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Tag: Prasad Shejale

  • Designs on growth LS Digital appoints Dipali Mahesh to lead UI/UX

    Designs on growth LS Digital appoints Dipali Mahesh to lead UI/UX

    MUMBAI: Looks like LS Digital is giving its design story a bold new stroke. The integrated Digital Business Transformation (DBT) company has appointed Dipali Mahesh as managing director – UI/UX, F1studioz, signalling its intent to put design at the heart of its global growth blueprint.

    Mahesh brings 28 years of leadership experience across media and technology, with senior stints at Sony Pictures and Extreme Reach (formerly Adstream). She has managed multi-market operations across India, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, building high-performing teams and turning around businesses with a clear focus on profitability.

    At LS Digital, Mahesh will co-lead the UI/UX vertical with co-founder & chief designer, D. Dhayan Kumar, under the guidance of Prasad Shejale, founder & CEO. Her brief? To shape F1studioz’s global strategy, expand its footprint in the US, UAE, and Europe, and position the studio as the go-to partner for enterprises betting on UI/UX as a critical business transformation lever.

    “I believe agility and innovation will continue to be our strongest differentiators,” Mahesh said, underlining her focus on scaling impact in international markets.

    Dhayan Kumar welcomed her appointment, noting the “immense value” of her global perspective, while Prasad Shejale called her a “deep expert in design strategy” whose experience will be pivotal to LS Digital’s next phase of innovation.

    For a firm that has been building its design-led transformation playbook, this appointment is no cosmetic tweak. It’s a strategic brushstroke on a much larger canvas, one where LS Digital is sketching its vision of future-ready UI/UX solutions with measurable impact for enterprises worldwide.

  • Revolutionising business with AI: LS Digital introduces Dataquark

    Revolutionising business with AI: LS Digital introduces Dataquark

    MUMBAI: India’s integrated Digital Business Transformation (DBT) company, LS Digital, has announced the launch of Dataquark, a dedicated business unit aimed at transforming data measurement, analysis, and reporting. This move follows strong demand for the Data & Insights pillar of LS Digital’s DBT framework, prompting the company to establish a distinct identity for this domain. Vinay Tamboli, previously CEO of Data & Insights, will now handle Dataquark as its CEO.

    Inspired by fundamental physics, Dataquark reflects the essential role of data in digital enterprises, akin to quarks forming the foundation of matter. The unit is set to drive strategic growth and AI-led transformation by enabling businesses to unify, process, and activate data.

    LS Digital founder & CEO, Prasad Shejale stated, “In a digital-first world, businesses must go beyond collecting data to fully harness its potential. Dataquark ensures that data is not just a foundational asset but a key driver of business transformation. Just as bringing in Langoor, f1studioz, and Social Panga strengthened our DBT framework, Dataquark will now handle the charge in Data & AI.”

    Dataquark bridges the gap between raw data and actionable intelligence, accelerating AI maturity and delivering measurable business impact. Its approach—“Collect – Collate – Activate”—ensures data integrity, privacy, and large-scale activation. With a comprehensive suite of services, it aims to enhance AI capabilities, optimise marketing effectiveness, and transform data infrastructure.

    Dataquark CEO Vinay Tamboli stated, “As AI evolves, the role of data has never been more critical. Dataquark will integrate AI-driven solutions, advanced analytics, and strategic partnerships to break data silos and accelerate innovation. With increasing demand for privacy-first, AI-ready data solutions, Dataquark is uniquely positioned to meet this need.”

    Dataquark offers four key services to help businesses unlock the full potential of their data. Its marketing data infrastructure integrates first-party data with advertising platforms to drive revenue and conversions. The business data infrastructure connects finance, marketing, operations, and sales through data lakes and advanced engineering, enabling smarter decision-making. Through AI & ML Solutions, Dataquark delivers actionable insights, predicts business KPIs, and automates processes to enhance efficiency. Finally, its Data & AI readiness services prepare organisations for AI adoption by conducting audits, developing strategies, and creating customised playbooks.

    Leveraging strategic partnerships with Google Cloud and Meta, Dataquark is equipped with cutting-edge AI technologies. Its advanced solutions, including Digiverse and partnerships with Aqilliz, Datamorph, and VWO, enable businesses to utilise blockchain-powered data collaboration, predictive analytics, and AI-driven insights.

    By launching Dataquark as a standalone unit, LS Digital underscores its commitment to reshaping how brands interact with data in an AI-driven economy. This initiative is set to empower CXOs in navigating an increasingly complex digital landscape with data as their competitive advantage.
     

  • Shejale-Ganganna’s LS Digital mastermind revolutionary AI Marketing Stack

    Shejale-Ganganna’s LS Digital mastermind revolutionary AI Marketing Stack

    MUMBAI: Founded by visionary leaders Prasad Shejale and Venugopal Ganganna, LS Digital has long been the underdog-turned-powerhouse in the marketing world. Now, with the launch of their much-anticipated “AI Marketing Stack”, they’ve thrown down the gauntlet to competitors, effectively saying, ‘AI isn’t optional anymore – it’s your secret weapon’.

    This revolutionary offering integrates cutting-edge AI tools into every facet of marketing, empowering businesses to unlock insights, optimise campaigns, and stay miles ahead of the competition in today’s ever-evolving digital ecosystem.

    What sets LS Digital apart? Well, it’s not just about slapping a buzzword on a product. This stack is more like a power packed pitstop for marketers, blending tools that decode data, predict consumer behaviour, and even create hyper-personalised campaigns.

    Prasad, the “master strategist” CEO, pairs perfectly with Venugopal, the “technological wizard” CIO, making LS Digital a dynamic duo in the marketing universe. Together, they’ve created a solution that not only future-proofs brands but turns AI from a mystery into a necessity. And the best part? They’re making it accessible for businesses large and small. Intrigued yet?

    From L to R: LS Digital founder & CEO Prasad Shejale; LS Digital co-founder & CIO Venugopal Ganganna

    LS Digital gets it: CMOs aren’t here for more jargon, they’re here for tools that actually do the heavy lifting. And that’s where swoops in AI Marketing Stack—a marketer’s secret sauce that promises to spice up campaigns, cut the fluff, and deliver results faster than you can say, conversion rates! AI features include:

    1    Research AI: Turning customer data into golden insights faster than you can say “target audience.”

    2    Generate AI: Because no one has time to write generic content anymore—this tool churns out campaigns and social posts so personalised, they might as well come with your customers’ birthstones.

    3    Predictive AI: It’s like a marketing crystal ball—forecasting trends and fine-tuning campaigns like it’s nobody’s business (except yours).

    Oh, and they aren’t stopping there. They’re letting existing clients take their Research AI tool for a free test spin—no strings attached. Why? Because getting CMOs hooked on AI shouldn’t feel like pulling teeth.

    Shejale said, “AI isn’t just another tool; it’s the foundation for tomorrow’s marketing success. With our AI Marketing Stack, we’re removing the hurdles and enabling brands to explore new frontiers of growth and innovation. This is about making every brand unstoppable in the age of AI.”

    Adding to this vision, Ganganna emphasised the strategic depth of the initiative: “AI isn’t just about technology—it’s about staying ahead of the curve. With our solutions, we’re not just helping clients optimise campaigns; we’re future-proofing their strategies.” Ganganna also highlighted LS Digital’s partnership with Quilt, an expert in AI culture analysis and market intelligence, which has been instrumental in refining the stack’s capabilities.

    Forget everything you thought you knew about marketing—it’s not just about playing darts with data anymore. LS Digital’s new AI Marketing Stack is like upgrading from a rusty bicycle to a rocket ship; it promises to make AI the default setting for every brand aiming to win the marketing race.

    Indiantelevision.com Sreeyom Sil had an exclusive tête-à-tête with Venugopal Ganganna during LS Digital’s big launch event in Mumbai. Amidst the buzz and excitement, Ganganna spilled the beans on how this stack is a marketer’s dream come true and why it’s set to leave competitors playing catch-up. Let’s dig in!

    What inspired the creation of the AI marketing stack? Who were the key collaborators?

    The AI marketing stack has been a product of collaborative innovation involving multiple partners, technologies, and our experience over the last 18 months of building a digital business transformation agency. Our partnerships with companies like Quill.ai, Gemini, Vertex AI, Claude, and others helped shape the stack. We connected the dots around data intelligence, creative automation, and predictive modelling to tackle real-world marketing challenges.

    What’s the price tag for this innovation, and what ROI are you targeting?

    Our investment in the AI marketing stack amounts to $2–3 million over the past 18 to 24 months, spanning technology, talent, and research. But the expected ROI isn’t just financial – it’s about driving marketing transformation. We measure success through cost savings, productivity improvements, and efficiency gains, aiming for a 15–25 per cent uplift in these areas for our clients.

    Who are your target clients?

    The stack is industry-agnostic but tailored for sectors like FMCG, retail, e-commerce, BFSI, and lifestyle brands – areas that demand scalability, hyper-personalisation, and data-driven insights. We cater to enterprise clients needing large-scale solutions, mid-sized brands seeking efficiency at an accessible cost, and digital-first businesses looking to integrate creativity, media, and predictive modelling seamlessly.

    What makes this stack unique compared to similar tools?

    It’s not just a tool – it’s a customised AI agent, or rather 20 agents, designed for specific marketing needs such as predictive analytics, hyper-personalised media planning, and consumer cohort analysis. It’s a combination of many agents that integrate across platforms, scale effectively, and, most importantly, are cost-effective. We also offer a tiered pricing model ranging from SMB subscriptions to enterprise-level solutions with advanced capabilities.

    Is the stack India-focused, or is global expansion in the works?

    While the initial launch was in India, we’ve already done projects across GCC, SEA, the UK, and the US. As we scale, we’re targeting the Middle East, North America, and the EU as key hubs for enterprise adoption.

    What are the biggest challenges clients face when transitioning to AI-driven marketing?

    The main challenge is: where do I start? How do I begin? There’s scepticism about AI’s ROI, fears of complexity, and integration issues. To tackle these, we offer exclusive free access to our research modules for a few months, supported by dedicated training. This removes the barrier to entry, enabling brands to test the waters without huge upfront budgets.

    Ganganna is clear: AI isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. LS Digital’s AI Marketing Stack doesn’t just level the playing field; it flips the script entirely. Imagine a world where marketers swap their guesswork for a precise, algorithm-fueled strategy—and that’s exactly the future LS Digital promises.

    So, what’s next? The tools are here, the playbook is ready, and LS Digital is handing CMOs the keys to the AI kingdom. Ganganna leaves us with this thought: “AI isn’t just about technology; it’s about staying ahead of the curve and winning the race.” And with that, LS Digital makes one thing clear—when it comes to marketing, it’s no longer a sprint; it’s a smart race powered by algorithms.

  • LS Digital announces partnership with .fearless

    LS Digital announces partnership with .fearless

    Mumbai – LS Digital has announced a new partnership with .fearless to launch .fear-LS. This joint venture aims to leverage the strengths of both the companies to solve the industry pain point of digital friction; an operational disconnect within the customer journey, and help businesses optimize their current systems and processes, significantly drive growth, and increase return on investment.

    Many companies in the USA face digital friction, struggling to meet customer expectations and maximise revenue due to challenges within their systems. fear-LS addresses these issues by helping businesses across industries better understand their existing systems, identify underperforming areas, and implement strategies to streamline operations and enhance success. The U.S. market, known for its large-scale operations and a blend of traditional practices with openness to innovation, presents unique challenges and opportunities. With the rapid growth of the DBT category, LS Digital is poised to leverage this momentum to drive business success in this dynamic landscape.

    The US market has been an early adopter of digital technologies, leading to robust foundational operations. This also presents challenges in integrating newer technologies to their legacy systems. “Technology has dramatically transformed the customer journey, leading to a significant rise in customer interactions with brands. However, digital friction within existing systems often drives customers away.” said Mike Head from .fearless. LS Digital’s well-established 6-pillar DBT framework, is uniquely positioned to deliver significant value to future-focused businesses. .fear-LS stands out in the market with differentiated services and in-house credibility to meet evolving customer needs. Speaking on this JV, Mike further added, “We are excited to partner with LS Digital, a leader in digital business transformation. Together, we will combine our unique insights and resources to help businesses create a seamless, results-driven digital presence that not only meets but exceeds customer expectations.”

    77 per cent of businesses today say that consumer expectations have increased in the last year, but if companies have digital friction between their systems, they will be unable to meet increased expectations. By providing a comprehensive suite of services, .fear-LS provides companies with a roadmap to optimize and leverage digital processes and the executional capabilities for business transformation and increased return on investment.

    There is a worldwide surge in companies embracing digital business transformation to eliminate friction and fuel growth. “Our focus is on delivering a product and service mix that stands out in the market. We build trust by connecting with the right customers and gaining a deep understanding of the new digital landscape, rather than just chasing revenue.” said LS Digital founder & CEO Prasad Shejale. Commenting on LS Digital’s global expansion, Prasad added, “Partnering with .fearless, a leader in marketing consultancy and industry veterans in the US market, aligns perfectly with our global ambitions. Through this joint venture, we are excited to bring our innovative DBT model, developed in India, for the world. Under the banner of .fear-LS, this partnership offers American businesses cutting-edge solutions to overcome digital friction and achieve sustainable growth.”

  • LS Digital expands to UK with Pawan Wankhede as business head

    LS Digital expands to UK with Pawan Wankhede as business head

    Mumbai: LS Digital, a new-age independent digital marketing transformation group, as part of their global expansion, announced today its foray in the UK market. Pawan  Wankhede has been appointed as the business head of UK operations. He will focus on expanding  LS Digital’s skills and capabilities in Digital Marketing Transformation (DMT) to businesses in the UK  market. Pawan brings over 18 years of expertise in digital marketing strategies and content.

    “We envision LS Digital becoming a global player in the digital marketing transformation (DMT) space. In order to realise this vision, we have appointed an industry veteran like Pawan to take the reins of the  UK operations and replicate the growth we have seen in the MEA region. LS Digital already has a  significant presence in Europe, specifically in UX and CX verticals. Now we will expand our focus, with  UK as the base and Pawan at the helm, to include the entire DMT solution, which comprises Media,  Creative, D&I, Innovation and Tech,” said LS Digital CEO & co-founder Prasad Shejale on the appointment.

    Prior to joining LS Digital Pawan was the CEO of VidRule, a programmatic digital marketing company,  for over 7 years. A seasoned Digital Marketing entrepreneur, Pawan brings strong experience in digital media and OTT content technology, with specialisations in several forms of marketing including  AdTech, Content Production & Monetization, Social Media & Display Marketing, and Mobile  Marketing, to name a few.

    LS Digital COO Rupak Ved said, “I am happy to welcome Pawan to the UK team. His expertise in diverse areas of the digital marketing space, especially in international markets will help accelerate growth in Europe and take it to greater levels. We perceive a great need among UK businesses for digital marketing transformation solutions. LS Digital’s Transformation Framework is perfectly positioned to address the gap in the market. Pawan’s addition will further our growth in Digital  Marketing Space in the UK.”

    Commenting on his new role, Pawan Wankhede said, “The UK stands as the largest digital advertising market in Europe, with expenditures consistently surpassing traditional channels. This surge in spending underscores a significant demand for brands to embrace a more data-driven strategy, aiming to optimise return on advertising Spend (ROAS). I am enthusiastic about joining the LS Digital team,  recognizing the immense opportunity to guide UK brands in harnessing the robust DMT framework crafted by the company. In my role, I will be dedicated to fostering innovation, broadening our European focus, and assisting brands in setting up their Centre of Excellence (CoE).”

    Pawan Wankhede’s appointment for UK operations aligns with LS Digital’s strategic plans to become a global leader in the delivery of DMT solutions. The company endeavours to focus more in Europe and UK by expanding its UX & CX business verticals to include Media, Creative, D&I, Innovation and  Tech, in order to provide the entire range of its ML-based DMT solutions to brands in these markets.

     

     

  • Logicserve Digital rebrands to LS Digital as a part of global expansion

    Logicserve Digital rebrands to LS Digital as a part of global expansion

    Mumbai: Logicserve Digital unveiled its brand-new avatar, ‘LS Digital,’ to its customers and stakeholders. The shape and fluidity of the logo has been retained while changing the name from Logicserve Digital to LS Digital.

    LS Digital founder and CEO Prasad Shejale said, “We firmly believe that the best-of-breed, founder-driven companies with huge expertise, potential, and desire to change the digital marketing transformation landscape need to come under one platform.”

    He further explained, “We will call this platform ‘LS Digital.’ It retains the legacy of our brand with two letters (L and S) at the same time, it provides digital as a core proposition to our customers through merged entities across six areas: media, creative & communication, CX, data & insights, tools – Adtech & Martech, and tech innovations.”

    This new avatar will help brands to enable and accelerate their digital marketing transformation to stay relevant to their ever-changing, digitally-enabled consumers. It will further expand its existing media capabilities and help better serve the Indian market while setting the stage to become a leader in the global digital marketing landscape. LS Digital currently serves clients in India, the Middle East and Africa.

    The rebranding of Logicserve Digital to LS Digital has been synced with two major developments: 

    Private equity through Florintree Advisors

    Florintree Advisors, an alternative asset management firm known for funding startups such as ideaForge, Pharmeasy Wealthdesk, Freight Tiger, and FreshMenu, has also invested in LS Digital. The funds will be used to expand existing capabilities while also considering inorganic growth.

    Florintree Advisors chairman Mathew Cyriac said, “LS Digital and Florintree shared the desire to build a leading global company out of India. This is a very exciting space, so our focus is to invest in existing capabilities and even acquire niche companies. It is a multi-stage deal with the commitment to infuse more funds as we move forward.”

    Addition of Langoor Digital to LS Digital’s suite of Digital Marketing offerings

    As a first step towards expanding its global footprint, LS Digital has onboarded digital-first creative agency Langoor to strengthen its service offerings for CX, digital design, and web3.0. Langoor expands LS Digital’s service offerings by allowing it to leverage its expertise in providing a better customer experience.

    Adding to that, Prasad said, “LS Digital and Langoor share a very similar corporate vision of becoming an Indian global company. Coming together will enable us to achieve success on a much larger scale. Our core focus is on digital business growth for brands through media, creative, data & insights, and technology. While Langoor will focus majorly on the customer experience, enabling growth for our clients. Together, we will create transformative experiences for customers.”

    Langoor CEO Venugopal Ganganna and COO Girisha Gowda added, “Digital marketing is in a constant state of change and innovation. Langoor’s DNA is about working out-of-the-box to deliver positive business outcomes. We are delighted to join LS Digital and look forward to scaling new heights.”

    The merger of Langoor and LS Digital adds very strong service offerings under CX. Their ground-breaking projects in the metaverse have allowed some of the world’s largest brands to test the waters in the metastore and web 3.0, gaining a competitive advantage in their respective industries.

  • Logicserve Digital’s eMarket to help brands strengthen e-tail strategies

    Logicserve Digital’s eMarket to help brands strengthen e-tail strategies

    NEW DELHI: Logicserve Digital has launched eMarket, a prescriptive stack of integrated commerce solutions. eMarket will meet retail brands' ecommerce objectives and help them strengthen, optimise, and scale up their business online. With this launch, the company has made a strong entry in the fast-growing online commerce space.

    eMarket will consolidate multiple capabilities at Logicserve Digital and be fuelled by partnerships with leading marketplaces, martech and adtech tools, including an end to end proprietary platform to deliver optimal results while improving the consumer experience. These components will demystify the market universe, which entails brands’ own website, horizontal marketplaces, vertical marketplaces, social commerce, and global selling opportunities. eMarket’s proprietary tool will enable cataloguing automation, content optimisation, competitive pricing, and sales prediction. It aims to simplify the ever-changing e-tail landscape and make retail brands stand out on the e-aisles.

    Logicserve Digital founder and CEO Prasad Shejale said, “The share of ‘online’ in the consumer journey has been increasing, and during Covid2019, the trend has further accelerated. Brands need to quickly adapt to these evolving consumer journeys as well as expectations and deliver a seamless and omnichannel experience. This is where eMarket will play a key role and help brands navigate the changing consumer habits and behaviours. We are very excited to flag off this interesting new journey and look forward to helping more and more brands accelerate and scale up their business.”

     eMarket is spearheaded by Anshuman Misra, part of Logicserve Digital’s leadership team, and will be steered by Pooja Dhamdhere, AVP. They will lead and guide a team with over 25 certified experts with commerce, media, creative and content capabilities. eMarket has already started working with a few brands in the FMCG, pharma, fashion and general merchandise sectors.

    “We spoke to multiple industry experts, media platforms, tech providers, and brands to understand the on-ground realities and core needs. This helped us identify the demand for an integrated offering that caters to brands’ online persona, functioning and growth,” added Misra. 

  • The challenges and benefits facing martech in India

    The challenges and benefits facing martech in India

    NEW DELHI: Martech sounds like quite a jargonistic word to many. But, put simply, it is the tech stack run by backroom geeks in glasses who use software and web-based services to manage, automate, or execute marketing tasks and processes. Data and analytics lie at the heart of martech, giving companies better customer and market insights, helping them to respond accordingly. 

    Globally, it is a booming business touching Rs 739,200 crore ($121 billion) in 2019, according to a report by advisory and research firm BDO and WARC in conjunction with the University of Bristol. In India, it is coming out of  its infancy  with marketers just about waking up to its utility, though the software development  sector has bitten a sizable piece of the global pie.

    Earlier this year,  WPP group company  Mirum India released its Martech Survey 2020 report, which did not give any indications of the sector’s size and scale, but it revealed that  marketers across India are bullish, with as many as 80 per cent of those surveyed expecting their organisation’s spends on these technologies to increase over the next five years. 

    Xaxis India country lead Bharat Khatri told Indiantelevision.com that there has been a significant rise in the investments that Indian brands and marketers are making in the martech space. “Around one-fourth of the overall marketing pie is being directed towards martech right now and this shift has occurred within the past few years only. Earlier, we were getting a minuscule share in the marketing pie, and it is definitely bound to grow further.” 

    However, according to him, despite growth in adoption, the core challenge for the industry remains that most of the people who are investing in the technologies are not aware of how it is benefiting them. “Around 50 per cent of the marketers today don’t know the exact functions of martech. There is a great need to educate the industry.” 

    Business head of a leading insurance company acknowledges in the Mirum India report that the biggest challenge is that there are too many hands involved in the martech implementation broth, thus leading to delays. “Adding to this is the pressure caused by marketers evaluating solutions only after they identify a specific business need, which leaves them with little time to plan before arriving at a decision,” he adds. He also points out to problems of integrating the martech tools with existing technologies in an organization and the pushback from internal stakeholders towards adopting change. 

    Another issue stifling  the sector’s growth is marketing budgets, which are limited. 
    Khatri explains that martech’s limitation, in the Indian context, is that one cannot instantaneously get to know if the investment being poured into it is worth it.

    “It takes two to three  years to understand the kind of impact the martech tools have had and the ROI. Now, for some marketers, it gets difficult to get the budgets sanctioned, and with a pandemic like Covid-19, when everyone is holding back their budgets, it is creating a big problem,” he says. 

    However, the industry believes that Covid2019 pandemic has certainly opened up newer and exciting opportunities for martech, and it will be wiser for the brands to latch on to it. 

    “COVID2019 has impacted consumer behaviour a lot and accentuated some of the consumer trends too. In the past four months, we have seen how the adoption and usage of online channels have increased,” says Logicserve Digital founder &  CEO Prasad Shejale. “Consumer journeys have changed significantly and have also affected brand loyalty. This is actually a great opportunity, and smart marketers are investing in analytics tools to understand changing customer behaviour.” 

    Adds Khatri:  “What brands are using martech for most is understanding the consumer behaviour and their journeys –  what they like, where and when they shop, etc. This has resulted in marketing being market-driven instead of sales-driven. This has resulted in great demand for technologies like customer data platforms (CDMs), tools for customer relationship management (CRM), and mobile phone data.”

    Shejale agrees: “The most important tools right now are the combination of analytics-insights-CRM/CDP. These tools, along with a focused approach on the consolidation of consumer data to understand them better, are important to provide better service to the consumers across their journeys, whether online or offline. For a smooth and convenient journey across online and offline channels, CRM tools can be very effective. They can also assist in sending the right communication to your audience at the right time through the right channels.” 

    Another interesting trend that is, arguably, impacting the growth of martech in India is global domination in the arena. The Indian industry is currently dotted by a lot of foreign players who have been active in the space for a long time. Khatri suggests that platforms like Salesforce are quite popular. 

    In a e previous episode of the Media Minds  2, Zoo Media & FoxyMoron co-founders Suveer Bajaj and Pratik Gupta had said, “India, by virtue of the fact that we have been a tech hotspot so as to speak, with big boys at Infosys, Wipro  and TCS setting the agenda, is globally acting as a back office for a lot of martech and a lot of adtech companies for generations. It’s funny though, like for example, even if you look at programmatic, we are about 18 months behind and what the rest of the world is.” 

    But Indian players are also catching up fast. 

    “India has a big advantage in making technology in-house and there are a lot of independent firms and also companies like ours who are a part of big global networks investing great time and energy in creating tools and technologies here. For example, last year we launched Xaxis Places, a completely homegrown technology and now 30 plus  markets across the globe are using it,” Khatri shares.

    Adds Zoo Media’s Pratik Gupta:  “We are struggling as an agency to be able to wrap our heads around all of the marketing tech and adtech that exists pretty much out there (but) there are a lot of things that we are doing. For example, there is a marketing technology and ad technology platform that we are building inside of Instagram, which is a landing page solution providing first-party data on e-commerce.” 

    Ambient, C Lab, ROOH, Brandscope director Deepak Kumar, also sheds some light on the in house technologies that the agency is working on. “We created a tool called Star Metrics, which helps identify the geographical heat map indicating where the fanbase of a particular star is and where the consumers of a brand are. If those heat maps match, a darker hotspot is created indicating the perfect fitment of both, ensuring maximum engagement.”

    He also mentions that the team is about to launch another technology to complement this in the coming weeks. 

    According to Khatri,  many independent firms are also getting active in this space. Albeit one problem that these players might face in the coming few months is  the market sentiment that has been created due to the pandemic, but he is sure that this is temporary. 

    Indeed, with the tide now rising for martech in India, it won’t be too long before it washes over many more who have been playing a wait and watch game.  
     

  • Are hashtags dying: The curious case of right digital strategy

    Are hashtags dying: The curious case of right digital strategy

    DELHI: “Don’t hashtag, they’re thirsty,” Ellie (played by Jenna Ortega) tells the lead character of popular Netflix series You in one of the episodes of the recently released season 2. The 13-year-old girl was teaching the art of using social media to the subject, something that comes like second nature to her generation. While she was talking about building a personal brand on the photo-sharing website of Instagram, we have been observing a sneaky exit of numerous hashtags from other brand posts as well. For example, observe the number of hashtags in the Teddy Day posts made by Manforce India, one of the most active brands on social media, in the past few years.

    From 23 hashtags in 2017, the brand has used just two hashtags for this year’s post. So, the question that arises is; are hashtags dying?

    The marketing and advertising industry doesn’t think so.

    According to The Marcom Avenue director Divanshi Gupta the conversation about hashtags dying is quite irrelevant to today’s time, when every campaign that a brand marketer conceptualises begins by producing a catchy ‘#’!

    She says, “The current status of hashtags is quite important but its application in trying to reach to the target audience is now only limited to using the relevant hashtags, as users search and follow hashtags to keep them updated on the platform. Also, hashtags have a different level of reach and meaning to different social media platforms. Thus, the chances of hashtags dying in the near future are quite bleak.”

    Logicserve Digital founder and CEO Prasad Shejale also insists that they remain a great medium of brand engagement.

    “According to Sprout Social report, an Instagram post with a single hashtag can gain 12.6 per cent more engagement compared to a post with no hashtag. They are very useful to attract the right audience and amplify the reach of posts, campaigns with an ability to make things go viral. This, in turn, helps brands target the niche markets and create brand awareness among masses. Even for me, when I post anything on my LinkedIn or other social platforms, with the right hashtag I see a significant boost in the reach.”

    However, there is a need to filter and streamline the number and the quality of hashtags a brand is using with its posts.

    Shejale adds, “Brands shouldn’t overuse hashtags as it can hamper readability and can affect the engagement. It’s also equally crucial to keep the hashtag simple and narrow to retain attention and achieve effective marketing outcomes.”

    Mirum India ECD Naila Patel highlights, “Hashtags were designed to categorise conversations better and most content creators felt the need to add multiple hashtags to explain or engage people in the discussion. But slowly, hashtags seem to have moved away from the omnipotent role to a more 'good to have' existence. In-fact a lot of famous campaigns have seen single hashtags.”

    Elaborating on how to pick the right hashtags, Isobar national head for social media Aakriti Sinha notes, “With the advent of ephemeral content, formats like memes, daily trends, Instagram TV, Insta Live and stickers and now music, hashtags anyway had begun to take a backseat with the dip in number of Instagram posts. There is no necessity to add hashtags except for the campaign hashtags for recall for promoted content. What matters is the CTA vs. the hashtag discoverability. For such content, the campaign hashtags should play a role of brand/campaign activity and/or encourage UGC using the same.”

    Gupta adds, “In a social media campaign, the manager should use a limited number of hashtags wisely to enhance reach. Also, the hashtags used should represent: you, your idea, your brand ideology, trend, and industry. Using hashtags on the basis of these parameters will help you in reaching and appearing in user’s feed who have an interest in similar searches.”

    While hashtags are expected to stay, the next point to ponder on is the right number of hashtags to put on a brand post. Even industry experts are not sure about the right number.

    While Sinha believes that the idle number should be between 5 and 10 Gupta notes that the usage of hashtags should be limited within the range of 3 to 5. Patel argues that only Instagram as a platform has a role for multiple hashtags. She pegs the ideal numbers to be three-four.

    Shejale says, “It’s difficult to decide on an exact number of ideal hashtags to be used for posts. But yes, I would say, around 7-10 hashtags are enough.”

    Gupta shares that using hashtags will help the brand be found in more places but it has to be ensured that the post doesn’t have irrelevant keywords, as it’ll lead to diminished reach.

    Hence, it is safe to conclude that hashtags are not making an exit from the digital world anytime soon, but it is more important for brands today to strategise around this tool for maximum social engagement without any irrelevant reach that can hamper the conversion rates for them.

  • Logicserve Digital wins digital mandate for Wet & Dry Personal Care

    Logicserve Digital wins digital mandate for Wet & Dry Personal Care

    MUMBAI: Logicserve Digital, a digital marketing company and the Indian arm of Logicserve Group, is now the official Digital Agency on Record for Wet and Dry Personal Care Private Limited. They will be handling Paid Media Services, Social Media Management and Creative duties for the brand. The agency won this account following a multi-agency pitch.

    Established in 2013, Wet & Dry Personal Care is part of PAN Health and it has four brands under the umbrella – Everteen, NEUD, Nature Sure and ManSure. Logicserve Digital’s partnership aims to boost the awareness about the businesses.

    Logicserve Digital  founder & CEO Prasad Shejale says, “We are very happy to be associated with Wet and Dry Personal Care Private Limited and work on this interesting new category. They have an attractive portfolio of products available for varied needs of consumers. We look forward to providing result-driven strategies to them that can help them expand their outreach and achieve the desired results. With the brand’s focus on their digital native target audience, we are positive that we will be able to help them tap the right consumers through right channels and efficiently amplify their overall reach and business growth in the long run. We definitely look forward to working on innovative ideas for the brand and have a fruitful association with them.”

    Wet and Dry Personal Care Private Limited CEO Hariom Tyagi says, “The partnership with Logicserve Digital is highly synergistic as our products audience is very internet savvy and Logicserve Digital has strong expertise in understanding and efficiently managing the digital movement of consumers. I feel their experience of digital landscape, understanding of consumer’s digital behaviour and insight-driven approach for creative communication, will help us augment our visibility, strengthen the reach and boost our marketing efforts to achieve optimal results. We are excited to partner with Logicserve Digital and look forward to take our brand to the next level with their help.”