooted in culture and reality and offers one of the deepest insights to be seen in Indian advertising for a while. 

  • BYJU’S acquires ed-tech start-up WhiteHat Jr

    BYJU’S acquires ed-tech start-up WhiteHat Jr

    KOLKATA: BYJU’S, the leading ed-tech company, has announced that it has acquired Mumbai based ed-tech start-up, WhiteHat Jr.

    This partnership brings together two formidable brands: BYJU’S, with its unmatched breadth of offerings and creator of India’s most-loved school-learning app, and WhiteHat Jr., a hugely popular and unique coding platform. With coding fast emerging as a key skill for the future, this integration will help BYJU’S further expand its offerings in India. This acquisition will also accelerate BYJU’S US expansion plans. This partnership is timely with the Government of India pushing skills such as coding from early classes with the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

    After the acquisition, BYJU’S will make significant investments in WhiteHat Jr’s technology platform, product innovation while expanding the teacher base to cater to demand from new markets. WhiteHat Jr. Founder, Karan Bajaj will continue to lead and scale this business in India and the US.

    “We started WhiteHat Jr. to make kids creators instead of consumers of technology,” WhiteHat Jr founder Karan Bajaj explains. “Technology is at the centre of every human interaction today and we had set out to create a coding curriculum that was being delivered live and connected students and teachers like never before. Integration with a visionary company such as BYJU’S will help take this idea to new heights and help unleash the remarkable creative potential of kids at a global scale.”

    “WhiteHat Jr is the leader in the live online coding space. Karan has proven his mettle as an exceptional founder and the credit goes to him and his team for creating coding programs that are loved by kids. Under his leadership the company has achieved phenomenal growth in India and the US in a short span of time.” said BYJU’S founder and CEO Byju Raveendran says. 

    “Empowering children with the right future skills has always been part of our vision at BYJU’S and coding fits well into this. WhiteHat Jr’s coding product capabilities, combined with our pedagogy, expertise and scale, will help expand our learning offerings for school students.”,Raveendran adds.

    WhiteHat Jr had recently announced their plans to expand to other global markets like Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) after a stellar growth in the US for its one-to-one online coding classes. After launching their courses in the US, since February this year, the company is growing at more than 100% MoM in the country.

    Founded in November 2018, WhiteHat Jr. helps kids aged 6 to 14 years build commercial-ready games, animations and apps online using the fundamentals of coding. WhiteHat Jr. offers four levels of courses –

    Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Professional – for students in grades 1-9. Kids create complex games, animations and apps using logic, structure, sequence, commands and algorithmic thinking—in a live 1:1 online classroom. Early graduates of the course have created professional-ready apps downloadable on the App Store at ages as young as seven years old.

    Launched in 2015, BYJU’S is the leader in offering personalised learning programs for school students in India. With 64 million students cumulatively learning from the app, 4.2 million annual paid subscriptions and an annual renewal rate of 85%, BYJU’S has witnessed phenomenal growth. The app creates personalized learning programs for individual students based on their proficiency levels and capabilities which help them learn at their own pace and style. BYJU’S doubled its revenue from INR 1430 crore to INR 2800 crore in FY 19-20.

    Since the lockdown, BYJU’S has seen over 15 million new students start learning from its platform. With temporary closure of schools due to the ongoing pandemic, BYJU’S has become one of the only ways for students to continue learning. Last month, the company launched BYJU’S Classes, a comprehensive online tutoring program that addresses the need for personalised after-school learning solutions with scheduled engagement from India’s top teachers, live doubt solving and personalised mentoring. The company also launched learning programs for History, Civics and Geography. The company did over INR 500 crores in revenue last month.

  • OTT platforms go beyond entertainment to score consumers

    OTT platforms go beyond entertainment to score consumers

    KOLKATA: Over-the-top (OTT) platforms have come a long way in the country now. Around 2015, these services were mere apps to catch up on favourite television shows and stream live sporting events. Cut to 2020 and the discussion has evolved to whether OTT is a threat to TV. After a transition from catch-up content to premium originals, homegrown OTT platforms are now heading in the direction of being a one-stop shop. 

    In the last few months, many OTT platforms have enhanced their content catalogue, delving into segments like education and gaming. At the beginning of the year, ZEE5 announced a partnership with Eduauraa. Later, more players like VOOT also took the ed-tech road especially during lockdown thanks to the online learning boom. 

    While streaming services were already bullish about ed-tech and gaming, the lockdown period pushed them into health and fitness content, accelerating the next transition of those players. Disney+ Hotstar forged partnerships with Brilliant Wellness, Cult.Fit and Sarva recently. Another player VOOT also partnered with Cult.Fit and Isha Foundation. 

    KPMG India media and entertainment partner and head Girish Menon says that most of the OTT players were already looking at this strategy but the post-Covid2019 change has accelerated it. 

    “Consumers have been engaging with OTT platforms in a significant manner rather than certain hours. The idea is to increase the number of hours on the app, reduce video churn and increase retention,”  Deloitte India partner Jehil Thakkar says.

    “For us, constantly enhancing and improving our catalogue is important so that our existing and new consumers constantly keep seeing something new and different on the platform,” Viacom18 AVoD business head Akash Banerji says.

    Banerji adds that merely enhancing the catalogue is of no value unless it is also relevant to customers and can drive higher engagement. Moreover, forging partnerships with premium partners is also an important aspect. “We wanted to give something more,” he sums up.

    "For any platform, offering good content is more important rather than focusing only on entertainment. The content can educate , inform, entertain consumers. While OTT space has been largely focusing on entertainment, we have to offer more to get consumers back on the platform. Everything a person can do online, we want him to do it on ZEE5," ZEE5 SVoD senior vice president and business head Rahul Maroli says.

    He also mentions that when they talk to B2B partners, the latter will partner with an entity where their customer will get entertainment, infotainment, education at the same place. Moreover, as consumer tastes evolve they start moving around new content and that leads to a stronger brand affinity.

    While both Banerji and Maroli said they want to “offer more”, they also want to get more consumers. 

    “They are definitely looking to build an offering which is more comprehensive than pure-play content. The idea is that if you have a consumer who is coming to your app for entertainment, are there other services you can provide to them which will ensure that he continues to spend time and builds on that,” KPMG’s Menon adds. According to him, these deals make sense as an extension of offering rather than starting a separate segment.

    While its an offering about consumption right now, commerce around core offering and other deals can also become the norm.