ITV

Tag: SoCheers

  • Prashant Vyas joins Socheers as head of people growth & culture

    Prashant Vyas joins Socheers as head of people growth & culture

    Mumbai: Socheers has appointed Prashant Vyas as its new head of people growth & culture, bringing extensive expertise in human resources, talent management, and employee engagement. With over a decade of experience, he has been instrumental in shaping workplace cultures and implementing people-centric policies across many organisations.

    Before joining Socheers, Vyas led HR functions at The Minimalist, Famous Innovations, Wunderman Thompson South Asia, and Hungama Digital Services, driving talent acquisition, workforce planning, and employee engagement.

    Holding a master’s degree in human resources research & development from K J Somaiya Institute of Management, he combines academic insight with industry experience to foster a thriving work environment. At Socheers, he will focus on aligning HR strategies with business objectives, enhancing employee well-being, and promoting a culture of innovation and inclusivity. 

  • Reliance General Insurance launches its #BachaateRaho campaign

    Reliance General Insurance launches its #BachaateRaho campaign

    Mumbai: Reliance General Insurance, a general insurance company, has released a special film this Raksha Bandhan #BachaateRaho, that beautifully encapsulates the special bond between siblings.

    The film showcases the promise of mutual care and support, shielding each other from life’s challenges. While grand gestures are cherished, the campaign highlights the sweet, everyday moments that truly define the sibling bond, the moments you’ll recall for life.

    The film opens with a father and daughter engrossed in watching a cricket match. The younger brother enters the home panicked and approaches his sister for help. The sister then comes to his rescue in a relatable slice of life, everyday scenario, encouraging her father to prepare to make his son a cricket star in the future.

    The film narrates the beauty of this unbreakable bond while subtly integrating the fact that relationships are more important than any circumstances. Like in the film, the car hit by the brother is protected by reliance general insurance, and the subtly integrates features, such as instant video claim assistance and door-to-door pick-up and drop services, positioning the company as a reliable partner. Just like how siblings have each other’s back, Reliance General Insurance has our back, too, offering support and convenience at every step.

    Conceptualised and executed by SoCheers, the film is promoted across digital and social media platforms.

    Reliance General Insurance chief distribution officer Prabhdeep Batra commented, “With #BachaateRaho, we aimed to strengthen the emotional bond with our audience by associating Reliance General Insurance to the dependable and caring nature of sibling relationships. Just as siblings always have each other’s back, we are committed to being there for our customers during life’s health emergencies, reinforcing our promise to protect and support them every step of the way.”

    SoCheers Films director Jitendra Hirawat said, “When we talk about Raksha Bandhan, we immediately resonate with our sibling bonds and the playful banter. We crafted a heart-warming ad film that captures a relatable sibling moment, mirroring the familiar bond we share with them. By subtly integrating Reliance General Insurance’s services, we draw a parallel between these small acts of care and the brand’s commitment to supporting its customers throughout life challenges.”

  • SoCheers celebrates 11 years of digital creativity and growth

    SoCheers celebrates 11 years of digital creativity and growth

    Mumbai: SoCheers, a leading independent digital-first creative agency in India, celebrates 11 years of creating many award-winning campaigns for major brands across various sectors while building an agency on a people-first culture. Founded in 2013 by Mehul Gupta and Siddharth Devnani, the agency has carved a niche for itself in the ever-evolving digital advertising landscape & is regarded as one of the top digital-first agencies to work within India.

    Keeping true to its core philosophy of digital-first creative thinking, SoCheers has over the last year developed key innovative campaigns for brands across industries like Amazon miniTV, Croma, boAt, BGMI, The Belgian Waffle Co, Havmor Ice-creams, Yes Bank, Reliance General Insurance to name a few. Having been ahead of the curve & incorporating new trends and technologies like 3D videos, CGIs, generative AI (Gen AI) to stay relevant in the ever-changing digital landscape, these advancements have helped deliver exceptional results for their clients & helped the agency bag multiple awards across the industry for campaigns in social, digital and even experiential categories.

    Building on the entertainment expertise they have built over the last few years, they’ve expanded into industries like BFSI, FMCG, and Alco-bevs, adding multiple brands from these sectors to their clientele mix. Their client base has grown by 2.7 times over the last three years, with profitability increasing by five times for the same period.

    On the embankment of a new decade, SoCheers has focused on building & growing the team who are the key people behind creating impactful campaigns. With an emphasis on continuous learning, a mindful and supportive work environment in an agency business that is rigorous, their 225 plus member team (team size has grown by 20 per cent YoY) across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi & Ahmedabad continues to thrive.

    Commenting on the 11th anniversary, SoCheers co-founder & CEO Mehul Gupta said, “It has been an incredible journey. We started SoCheers with a passion to build brands with creative storytelling and a belief in the power of ‘digital’ to connect with the audiences in meaningful ways. I’m humbled to see how we’ve grown, the amazing talent we’ve attracted, and the impact we’ve made on our clients’ businesses.”

    As SoCheers embarks on its next chapter, the agency has its sights set on national expansion & an overall growth in revenue to 30 per cent in the next FY.

    SoCheers co-founder & director Siddharth Devnani said, “Running a digital agency has been so dynamic, we’ve had to reinvent ourselves every year. This keeps us on our toes & we love the adrenaline that comes with blending long-term strategic thinking with creative digital avenues to brand storytelling for brands to achieve their marketing objectives and deeply connect with their audiences. I’m excited about where the next decade takes us.”

    Mehul further stated, “Our ambitions extend beyond commercial success. We are passionate about using creativity for social good and creating a positive impact not just by raising awareness but inspiring positive change.”

    SoCheers’ eleventh anniversary marks a significant milestone, but it’s merely the beginning of a new chapter. With a talented team, an unwavering commitment to creativity, and a focus on social impact, SoCheers is poised to make an even bigger mark on the digital advertising landscape in the years to come.

  • The year of AI in A&M: 2023’s milestones and anticipating 2024’s trends: Tanvi Bosmia

    The year of AI in A&M: 2023’s milestones and anticipating 2024’s trends: Tanvi Bosmia

    Mumbai: 2023 has been a rather exceptional year on the advertising front, it’s been a year of personalization and redefining content generation with AI taking over the marketing sphere.

    Some key trends that we witnessed:

    AI took centre stage – AI was seen powering all marketing tactics in 2023 and integrated itself into the advertising & marketing industry whether it was for content creation or to create more personalized & custom campaigns. From writing & generating copies to helping us create brand creatives to showcase visual & innovative storytelling, AI helped us do it all. We managed to use it effectively to our brand’s advantage whether it was to tap into trending moments like reimagining key actors from the Amazon miniTV universe as Ken or Barbie or to reimagine a world of our own for Havmor ice creams. The current use of AI will only evolve further & it’ll be interesting to see the innovation it will bring along.

    Rise in innovation of traditional media – Post-pandemic, with 2023 fully opening up, we saw a rise in innovation in Phygital Ads and we saw brands leveraging offline traditional mediums from OOH to print or on-ground activations with an integration of digital. We were quick to adapt in order to reach a wider audience and carried out multiple campaigns. For example, for Spider-Man Across The Spider-Verse we used VR in a marketing gimmick to open up a portal in Mumbai and amplified that on social. Similarly, for Croma, for their Festival of Dreams Campaign, we leveraged Flipkart’s BBD Ads with giveaway of the iPhone 14 Pro Max in a contest that was initiated via OOH and then amplified on social.

    Onboarding newer platforms & features:

    • WhatsApp channels – Being one of the most installed & commonly used apps by the Indian audience, when WhatsApp released channels, we were quick to adopt and got quite a few of our brands to create one. One of the brands was Amazon miniTV where we conversed with the audience from an admin’s POV with a first-person approach and we saw a spike in engagement rate with the brand hitting the 1M+ followers mark in the first 2 weeks itself.
    • Instagram broadcast channels – IG broadcast channels were initially launched in Feb 2023 as a test roll out and was eventually rolled out to all creators and brands followed suit soon after. We used this as an opportunity for a lot of our brands to create an exclusive experience for the followers and gave them exclusive content on the channel to make them come back for more.

    Overall, these new additions to the existing platform helped take personalized customer experience a notch higher and became the medium to carry out customer delight activities for loyal fans/customers.

    A year full of trending moments: Trending moments also took precedence over BAU content with big moments like the ICC World Cup followed by the festive season and also smaller pop culture moments like Moye Moye, Arranged Marriage is Scary because… all serving as opportunities for us to put our brands on the forefront from a marketing perspective.

    Crystal Gazing into 2024:

    The expansion of AI: The advertising industry evolves quite a lot year on year and you never know what might become the next big thing. I’m really excited to see how AI will transform the marketing landscape in the coming year and it’ll be really interesting to see how it aids storytelling in the process for brands. The role of AI in personalized advertising is likely to expand further, enabling marketers to tailor their messages more precisely to individual preferences and behaviours.

    The need for personalisation: With newer platforms, tools & mediums emerging every now & then, it will become imperative for brands to be present on these platforms & become early adopters to create & curate personalized content & campaigns to enhance customer experiences to stay relevant.

    The collision of online & offline: As a consumer myself, I have always resonated with brand campaigns that I see everywhere, whether it’s online or offline. I would love for integrated campaigns to take the spotlight and see how brand narratives pan out across all mediums – social, digital, print & mainline which will also help reach a wider audience with better brand visibility and a higher ROI.

    When brands have a 360 narrative, it paves the way for a better brand recall and experience overall.

  • When Instagram chose between love and arranged marriages

    When Instagram chose between love and arranged marriages

    Mumbai: The age-old debate between love marriages and arranged marriages is a dilemma that many of us have pondered at some point in our lives. Recently, popular actor and influencer Karan Wahi sparked new discussions on this topic. In a video shared on his Instagram, he was seen taking the most important decision of his life based on the first Indian world cup match between India and Australia. He humorously quipped, “I’ll opt for an arranged marriage if the Indian cricket team chooses to wear their iconic blue jersey for the match. On the other hand, if Jaspreet Bumrah, the renowned Indian cricket player, manages to take 7 wickets in just 6 balls, I’ll lean towards a love marriage.”

     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    A post shared by Karan Wahi (@karanwahi)

     

    Following Karan Wahi’s distinctive take, popular actor and influencer Maanvi Gagroo hopped on the bandwagon to say how she would prefer a love marriage. The internet quickly became divided, with some rallying behind Karan and others standing by Maanvi with hashtags #TeamArranged and #TeamLove. The ensuing discussions sparked a lively conversation, earning the topic a trending spot on Instagram.

     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    A post shared by ghantaa (@ghantaa)

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    A post shared by Sagar (@sagarcasm)

     

    This is when Amazon miniTV leveraged the opportunity to release the trailer of their upcoming show, ‘Half Love Half Arranged’. Though creators from all corners of the internet were seen picking sides, in perfect harmony with either Team Love or Team Arranged, the brand made the internet wonder about the concept of Half love Half Arranged. In no time, Half Love Half Arranged was seen being the talk of the internet.

    This marketing tactic of the leading OTT player, Amazon miniTV along with SoCheers, an independently led creative digital advertising agency, once again generated a buzz, making their fans eagerly anticipate the unique and entertaining content it promises to deliver.

  • Weekend Unwind with: Mehul Gupta, co-founder & CEO SoCheers

    Weekend Unwind with: Mehul Gupta, co-founder & CEO SoCheers

    In this week’s ‘Weekend Unwind’ series where we get to know the person behind the title a little better through a fun lens, we have on the hot seat SoCheers co-founder & CEO Mehul Gupta.

    According to Gupta, his entrepreneurial journey started way back in school, when he used his music sensibilities and sold it in the form of mixtapes & mix-MP3s for his school. At 19, he chose to create socheers.com, a homegrown social networking platform for fellow classmates. While that website didn’t last for very long, the brand ‘SoCheers’ did- taking birth as a digital-first marketing & advertising agency in 2013. 

    In his current role, Gupta manages the operations of the agency while strategically consulting with brands to build their digital and offline stories. Having won several accolades, such as Impact 30 under 30 2019, 100 Smartest Digital Marketing Leaders, and 100 Most Influential Global Youth Marketing, at a young age, he believes he’s just starting his journey.

    So without further ado, here goes…

    Your mantra for Life

    Take it as it comes, but don’t forget to enjoy each moment of the process.

    A Book you are currently reading / plan to read

    I recently finished reading ‘Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty,’ and next up on my list is ‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.’ I like how these books talk about life and they’re just a fun change of pace from the stuff I regularly read about advertising & marketing and other work-related topics.

    Your Fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic

    Fitness is as important as eating food-that’s my mantra. It does require discipline, but once in place, it’ll help you tremendously stay on track. The lockdown got me into doing yoga and meditation regularly, and I’d suggest the same to anyone who wants to take their health seriously, both body and mind.

    Your comfort food

    Khichdi!

    When the chips are down a quote/ philosophy that keeps you going

    The universe has your back and everything is eventually going to turn around in your favour.

    Your guilty pleasure

    Playing ‘Call of Duty’.

    When was the last time you tried something new?

    I like keeping things fun and am quite experimentative. I recently tried practising guided meditation.

    A Life lesson you learnt the hard way

    That force-fitting your solutions to situations or people doesn’t really work out. You need to make peace with this fact and figure out calmer ways of resolving things; it’s far more effective.

    What gets you excited about life?

    I’m always excited about the opportunities and possibilities that every new day brings with it. Along the same lines, meeting new people and learning new things, be it at the office or outside, never fails to excite me.

    What’s on top of your bucket list?

    In the work sphere, creating a campaign that is executed on a global scale tops my bucket list for this year. We’ve had some huge successes recently, and I want to amplify that momentum.

    On the personal front, I have the ambitious goal of travelling to at least six countries by the end of this year.

    If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?

    Everything will happen the way it is supposed to. No point in being anxious or worried about something that hasn’t or may not happen.

    An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times

    Playing badminton or cricket, or any sport really.

    What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?

    Being with my family, my daughter, my friends and my teams – my people, basically!

    Your go-to stress buster

    Doing either of these two, somewhat opposite, activities: chilling with friends over a couple of beers or getting pumped up playing cricket or badminton.

    One thing you would most like to change about the world

    I would, maybe, have people put some extra effort into understanding each other and treating everyone with just a little more kindness. When the world comes to terms with the “phenomena” that it’s okay to not be at the centre of it, it’ll become a better place for everyone.

  • SoCheers partners with MindPeers to promote employee wellness

    SoCheers partners with MindPeers to promote employee wellness

    Mumbai: Digital agency, SoCheers has partnered with MindPeers, a leading mental strength platform. This association is the agency’s constant and ever-going attempt to create a thriving and conducive work environment for its employees.

    The association also marks the Mental Health Awareness Month of May in India. MindPeers, adding renewed efforts, yet again, to effectively and holistically strengthen its most valuable resource – its people.

    MindPeers which combines technological empathy and human expertise to provide science-backed interventions and personalised modules, kick-started this partnership by hosting an online event with the agency’s employees where they elucidated on their range of mental health services which includes one-on-one online therapy sessions with seasoned professionals, self-care and personalised digital tools, Neuro Games, Employee Awareness and Uptake, Boats/Workshops, community group sessions, and more. MindPeers also provides a mobile application to facilitate convenience for the users.

    The importance of mental health in the workplace is not a new topic anymore. Conversations about overworking, burnout and the lack of work-life balance can be often seen floating on social media. Additionally, as per current reports, mental health issues have been the primary cause for over a quarter, almost 28 per cent, of employee exits in recent times. Moreover, reports also revealed that two out of five employees battle with depression at the workplace today. It’s no wonder that the Indian government allocated a substantial amount of nearly six hundred crores to combat mental health in last year’s budget.

    Speaking of this partnership, SoCheers co-founder and director commented, “We are an advertising agency where our core expertise lies in the creative campaigns we consistently build for our brands. We strongly believe that creativity can thrive only if the mind is healthy, clear and, most importantly, happy. There is no denying the fact that everyone, myself included, goes through various episodes in life, some of which can exact a heavy toll on the mind. Hence, this association with MindPeers is crucial in our endeavour to build a workplace where people feel positive and heard, which for me, is critical for the sustainability of any organisation.”

    Adding to it, SoCheers head of people operations Nupoor Pradhan said, “SoCheers firmly holds that mental health should be one of the key priorities, not only during a time when people are adjusting to the hybrid work set-up in a post-lockdown era or earlier when the world was going through a crisis but for a more sustained and long-term period. This thought forms the crux of our partnership with MindPeers. Moreover, our core philosophy places the organisation’s culture at the very center and this initiative is a rather significant step towards reinforcing its importance.”

    Further, MindPeers founder Kanika Aggarwal said, “We, at MindPeers, consistently work towards making ‘taking care of your mind’ a lifestyle. Therefore, we strongly believe that boarding workplaces to our philosophy would play a vital role in helping us achieve that, as a majority of the population spends a significant amount of their day at their offices. Also, advertising being one of the densely populated ecosystems, to have SoCheers on board is yet another step to help combat mental health issues on a larger front.”

  • SoCheers scales up leadership team with key elevations

    SoCheers scales up leadership team with key elevations

    Mumbai: SoCheers, a digital-first full-service advertising agency has elevated some of its core team members across verticals, namely content and brand experience. The newly elevated members will now be a part of the senior management team, playing a pivotal role in the decision-making process, said the agency.

    Shivani Kamdar, who completed seven years with the agency this month, has been elevated from the head of content to associate creative director. In this new role, she will be extending major support to all creative departments, with a core focus on growing the teams, harnessing talent and helping cultivate bigger and more meaningful campaigns for the clients. Keeping a business-centric approach, she will add value to the top as well as the bottom line through her initiatives.

    Tanvi Bosmia, who has been associated with SoCheers for more than eight years, was elevated from the position of group account manager to associate account director of the brand experience team. She will be handling the overall clientele of the agency, in charge of bringing in more revenue from a business point of view.

    Aakash Gopalani, who was the account supervisor, has now been appointed as the group account manager in the brand experience team. He will be handling the client communications along with managing a team of 20+ account management professionals. He will also be leading the strategic initiatives of 15+ brands’ digital presence, followed by exploring newer revenue streams for the organisation.

    “Whether it’s client management or content development, each of these newly elevated individuals bring something unique to the table with their wide-ranging industry experience,” said SoCheers co-founder and CEO Mehul Gupta. “As we look forward to expanding our client base, catering to brands across different industries like finance, FMCG and D2C, and onboarding new talent this year, these elevations will be instrumental in achieving our target of 75 per cent growth in 2022.”