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Tag: Hypothesis

  • Hypothesis expands globally to empower brands to connect with international creators

    Hypothesis expands globally to empower brands to connect with international creators

    Mumbai: Only Much Louder’s tech business, the AI-powered influencer marketing tech, Hypothesis, is set to expand its global footprint after revolutionizing the Indian influencer market. Built with a borderless vision primed to cater to the diverse needs of a global user base, Hypothesis takes the next step to establish its presence in several key international markets by 2025.  In the first phase of global expansion, Hypothesis will be available in the Asia-Pacific region (Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand), Middle Eastern countries (Abu Dhabi, GCC nations, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar) as well as strategic locations in Africa (Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa) along with the USA. Hypothesis will collaborate with global brands and agencies, enabling data-driven influencer marketing strategies, ensuring maximum returns on audience engagement/conversion.

    Hypothesis is a futuristic solution to influencer marketing for brands and agencies. Created with the inherent purpose to serve a global audience, this tech tool has streamlined the influencer marketing process in India by bringing together discovery, outreach and analytics under one umbrella. Hypothesis has emerged as a game-changer in the Indian creator economy, enabling brands and agencies to tap into diverse markets, leveraging its data-backed metrics that optimize campaigns and overcome geographical and language barriers for brands and agencies. Besides, the platform’s advanced approach aligns perfectly with the evolving needs of the industry, empowering brands to excel in their global marketing efforts.

    OML’s strategic initiative to expand Hypothesis into diverse markets reflects a proactive approach to capitalize on the exponential growth of influencer marketing, which has experienced a remarkable CAGR of 33.4% in key regions such as Australia, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. Furthermore, the USA, Asia-Pacific, and the MENA region emerge as dominant players in the global influencer marketing landscape, driven by cutting-edge technologies and an increasing demand for data analytics. In such a landscape, to cater to the strong demand for innovative influencer marketing solutions, OML has strategically chosen these regions for Hypothesis’ global expansion recognizing their significant growth opportunities.

    As OML has ventured into international markets across South-East Asia, the Middle East & Africa, and Eastern Europe, the company has established a large network of trusted channel partners, including creators, creator management agencies, and agency partners. Combined with OML’s in-house team, the network of businesses will propel the accelerated expansion of Hypothesis across these global markets. Along this journey, OML remains open to exploring new collaborations and opportunities with companies that share a common vision of transforming influencer marketing.

    Hypothesis, OML – Sr VP – product & analytics Himani Agrawal said, “As brands and audiences alike are seeking authentic engagements from creators, data-driven insights have become the cornerstone of success in influencer marketing. At Hypothesis, we’re proud to cover these nuances by offering a comprehensive kit for creator evaluation using 100+ data points. From analyzing posting patterns to assessing the authenticity of engagements, we provide the ultimate tool needed for your marketing arsenal. All this is made even more convenient with our self-serve mode, empowering brands to initiate impactful influencer campaigns independently.”

    OML Entertainment CEO Gunjan Arya said, “As we embark on this exciting journey, we’ll closely monitor several key milestones. We are aiming to infiltrate these markets at the rate of five to ten per cent in the first year, establishing ourselves as a recognized player in these new territories. We’ll also track our customer acquisition rate, and hope for a 15-20% jump to assess our effectiveness in reaching new audiences. Besides, we aim to derive over 35% of revenue from our global expansion efforts. Finally, to foster a truly global community, our goal is to achieve half of our website and social media engagement from international audiences, propelling a transformation in the influencer economy with our SaaS product, Hypothesis.”

    For more than two decades, OML has been a leading network of businesses with extensive reach across artist management, influencer marketing, branded content, tech and development of original long-form content in over 22 countries. Recognizing the gap in scalable creator technology and services, OML created Hypothesis. Now, with Hypothesis’ global expansion in focus, the company aims to unlock doors for more brands and agencies worldwide, especially in key regions where the influencer marketing industry is thriving – to empower the creator economy.

  • Hypothesis to power Togglehead’s influencer marketing campaigns with AI solutions

    Hypothesis to power Togglehead’s influencer marketing campaigns with AI solutions

    Mumbai: Hypothesis, a comprehensive one-stop AI-enabled influencer marketing platform, has partnered with Togglehead, one of India’s leading independent digital agencies. Hypothesis will bolster Togglehead’s data-driven approach to execute the agency’s robust marketing campaigns. The partnership will see Hypothesis empower Togglehead to make proactive decisions and support the entire campaign management pipeline by serving as a central platform of information, insights and tools.

    Increasingly, more brands are considering working with creators and influencers as an integral part of their overall marketing strategy. However, in this largely unorganised space, agencies often find it daunting to discover the right talent that aligns with their clients’ brands. This is where Hypothesis comes in with its cutting-edge social prediction engine that enables agencies and brands to discover the right creator with detailed creator and audience filters, conduct outreach, and automate campaign performance tracking – all on one platform.

    The partnership between Hypothesis and Togglehead represents a significant step towards constantly evolving and innovating the agency’s approach to influencer marketing by simplifying and streamlining the complex process. Hypothesis will enable Togglehead to make smarter decisions by providing actionable insights across all facets of a marketing campaign.  This includes the ability to use advanced filters such as demographics, growth rate, and interest-based targeting to identify the most suitable influencers, automate creator and content recommendations, accurately forecast creator performance, and granular tracking of each content type and format – to optimise their client’s campaign ROI most efficiently.

    Hypothesis Sr VP – product & analytics Himani Agrawal said, “We are thrilled to partner with Togglehead, a fast-paced independent agency. By leveraging decades of knowledge gathered from bringing creators and brands together, we are committed to empowering Togglehead with an innovative AI-enhanced tool that focuses on enabling influencer marketing with data driven processes in a super easy to use interface. Hypothesis is a first-of-its-kind platform that tackles the pain point of limited access to verified creator information and the challenge of navigating through ‘the many’ to find ‘the one’. This, along with automated campaign tracking, makes it well positioned to save time and drive efficiencies in the entire influencer marketing journey.”

    Togglehead co-founder & director – digital business Aatef Bham added, “We are thrilled to announce our strategic partnership with Hypothesis, a cutting-edge AI-powered influencer marketing tool. At Togglehead, we’ve always been committed to staying at the forefront of digital innovation, and this collaboration with Hypothesis exemplifies that dedication.

    In the dynamic landscape of digital marketing, leveraging artificial intelligence is crucial to stay ahead of the curve. Hypothesis brings a new dimension to our influencer marketing team and capabilities, allowing our marketers to analyse and optimise campaigns with unprecedented precision. This collaboration empowers Togglehead to offer our clients a more strategic, data-driven approach to influencer marketing.”

    Through this partnership, Hypothesis will play a significant role in bringing a paradigm shift in the overall synergy between creators and agencies.

  • “Our resolution is to keep the world entertained, our clients at the core, artists at the centre”: OML Entertainment’s Tusharr Kumar

    “Our resolution is to keep the world entertained, our clients at the core, artists at the centre”: OML Entertainment’s Tusharr Kumar

    Mumbai: As we bid farewell to 2023, various companies are looking back at their journey this year. Amongst them, OML Entertainment stands tall, not just as one of the market leaders but as a profitable entity with a turnover exceeding 300 crores. From influencer marketing prowess to a rich legacy in artist management, OML’s two-decade journey unfolds with tales of global acclaim for talents like Zakir Khan, Janice Sequeria, and Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju. At the forefront of this evolution are interconnected verticals like Hypothesis, GCN, and 1862, weaving a narrative of innovation and success.

    Indiantelevision.com in conversation with OML Entertainment COO Tusharr Kumar spoke on their key USPs, their different approach in artist management, their journey in 2023, resolutions for 2024, and more…

    Edited Excerpts:

    On the journey of OML Entertainment since its establishment, and its key USPs

    Over the last 22 odd years, OML has been at the forefront of building and impacting POP culture in India.

    Our story began with managing independent music artists. We were one of the first to recognise a shift towards online consumption in the music scene and capitalise on it to challenge the traditional model where musicians had to rely only on record labels. We also gave India its first real music festival with the Bacardi NH7 Weekender establishing our live experiences business – going on to produce some of the biggest live experiences in India in India. Over time, OML expanded our artist roster beyond musicians to diverse genres like comedy, writing, directing, and more, alongside building unique IPs to enable different live and content platforms for our  talent

    In our journey to multiple media & entertainment businesses and over 300 crores revenue in F23, some key USPs that have helped us see this tremendous growth

    Artists at the core: We’ve always thought artist first and this has helped us build some of the most amazing live experiences like the Bacardi NH7 Weekender, produce the first Indian YouTube FanFest, create award winning shows like the Dewarist and Comicstaan.

    Power of digital: We’ve believed in the power of digital distribution since we started working with artists and have always recommended digital as a way to grow audiences. Whether 15 years ago it was recommending our artists to start giving away their music on YouTube to grow their community or building the largest slate of Indian comedy specials on OTT platforms

    The OML group ecosystem today spans business verticals across OTT content, artist management, three branded digital agency businesses and a martech product suite.

    On OML Entertainment approaching artist management differently in today’s ever-evolving entertainment landscape, and this approach contributing to the continued success and relevance of the talent under its representation

    One key differentiator is OML’s early engagement with artists. While managers generally sign artists at a later stage, OML gets involved early in their journeys and plays a crucial role in shaping their journey, expanding their fan base, and guiding their career trajectories from the outset. It also provides its artists with greater financial and artistic control – encouraging them to concentrate on their craft. Our proactive artist-first approach underscores OML’s commitment to keeping artists at the core of its business.

    The collaborative process between OML and its artists aims to bridge the gap between artistic vision and the resources needed for success. This is further demonstrated by the development of Hypothesis, a platform to help businesses and creators manage and optimize in the fast-paced and evolving influencer marketing space. It reflects OML’s dedication to staying on top of industry trends and contributing significantly helping brands and businesses succeed.

    On OML Entertainment leveraging technology to stay at the forefront of the entertainment industry

    OML recognised the synergy between brand awareness and audience connection, driven by social media proliferation and the vast number of active influencers globally. To capitalise on this and streamline the process of identifying the right creators aligned with brands, it strategically introduced its flagship technology, Hypothesis. Hypothesis is a comprehensive end-to-end solution to address the challenges of the creator economy and revolutionise it. The technology has further evolved with its latest cutting-edge feature, DiscoveryOS, designed to facilitate unparalleled brand collaborations, content creation, and genuine audience interaction.

    As an industry pioneer, OML intends to push the boundaries of influencer marketing by embracing new-age technology. With Hypothesis, it envisions a future that sets new standards for brands and creators to coexist and grow together.

    On Hypothesis distinguishing and partnering with individuals who not only cut through the noise but also genuinely connect with their audience, ensuring impactful collaborations for brands

    To navigate social media where so many people now are creating great content and reaching unique audiences, Hypothesis utilises advanced analytics and algorithms beyond mere follower count. It considers audience engagement metrics, including likes, comments, shares, and overall engagement rates. This cutting-edge platform offers a data-backed approach to influencer discovery, ensuring brand safety and authenticity.  Brands identify trending and upcoming influencers based on their growth rate, previous brand collaborations or audience affinity, fostering impactful and result-driven marketing campaigns.

    The platform also goes beyond quantitative measures to focus on qualitative aspects of content. It assesses the content by potential influencers to ensure it aligns with a brand’s values and target audience and resonates with the brand’s messaging and goals. This enables brands to nurture meaningful and impactful collaborations in the ever-evolving landscape of social media influence.

    On OML Entertainment’s journey in 2023 and the key milestones or special moments that it captured this year

    In a nutshell, 2023 was an exciting and eventful year for OML Entertainment and we were able to achieve milestones in various areas. It’s very difficult to list everything we’ve done but some great moments for us include:

    1.    Dr Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju starring in the two shows: Made in Heaven Season 2 and Rainbow Rishta Season 1
    2.    Dolly Singh attended the Cannes Film Festival 2023
    3.    Our digital agency business Global Creator Network (GCN) has grown to become one of the leading digital agency businesses in India in just two years
    4.    1862, our branded content and influencer marketing vertical of OML Entertainment which is active in 22 countries, forayed into first North American with our first every campaign for the launch of Santa Teresa Rum
    5.    Half Pant Full Pants, an Amazon web-series produced by OML Studios won multiple awards at ITA Awards 2023.
    6.    Zakir Khan performed Mannpasand at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall, making him the first Asian Comedian to Perform at Royal Albert Hall, London. Zakir Khan also won 2 awards at ITA Awards 2023 for for ‘Tathastu’ and ‘Farzi Mushaira’
    7.    Larissa D’Sa won the Travel Creator of the year award at The Myntra Glammys Powered by Grazia.
    8.    We launched Hypothesis – our influencer marketing and analytics martech tool

    On OML Entertainment’s forecast and resolutions for 2024

    We will continue to drive the pop culture narrative for fans and consumers working together with our artists and brands partners. Our resolution is to keep the world entertained, our clients at the core, artists at the centre – all while making sure we’re doing cool things that make all of us at OML happy and proud!

  • Hypothesis introduces creator discovery platform – DiscoveryOS

    Hypothesis introduces creator discovery platform – DiscoveryOS

    Mumbai: Hypothesis, OML’s influencer intelligence platform, recently announced its groundbreaking module, DiscoveryOS, one of the world’s largest creator discovery platforms. As a frontrunner in tech solutions for the creator economy, the search engine is poised to transform how brands and agencies connect with authentic creators. DiscoveryOS harnesses the power of data through its AI-enhanced search, redefining the way brands discover and collaborate with influencers. It represents a paradigm shift in influencer marketing workflow by enabling impactful and measurable campaigns at an unprecedented scale.

    Influencer marketing has changed the way brands build awareness and connection with a broader audience. With an astounding number of over 500 million active influencers worldwide and the ongoing growth of social media platforms, the laborious and challenging process of finding the right kind of creator that resonates with a brand’s ethos has largely been a complex process. DiscoveryOS bridges this gap and empowers marketers to choose trustworthy influencers from its growing database of over 210 million, ensuring their campaigns reach real people, not bots.

    This cutting-edge platform offers a data-backed approach to influencer discovery, ensuring brand safety and authenticity.  Brands can now identify trending and upcoming influencers based on their growth rate, previous brand collaborations or audience affinity, fostering impactful and result-driven marketing campaigns. DiscoveryOS represents a transformative leap towards making influencer collaborations with seamless access to in-depth insights of 212 million global creators at the click of a button.

    Key Features of DiscoveryOS :

    ●    Unmatched reach: Boasting the largest searchable database of over 210 million creators across the globe, DiscoveryOS enables brands to tap into a diverse pool of talent, reaching new and diverse audiences worldwide.

    ●    Advanced filters: With more than 20 advanced filters, including demographics, growth rate, audience interests, and brand affinity, marketers can fine-tune their search and pinpoint creators who align perfectly with their target demographics and campaign objectives.

    ●    Genuine Audience Percentage score (GAP): DiscoveryOS introduces a proprietary GAP score metric, evaluating the authenticity and engagement of a creator’s audience. This ensures brands connect with influencers who have a genuine and loyal following rather than bots or fake accounts.

    ●    Lookalike creator matching: By leveraging AI/ML capabilities, DiscoveryOS allows brands to find lookalike creators based on topics and audience, significantly expanding their reach and discovering new audiences for their brand.

    ●    Detailed creator insights: Marketers gain valuable intel on creator profiles, including growth rates, branded collaborations, and in-depth audience insights, enabling informed decision-making for successful campaigns.

    ●    Spotlight trending creators: With DiscoveryOS, brands can monitor the month-on-month growth of creators, ensuring collaborations with fast-growing influencers who can effectively promote their products and services.

    OML Entertainment CEO and board member Gunjan Arya said, “At OML, our unwavering commitment to driving innovation in the creator economy fuels our pride in Hypothesis and its groundbreaking achievements. DiscoveryOS stands as a testament to our vision, offering a comprehensive end-to-end solution to the challenges prevailing in the influencer marketing domain. By meticulously addressing pain points and streamlining the entire process, this cutting-edge platform is poised to revolutionise branded content creation and elevate the landscape for creators to new heights. DiscoveryOS is set to redefine the influencer marketing landscape, paving the way for unparalleled brand partnerships and authentic connections with audiences. As pioneers in the industry, we take immense pride in unleashing the true potential of influencer marketing, shaping a future where brands and creators can thrive together, hand in hand.”

    Hypothesis Sr VP – product & analytics Himani Agrawal further added, “Creator Discovery is the first and most crucial step to building a robust campaign that can result in effective and efficient ROI for brands, if executed right. Brands are struggling with finding the right creators, with the right target audience, for their brand’s marketing objectives. Hypothesis’ DiscoveryOS with its advanced search capabilities allows brands to do just that. Hypothesis is a first-of-its-kind platform that tackles the pain points of limited access to verified creator information and ability to navigate through ‘the many’ to find ‘the one’. It’s positioned as a powerful catalyst set to revolutionise branded content creation through data-driven decision-making. Hypothesis aims to herald a new era of meaningful collaborations that will spark unparalleled creativity in putting the brands’ messaging in front of the right audience in the most engaging manner.”

  • GUEST ARTICLE: The creator economy and how it has evolved over the last few years

    GUEST ARTICLE: The creator economy and how it has evolved over the last few years

    Mumbai: For many decades, we have relied on traditional media outlets like television, radio, and print for our information and entertainment, consuming content created and curated by a few major media houses based on the preferences and requirements of the masses. The advent of the internet and web 2.0 brought a significant shift in how we consumed information by decentralising content communication, creation, and distribution. Thanks to the opportunity offered by social media, we found ordinary people like ourselves writing, filming, and creating niche as well as mass content that resonated with people worldwide.

    And as a result of this, people moved away from traditional media sources. They started surfing the internet to consume content and connect with people who shared similar interests and experiences. Over time, people learned to market their skills, hobbies, and interests online. This resulted in the rise of a new economy built by millions of independent content creators, curators, and community builders, marking the beginning of the “creator economy.”

    Today, the creator economy is estimated to be worth more than $100 billion, and it includes everyone who is a part of the web economy, such as social media, blogs, videos, software tools, and tech platforms like Hypothesis designed to help them grow and monetise.

    More than 50 million people worldwide identify as “creators,” with two million or more earning a living from their passion through platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, TikTok, and others. According to a survey, YouTube content creators contributed a whopping Rs 6,800 crore to the Indian economy in 2020.

    The evolution of the creator economy

    ●      The birth of social media platforms

    Towards the end of the 2000s, we witnessed the birth of many social and content channels like YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, Medium, Linkedin, and more. The rise of the creator economy has relied heavily on the development of these platforms. We wouldn’t have creators if you didn’t have platforms on which they could create. It was due to social media sharing that content distribution became normalised. Today, creators are no longer at the mercy of large production companies, as these platforms have equipped them well to solve their distribution problems.

    ●      The emergence of influencer marketing

    Brands began to see the value in investing in creators to promote their products and services to their large on-platform audiences as they began to build a dedicated audience engaging with their content due to their skills and personalities. This proved a very successful marketing strategy, aka “influencer marketing,” as it allowed brands to tap into a new market and advertise to a niche audience more likely to be interested in the brand’s product during their moment of consumption.

    Brand sponsors began paying creators on platforms such as Instagram and Tiktok in exchange for their reach to an audience gained through the platforms.

    ●      Covid impact 

    As social media platforms proliferated, people found themselves increasingly attracted to screens, both as creators and consumers. What many believed would be a passing phase, like the dot-com era, soon became a compulsion.

    With the onset of the pandemic, millennials and gen-z turned towards social and subscription based platforms either out of boredom or to supplement their income due to the economic slump. Because of the nationwide lockdown, everyone was forced to use online health, education, shopping, and entertainment resources.

    This has led to the growing dominance of content creators in mainstream media who are willing to pay for tools that help them grow their content reach and maximise their revenue.

    ●      Creators are brands within themselves

    With the constant influx of influencers, competition for branded collaborations is becoming increasingly fierce, prompting influencers to seek alternative revenue streams.

    Instead of chasing revenue through generic clickbait content, influencers are becoming the new brands. Today, creators have gained enough loyalty from their audiences to be able to sell any product better than the traditional brands. Creators are launching their brands without investing millions of dollars in a team and resources, instead relying on a combination of audience and reach, good branding, and a distinct point of view with their product.

    Today, many brands consider working with creators an essential part of their brand and marketing strategy. But it remains a largely unorganised space, with discovering the right talent to work with and measuring success depending on how each brand structures its efforts. The creator economy needs a unified platform to connect brands with customers through the right influencers and manage the entire campaign pipeline. At the same time, it requires a platform for creators to engage with their audience and build meaningful relationships with brands.

    That’s where “influencer marketing software services” step in, allowing agencies and brands to discover the right creator, conduct outreach, set up campaigns, and track performance on one platform. On the supply side of the ecosystem, it empowers creators and influencers to reach their audiences by understanding their content performance and audience affinity and collaborating with brands and agencies.

    The author of this article is Hypothesis senior VP product and analytics Himani Agrawal.