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Tag: Tata Digital

  • Marathon runner trades super-app for banking sprint

    Marathon runner trades super-app for banking sprint

    MUMBAI: Sheran Mendiratta Mehra has laced up her running shoes for a new race. The marketing veteran who helped build Tata Digital’s super-app to 100m-plus users has joined IndusInd Bank as chief marketing officer this September, leaving behind a six-year stint that transformed India’s digital commerce landscape.

    At Tata Digital, Mehra wore multiple hats with characteristic stamina. As chief business officer since July 2024 and chief brand officer cum business head for hotels since April 2022, she orchestrated the brand strategy for one of India’s most ambitious digital ventures. Before that, she spent nearly three years as chief brand officer, shaping product design and brand identity from the ground up.

    Her CV reveals her wide exposure to financial services and hospitality marketing. Six years at DBS Bank as executive director for group strategic marketing and communications, where she also championed social entrepreneurship through the bank’s corporate social responsibility arm. Stints at Dhanlaxmi Bank, Barclays and HSBC showcased her knack for turnarounds—she pushed top-of-mind recall to 52 per cent during Barclays’ India launch and co-led the country’s first mobile banking service, Hello Money.

    Earlier pit stops included heading resort marketing at Mahindra Holidays, where she boosted wallet share by 25-30 per cent, and agency-side roles at Ogilvy & Mather and Lintas, where she cut her teeth relaunching Huggies with sales surging over 15 per cent.

    The 25-year marketing strategist brings more than spreadsheets and campaigns to IndusInd. A distance runner for over a decade, Mehra champions the notion that peak performance in the boardroom and on the trail aren’t mutually exclusive. She’s vocal about mentoring female leaders in tech whilst maintaining her daily running practice—a fitting metaphor for someone who sees finish lines as starting points.

    IndusInd just hired someone who runs towards challenges, not away from them.

  • AI gets a brand new story as marketers debate data, trust and creativity

    AI gets a brand new story as marketers debate data, trust and creativity

    MUMBAI: When machines meet marketing, sparks and questions fly. That was the mood at the 3rd India Brand Summit 2025 during a lively session titled AI Powered Branding: Reimagining Storytelling and Personalisation.

    Moderated by Publicis Groupe India CEO for digital technology business Amaresh Godbole the panel brought together industry voices grappling with the fine line between automation, personalisation, and authenticity.

    Tata Cliq CTO and Tata digital,VP for synergy tech Suman Guha opened with a reality check: while AI unlocks precision, data overload is a growing challenge. “Brands need to strike the right balance, AI can suggest, but it cannot substitute judgement. The winning formula lies in combining AI-driven insights with human empathy,” he said.

    Adding a regulatory lens ASCI CEO & secretary general Manisha Kapoor stressed the urgency of maintaining consumer trust. “When personalisation borders on intrusion, the line between relevance and manipulation blurs. Ethical guardrails are essential if AI-led branding is to build, not break, relationships,” she warned.

    Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals head of digital transformation Akhil Duggal noted that AI is most effective when it complements not dictates brand building. “We’re using AI to decode consumer intent, but the human narrative must lead. Consumers don’t remember algorithms; they remember stories.”

    From the BFSI perspective Fino Payments Bank head of marketing Prashant Choudhari pointed out the stakes are higher in financial services. “Trust is currency. AI can personalise offers, but one misstep erodes credibility. The challenge is scaling innovation while keeping the customer relationship sacred.”

    Mediasmart chief growth officer Nikhil Kumar highlighted how AI is revolutionising programmatic advertising. “Real-time personalisation is not the future, it’s already here. But effectiveness depends on transparency. If users feel misled, personalisation backfires into alienation.”

    Bringing in the social tech angle Explurger vice president Jwala Kumar underlined AI’s role in experiential storytelling. “Travel and lifestyle brands are leveraging AI to make every interaction feel personal. But authenticity is non-negotiable, people will spot the difference between engineered intimacy and genuine connection.”

    As the discussion unfolded, a common thread emerged: AI can supercharge scale, speed, and segmentation, but the secret sauce remains human creativity. Technology may tailor the message, but culture, trust, and empathy define whether it lands.

    By the end, Godbole summed it up neatly: “AI isn’t replacing storytellers, it’s arming them with sharper tools. The brands that thrive will be those that wield AI with responsibility, respect, and imagination.”

    The session closed with consensus that 2025 is not about AI versus humans, but AI with humans, a collaboration where algorithms analyse and humans empathise, together shaping the next chapter of branding.

  • Shoumyan Biswas takes the global marketing wheel at Practo

    Shoumyan Biswas takes the global marketing wheel at Practo

    MUMBAI: Shoumyan Biswas, one of India’s most pedigreed marketing minds, has just hung his boots at Tata Digital and laced up for his next sprint—as the global chief marketing and strategy officer at Practo. The move puts him squarely in the driver’s seat of the healthtech player’s next growth phase.

    Biswas, known for launching Flipkart Plus, scaling Big Billion Days, and making loyalty glamorous  again, isn’t your average CMO. He’s also held P&L roles, built brands from scratch, and juggled strategy, product, and people mandates across unicorns and FMCG giants alike.

    From starting out at Pepsi to orchestrating multi-million dollar brand lifts at Hindustan Unilever, scaling kitchen empires at Rebel Foods, advising ICICI Lombard’s board, and leading loyalty and growth at Flipkart and Tata, the man’s résumé reads like a marketer’s bucket list.

    At Tata Digital, he wore three hats—CMO, business head, and chief of group loyalty. Now, at Practo, he’s sharpening his scalpel to carve out new-age healthcare narratives, with a dose of data and digital sorcery.
    With over two decades of shaping brands and boosting bottom lines, this boardroom giant is now gunning for a healthier, wealthier Practo.

     Watch this space—Biswas rarely misses a prescription for impact.

  • Disney Star launches #She4HerGlory campaign

    Disney Star launches #She4HerGlory campaign

    Mumbai: In the run-up to the ICC Women’s World Cup 2024, Disney Star has launched the #She4HerGlory campaign, a unique initiative designed to empower and celebrate women in cricket. The campaign has united women leaders from across industries to rally behind the Indian Women’s Cricket Team while also shining a spotlight on the growing prominence of women’s cricket.

    The #She4HerGlory campaign adopted a creative approach, featuring each leader highlighting unique facts about women’s cricket. Not many people know that the first ever double century in limited overs cricket was scored by Australian woman cricketer, Belinda Clark and not Sachin Tendulkar. Fewer still know that the first Women’s Cricket World Cup was held before the Men’s Cricket World Cup in 1973. This approach not only celebrates the sport but also educates and inspires viewers about the rich history and future potential of women’s cricket.

    For the first time ever, close to 40 prominent voices echoed these sentiments, including Anupriya Acharya (CEO, Publicis Groupe – South Asia), Anita Kotwani (CEO, Dentsu Media South Asia), Sheran Mehra (Chief Brand Officer, Tata Digital), Anjali Madan (Director, Consumer Experience, Mondelez India Poulomi Roy (CMO, Joy Personal Care), Rathi Gangappa (CEO, Starcom India), Hema Malik (Chief Investment Officer, IPL Mediabrands India), Anisha Iyer (CEO, OMD India), Vaishali Verma (CEO, Initiative India), Sumeet Singh (CMO, Info Edge India Ltd), Kanika Kalra (Regional Marketing Director – Health, Reckitt, South Asia) and Richa Singh (Managing Director India & Middle East at Natural Diamond Council). These leaders shared their thoughts on the importance of women’s cricket and its increasing significance, not just in sports but also across industries.

    In culmination to the event, Disney Star hosted a vibrant gathering of CEOs, CMOs, and senior executives from the media and marketing fraternity on 18 September, all driven by a shared commitment to advancing women in sports. The event was graced by former Indian women’s team captain Mithali Raj as she enamoured the audiences with inspiring stories from her journey as a cricketer. Renowned sports presenter Mayanti Langer Binny was the host for the evening, bringing energy to the gathering.

    Shubhra Sethi, Head of Product and Revenue Strategy at Star Sports set the tone for the event as she spoke about #She4HerGlory being collective celebration of women’s cricket led by prominent women leaders from media and marketing with the aim to harness the influence of these leaders to champion the growth and success of the sport. She also spoke about Disney Star’s commitment to championing women’s cricket and fostering a strong community of supporters as we approach the much-anticipated ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024.

    Following this Kingshuk Mitra, Head of Ad Sales at Star Sports and Dhruv Dhawan, Head of Ads at Disney+ Hotstar, India engaged in a fireside chat with Mayanti Langer Binny as they addressed the plethora of opportunities for advertisers during the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup on both platforms and the distinct benefits for brands by associating with the megaevent.

    The event was attended by leaders such as Sam Balsara (Chairman, Madison World), Lara Balsara (Executive Director at Madison World), Praveena Rai (COO at NPCI), Ajay Dang (President, Head Marketing at Ultra Tech Cement), Vikram Sakhuja (Group CEO, Madison Media and OOH), Prasenjit Basu (CMO at Voltas Beko), Omer Aydin (CFO at Voltas Beko), Moupriya Das (AGM, Marketing at Audi India), Kavita Jagtiani (CMO, L&T Finance) and Vikash Anand (Deputy Vice President, Marketing at Angel One) among others.

    The success of the #She4HerGlory event underscores Disney Star commitment to driving visibility for women’s cricket. The event’s impact ensures that the voices of women leaders across industries will be heard as India gears up for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, starting on October 3.

  • Tata Digital acquires majority stake in 1mg

    Mumbai: Tata Digital, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tata Group, said it is acquiring a majority stake in online pharmacy 1mg, making this the second majority acquisition in the digital economy, after the e-grocery BigBasket equity purchase.

    The investment is in line with Tata group’s vision of creating a digital ecosystem that addresses consumer needs across categories in a unified manner, it said in a statement.

    Earlier this week, Tata Group also said it had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with fitness startup Curefit and will invest $75 million in the Bengaluru-based startup. Curefit founder Mukesh Bansal is also joining Tata Digital as its president, as part of the deal.

    In May, Tata Digital announced the purchase of a 64 per cent stake in online grocer BigBasket. 

    The Tata-1mg deal comes when Reliance has entered the online pharmacy space by acquiring Netmeds, while PharmEasy also merged with smaller rival Medlife.

    Incorporated in 2015, 1mg provides online delivery of medicines, health and wellness products, diagnostics services and teleconsultation.

    “We are delighted to join hands with one of India’s most iconic and respected conglomerates. This marks a significant milestone in 1mg’s journey to make high-quality healthcare products and services accessible to customers across India,” said 1mg co-founder and chief executive Prashant Tandon