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Tag: MakeMyTrip

  • Vamsi Murthy wraps up his Disney+ Hotstar journey

    Vamsi Murthy wraps up his Disney+ Hotstar journey

    MUMBAI: Call it a season finale worth bingeing. After an unforgettable four-season run, Vamsi Murthy has announced his exit from Disney+ Hotstar, wrapping up a chapter that reads like a streaming hit, complete with plot twists, high stakes and creative cliffhangers.

    As executive director and marketing head, Murthy helped script some of Hotstar’s most successful campaigns, cementing its reputation as India’s home of entertainment and sport. From building massive originals like Aarya, Criminal Justice, Special Ops and Taaza Khabar, to steering cricket fever through World Cups, his marketing playbook turned content into cultural conversations.

    Under his leadership, the platform revamped its entertainment marketing model, driving growth across brand love, viewership and subscriptions. The results showed improved ROI, award wins at Promax Asia, Kyoorius and Indian Telly Streaming Awards, and a brand that consistently set the tone for pop culture moments.

    Before Hotstar, Murthy’s career reel rolled through BookMyShow, ZEE5, Myntra, MakeMyTrip and Reliance Communications, marking a two-decade journey across India’s biggest consumer brands.

    Signing off, Murthy called his time at Hotstar “nothing short of a blockbuster,” thanking colleagues and mentors who made the ride special. As for what’s next, he’s keeping the suspense alive, promising a new chapter soon. Because in true entertainment style, every great show deserves a thrilling sequel.

  • Makemytrip and Zomato serve hot meals right to train passengers’ seats

    Makemytrip and Zomato serve hot meals right to train passengers’ seats

    MUMBAI: No more soggy samosas in foil packets, train travel in India just got a gourmet upgrade. Makemytrip has teamed up with Zomato to bring meals from 40,000 plus restaurant partners across 130 plus stations straight to passengers’ seats.

    The move rides a wave of appetite: in FY 2024–25, more than 90,000 rail passengers used Indian Railways’ e-catering services daily, a 66 per cent year-on-year growth. With its new ‘Food on Train’ service, MakeMyTrip is banking on its Live Train Status tool to nudge travellers into ordering at just the right moment, ensuring breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks arrive piping hot.

    The partnership has already been soft-launched with encouraging results, showing travellers lean towards travel-friendly meals. To add festive flavour, passengers booking rail journeys on MakeMyTrip this Diwali will also get a complimentary coupon redeemable on Zomato orders.

    “Over the past few years, we have been growing faster than the industry in train bookings, driven by customer-centric innovations. Food on Train is another step to enhance the journey,” said Makemytrip CBO & CMO Raj Rishi Singh.

    Zomato, which has already served 4.6 million plus orders across 130 plus stations as an IRCTC-authorised food partner, sees this as a natural extension. “This collaboration makes meals seamless and enjoyable, delivered directly to your seat,” said Zomato VP for Product Rahul Gupta.

    Beyond food, Makemytrip is also reshaping every stage of the train journey with tools like route extension assistance, seat availability forecasts, seat lock, trip guarantee, free cancellation, live PNR updates, and real-time tracking.

    From steaming biryanis to paneer rolls, rail journeys may never taste the same again because now, your favourite restaurant is only a station away.
     

  • Goodera names Sumit Agarwal as chief financial officer to fuel global growth

    Goodera names Sumit Agarwal as chief financial officer to fuel global growth

    MUMBAI: Goodera has roped in Sumit Agarwal as its new chief financial officer, bolstering its leadership team as the employee volunteering platform prepares for its next phase of global expansion.

    A chartered accountant and all-India rank holder, Agarwal brings over two decades of experience across fintech, e-commerce, payments and technology. He most recently headed Tripmoney at Makemytrip–Goibibo, where he rolled out digital financial products. His earlier stints include cfo roles at Zovi.com and NGPAY (acquired by Flipkart), as well as leadership positions at Wipro technologies.

    At Goodera, he will oversee fundraising, investor relations, financial planning, M&A and strategic growth. “Goodera has built a global platform that powers volunteering while creating community impact. I am excited to shape its financial strategy for the next level of growth,” Agarwal noted.

     

  • Nash8 drops a manga bomb with Too Yumm! and Ananya Panday

    Nash8 drops a manga bomb with Too Yumm! and Ananya Panday

    MUMBAI: Nash8, the two-year-old rebel in India’s creative agency circuit, is turning heads and thumbing through manga to redefine digital-first storytelling. Its latest campaign for Too Yumm! K-Bomb, featuring Ananya Panday, is a full-blown manga-meets-masala moment crafted with Gen Z precision and platform-native flair.

    The campaign’s centrepiece is a short-form podcast in manga style, dropped straight into Instagram Reels, with Panday as a snappy, snack-obsessed alter ego. Vibrant visuals, QR-led real-world extensions, and billboard art channelled straight from Tokyo’s street corners. this wasn’t an ad, it was a digital universe.

    “Gen Z can smell a traditional ad from a mile away,” saID Nash8 founder and creative director, Nasheet Shadani. “For Too Yumm!, we created a universe that didn’t just reference manga — it lived and breathed it. We read over 50 manga books before we even started designing. That’s the kind of depth we try and bring to the table.”

    With clients like Urban Company, MakeMyTrip, Zee5, and NoBroker already under its belt, Nash8’s approach is crystal clear: no repurposed TVCs, just scroll-stopping, mood-board-ready stories that feel more vibe than pitch.

    In an industry still catching up to Gen Z’s attention span, Nash8 is proving that the future of advertising isn’t about shouting louder, it’s about speaking the right language, one perfectly placed frame at a time.

  • Clicks and trips go hand in hand as travel ads chart new routes

    Clicks and trips go hand in hand as travel ads chart new routes

    MUMBAI: When it comes to travel, Indians aren’t just packing bags, they’re packing pixels. In a year when revenge tourism fuelled wanderlust and digital-first habits reshaped holiday planning, Excellent Publicity’s latest report captures a sector that’s going places literally and virtually. Based on over 30,000 campaigns and TAM Media insights, the 2024 Travel & Tourism Advertising Landscape offers a fascinating peek into how brands sold dreams of getaways to a nation ready to escape.

    Total ad spends in the sector rose by 28 per cent in 2024, with digital commanding a staggering 78 per cent of that pie. Video platforms like YouTube and Instagram accounted for over 62 per cent of these digital spends, thanks to their scroll-stopping visuals and seamless influencer integration. The age of the static banner, it seems, is on a one-way trip to oblivion.

    It’s not just metros that are dreaming big 35 per cent of digital ad impressions came from Tier II and III cities, marking a shift in aspiration and affordability. Goibibo, Redbus, and Yatra rode this wave with vernacular campaigns, cashback offers, and destination-led storytelling.

    Short-form videos emerged as the MVP of campaign visibility, with influencer-led Reels and Youtube Shorts growing 45 per cent year-on-year. Micro and mid-tier creators proved to be the hidden gems of the media mix, converting eyeballs into bookings with hacks, hauls, and heartfelt narratives.

    Despite digital’s dominance, traditional formats still held ground. Television retained a 12 per cent share, proving useful in prime-time slots and regional infotainment, especially for family-oriented travel brands. Print (3 per cent) was used for tactical bursts like seasonal guides, while OOH (6 per cent) stayed visible near airports and high-footfall spots. Radio, though a modest 1 per cent of the mix, was used smartly around long weekends and festive peaks.

    Ad activity spiked during April-June (summer holidays) and again from October to December (festive breaks and destination weddings). Destinations like Ladakh, Rishikesh, Udaipur, and Bali drew big bucks from brands focused on adventure, wellness, and cultural experiences.

    Top spenders included Makemytrip, Easemytrip, Club Mahindra, Agoda, Thomas Cook, and Air India together accounting for over 33 per cent of the total digital travel ad budget. Campaigns ranged from AR-powered itinerary planning to influencer-hosted travelogues and loyalty program launches.

    Emotional hooks also proved effective, with storytelling leaning into themes of nostalgia (“first trip post-COVID”) and purpose (“make memories, not plans”). There was a noticeable pivot to experiential travel, with brands showcasing offbeat stays, cultural immersions, and eco-conscious itineraries.

    “The media mix is evolving, but the message remains timeless: travel is emotional,” said Excellent Publicity co-founder & director, Vaishal Dalal. “The brands winning today are those combining data-led precision with creative ambition making the journey to booking feel as exciting as the journey itself.”

    As Gen Z and millennials continue to shape spending habits, travel brands will need to mix immersive formats, voice AI, sustainability and hyper-personalisation to stay relevant and stay booked. Because in 2024, even holidays needed good content.

  • Byte the Future AI is Serving Up Personalised Innovation

    Byte the Future AI is Serving Up Personalised Innovation

    MUMBAI: Who knew your AC could get to know you better than your flatmate? At GoaFest 2025, the session “From Code to Commerce: Growth in the AI Age” proved that artificial intelligence is no longer just a boardroom buzzword, it’s in your shampoo, your samosa delivery, your summer holiday plans, and maybe even your next Instagram ad.

    AI isn’t just flipping the script, it’s writing it, testing it, and turning it into 150,000 personalised versions overnight. In a power-packed panel at GoaFest 2025, leaders from HUL, Voltas, Makemytrip and Swiggy sat down with journalist Anuradha SenGupta to unpack how artificial intelligence is moving from the back end to front-of-house, making businesses smarter, faster, and far more personal.

    Voltas CMO Pragya Bijalwan  revealed how AI is transforming the home appliance business from cold machines to warm experiences. “Walk into a room and your AC already knows your favourite temperature,” she quipped. But it’s not just comfort AI is driving predictive maintenance, energy efficiency, and post-sale service readiness. Voltas uses customer data platforms to pre-empt service needs and personalise communication. One such campaign featuring their long-standing mascot ‘Mukti’ achieved a staggering 98 per cent CTR and an 87 per cent full-view rate with many recipients believing the video was speaking directly to them.

    HUL, head of media & digital marketing Tejas Apte shared how AI now powers product prototyping through the company’s Agile Innovation Hub, even allowing 3D-printed SKUs based on global trendspotting. AI also fuels the “Shikhar” app, used by kirana store partners now responsible for 20 per cent of HUL’s sales. Retailers can simply snap a photo of their shelf, and AI recommends stock-ups, upsells and even helps co-create hyperlocal ad campaigns. “Last year, we generated 150,000 AI-personalised video ads with Arshad Warsi customised to individual kirana stores,” said Apte.

    For Makemytrip, AI is less about flash and more about function. Director Sanket Tulangekar outlined how Myra, their AI assistant, has evolved to summarise reviews, answer natural language queries, and assist with travel planning. Myra now uses multi-agent orchestration, acting like an intelligent concierge handling everything from hotel bookings to activity recommendations. Tulangekar stressed the importance of red-teaming, bias testing, and moderation in ensuring AI-generated content is both accurate and safe.

    Over at Swiggy, VP Arjun Choudhary revealed how generative AI has quietly revolutionised internal operations. Sales teams now use AI co-pilots for performance insights, and restaurant partners receive personalised business analytics through conversational dashboards. “Even non-tech teams are generating demos and PRDs using AI,” said Choudhary. AI also boosts consumer experience through in-session personalisation and catalogue video generation. The company recently condensed a three-month cataloguing task into a single week using AI.

    Panelists agreed AI is now function-agnostic relevant across departments, not just digital teams. While job fears loom, Bijalwan emphasised it’s an evolution, not a threat. “It’s like when Google launched, initially scary, but now second nature,” she said.

    Ethics, however, remain a looming shadow. From labelling AI-generated ads to ensuring consent with India’s DPDP Act, companies are cautiously optimistic. “Change is inevitable,” the panel echoed, “but accountability must keep pace.”

    Whether you’re in media, FMCG, travel or tech, one thing’s clear: in the age of AI, relevance isn’t optional, it’s algorithmic.

  • Bobcard bowls a Mother’s Day googly with Shreyanka and her mum

    Bobcard bowls a Mother’s Day googly with Shreyanka and her mum

    MUMBAI: Some deliveries aren’t bowled on the pitch, they come from the heart. In a touching ode to mothers everywhere, Bobcard Limited, the credit card arm of Bank of Baroda, has launched a poignant brand film featuring Indian cricketer Shreyanka Patil and her parents. Timed with Mother’s Day, the film quietly celebrates the small sacrifices and everyday dreams mums put aside and what it means when their children turn around and say, “Now it’s your turn.”

    The narrative is refreshingly candid. No flashy sets, no dramatic voiceovers, just a warm exchange between Shreyanka and her parents, revealing how her mother once gave up a long-awaited trip. With her Bobcard Tiara in hand, Shreyanka decides to give it back, not as a grand gesture, but as a heartfelt tribute.

    The Tiara, Bobcard’s women-centric offering, is designed for exactly these moments. With perks across travel, wellness, dining, and more, it’s a credit card that doubles as a thoughtful sidekick perfect for those looking to celebrate the women who raised them with grace and grit.

    “We grow up with moms who quietly give up so much. This film is a small reminder – it’s our turn to give back. Whether through planning a trip or gifting them their long-deserved ‘me time’, Bobcard is here to help make it unforgettable,” says Bobcard Limited MD & CEO Ravindra Rai.

    Beyond the film, Bobcard has sweetened the occasion with special Mother’s Day offers across MakemyTrip, Paytm, Amazon, Zomato, and more proving that when it comes to celebrating mum, the little things (like a trip or a dinner) can mean the world. Because sometimes, the best gift isn’t just a vacation, it’s validation.

  • Rajiv Malhotra boards 12Go as chief product officer

    Rajiv Malhotra boards 12Go as chief product officer

    MUMBAI: Rajiv Malhotra has packed his bags for a fresh adventure, joining 12Go as chief product officer, and adding another heavyweight chapter to a career that’s criss-crossed e-commerce, travel, media, mobile, and logistics.

    An MBA from NTU Singapore and a citizen of Singapore with OCI status in India, Malhotra brings 25 years of razor-sharp product expertise to the role — across start-ups and blue-chip giants alike. Whether it’s managing $100 million+ P&Ls, pioneering UX strategies, scaling digital businesses, or launching SaaS solutions, he’s left an unmistakable signature on every stop.

    Before this, he steered digital media products at SPH Media, led logistics products at Gojek, advised start-ups, and even brewed success as an entrepreneur with Hotellauncher.com. Past tours of duty also include Expedia, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, and Yahoo! SEA, where he was at the bleeding edge of product innovation and digital transformation.

    From product vision to UX design, Malhotra is passionate about building tech solutions that actually make life easier (and a lot more profitable). A self-confessed Kombucha enthusiast and amateur chef when off-duty, he knows a thing or two about the perfect blend — whether in the kitchen or in code.

  • TCM Sports hits a six with Nobel Dhingra as new chief operating officer

    TCM Sports hits a six with Nobel Dhingra as new chief operating officer

    MUMBAI: It’s not just athletes making headlines this time, it’s the boardroom getting the spotlight. TCM Sports, one of India’s most seasoned sports marketing companies, has roped in Nobel Dhingra as its new chief operating officer, signalling a bold step toward global expansion and digital reinvention.

    With over 20 years of experience in steering powerhouse brands like Dabur Red, Pepsico’s 7Up and Quaker Oats, Nestlé, and Makemytrip, Nobel now brings his marketing mojo to the high-energy world of sports. A graduate of FMS Delhi and a former youth cricketer from Chandigarh, he’s no stranger to competition or teamwork qualities that TCM is banking on as it eyes a broader international playbook.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Nobel Dhingra to theTCM family,”said TCM Sports managing director Lokesh Sharma. “His proven track record at marketing iconic brands, scaling digital businesses, and entrepreneurial acumen will be instrumental as we chart our next phase of growth and expand TCM’s global footprint. His values and passion for sports mirror the very ethos of TCM.”

    From the pitch to the corporate suite, Nobel’s journey has blended strategy and sport. Most recently, he co-founded Vansaar, a fast-growing health and personal care startup, where he helped build the brand from scratch. Prior to that, his transition from traditional brand marketing to driving digital strategy at Makemytrip marked a shift in approach one that TCM now hopes to leverage as the company deepens its presence in the Indian subcontinent, Middle East, and international sports circuits.

    With three decades of legacy and a renewed leadership bench, TCM Sports is gearing up for its next innings and with Dhingra at the helm, it looks like they’re aiming for a global sixer.

  • MakeMyTrip launches new quirky campaign

    MakeMyTrip launches new quirky campaign

    Mumbai: MakeMyTrip has launched a new campaign addressing common travel challenges through humour. The three-film campaign highlights the company’s accommodation options: international hotels, homestays & villas, and domestic hotels. Featuring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, the campaign showcases MakeMyTrip’s solutions for finding the right accommodations, both internationally and domestically.

    The first film features Alia and Ranveer struggling to find familiar food in a foreign hotel, emphasizing MakeMyTrip’s ‘Loved by Indians’ filter for finding hotels with Indian cuisine and other preferences.

    In the second film, the duo humorously repurposes hotel amenities as gifts, reinforcing MakeMyTrip’s affordable options, such as a 25 per cent discount for new users on domestic hotels.

    The final film highlights MakeMyTrip’s range of serviced villas, with Alia expecting full service but discovering the need for self-management, showcasing the variety of options available for different traveler needs.

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    “Our latest campaign is rooted in the real challenges travelers face,” said MakeMyTrip CMO & CBO – corporate, Raj Rishi Singh. “From finding the right amenities to making smart budget decisions, we want our travelers to experience ease and delight with every stay choice. Alia and Ranveer bring a dose of humor to each unique scenario, delivering a message that resonates deeply with every type of traveller.”

    The campaign is live across TV, digital, and social. In addition, MakeMyTrip is also a ground sponsor for the ongoing India-South Africa T20 series. Directed by Early Man Film’s Abhinav Pratiman, these films have been written by Tanmay Bhat, Devaiah Bopanna, Puneet Chadha, and Deep Joshi of Moonshot creative agency.