In this episode, Varun is in conversation with Aman Gupta, Co-Founder & CMO of boAt. He talks about capturing the audio accessories market at the right time, foraying into wearables and more, and being profitable from day zero. Varun also questions him about being one of the sharks on Shark Tank India and his experiences on the same. Further, Aman tells us about having multiple brand ambassadors, assessing the beat of his consumer and playing the right cards, working with a young marketing t...
Jan 25, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 161
In this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun is joined by Alex Dwek from Nas Academy to talk about creators turning educators. Access to social media and technology has enabled many to take creative initiatives, not necessarily with any formal education. As they embark on the journey and gather experiences on the way, it is a learning for them, and sharing it empowers potential future creators too. Nas Academy is one such platform where creators learn not just the creative side of things but al...
Jan 18, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 160
On this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Rohit Raj joins Varun Duggirala and gives us an insight into what it takes to be the business partner of a beloved content creator- BBKiVines, and gives us exclusive BTS into the making of 'Dhindora'. He also tells us what it takes to be a creator's backbone, handling the business side of things, emerging through crises. And last but not the least, he shares his thoughts and hacks on the creator life, and how can one make the most of it. Talk to Varun Dugg...
Jan 11, 2022•48 min•Season 1Ep. 159
In This Episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun speaks to Arman Sood from Sleepy Owl Coffee. They discuss everything from marketing Coffee to a generation that has seen their parents majorly have Tea, to the interesting name that 'Sleepy Owl' is. Arman gives us insights into how Merch has been a significant contributor to their revenue and their educative initiatives to types of brews and preparation processes etc have been a hit among their TG. Talk to Varun Duggirala on Twitter and Instagram: @v...
Jan 04, 2022•40 min•Season 1Ep. 158
In this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala talks to Anil Viswanathan from Mondelez India. They discuss our beloved Cadbury and its campaigns over the years, how festivities and romance have been at the core of their brand messaging. They also talk about the campaign done with SRK that aimed at promoting local brands. Anil shares an interesting insight into how Chocolates were ideally non-essential goods during the lockdown but had steady sales as it helped them beat stress. Tune in ...
Dec 28, 2021•49 min•Season 1Ep. 157
On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala is joined by Yan Liu (CEO and Co-Founder of TVision) and Shikher Chaudhary (Director, Neurons Inc Asia). The three discuss sports and the kind of emotional engagement that sports-based programming has with the audience watching from home. The conversation goes through various aspects of how viewers consume content and takes a closer look at the phenomenon that IPL is and why is it so unique. They also discuss the 'Halo Effect' around IPL an...
Dec 21, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 156
On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala talks to Anmol Gill, Head of Customer Marketing, BACARDÍ, India. The two discuss how the AlcoBev industry reaches out to the consumers and the kind of brand connect it has with the consumers. Varun and Anmol also discuss the role of culture in marketing, as well as the evolution of the modern consumers and how brands reach out to them. Talk to Varun Duggirala on Twitter and Instagram: @varunduggi You can find Anmol on LinkedIn at https://ww...
Dec 14, 2021•33 min•Season 1Ep. 155
On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala talks to Divyanshu Damani, co-founder and CEO at TagMango. The two discuss how content creators can monetize their content - going beyond the traditional ads and brand deals. The conversation goes into the details of influencer marketing, NFTs, organic reach and various aspects of content creation, how to reach audiences better - and an interesting bit about how the name TagMango came to be. You can follow Divyanshu Damani on Twitter, Insta...
Dec 07, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 154
Content Creator and gamer Mythpat joins Varun Duggirala on this episode of Advertising is Dead. The two discuss how Mythpat started off his journey towards content creation, his experience in the world of gaming content, the recently conducted 'Ticket to Cricket' event, and about him being an all-round entertainer! Make sure to tune in to this episode to check out a very interesting conversation about how the YouTube algorithm works, as well as to know what Mythpat's advice to upcoming creators ...
Nov 30, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 153
The Founder and CEO of Growth School, Vaibhav Sisinty joins Varun Duggirala in this episode of Advertising is Dead to talk about cohort based learning courses and to take a macro view at where learning is headed. The ed-tech sector is one of the hottest spaces in the startup landscape. The conversation takes a closer look at the sector from various lenses. Ed-tech isn't just reframing education itself, but also building a framework for how to blend what modern technology allows with what traditi...
Nov 23, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 152
The startup ecosystem as a whole has helped solve many a problem and challenge while driving immense innovation in every space. They’ve also been boosted by programs that have helped accelerate their process of innovation. One such accelerator that has enabled startup’s not just with advanced technology but also with broad based mentorship and support has been the Google for Startups Accelerator On this episode, Varun is joined by Paul Ravindranath G, Program Manager, Developer Relations & H...
Nov 16, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 151
The journeys of creators and entrepreneurs hold a ton of insights and learnings for all of us dig into. On this special 150th episode, Varun is joined by Pooja Dhingra, Pastry Chef, Creator, Podcaster, Author & Founder/ CEO of Le15 Patisserie. Pooja talks about her entrepreneurial and creator journeys and makes us understand how she does, what she does and how we can all learn from it. Follow Le 15 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/le15india?utm_medium=copy_link Follow Le 15 on Facebook: h...
Nov 09, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 150
The content marketing space has been ripe for disruption for some time now. And with the advent of the marketplace as well as the AI driven capability set around content marketing we are at an inflection point on not just how we market content but how we create the content supply as well. On this episode, Varun is joined by Sharmin Ali, Founder and CEO of Instoried to discuss how AI can help enhance empathy in content writing and also talk about neuromarketing. Website: https://instoried.com/ Fo...
Nov 02, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 149
Brand experiences in a post-pandemic world have evolved far beyond the realms of physical and digital. In many ways platforms like Facebook have facilitated the growth of different formats with different forms of interactivity to truly expand the consumer brand experience. This has made AR a mainstay and the opportunities beyond especially in commerce and shopping a strong driver of economic and digital transformation in the world around us. Tune into this episode, as Varun discusses the above t...
Oct 26, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 148
The increased privatisation of education over the years has led to the dynamic evolution of the educational system as a whole . However, its also led to severe inequality in the the way we educate, as well as given rise to a need to regulate how this privatised model should function especially keeping in mind the disruptions driven by the pandemic and the need to drive equality in the way we educate. One company that’s working to drive this regulation in India is Oxfam India. On this episode, Va...
Oct 19, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 147
The fin-tech segment has grown by leaps and bounds with many tech-first entrepreneurs coming in to enable easy access to financial instruments for a product consumer base. On this new episode, Varun is joined by Co-founders of dezerv. Sahil Contractor and Sandeep Jethwani. Sahil and Sandeep talk about their business model, their experience in investment space, and how consumers and their point of view on money has evolved. Follow Sahil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahil-contractor Fo...
Oct 12, 2021•59 min•Season 1Ep. 146
The journey of a creator tells us many stories and insights. Right from balancing between creating content, building businesses around them and their personal lives, also ways of growing as individuals and as creators. One such creator is Masoom Minawala. On this week's episode, Varun is joined by Luxury Fashion Influencer, Masoom Minawala. Masoom talks about her journey from fashion blogging to growing as a creator, and as a business. She also talks about her focus on elevating women in busines...
Oct 05, 2021•56 min•Season 1Ep. 145
Understanding how millennials and Gen Z create, curate and experience culture will help us understand the shifting habits and tastes of the world around us. Add to that, the shifts that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about and a deep dive is the need of the hour. A lot of these insights come to light in Spotify’s Global Trends Report “Culture Next”. On part 2 of the discussion, Varun is joined by podcasters: Yogi, Kabir and Sarthak Mishra along with Arjun Kolady from Spotify India to talk abo...
Sep 28, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 144
The cultural shifts in the world around us are now primarily driven by millennials and Gen Z. Understanding these shifts along with those driven by the COVID-19 pandemic in how we create, curate and experience culture will help us understand the shifting habits and tastes of the world around us. A lot of these insights come to light in Spotify’s Global Trends Report “Culture Next”. On part 1 of discussion on the insights, Varun is joined by musicians Hanita Bhambri and Kevin Fernando along with ...
Sep 21, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 143
The traditional scope of education and learning based publishing has always been a strong support system for the overall education ecosystem. But, as the way we learn and even look at education has evolved so have these publishers, who made the pivot from pure play publishing to EduTech. One company which has made this shift is Wiley. On this episode, Varun is joined by Vikas Gupta, Managing Director, Wiley, WileyNXT & mthree in India. They talk about Wiley's focus on industry 4.0 skills and...
Sep 14, 2021•51 min•Season 1Ep. 142
Education in it's traditional sense is behind the times to put it lightly. And this has given rise to many models that have come up in the Ed-Tech space. And while the platforms and models differ, there is a growing focus on community based learning that in many ways emulates how the internet at large functions by blending content, community and education seamlessly. One company that has grown in this focus is Avalon Meta and on this episode, Varun is joined by Varun Mayya, CEO at Avalon Meta. V...
Sep 07, 2021•55 min•Season 1Ep. 141
The media & content ecosystem has always had gamechangers who don’t just see what’s ahead and build towards it but also drive a systemic evolution of how the space creates and works. In the Indian media industry one such name who’s synonymous with building for the future is Sameer Nair, CEO of Applause Entertainment. On this episode, Sameer Nair tells Varun about how he’s building a content studio for the streaming age and where the future of the media space lies. Follow Sameer Nair on Insta...
Aug 31, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 140
When was the last time you started thinking about your sleep and thought of buying a new mattress or pillow? The focus on these questions and conversations around the sleep economy have led to the evolution and rejuvenation of an often ignored and mostly commoditized category of products and services. On this episode, Varun is joined by Kabir Siddiq, Founder and CEO of SleepyCat. Kabir talks about the sleep economy and makes us understand why investing in rest is a focus point for him and his co...
Aug 24, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 139
Audio advertising has for the longest time been one way street when it came to communicating with consumers. But, that's fast changing in the voice tech era as now the brands can engage and personalize two way conversations with the consumer. Instreamatic is one such company doing a lot of digital audio advertising. On this episode, Varun is joined by Stas Tushinskiy, Founder and CEO at Instreamatic. They discuss about digital advertising beyond just audio and how Instreamatic is helping drive t...
Aug 17, 2021•39 min•Season 1Ep. 138
One key aspect that has emerged in recent times is to bring the bar experience home. And, this has also been facilitated by companies that function the mixers category. There have been democratize experiences that were traditionally part of the metro city markets to other tier markets as well, and so much more. One such company is Jimmy's Cocktail. On this episode, Varun is joined by Ankur Bhatia, Founder and CEO of Jimmy's Cocktail. Ankur shares his experience of working across e-commerce and a...
Aug 10, 2021•44 min•Season 1Ep. 137
Understanding internet culture is crucial for the brands of today to not just market themselves but to seamlessly and authentically embed themselves into today's popular culture. This authentic embed is driven by marketers and agencies who have deep understanding of the internet culture and its nuances by virtue of creator themselves. On this episode, Varun is joined by Aakash Shah, Founder at One Hand Clap. They talk about internet culture, meme marketing and lots more. Aakash also talks about ...
Aug 03, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 136
One aspect of the content ecosystem that doesn't get spoken of enough is how technology has enabled every publisher to monetize and measure their audience. With technology at the centre this evolution has been facilitated by partners who have helped in the frameworks of commerce and ad techs in their systems. One such company has been Voiro. On this episode, Varun is joined by Kavita Shenoy, Founder and CEO of Voiro to discuss how a company like Voiro have helped publishers connect their dots wi...
Jul 27, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 135
The pandemic has pushed many sectors that were predominately marketed through physical experiences to scale up digital connections. One of the segments that has seen this evolution the most is the automotive sectors. On this episode, Varun is joined by Vivek Srivatsa, Head, Marketing, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit at Tata Motors to discuss the phygital model in the automotive sectors and how it has evolved the consumer brand relationship. Vivek also tells how he looks at the the future of phy...
Jul 20, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 134
The journey of writers in the broader content space has always been an evolving beast. And, while opportunities have increased and value is scaling up there is still a long way to go to truly value writers for what they bring to the creative process. On this episode, Varun is joined by Devaiah Bopanna, Co-founder & Chief Content Officer at All Things Small. Devaiah digs into his process in perspective on writing and also makes us understand his view on the larger ecosystem. He also talks abo...
Jul 13, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 133
The modern digital D2C landscape hasn't just enabled what can be termed as "new age product focused businesses". It's also enabled products that have their roots in our culture but needed the wings that social commerce and D2C offered truly grow and find new wings. One such company is The Indian Ethnic Company. On this episode, Varun is joined by Lekhinee Desai, Co-Founder & Head of Marketing & Operations of The Indian Ethnic Company to talk about the origins of her company on Instagram ...
Jul 06, 2021•38 min•Season 1Ep. 132
