StartupTalky

Tag: Advertising and Marketing Industry

  • Maddie Amrutkar, Founder and CEO, Glad U Came, Pushes the PR Industry Forward With Pioneering Celebrity Gifting, Influencer Marketing, and Social Media Strategies

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    Marketing and public relations (PR) are important components of a company’s overall strategy to promote its products and brand. Marketing refers to the process of identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customer needs through the creation, promotion, and distribution of products, while PR refers to the management of a company’s reputation and image, typically through the use of media and other third-party channels.

    Both marketing and PR play critical roles in establishing and maintaining a strong brand identity for luxury goods, helping to communicate the value and unique qualities of the products to customers, and building customer loyalty. Effective marketing and PR can also help companies navigate challenges and maintain their competitive position in a rapidly changing market.

    The global marketing and PR agency market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of around 5-7% from 2021 to 2026, driven by factors such as the increasing importance of digital marketing, the growth of e-commerce, and the changing needs and preferences of customers.

    For this Interview, we invited Maddie Amrutka, founder and CEO of Glad U Came, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the Public Relations and Communications industry.

    StartupTalky: What does your company do? What was the motivation/vision with which you started?

    Maddie: Glad U Came creates Award-winning digital campaigns that get people clicking, sharing, and engaging the right audience at the right time. From innovative start-ups to global giants, we’re the go-to agency for contenders with a disruptor mindset. We understand that when you’re investing in something, you expect ROI.

    We are a creative, focused, and trusted PR and influencer marketing agency that develops ROI-driven campaigns to help your business reach its full potential.

    StartupTalky: What is/are the USP/s of your products?

    Maddie: We offer services like PR, Celebrity gifting, Influencer Marketing, and Social media marketing, and what makes us different is that we are pioneers in celebrity gifting in India, and we create well-planned strategies for our client’s growth.

    StartupTalky: How has the public relations and communications industry changed in recent years, and how has your company adapted to these changes?

    Maddie: As we go towards a digital world, it is critical to be informed about what is going on around us. We launched our sister company, Glad We Met, a talent management company where we manage celebrities and creators, and we perform digital PR for our clients because of this. Moving further in the realm of influencer marketing was a necessary choice because it is a growing industry.

    Evolution of Public Relations – How the Industry Started?
    Public Relations is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organisation to the public to influence their perception.
    StartupTalkyKinnary Nensee

    Maddie: For our clients, we act as a “Thinking Partner” and are dedicated to lifelong learning. We follow strict procedures and provide excellent work and high-level advice. Our team makes use of a variety of media to reach the right audience and generate engagement that keeps your business top-of-mind.

    We understand the importance of SEO and hence we have optimized our website to garner the best clients.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Maddie: We have a Google Sheet where we track our employees’ progress and growth; the columns include what they achieve weekly, and we also have a RAG column to determine the progress.

    We also conduct daily opening and closing meetings to discuss the agenda of the day and keep up-to-date on the progress. And heads of departments have a daily meeting separately to figure out the team’s growth.

    StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges your company faced in the past year and how did you overcome them?

    Maddie: As the Pandemic was a difficult time for all of us, especially as offices were in a complete work-from-home situation, it was challenging at the start, but after that, we also gave our employees the hybrid option of working so that their safety was also prioritized. We made meetings virtually possible for clients and employees so that nobody suffered.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack which you pulled off.

    Maddie: We make sure to participate in awards and summits that help with networking and getting more business; also, LinkedIn plays a major role in getting leads because we actively post about our services and hiring. We also did PR for Lokmat Awards, which helped us garner 15 million views on Instagram.

    StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

    Maddie: We use apps like Razorpay to maintain all the employee activity like salary and holidays so that everything is well managed. Google sheets is another important part of our daily lives as it makes work easy and it is convenient to maintain trackers making it smooth and systematic.

    We also have an analytics and discovery platform driven by AI called HypeAuditor which can be used to uncover relevant influencers, learn more about their audiences, improve the return on investment for advertisers, and protect the integrity of influencer marketing.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world?

    Maddie: New technology can benefit in numerous ways. Startups focused on predictive analytics offer tools to help you adapt story angles for journalists based on interests, prior coverage, personalities, and trends, as well as anticipate the possibility that a journalist will cover your story. Tools for performing sophisticated sentiment analysis on media clips, social media messages, and other sources are also being developed.

    StartupTalky: What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

    Maddie: In March, e-commerce spending in Delhi climbed by 1%, while spending in Bengaluru increased by 2%. However, expenditure in Mumbai declined by 7 percent throughout the month. As the cost of living is comparatively high in Mumbai people end up paying more on rent especially post covid prices have gone extremely high, so you have to think about the target audience before implementing any strategies.

    StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your plans and strategies?

    Maddie: There will never be a single day in which everything goes perfectly, and some days can be very difficult. However, if you can keep a positive attitude and continue to look on the bright side, the challenging days can be an additional opportunity for growth in both your professional life and your life in general. So, making mistakes at the workplace is normal but make sure you learn from those mistakes and plan better in the future.

    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, product, and team base in the future?

    Maddie: We plan on tapping homegrown brands as well as luxury brands as our experience in both has been versatile. So we want our clients to get the right limelight in the digital space, and hence we plan such goal-oriented strategies. For our employees we provide leave, GUC is the first PR agency to give Period leaves. As women make up 90% of our workforce, thus we are aware of the need for
    menstruation leave. Hence we granted special leaves for the same to provide a healthy environment for our employees.

    StartupTalky: One tip you would like to share with people reading this article who want to get into entrepreneurship?

    Maddie: One of the most effective methods is to get ideas from other business owners in the early stage of development. Avoid competitive companies and trade your knowledge and expertise for theirs. This will make networking more mutually beneficial, maybe leading to future opportunities.

    We thank Maddie Amrutkar for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.

  • Technology Plays a Crucial Role in the Growth and Monetization of Apps Says Arpit Jain, Founder of GreedyGame

    In 2020, the Indian advertising industry was valued at INR 670 billion. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11% between 2023 and 2028 reaching approximately INR 1253.2 billion according to the data shared by Expertmarketresearch.

    Statista data shows the digital advertising industry in India reached approximately INR 200 billion in the year 2021.  It is expected to reach INR 360 billion by 2023.  The reason for this exponential growth is attributable to the deep penetration of social media and gaming platforms.  These platforms have provided businesses and brands an invaluable marketing opportunity to reach their target audience.

    Startup Talky: Take us through the GreedyGame journey and how it started?

    Arpit Jain: We founded GreedyGame in 2013 with a vision to have a content-driven approach to mobile advertising.  At the time, mobile ads were considered intrusive and disruptive to user experience resulting in low conversions for advertisers. The GreedyGame platform was one of the early pioneers of native advertising for gaming apps that helped publishers with advanced native formats years before AdMob or FAN.

    Over the years, we have evolved to be a one-stop platform for publishers to acquire users, maximize revenue, and also get actionable insights to improve their business growth trajectory. In the past decade, we have set industry standards to better engage the audience by making ads attractive and profitable. Today we are a Google Channel Partner, working with more than 1500 publishers and 500+ advertisers.

    We have grown as a team. In the last three years, we have achieved a multi-fold growth with a brilliant team and cutting-edge technology.

    Currently, we are also supporting young app developers and startups with best practices, insights, and marketing funds to grow their apps on our platform, called ‘Appicorns’. Overall, the whole journey has been a remarkable learning experience, with immense growth along the way.

    GreedyGame celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. It’s been a winding road full of challenges, obstacles, successes and failures. The last three years have, especially, been significant to our growth.

    Startup Talky: What are the services offered by GreedyGame? Please also mention core services or verticals.

    Arpit Jain: Our product repertoire is extensive helping apps and websites increase their user bases and earn revenue.

    GreedyGame AdX: We help monetize apps efficiently with AdX. It is an ideal alternative to AdMob or AdSense for implementing better ad monetization strategies and data analysis. It helps publishers connect with premium demand partners and direct advertisers to improve fill rates and eCPMs (effective cost per thousand impressions).

    GROW: With Grow, you can kickstart your app’s growth with self-service user acquisition. You can overcome the challenges of building ads from scratch, and create productive ad campaigns and reach out to millions of users who are looking for an app like yours. The best part is, you get targeted installs and can acquire non-incentivized users at a nominal cost.

    SDK X: You can switch to advanced AdMob integration with SDK X. It allows publishers to supercharge their ad revenue with a refined way of integrating AdMob and multiple demand sources with apps. It is a revolutionary ad-serving technology, allowing publishers to integrate AdMob and premium ad networks to optimize their ad revenue and get higher fill rates and eCPM.

    Insights: Insights provide a 360-degree overview of your app growth and revenue. It offers a comprehensive dashboard that declutters various contextual metrics for you to identify the right type of data and quickly identify the user behavior to find your ROAS (return on ad spend).

    As far as our core services are concerned, we offer an all-in-one product that aids in overall app/website growth, monetization, and user acquisition across all domains.

    Startup Talky: How do you see the landscape of mobile app monetization in the coming years, especially in India?

    Arpit Jain: The mobile app monetization landscape in India is expected to continue growing in the coming years. The increasing penetration of smartphones and internet access in the country will likely lead to more people downloading and using mobile apps, which will in turn create more opportunities for app developers to monetize their products. Some of the most popular monetization methods currently used in India include in-app advertising, in-app purchases, freemium models, subscription-based models, and affiliate marketing. Additionally, with the rise of digital payments and e-commerce in India, we can also expect to see more apps integrate these revenue models to generate revenue.

    In addition, 5G technology has the potential to greatly impact the mobile app monetization landscape in India. With faster speeds and lower latency, 5G will allow for more immersive and interactive experiences within mobile apps, which could lead to increased engagement and revenue for app developers. Moreover, 5G’s ability to support a larger number of connected devices will enable new monetization opportunities, such as IoT-based apps and services. 5G will also enable new technologies like edge computing and cloud gaming, which could also boost monetization potential for mobile app developers.

    This is not all; 5G will also allow for more efficient delivery of video and other high-bandwidth content, which could lead to an increase in video-based advertising and other monetization methods that rely on rich media. This would enable app developers to access a wider range of monetization options, allowing them to create more personalized and profitable apps.

    Startup Talky: Do you think mobile app monetization platforms are thriving in India? If yes, then what factors have contributed to this success?

    Arpit Jain: Yes, mobile app monetization platforms are thriving in India. The factors that have contributed to this success include:

    1. Increase in smartphone penetration: With the rise of affordable smartphones, more Indians are accessing the internet through their mobile devices. This has led to an increase in the number of app downloads and usage, providing a large audience for app monetization platforms to target.
    2. Growth of e-commerce: The growth of e-commerce in India has led to an increase in the number of apps being developed for online shopping, food delivery, and other services. This has created a demand for monetization platforms that can help app developers generate revenue through in-app purchases, subscriptions, and ads.
    3. Increase in ad spends: As more companies shift their advertising budgets to digital platforms, there has been a significant increase in ad spending on mobile apps. This has created a large market for mobile app monetization platforms that can help app developers monetize their apps through advertising.
    4. The rising popularity of mobile gaming: The popularity of mobile gaming in India has also contributed to the success of mobile app monetization platforms. Many app developers are now developing games that are free to download but require in-app purchases to unlock certain features or advance to higher levels.
    5. Government initiatives: The Indian government has also played a role in the success of mobile app monetization platforms by promoting the development of the digital economy and encouraging the growth of the startup ecosystem. This has led to an increase in the number of app developers and startups in the country, creating a larger market for monetization platforms.

    Startup Talky: What is your USP as a mobile app monetization platform?

    Arpit Jain: GreedyGame offers end-to-end business growth solutions via a single platform. App developers can start acquiring users and scale up in multiple ways, including influencers, affiliates, and DSPs. They can set up their ad monetization and receive data-backed insights on a continuous basis to help them grow their business.

    The top 1% of app publishers get 80% of all downloads; we help the other 99%. We are looking to democratize the app ecosystem with the world’s first AI-enabled ad unit recommendation and creation engine for implementing ads of all formats. We have established industry standards with this platform to increase audience engagement by making advertisements entertaining and lucrative.

    How will 5G Revolutionize the Indian Startup Industry
    As Jio has announced that it will roll-out 5G services in India in 2021. Lets dive deeper to understand How will 5G Revolutionize the Startup Industry.
    StartupTalkyBharath Jinda

    Startup Talky: What are some of the biggest challenges that the company has faced so far?

    Arpit Jain: As an app monetization company, we have faced a number of challenges, including:

    Ad fraud: Ad fraud, where fraudulent actors impersonate legitimate advertisers, has become a significant issue in the app monetization space. This can lead to revenue loss for app monetization companies.

    Privacy concerns: With increasing concerns about data privacy, app monetization companies have had to adapt their practices to comply with new regulations such as GDPR and CCPA.

    Changes in app store policies: Changes in app store policies, such as Apple’s recent changes to its App Store guidelines, can impact the way app monetization companies are able to monetize their apps.

    Startup Talky: What is the role that technology plays in the growth and monetization of apps?

    Arpit Jain: Technology plays a crucial role in the growth and monetization of apps. It allows for the creation and development of apps, as well as their distribution and promotion through various channels such as app stores and social media. Additionally, technology enables the use of various monetization strategies, such as in-app purchases, advertising, and subscriptions. It also allows for data collection and analysis, which can be used to improve user experience and target monetization efforts more effectively.

    Besides, the usage of AI/ML (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning) in apps can greatly enhance their functionality and user experience. For example, AI-powered chatbots can provide personalized customer service and support, while ML algorithms can be used to analyze user data and improve app recommendations and personalized content. AI/ML can also be used to optimize in-app advertising and improve the efficiency of app monetization. Additionally, AI/ML can be used to improve app security by detecting and preventing fraudulent activities. Overall, incorporating AI/ML into apps can significantly improve their value, which can result in higher growth and monetization.

    Startup Talky: How are you going to add more value to your services this year (2023)?

    Arpit Jain: Until 2022, all our products had separate dashboards, but this year we have come up with a unified dashboard called PubScale. Thanks to this integrated dashboard, publishers now have access to analytics, growth, optimization, and monetization, all in one convenient location. Our goal with PubScale is to give developers solid data and total transparency for their advertising campaigns. This platform helps publishers run a profitable and goal-oriented business by providing features for ad monetization, user acquisition, ad revenue optimization, and app performance analytics. Thereby, it eliminates app developers’ extra costs and the hassle of using separate platforms for unique campaign objectives.

    In addition, our stakeholders will see heavy usage of AI/ML from GreedyGame, meaning, more recommendations, insights, and data from competitors, to help app developers grow.

    Startup Talky: Please tell us a little bit about your company’s expansion plans in the coming years and how you see your growth in the next 5 years?

    Arpit Jain: Geographically, we are in Bangalore and Delhi in India, and in Delaware, US. We have already started having sales consultants in different countries. In the next five years, we see ourselves expanding into new markets and establishing our footprints across the globe.

    We are also looking to create deeper-level partnerships with mid-sized app developers whose apps have the potential to grow and the capability to go big. We will collaborate with them and help them scale through all the knowledge and resources at our disposal.

    We thank Arpit Jain for spending his valuable time and sharing his learnings with all of us.