This article has been contributed by Aditya Oza, CMO & Co-Founder at EMotorad.
All good marketers will agree that marketing should never feel like selling. People do not like being sold to; they want to discover things that genuinely interest them and add value to their lives. This realisation is pivotal in shaping how you approach a marketing funnel. You can’t always push “Hurry Up, Last Chance” ads to a target audience that has never heard of your brand.
Instead, marketing across funnels is like building a relationship. It starts with a friendly introduction—”Hey, how are you? Here’s who we are”—gradually evolves into something deeper, where both parties learn more about each other. It’s a trust-building process; though it takes time, it’s infinitely more rewarding and definitely more sustainable.
As CMO, I’ve spent years refining the art of creating successful marketing funnels. Here’s a beginner’s guide to crafting a funnel that drives results, builds relationships, and ultimately converts.
1. Awareness Stage: The Art of First Impressions
The top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) is all about getting noticed. At this stage, your audience isn’t looking to buy—they might not even know they have a problem your product solves. The goal here is simple: introduce your brand in a way that resonates.
What Works? Storytelling. People connect emotionally, not sales pitches. Share your brand’s purpose. Our TOFU content talks about our mission, introduce ourselves in this category, and explains what the category is. This can also be done through educational content like blogs and videos, which don’t necessarily lead to direct sales but are important for building trust and positioning yourself as an SME.
To implement the above, use social media platforms that resonate with your brand voice. Depending on your business goals and target audience, this could include Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
2. Consideration Stage: Earn Trust and Credibility
In the middle-of-the-funnel, or some would say MOFU, your audience is aware of your brand, and marketers will now nurture their interests by showing why their product or service is the right fit for them.
Here, you can leverage case studies, testimonials, pivotal milestones, pros of your solution, success stories, and much more. The key metric to measure is the engagement rate. Use cookies and audience segmentation to retarget visitors who engaged with your content, had queries, and reached out via chatbots.
3. Conversion Stage: Seal the Deal
Your audience is ready at the bottom of the funnel (BOFU), and you must give the final nudge. Here, you must address any hesitation and provide incentives, big or small, to seal the deal.
Make your CTAs simple and clear, making it easier for the consumer to take the next step. ‘Book a FREE test ride’ has been one of our most effective CTAs. While they shouldn’t dominate your content strategy, showing urgency like limited-time offers or offering free accessories with ₹3,000 helps convert warm leads. Having a team ready here to address customer queries can make the difference between a conversion and a bounce.
The key metric here is tracking conversion, purchases, sign-ups, test rides, or any other business goal tied to the revenue.
4. Retention Stage: From Acquisition To Loyalty
This is the most important stage in the funnel. Marketers underestimate the acquisition costs to take your audience through the funnel, and retention is the only sustainable way to ensure growth. The funnel isn’t just three stages but a continuous learning process for each party. Happy customers are your best influencers and marketers; their reviews, repeat purchases, and, in our case, word-of-mouth marketing not only save you a lot of money but build an authentic brand face.
Sending regular updates, thank-you emails, and, in our case, maintenance tips, community rides, discounts on accessories, and or even social media inclusion help foster a sense of community.
Repeat sales, referrals, and engagement are key metrics here.
5. Optimisation Stage: Fine-tune the Funnel
Just like water, the marketing funnel isn’t static; it always flows. It requires constant refinement and fine-tuning based on data and insights. Regularly audit each stage to understand where the leaks are coming from. Use Google Analytics to track your funnel performance and pinpoint where the drop-offs are.
It’s a good stage to implement A/B testing and experiment with ad creatives, emails, landing page designs, and CTAs to optimise your strategy. Actively seek customer feedback through surveys or focus groups to understand what’s working and what’s not.
Your customer acquisition cost and funnel efficiency determine the success of your stages. Finding the percentage of customers who move from one stage to another helps us grease the funnel wheels.
It’s a Wrap!
Successful conversion isn’t bombarding your performance marketing budget and spamming your audience with ads; it’s about reaching the right audience and guiding through thoughtfully.
At EMotorad, effective storytelling, topical content, education, and maintaining authentic connections have helped drive sales and build a community. So whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, always align your funnel with your business goals, and remember it’s not always about selling but building lasting relationships.
This article has been contributed by Chandra Mani, Founder, Useful Garbage Creations.
The way we consume entertainment has changed forever, and Indian OTT platforms are riding the wave in style. With binge-worthy web series, global blockbusters and homegrown dramas that resonate across cultures, India’s streaming services are making their mark. What’s exciting is how they blend local stories with global accessibility, appealing to audiences in India and beyond. But what’s behind this success? Let’s explore how these platforms are competing — and thriving — in the ever-evolving streaming wars.
India’s Storytelling Power: Bigger Than Ever
India’s media and entertainment industry is on a roll, growing 8% last year despite tough global conditions. What’s driving this? A knack for producing stories that connect. The numbers speak for themselves — 200,000 hours of content every year, including 1,700 films, 20,000 songs, and 3,000 hours of premium OTT programming.
Whether it’s a blockbuster film or a heartfelt regional drama, these tales are travelling to more than 160 countries, topping charts, and winning hearts. Even within India, the lines between regional and national content are blurring. People are just as likely to watch a Malayalam thriller as they are a Hindi rom-com, showing how diverse and relatable Indian content has become.
The OTT Boom: Coming to Every Household
Streaming isn’t just a trend in India — it’s becoming a way of life. With digital platforms now reaching 600 million people, the demand for OTT content is skyrocketing. By 2026, video OTT is expected to hit 65 million households, and the hours of premium content are projected to rise from 3,000 to 4,000. That’s a lot of binge-watching!
But it’s not just about volume — it’s about accessibility and innovation. Platforms are finding clever ways to cater to everyone. BookMyShow Stream’s partnership with VROTT Studios, for instance, brings global content in Indian languages, while Amazon miniTV launched miniTV Imported, offering international shows dubbed in Hindi. Netflix, too, dubs its top shows in up to seven languages and subtitles them in 33, ensuring nobody misses out.
These efforts are paying off. OTT revenue in India surged to $1.8 billion in 2022 — a whopping sixfold increase since 2018—and it’s set to hit $3.5 billion by 2027. Streaming isn’t just entertainment anymore; it’s big business.
Local Stories, Global Audiences
What sets Indian OTT platforms apart is their ability to cater to both local and global tastes. Prime Video is a “prime” example — 60% of its viewership comes from local Indian content, with regional titles accounting for a third of that. This strategy not only draws in domestic audiences but also attracts viewers from around the world. It’s not just the shows and movies, either. India’s creator economy is thriving, with web series, kids’ content, and even sports events reaching global audiences. Some platforms report that 60-90% of their audiences—and over 40% of their revenues—come from outside India.
The Battle for Eyeballs: Challenges and Opportunities
Of course, it’s not all smooth sailing. The competition is intense, with global giants like Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar constantly raising the bar. Their innovative offerings, such as Netflix’s pay-lite/mobile-only plans, make premium content more accessible to cost-conscious viewers. To stay in the game, Indian platforms are doubling down on local content and finding creative ways to keep audiences hooked.
This is where the magic happens. Platforms like Zee5 and SonyLIV are tapping into regional stories while also embracing international formats. Shows like Delhi Crime on Netflix, Gullak Season-4 on Sony LIV and Made in Heaven on Prime Video prove that Indian storytelling can hold its own on the world stage. The third season of Panchayat alone garnered 28.2 million viewers earlier this year, while top titles like Heeramandi (20.3 million) and Indian Police Force (19.5 million) showcased the growing appetite for Hindi-language content. This represents a balancing act, one that Indian platforms are mastering.
Streaming Ahead: What’s Next?
The future of Indian OTT looks bright. With the market set to grow at an impressive 14.3% annually, the opportunities are endless. The subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) segment, which has driven the streaming boom so far, is expected to lead the charge, reaching $2.6 billion by 2027.
But more than the numbers, it’s the stories that matter. Indian platforms are proving that local narratives have global appeal, breaking cultural barriers and redefining entertainment for a diverse audience. As more people tune in to Indian content, one thing is clear: the future of streaming is here, and it’s as vibrant and diverse as the stories India has to offer.
This article has been contributed bySaurabh Bothra, Founder & CEO, Habuild.
When we think about a successful workplace, what comes to mind?
Deadlines met, goals achieved, and thriving productivity, right? But there’s a hidden foundation that supports all of this – the emotional well-being of employees.
For men, this aspect often gets overlooked. Why? Because we’ve all grown up in a society that tells men to be “strong,” “tough,” and “unemotional.” They’re taught to suppress their feelings, to prioritise work over their well-being, and to never let the world see them struggle.
But here’s the hard truth – while this behavior is considered “normal,” normal doesn’t mean right. Men suppress their emotions, not because they want to, but because it’s what they’ve been conditioned to do. And this suppression? It doesn’t just disappear – it builds up. At work, it can manifest as stress, burnout, or even complete disengagement.
A workplace that prioritises emotional well-being isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential for long-term success. When employees, especially men, feel safe to express their emotions and seek support, it creates an environment where trust and collaboration thrive. Such a culture fosters stronger relationships, reduces stress, and encourages creativity, which directly impacts productivity.
Breaking the Stigma Around Men’s Emotional Health
But why is it so hard for men to talk about their emotions, especially at work? The answer lies in deeply ingrained societal beliefs – men are often taught that vulnerability is a sign of weakness. They’re expected to “man up” and solve problems silently, leading to an unspoken rule that emotions should be kept out of the workplace.
Breaking this stigma starts with changing the narrative. Vulnerability isn’t a weakness – it’s a strength that builds connection and understanding. As leaders and colleagues, we have the power to normalise open conversations about emotional well-being. When we encourage men to share their challenges without fear of judgment, we create a space where authenticity thrives.
The Two-Stepped Solution to Support Men’s Emotional Well-Being –
Step 1 – Recognising the Signs of Emotional Struggles
Healthy workplaces prioritise the holistic well-being of their employees, addressing both visible and invisible struggles. Often, emotional struggles go unnoticed in workplaces because men are less likely to vocalise their challenges. This makes it critical to actively recognise subtle signs that indicate a male employee might be struggling.
Leaders can proactively identify signs of emotional distress through observable changes in behavior. For example –
Physical Health Decline: Chronic stress can lead to headaches, fatigue, or sleep disturbances.
Sudden Work Pattern Shifts: Uncharacteristic absenteeism, missed deadlines, or withdrawal from team activities could indicate struggles.
Changes in Mood: Irritability, frustration, or a noticeable drop in enthusiasm for work may signal deeper emotional issues.
To address these, organisations can adopt wellness-focused strategies –
Health Check-ins: Incorporate regular wellness check-ins that assess not only productivity but also mental and physical health.
Mindful Work Breaks: Encourage employees to take short breaks for breathing exercises or stretches. Practices like box breathing (inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four, and pause for four) can reduce stress levels significantly.
Open Door Policies: A culture where employees feel safe to approach HR or managers about their emotional challenges fosters trust and prevents burnout.
Integrating wellness into the work environment starts with recognising the connection between physical health and emotional well-being. Employers can promote mind-body practices such as yoga and mindfulness exercises that help manage stress, enhance focus, and encourage relaxation.
For example, workplaces can –
Introduce Wellness Breaks: Dedicate 10–15 minutes during the workday for employees to practice deep breathing, guided meditations, or simple yoga stretches to ease the tension caused by long hours at the desk.
Host Yoga Classes: Offer weekly yoga sessions tailored for stress relief and energy renewal. Techniques such as Pranayama (breath control) can significantly reduce anxiety and improve mental clarity.
Create Wellness Zones: Designate spaces within the office where employees can engage in relaxation activities, from stretching to quiet reading, providing a mental reset during a busy day.
Encouraging these practices not only benefits individual health but also fosters a culture where well-being is viewed as essential, not optional.
2. Nutrition and Hydration for Wellness
Workplace nutrition plays a significant role in overall health and emotional balance. Stressful environments often push employees toward unhealthy habits, like excessive caffeine consumption or skipping meals, which can trigger anxiety and fatigue.
To support healthier choices –
Provide Nutritious Snacks: Stock pantries with items like nuts, fruits, and herbal teas that stabilise energy levels and reduce stress-induced cravings.
Promote Hydration: Ensure easy access to clean drinking water and encourage hydration through awareness campaigns or by providing reusable water bottles. Dehydration can significantly affect mood and cognitive function.
Host Lunch-and-Learn Sessions: Educate employees about the benefits of balanced diets in managing stress and improving energy. These sessions can be informal yet impactful, led by nutritionists or wellness coaches.
3. Promote Active Breaks
Encourage employees to take short, active breaks every hour, such as standing up, stretching, or walking around. Simple exercises like shoulder rolls or desk squats can refresh the body and mind.
4. Celebrate Small Wins
Many men are conditioned to measure success by large accomplishments, often overlooking the importance of daily achievements that contribute to their overall well-being and mental health. Recognising smaller victories not only boosts confidence but also reinforces the idea that their efforts, both big and small, are valuable and worth celebrating.
Role of Yoga in Supporting Emotional Well-Being at Work
In the workplace, men may experience immense pressure, high expectations, and often feel they need to compartmentalise emotions to fit into traditionally masculine roles. Yoga offers a solution by providing techniques that promote mental clarity, stress management, and emotional balance.
Stress reduction – Research shows that yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting a relaxation response that reduces cortisol (the stress hormone). For men, who often suppress emotional responses, yoga allows for a healthy outlet for managing stress.
Improved Focus and Cognitive Function – Yoga helps enhance focus and concentration – key aspects of emotional well-being that often get clouded by stress. With mindfulness at its core, yoga teaches the practice of being present, which improves mental clarity and cognitive performance.
Mind-Body Connection – By focusing on breath, movement, and mindfulness, yoga helps to improve mental clarity, emotional balance, and physical resilience, allowing men to manage stress more effectively and approach challenges with a refreshed, focused mindset.
Here are some effective yoga practices that men can integrate into their workday to reduce stress and enhance emotional well-being –
Anulom Vilom (Alternate Nostril Breathing)
It is a powerful pranayama (breathing technique) that calms the mind, balances emotions, and helps reduce stress. It promotes a sense of tranquility and clears the mental fog, making it an excellent practice for men who experience work-related anxiety or feel overwhelmed.
Box Breathing
It is a stress-relieving technique used by athletes, military personnel, and professionals alike to regain focus and calm the nervous system. It’s ideal for moments when men need quick stress relief at work, as it has been proven to lower cortisol levels and reduce anxiety.
Child’s Pose (Balasana)
It is a restorative yoga position that helps release tension in the back, neck, and shoulders, which are common areas where stress manifests. It promotes relaxation and stress relief, calming the nervous system. It also encourages introspection and emotional release, which can help men reconnect with their emotions.
Cat-Cow Pose (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)
This pose stretches and strengthens the spine, which can release physical tension stored in the body. The gentle movement helps reduce stress, alleviate tension, and promote emotional release.
Mindful Meditation
A quick mindfulness meditation is one of the most effective ways for men to detach from work stress and reset their emotional state. Meditation helps men practice emotional awareness and regulate their responses to stress.
Seated Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)
This pose releases physical tension accumulated in the back, shoulders, and neck while enhancing mental clarity and reducing stress. It also stimulates the digestive system and helps alleviate lower back pain.
Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani)
This pose promotes deep relaxation and helps alleviate physical tension caused by long periods of sitting. It also lowers heart rate and calms the mind, making it an excellent practice for emotional recovery.
Yoga Nidra
Yoga Nidra is a deep relaxation technique that takes men into a state of conscious relaxation, helping reduce mental fatigue and emotional tension. It’s perfect for those who feel emotionally drained after a busy day or stressful meetings.
Conclusion
As we celebrate International Men’s Day and recognise the importance of men’s emotional well-being, we must create workplaces where men feel supported in expressing and managing their emotions.
As men embrace these practices, they’ll not only be better equipped to handle work challenges but also cultivate deeper self-awareness, emotional stability, and a sense of inner peace that translates into every aspect of their lives.
By making emotional health a priority, we are contributing to a future where men can thrive, both professionally and personally.
This article has been contributed by Sreyashi Das, Senior Data Engineer, Netflix.
Have you ever witnessed failed attempts at democratizing analytics? There is a relatively universal pattern where data visualization experts and data analysts must manually transform, apply filter clauses, and connect data across business domains before it is ready for charts and sophisticated visualizations. Data stewardship is entirely manual, starting with data lineage, governance, documentation, and maintaining operations. Although we have seen investments in ensuring data sources are timely and accurate, and on the other end, we have good frameworks and visualization tools like Tableau and web applications to connect to the data layer, the method of accessing data in a clean and consistent manner still impacts the time to insights and leads to inconsistencies in metric definitions.
Self-service analytics frees up the IT team to tailor data for business users, allowing data engineers to focus more on their strengths, which is building foundational datasets. However, self-service analytics forces business users to become SQL savvy, database experts, and modeling experts, leading to less trust in data and creating duplicate work. A semantic layer can be a key technology enabler for delivering a shared understanding of domain-specific entities, improving trust and data security, and accelerating time to insights, empowering business-friendly self-service analytics but with governance and control.
One of the trends driving the analytics market is the changing enterprise landscape, where there is a profound shift in data management and analytics. Cloud infrastructure is the default for deployment. The data warehouse has become more powerful by leveraging solutions like Snowflake but also challenging to understand and manage as a data consumer. Data is becoming more decentralized, and organizations are moving towards the Data Mesh paradigm to shift from centralized control to empowered domain engineering teams. A robust semantic layer in a Data Mesh or a hub-and-spoke style architecture can maintain coherence and quality, providing a single source of truth despite departmental and geographical distribution of data, keeping data aligned with organizational standards.
Role of Data Engineering
It is not about making data available for data experts; it is about making data available for everyone. Data engineers build the foundations of the data pipelines. The semantics, in the form of metadata, can be ingrained in the raw tables for data scientists to use in the later stages of the pipelines. The semantic layer is a shared responsibility of data engineers and analytic engineers and can be achieved by having flexibility, collaboration across partner teams, and sharing best practices to enable cross-domain analytics.
Looker is empowering the data community with an enterprise-ready off-the-shelf solution that you can use today, featuring SOX compliance, Google Sheet Integration, and, most importantly, version control. For a semantic layer to be truly ubiquitous, data must be accessed from the same underlying data structure. Using LookML, Looker’s modeling language, semantic layer developers can participate in a shared analytics environment that brings context and clarity to the logical data model, relationships, and metric definitions.
Step-by-Step Guide
Here are some best practices to organize and build the data model using LookML:
Core dimensions like product hierarchy must adhere to organizational standards and be a single source of truth. This is also known as conforming a dimension.
Connect Looker to a data source, for example, the Snowflake data warehouse.
Create a LookML project.
Using LookML, create views. Views are named after physical table names.
Then create explores. Explore files include view files and determine how data in views can be queried and explored. Explores are built for user discovery.
Model files include explore files. Model files act as entry points in LookML projects, defining which explores are available for querying. By including explores in models, all the explores are made available for reporting and analysis.
Using the hub-and-spoke model ensures cross-domain connectivity and accelerates the speed of generating insights from data and promotes a shared understanding of key business metrics and definitions.
Test and validate your data model. Looker generates SQL queries. Validate the results.
Iterate and refine your model with evolving business definitions.
Documentation using LookML comments is key for the long-term impact of your data model.
Looker’s version-controlled semantic layer centralizes your business logic, ensuring everyone uses the same definition of key metrics regardless of technical background. It separates business logic from physical data, allowing you to reliably apply consistent definitions across KPIs. Metrics defined in a Looker model can also be consumed in other places like Google Sheets, Tableau, and other business intelligence tools. A universal semantic layer not only helps to democratize data and empower teams to make better decisions but also serves as the foundation for GenAI initiatives both now and in the future.
High-quality physical data models are the foundation for more accurate and trustworthy predictive models. If there exists a question-answering system powered by a large language model, the knowledge graph representation of the SQL database, such as Snowflake, will lead to more accurate answers. If there is one thing organizations should invest in, it is semantics. In today’s era, where GenAI adoption continues to grow year over year, context, metadata, and documentation together will elevate the semantics of datasets and enable data-informed decision-making.
This article has been contributed by Komal Rukhana, Founder, Mint and Milk.
In today’s competitive landscape, startups need effective Public Relations (PR) strategies to establish their brand, connect with their target audience, and gain media attention. Crafting a winning PR strategy is essential for building credibility and driving growth. This guide outlines key components for a successful PR strategy tailored for startups.
1. Understand Your Brand and Message
Before launching any PR efforts, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of your brand identity. Define your mission, vision, and values. What sets you apart from competitors? What story do you want to tell? A compelling brand narrative forms the backbone of your PR strategy.
Key Steps:
– Understand the company’s standing in the market, analyse their competitors and observe the trends of their target audience
– Sell a story, not the product/ service. With the world being so competitive, to keep your niche engaged, you need to create a strong story that resonates with you and is authentic to your values
– Don’t divulge and try to do everything all at once just to get temporary traction. It’s a fast paced world and we understand a brand’s requirement to consistently stand out, but PR takes time. You build a brand with consistency. And often in trying to maximise reach, brands divulge from their objective and core goal.
2. Develop a PR Plan
A structured PR plan provides a roadmap for your efforts. Outline your goals, target audience, key messages, tactics, and metrics for measuring success.
Components of a PR Plan:
– Highlight your core messaging and short term objective. This helps in measuring outcome at the end of every campaign
– Ensure all your strategies – PR/ media, influencers, collaborations, events, all align with the objective
– Fuel your creativity – if you don’t think out of the box and take risks, your strategy might fall flat
– Measure KPIs along the way so plans can be altered, don’t wait for the campaign the conclude before identifying achievements
3. Craft Engaging Press Releases
Press releases are a fundamental tool in PR. They should communicate newsworthy information in a clear and engaging manner.
Writing Tips:
– Craft a compelling personalised headline that grabs attention, along with a succinct subheadline.
– Pitch your angle in a crisp, convincing way. Personalise the pitch to the media outlets and journalists. The same story will be relevant to different publications in different ways, tap into that. Provide context, background information, and quotes from key stakeholders. Include data and statistics to support your claims.
– Conclude with a call to action that invites the journalist to feature the brand or have an interaction with its founders.
4. Leverage Social Media
Social media platforms are powerful tools for amplifying your PR efforts. Use them to engage with your audience, share updates, and interact with the media.
Best Practices:
– Maintain a cohesive brand voice and aesthetic across all platforms.
– Respond to comments, share user-generated content, and participate in relevant conversations to make your authenticity stand out.
– Talk to your audiences, genuinely listen to what they have to say, accept their feedback and work on it.
– Mix up your content every now and then with images, videos, infographics, and live updates to keep your audience engaged.
Media relationships are crucial for securing coverage. Personalize your outreach to build rapport with journalists and bloggers.
Strategies:
– Start by following journalists on social media and engaging with their content. Share their articles and comment on their posts to get noticed.
– Tailor your pitches based on the journalist’s interests. Understand their beat and style of writing, instead of blindly pitching all stories to all journalists. Highlight why your story is relevant to their specific audience.
– Keep the messaging short and start a dialogue with the journalist to understand what kind of a story angle they would be more keen on. You can accordingly tweak your pitch.
– Offer expert insights or quotes that journalists can use in their stories, even if it doesn’t directly involve your startup.
6. Utilize Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing can significantly boost your PR efforts. Partnering with influencers who align with your brand can enhance credibility and reach.
Steps to Collaborate:
– Research influencers in your niche who have a genuine following and engagement. Understand the influencer’s audience, deep dive into their profile and conversations they have with their followers and it is equally essential to work with influencers who are passionate about your brand and their story
– Reach out to them with personalized messages explaining why a partnership would be mutually beneficial.
– Define what you hope to achieve through the collaboration (e.g., product reviews, social media posts).
7. Monitor and Measure Success
Tracking the success of your PR efforts is vital for continuous improvement. Utilize analytics tools to measure media coverage, social media engagement, and website traffic.
Metrics to Track:
– Media Coverage: Assess the number of articles written about your startup and their reach.
– Social Media Engagement: Monitor likes, shares, comments, and follower growth.
– Website Traffic: Use tools like Google Analytics to track referral traffic from PR campaigns.
While the above metrics are prominent to assess progress, it is of utmost importance to keep in mind the following points as well:
– Consistently speak to your client, understand what worked and what didn’t because PR and brand building is a long term process and does not have a direct measurable metric.
– Try permutations and combinations, do not stick to one formula that worked in the past.
– Analyse industry trends to diversify reach.
8. Adapt and Evolve
The PR landscape is ever-changing, especially for startups. Be prepared to adapt your strategy based on feedback and results.
Continuous Improvement:
– Regularly seek feedback from your team and audience to refine your approach.
– Keep an eye on industry trends and competitor strategies to remain relevant.
At M&M, we have come up with a concept called “Best Practices” to make the best possible use of the feedback received from the client and the audience across all our projects. The idea is to summarize the strategies implemented and the response received from the client and the audience for the whole team. This helps us stay on top of the expectations and deliver better services.
Wrapping Up
A winning PR strategy for startups is about telling your story, building relationships, and continuously adapting to the evolving landscape. By understanding your brand, crafting engaging content, leveraging social media, and measuring your success, you can create a powerful PR presence that drives growth and visibility. Start small, stay consistent, and watch your startup’s reputation flourish in the marketplace.
This article has been contributed by Prasanna Kumar C, CEO, Vilcart.
Rural retail is observing a transformation due to technological advancements and because of this, there is a change in consumer behavior and growth in economics. Urban retail was at the forefront, but now even rural areas are going with the momentum.
Digital Transformation: The E-commerce Revolution
One of the most profound changes in rural retail is the emergence of e-commerce. Earlier rural areas had no proper internet connection, which made the reach of online retailers limited. However, improvements have overcome the problems; technology-driven development such as the increased usage of smartphones has opened new platforms for rural consumers with respect to online shopping. According to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), internet users in India have crossed the 800 million mark, with rural India having more internet users than urban. By 2025, the number of internet users in rural regions is projected to exceed 504 million, while urban areas will have more than 390 million users.
This change has increased the availability of products and services to rural customers that were previously out of reach. For local companies, e-commerce provides an opportunity to expand the marketplace beyond geographical constraints. New emerging and existing retail industries in India have already begun their delivery services even to the smallest remote areas. Still, this also places traditional brick-and-mortar stores in a less favorable position with respect to their new competitors that are based on the Internet.
Mobile Technology Role
The advancement of 4G/5G mobile technology has played the role of a game changer in the rural retail industry. Today, through multiple mobile applications and platforms, retailers can reach their customers in rural areas. Nowadays, rural retailers are also adapting to the latest technology for seamless transactions and providing mobile-friendly platforms to consumers for availing of products. Thereby building loyalty, gaining trust, and engaging with customers.
In rural India, Kirana stores in every village aim to provide quality products at affordable prices, serving as staple sources for consumers to procure their daily needs. Many retailers have begun catering to the increasing demands of rural communities, more focussing on accessibility and affordability.
Sustainability and Ethical Consumerism
Sustainability is fast emerging as one of the core trends in rural retail as consumers, especially the younger generation, are becoming increasingly conscious about the environment and social implications behind their purchases. Rural areas have close proximity to nature and constitute an agricultural economy, making them more sensitive to climate change and resource depletion.
Retailers have become an important market for sustainable practices such as plastic waste reduction, local sourcing, and organic goods. This has paved the way for rural entrepreneurship to establish sustainable businesses like organic collectives of farming or handmade eco-friendly crafts.
Moreover, ethical consumerism is increasing, and what was once the intent of rural consumers to buy more fair trade and locally produced items has become a demand. Rurall producers can benefit in this sense since higher demand for ethically produced goods is probable. Sustainable supply chains can strengthen the reputation of larger retailers and possibly support loyalty in the minds of rural consumers.
The integration of retail and agribusiness holds a lot in store for the rural areas where agriculture is currently the leader in most industries. Farmers and agricultural producers are increasingly seeking D2C channels, which allow them to directly sell their produce, avoiding middlemen and enjoying the better profits they realize through such channels.
Retailers are countering this by designing platforms that link farmers directly with the consumer. Few retail industries in India, have created an avenue, where consumers could buy fresh produce from local farms right at their tables. This benefits the farmers while giving the consumer fresh, quality produce at very competitive prices.
Agricultural retail is also advancing with technology, as many farmers now rely on e-commerce for agricultural inputs. Farmers can purchase fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides online, where they can compare products based on price, chemical composition, and usage instructions. This allows them to select the most suitable products at affordable prices. Thereby increasing the market growth and rural farmers can become more technology-driven and demand more structured ways to manage their businesses.
Infrastructure and Supply Chain Innovations:
Infrastructure is always a big challenge in rural retail, especially with respect to logistics and management of the supply chain. Normally, rural areas face issues that can cause problems are poor network connectivity, lack of transportation facilities, poor electricity. These challenges are, however, being taken head-on by innovations in supply chain technologies. With the help of the government few industries are implementing remote deliveries to the consumers. The government is supporting by providing infrastructure development throughout the rural areas including the creation of dedicated rural transport networks, which would greatly improve the supply chains.
Empowerment of rural women:
Women play a significant part in rural areas, hence acting as the backbone of the developing retail ecosystem. From small to high business platforms, women’s empowerment programs, including microfinance projects and skill development training programs, have encouraged more women to pursue entrepreneurship. Women are entering the field of business. Many women entrepreneurs in rural India are taking the initiative to build a strong and effective retail sector, thereby being involved in the production and selling of goods. This empowerment trend is likely to continue with more women participating in the retail trade either by forming businesses or becoming the critical constituent of supply chains. This not only upsurges economic activities locally but also brings forth gender equality in rural areas.
The rural retail sector does promise a great future, yet has several challenges like:
Infrastructural development in remote areas, and financial stability because a large number of rural consumers do not have access to banking due to lack of connectivity.
However, despite having reduced the gap, the digital divide still influences the extensions of e-commerce into some rural regions. Education and digital literacy also play an important role in helping rural populations participate properly and fully in the digital economy.
Rural retailing will be bright in the near future because of digital transformation, sustainability, and localized retailing, will pave the way for new opportunities for business as well as for consumers. As technology bridges the gap between the cities and the countryside and, in turn, improves infrastructures, rural markets will increasingly form a constituent part of the overall global ecosystem of retail. In these rural markets, embracing technology and innovation to their full extent, retailers in the future shall thrive.
This article has been contributed by Manasvita Subramanian, Chief of Digital Marketing at Spicetree Design Agency.
With the Diwali season sparking consumer excitement, it’s an ideal time for direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands to ramp up social media efforts. Many brands have achieved impressive results by connecting emotionally with their audience, launching festive products, and using targeted ads and influencer collaborations. Here are successful strategies brands have already used for Diwali promotions, demonstrating how to create impact in a crowded digital landscape.
1. Highlight Cultural Relevance with an Engaging Festive Story
D2C brands like Cadbury and Amazon have mastered the art of using Diwali’s cultural significance in their social media storytelling. This approach strengthens brand appeal and forms an emotional bond with customers. For example, Cadbury’s “Not Just a Cadbury Ad” campaign took an innovative approach by creating hyper-localized ads that encouraged viewers to buy from local stores for Diwali. Through social media, they rolled out city-specific ads featuring local vendors, adding a strong community-focused message.
Why it Worked:
Cadbury tapped into the cultural sentiment of supporting local businesses during Diwali, aligning perfectly with the festive spirit and gaining immense traction on social platforms.
2. Create Limited-Edition Festive Products and Attractive Bundles
Nykaa’s Diwali Dhamaka Sale offers up to 50% off on top beauty brands, with special Diwali bundles and gift sets in festive packaging. “Buy-more-save-more” deals incentivized larger purchases, making it easy for customers to buy multiple products at discounted rates.
Why It Worked:
This approach tapped into Diwali’s gifting spirit with attractive, ready-made gift options that offered value and convenience. The festive packaging and exclusive bundles increased appeal, encouraging bigger purchases and boosting Nykaa’s sales during the high-demand season.
3. Emotional Storytelling
Zomato‘s Diwali campaign, “Rishton Se Hai Diwali, Har Din,” successfully navigated the crowded digital landscape by focusing on emotional storytelling and cultural relevance. The campaign’s heartwarming video resonated deeply with audiences, showcasing the unifying power of food during the festive season. This approach not only increased brand engagement but also strengthened Zomato’s connection with its customers.
Why it Worked:
The campaign’s heartwarming video effectively portrayed the unifying power of shared meals, evoking strong emotions and creating a sense of nostalgia. By aligning with the cultural context and values of its audience, Zomato successfully created a memorable and impactful campaign that resonated on a personal level.
4. Leverage Influencer Collaborations with Festive Content
Haldiram, partnered with popular influencer Komal Pandey to elevate their Diwali campaign through the campaign #YehDiwaliApnoWali, translating to “This Diwali is all about loved ones.” In this charming campaign, Komal showcased how Haldiram’s delectable treats create memorable moments among family and friends during the festival. Her engaging reel combined style, flavour, and the essence of togetherness, making it a perfect representation of Diwali celebrations.
Why It Worked:
The collaboration effectively captured the warmth of the holiday, allowing the brand to connect emotionally with its audience. By aligning with an influencer whose values resonate with its target market, Haldiram reinforced its position as a key part of festive gatherings
5. Enhance Engagement with Festive AR Filters
OnePlus launched a festive campaign centered around Diwali, titled #OneCelebration, where they collaborated with Snapchat to develop an AR portal lens designed to connect individuals, especially those unable to celebrate Diwali in person. Through this innovative feature, users could immerse themselves in the festive spirit with the AR portal lens, adding virtual decorations, sparkling lights, and a touch of warmth to their surroundings.
Why It Worked:
The campaign resonated deeply with users by addressing the emotional aspects of celebrating Diwali apart from family and friends. The AR portal lens offered a unique and innovative way for people to connect and celebrate Diwali, this resonated with the festival’s core values of family and community. The campaign also aligned perfectly with OnePlus’ brand ethos of innovation and youth appeal. By leveraging cutting-edge technology to create a festive experience, OnePlus demonstrated its commitment to staying ahead of the curve.
By blending cultural relevance, interactive campaigns, influencer partnerships, and AI, D2C brands can build strong connections with their audience during Diwali. The examples above show how well-crafted campaigns on social media can enhance a brand’s visibility, boost engagement, and drive sales. Brands that leverage Diwali’s festive energy with creative, consumer-centric strategies are more likely to see tangible results, building both brand loyalty and festive cheer in the process.
The article has been contributed by Ms. Manisha Dash, HR – Head, Celigo, APAC.
Festivals like Diwali are an excellent way to engage with our teams, celebrate diversity, and build team spirit. When employees feel connected and appreciated, they become more engaged, which has a direct impact on productivity and satisfaction.
Celebrating Diwali at Work Strengthens Team Bonding
Diwali celebrations in the workplace is a valuable tradition for companies that believe in cultural inclusivity and team bonding. It’s one of the biggest festivals in India, which celebrates victory by light over darkness, and victory by good over evil, and the workplace provides excellent opportunities to translate this spirit onto paper. The office arrangements for Diwali festivities create a sense of community among employees, building a positive environment that promotes morale. Most offices start by decorating the space with diyas, fairy lights, and rangoli.
Building Community Values with Office Decor
Office environments are brimming with colour, and some organisations host office decoration competitions in which employees compete to team up to decorate their workspaces. This pleasant competition engages employees and promotes teamwork and coordination. A kaleidoscope of colours and festive decorations creates a dynamic atmosphere, making employees feel more connected to the festivities.
The ethnic dress code is another big attraction during Diwali celebrations at work. Besides decorations and clothing, games and competition are big parts of celebrations. Some companies host games such as housie or tambola, Diwali-themed quizzes, rangoli-making competitions, and other activities. This recognition boosts morale and gives a feeling of belonging, as it shows that culture and heritage is being valued in the organization. It is a very simple gesture that reinforces an organization’s commitment to celebrating diversity.
Games and Activities Encouraging Cross-Department Bonding
Engaging games and activities are a core element of Diwali celebrations in the workplace, offering employees a chance to connect in a lighthearted and inclusive way. These activities often include games like housie (tambola), Diwali-themed quizzes, and rangoli-making competitions, which not only bring fun into the office but also promote healthy competition and teamwork. Among the most valuable aspects of these activities is the way they promote interaction across departments, break down silos, and creates a more united work environment.
Whether it’s team-based games or activities requiring diverse skills, employees from different teams get a chance to work together, communicate, and get to know each other in a setting that feels less formal and more personal. Such bonds foster strong interpersonal relationships, which work well into cohesiveness in the day to day working.
Food is an integral part of any Diwali celebration, and most businesses host a special lunch or distribute traditional sweets like laddoos, barfis, and kaju katli to the staff. It not only satisfies the sweet appetite but also creates a sense of community when people gather to share a meal and celebrate.
The proper and fun-filled celebrations of Diwali would ensure great employee engagement, improved bonding among employees in the workplace, and some memories to remember years later. Properly planned Diwali celebration events, along with the presentation of food and sweets, are what leave such nice memories with the employees once the event is over. These small yet effective gestures explain why employees remain loyal to and satisfied with a firm.
By organizing thoughtful, relevant celebrations, companies can foster higher employee engagement, as employees feel valued and appreciated for being part of an inclusive workplace culture. In celebrating Diwali with food, organizations not only uphold a cherished cultural tradition but also build a stronger, more connected workplace. These shared meals and treats embody the spirit of togetherness that lies at the heart of Diwali, ensuring that employees feel the joy of the festival both as individuals and as part of a supportive team
Celigo Diwali Festivities : Blending Tradition, Fun, and Gratitude
At Celigo, Diwali is a celebration of solidarity, culture, and the value of family. Our office’s Diwali celebrations get vibrant every year, and we take pride in showcasing the rich ethnic diversity of our employees. We make sure that the spirit of Diwali is celebrated with respect and creativity, whether it is through the creative exhibition of traditional clothing or brand-new, thrilling games. We want to make every year’s celebration more unforgettable than the one before as we mature and gain a better understanding of our employees’ needs.
We provide thoughtful and inventive presents that are valued by both our employees and their families. We think that having a solid support network at home is essential for influencing work. We think that a solid support network at home is essential for influencing performance and work ethics. We at Celigo are incredibly grateful for the sacrifices and support that our employees’ families make, as they help to make Celigo a fantastic place to work. Like every year, we celebrate not only the holiday but also the spirit of thankfulness and unity that makes our Celigo family stronger this Diwali.
In summary, festivals like Diwali provide an organization with the best opportunity to embrace diversity, build team spirit, and enhance employee engagement. By creating a culture of such celebrations, companies can foster a supportive environment in which employees feel connected, appreciated, and motivated to contribute their best. Such celebrations have a profound impact, not only enriching the workplace culture but also driving productivity and satisfaction for years to come.
This article is contributed by Pranjal Agarwal, India Market Head, Mudrex.
Diwali is one of the few festivals that is commonly celebrated across India. During this time of the year, people tend to buy new clothes, ornaments, cars/bikes, gadgets, gifts and many more including making new investments, signifying a prosperous year ahead. To capitalise on these age-old traditions, brands from across industries and segments come up with various campaigns targeting their audience to improve their brand image and value, thereby increasing sales. Let’s understand how various brands can use consumer insights to design the perfect campaigns for their target audience.
Website and App Analytics
Website or App Analytics is key. These analytics help brands in analysing user behaviour, revealing how users interact with their app/website. Key metrics such as demography, and engagement time and behaviour tell you so much about the user like what interests them, what they connect to, their cultural ideology and many more. A/B testing allows you to experiment with different versions of your website or app to determine which performs better in terms of user engagement and conversion. Using these metrics, brands can help create tailored campaigns and enhance their user experience making sure any campaigns for Diwali and any other occasion have the highest engagement rate.
Taking Advantage of Key Diwali trends
Based on the sector your brand is in, you can use specific Diwali trends to drive traffic, sales or volumes. For example, making new investments is one of the biggest traditions in India. If you are a stock broker or any other exchange, waving off the transaction fees during the famous “Muhurat Trading” would be a well-fitted campaign for all your audience. Shopping is another major part of Diwali. To capitalise on this, e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart announce sales in the name of “Amazon Great Indian Festival” and “Flipkart Big Billion Days” benefitting both users and brands equally. It is important to find that specific Diwali trend that your brand can capitalise on to improve sales, volumes or traffic.
Capturing the Emotional Aspect of Diwali
Apart from increasing sales or driving volume, brands also create campaigns to build their brand value in the minds of their audience. Given that Diwali has a strong emotional aspect to it —- bringing families together. No amount of discounts, offers or cashbacks can come close to this feeling. Hence, brands building on Cultural insight with localised themes have an edge over others.
The Best Use of Customer Insights
Listening to your customers is one of the best ways to connect and get more such customers. With feedback on what’s good about your product/service, what’s not good, and what more they want, the brand can understand the pulse of the consumers. Not just their feedback but their queries also give a sense of what they are looking for. These insights from your customers help you style your communications and talk to them in their language (be it millennials, GenZ or Boomers) to connect with them better.
Concluding Thoughts
While there are 1000s of brands targeting millions of audiences in many creative ways, the key things that make a Diwali campaign successful is if our brand brought happiness to our consumers in some way or another. Making sure our customers get the best product/service they deserve should be the priority. It would be interesting to see what kind of campaigns we get for this Diwali. Given the increasing use of AI and other tech by brands, this Diwali will surely be a delightful one for both brands and customers. Wish you all a happy and safe Diwali.
This article has been contributed byAnkit Aneja, Vice President, Herbal Chakra Pvt. Ltd.
As Diwali is around the corner, D2C brands have a prime opportunity to use social media to engage consumers, sell more, and create lasting relationships. Digital platforms become an integral part of modern marketing, making it important to develop Diwali-specific campaigns so that one can stand out in a busy marketplace. Here are some key strategies that can help D2C brands optimize their social media presence and maximize impact this holiday season:
Diwali-Specific Discounts and Promotions
Discount and promotion sales will continue to be one of the most attractive ways for Indian consumers, especially with Diwali when it is all about spending money in gifting and personal purchases. A Diwali special or a festive promotion will create some sort of urgency for a limited period and move into quick sales. Sales should be hosted, coupons be offered, and packaged products flaunted: Social media, especially Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp-what better way to promote something? Tools such as countdown timers on Instagram Stories or discounts on Facebook ads will ensure that brands get maximum traffic during the holiday season since impulses will drive it.
Promoting Healthy Lifestyles and Wellness Trends During Diwali
The demand for healthy lifestyles, Diwali is not merely about sales. It also represents an excellent opportunity to nudge consumers toward new habits as wellness trends become mainstream for D2C brands in their way of propagating healthier and mindful lifestyles. For example, Herbal Chakra could focus on Ayurvedic rituals for health and wellness, encouraging customers to “start your health journey this Diwali.” Whether it is fitness, mindfulness, or skincare routines, holiday events provide emotional touchpoints that inspire people to make long-term lifestyle changes. Brands can create compelling content like tutorials, educational posts, or influencer collaborations that resonate with a growing health-conscious audience.
The Power of Substitution: Healthier Alternatives
Spotlighting Healthier Alternatives during Diwali is a very effective approach. When the season is known for overindulgence and lavish living, brands can seize this moment as an opportunity to shift consumers towards healthier and eco-friendly alternatives. An example would be pushing jaggery as an alternative to refined sugar in most of the sweets that make up the festive treats. Making content about sustainable conscious choices such as sustainable packaging or organic ingredients can ensure that the brand reaches the masses without going out of relevance during the festival.
The Key is Content: Performance Marketing Meets Organic Engagement
In marketing strategy terms, a strategy for instant returns during the festival; however, a brand cannot undermine the long-term strength that content marketing possesses. Creating valuable content regularly allows brand awareness to build in the long run and deepen customers’ relationships with you.
Organic content, that is, a product guide, user-generated stories, and even behind-the-scenes content could give a loyal community. Ideas of the values that the brand stands for or activities of initiatives such as eco-friendly campaigns or charity events around Diwali are going to appeal emotionally and increase brand affinity. A great example is working with influencers and customer reviews to encourage D2C beauty brands to create makeup tutorials around the holiday season and encourage their followers to achieve the same look with a brand’s products.
Foster Brand Loyalty: Re-target and Lifetime Value Focus for the Long Haul
To have a sustainable future, D2C brands will have to build customer loyalty that lasts beyond the holiday season. Retargeting campaigns will help brands reach out to their former customers with personalized offers or reminders about Diwali sales. These can be very effective when retargeting segments that have already shown interest in your brand but haven’t bought yet.
Finally, a D2C business is only sustainable if it is customer lifetime value-focused. Brands should create loyal customers by offering subscription models, exclusive offers, or loyalty programs. It has been observed that brands often contact their existing customers asking them to buy during the festival of Diwali and continue using the same throughout the year. Email marketing can do wonders for customer retention if it is accompanied by tailored discount codes and exclusive, timed pre-sale access. This means that the value that contributed to the long-term success cycle can be substantially increased for customers.
Expand Your Footprint:
For new D2C brands, Diwali is an excellent time to get more visibility through aggregator platforms like Amazon, Flipkart or Nykaa. Although the margins may not be too high at this stage, it is a never-before opportunity to reach out to an enormous and very diverse consumer base. By aggregating new brands with well-known markets, aggregators add to the trust customers are bound to have in and seek out the products coming from these new brands. It can then be driven, during the high-spending season, by placing their D2C presence there, which can convert those sales into direct-to-self, through their website.
First, it has to be about getting your brand in front of as many people as possible and then reaching out to the brand’s platform, which has higher margins.
Leverage Your Existing Customer Base:
One of the most valuable assets for any D2C brand is its existing customer base. Diwali presents a great opportunity to reconnect with loyal customers through personalized messages, exclusive offers, and festive greetings. Send premium customers early access codes or, offer extra discounts on referrers during the period. Create some holiday-related product bundles so that purchasing is more exciting. And that will generate more sales in addition to a loyal base of customers. Take this moment to actively gather feedback for enhancing further and refine based on resonance with the brand’s audiences.
“Diwali offers D2C brands a chance to connect meaningfully with audiences, integrating festival tradition with the potential of digital engagement. Through social media, we are reaching consumers directly; they get emotional about festivals; we are offering customized offers and establishing long-term relations. Brands can have high-impact, value-based campaigns by focusing on authentic storytelling, wellness habits, and environmental alternatives for products.” – Ankit Aneja, Vice President, Herbal Chakra Pvt. Ltd.
This will ensure that D2C brands have repeat sales and brand advocacy even after the holiday season. It is an excellent opportunity for D2C brands to reach new customers, retain existing ones, and increase overall brand awareness during Diwali, provided they make the right use of social media. Adding monetary incentives, encouraging new habits, offering healthier alternatives, and focusing on a long-term content strategy, D2C brands can make the most of their social media presence for a successful Diwali campaign.
Preeti Karna
