Latest news with #BrandWorldSummit2025
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
ETBWS 2025: Reimaging brand discovery in the age of e-commerce
Brand discovery in e-commerce has evolved into a dynamic, layered journey shaped by culture, emotions, and technology. As consumers navigate diverse platforms and communities, brands must look beyond visibility to create authentic, value-driven connections that resonate in real time. Traditional funnels are giving way to fluid, personalised engagement strategies that meet people where they are, aligned with moods, moments, and behaviours. At the Brand World Summit 2025 , a panel of industry leaders discussed how businesses are embracing this shift by blending creativity, data, and cultural insight to turn discovery into lasting relationships. The discussion highlighted how modern marketing must focus on value creation, emotional resonance, and cultural agility rather than just transactional visibility. The session featured insights from industry leaders including Amit Tilekar, CMO, Wonderchef; Nisha Khatri, head of marketing, Libas; Pratik Mukherjee, head of business – beauty, LoveChild by Masaba; Ganesh Gupta, digital marketing lead, Pluckk; Madhur Acharya, vice president – e-commerce, Lenskart and global business head, Aqualens; and Vijay Iyer, vice president and general manager, Flipkart Ads. The discussion was chaired by Shilpa Rathnam, associate editor and anchor - video initiatives, The Economic Times Business Verticals. Visibility today extends beyond being seen, it requires delivering value within each interaction and platform. 'Visibility doesn't always mean value,' said Tilekar. 'Today, platforms like Zepto and Blinkit aren't just for impulse; they're discovery engines. We've tailored our content strategy to treat each channel uniquely. Customers are just as likely to add a mixer grinder to their cart as they are to potatoes if your presence adds value in that moment. When the audience trusts you, discovery becomes organic. It's not about shouting the loudest, it's about showing up naturally in their journey.' Discovery increasingly happens in moments of inspiration and emotional connection, not just when consumers are shopping with intent. 'Our old funnel broke,' stated Khatri. 'The consumer isn't consuming content to shop; they're consuming based on how they feel. We built a lifestyle community, not just a store. Whether she's preparing for a festive celebration or simply scrolling for inspiration, we aim to be part of her world. By ensuring a seamless presence across Instagram, D2C platforms, and offline stores, the kurta becomes more than a product, it becomes a storytelling canvas. The kurta is just the medium; storytelling is the product.' Relevance, rather than predictability, now drives brand discovery, often emerging from cultural moments and niche interests rather than algorithms alone. 'Honestly, we're unlearning more than learning,' observed Acharya. 'Discovery is about relevance in the moment, something even platforms and algorithms can't always predict. Our Gen Z team is often our best creative consultant. They tell us where attention really is: on Snapchat, in subcultures, in niche communities. And we'll go there. By tapping into these authentic cultural expressions, curiosity and connection can be sparked in surprising, delightful ways.' The rise of quick commerce has reshaped growth trajectories and deepened relationships by encouraging responsiveness and innovation. 'Signing onto quick commerce changed our growth curve,' remarked Gupta. 'But more than speed, it's the voice of the customer that shapes us. From two-day shelf-life juices to six-month innovations, we evolve only by listening. This dedication to responsiveness ensures the brand stays relevant, vibrant, and loved in a fast-paced world.' Timing and context have become just as important as creativity, with discovery thriving on precision and relevance. 'That's why we're obsessed with what we call 'contextual serendipity', showing the right product at exactly the right time,' said Iyer. 'E-commerce now allows for a full-funnel journey of awareness, engagement, and purchase all within one continuum. Brand and performance marketing are no longer separate, they've beautifully merged.' Discovery is no longer a fixed step in the purchase path but a living, evolving conversation between brands and consumers. It depends on authenticity, cultural resonance, timing, and the ability to adapt quickly. The brands that succeed are those that listen deeply, engage creatively, and integrate seamlessly into people's lives, transforming discovery from a fleeting encounter into a sense of belonging.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
ETBWS 2025: What differentiates marketing in the age of AI
Marketing is increasingly shaped by algorithms and automation. To stand out, human connection in marketing has never been more important. AI enables brands to operate at an unprecedented scale, but the challenge lies in preserving authenticity, emotion and cultural nuance. At the 7th edition of the Brand World Summit 2025 , organised by ETBrandEquity, a panel of marketing leaders explored the evolving relationship between storytelling and artificial intelligence. The panel featured Nitin Saini, vice president of marketing at Mondelez India; Shubhranshu Singh, chief marketing officer, CVBU, Tata Motors; and Anuradha Aggarwal, director of user growth and chief marketing officer, Amazon Pay. Storytelling is being redefined in the age of AI. Singh shared, 'I'm not so worried about artificial intelligence. I'm more worried about artificial imagination. Imagination is unique to human beings, and that must be preserved as is.' He explained that while generative AI can now produce content at scale, it brings the risk of synthetic storytelling. 'It's already a reality,' he cautioned, referring to the vast quantity of AI-generated content flooding the digital landscape. According to Singh, the true differentiator in the future of storytelling will not be technical perfection but human ownership. 'I stand by my story. I am telling it. It may not be synthetically flawless, but it is genuine. Authenticity, as a stamp of human credibility, owning the story, being real and remaining contextually relevant, is where the real battle lies. Sadly, at this stage, it feels like a losing battle against artificial intelligence,' he noted. From a creative perspective, the heart of storytelling will always lie in crafting narratives that emotionally resonate with audiences, something AI cannot replicate. 'When we talk about 2047, I don't think AI can ever truly replace human creativity or imagination, not now and not in the foreseeable future. However, the way stories are told will evolve. As traditional CPG (consumer packaged goods) marketers who have been telling stories around Cadbury for years, we are learning that the formats and platforms may shift, but the emotional core must stay intact,' stated Saini. Marketing at scale Large-scale creative ideas that appeal to a broad audience will remain critical. 'It has always been challenging to speak to many people at once and still create something that excites them collectively, especially today when people increasingly believe in their uniqueness. We are going to continue marketing at scale, but we will be using far more new-age tools to do it,' highlighted Aggarwal. Speaking about the influence of AI on marketing, Aggarwal remarked, 'Honestly, anyone's guess is as good as mine. What I was doing yesterday, my tech teams now tell me, is already outdated. This is what I know today, and it is just a fraction of how it will eventually be used. I believe we are in a rapid phase of evolution. Anyone who thinks AI will not impact their life is simply fooling themselves.' Branding vs. performance On performance marketing and brand-building, Singh shared, 'You cannot have persuasion before you have fame. A brand must first be well-known and well-liked. There is no question of focusing solely on performance at the expense of brand-building.' Part of the challenge, he noted, stems from marketers themselves. 'Many avoided attributions and insisted they were just building the brand. As a result, those with Excel sheets began to win over those with stories and scripts. In my view, both brand and performance are essential. But unless you invest in building the brand, you will not have a strong performance engine either,' Singh concluded.
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ETBWS 2025: Are Gen Z the Labubus of the modern world?
They are 377M strong in India; that's more than the entire population of the US. It's the generation that's already driving $860 billion of consumer spending in India. By 2035, every 2nd rupee spent in India is expected to come from this cohort. They are the hyperconnected world's main character energy, and marketers' next big case – Gen Z . At the recently concluded ETBrandEquity's Brand World Summit 2025 , marketing leaders from Swiggy Instamart, Dove (Unilever), Lay's (PepsiCo), Starbucks, and Burger King shared how each of them are listening and engaging with this generation. Here are key takeaways. Cute, monstrous, and hopeful Saumya Rathor, Marketing Director, Lay's India (PepsiCo), vividly characterizes Gen Z as the Labubus of the modern world — cute but monstrous. She echoed the sentiment of contradictions, noting Gen Z are 'the most judged generation but they judge the most,' and are both 'attention-starved' despite having much to do, yet also 'the most bored.' Despite these dichotomies, she expressed hope, seeing them as 'filled with positivity' even amidst their daily 'drama' and ever-evolving vocabulary. Keeping it real all the time Aakanksha Kumar, Global Brand Director – Dove, Unilever, emphasizes how Gen Z women are paving a way to appear effortless while often putting in significant hidden effort. Case in point, the famous 'no-makeup makeup' trend. This generation's curated online personas often hide the 'hustle' behind them, a stark contrast to older generations who often display their hard work. Mitali Maheshwari, Head – Product and Marketing, Tata Starbucks, has similar views. She observes that Gen Z desire raw, unfiltered customization and personalization. This goes beyond simple preferences, extending to questioning traditional norms. It's a generation that values the ability to make products and experiences uniquely their own, just like a cup of masala chai with oat milk. A chaotic generation with Canva skills Abhishek Shetty, Head – Marketing, Swiggy Instamart, describes Gen Z as a chaotic generation with Canva skills. He notes their ability to seamlessly shift between diverse content, from conspiracy theories to mindfulness reels and capitalist memes. A brand like Swiggy Instamart views them as a force to be reckoned with, constantly roasting, remixing content, and even starting trends. According to Shetty, the goal for brands is simply to keep up and avoid getting ratioed (where comments and shares outweigh likes, indicating negative sentiment). Kapil Grover, Group CMO, Burger King (Restaurants Brands Asia), makes similar observations. He says while Gen Z may have constant partial attention, this isn't superficial; there's always a purpose and engagement behind while they are multitasking. Co-creation, a cohort to stay Rathor from Lay's India (PepsiCo) says the way to understand the pulse of Gen Z is by listening to them. For instance, Lay's as a product is used in various street food in India, from sandwiches to dosas. There are innumerable content pieces around it — all organic. According to her, brands can't simply talk at them; instead, it's like a multiplayer game. Brands make a move, then Gen Z responds, and marketers must be ready for whatever comes their way. This playful dynamic fosters engagement and drives positive responses. Kumar of Dove (Unilever) candidly says marketers cannot be lazy anymore. The era of a single, year-long ad campaign is over. Brands have to shift to constantly generating engaging content rather than just creating content to beat the algorithm. For legacy brands like Dove, it's not about changing who they are but how they show up for Gen Z consumers, ensuring the communication aligns with Gen Z's preferred style. Dove, as an iconic brand with a long history, navigates the competitive personal care market to connect with Gen Z. She acknowledged the challenge of maintaining uniqueness in an era where authenticity and inclusivity are widespread. Cultural hijacking works Shetty of Swiggy Instamart agrees that one cannot be a 'broadcast brand.' Swiggy Instamart's internal strategy is to 'culturally hijack the conversation.' Gen Z don't just want to participate in brand conversations; they want to take over. Therefore, brands need to act like a friend who gets an inside joke to foster relatability. He shared a powerful example of a viral user-generated content (UGC) reel where a content creator organically integrated Instamart into his bulk-eating challenge. This low-cost collaboration outperformed many paid campaigns of the brand. Grover from Burger King adds that Gen Z are remarkably genuine and authentic in their views. In their recent campaign, users even compared Burger King's Korean burger with competitors in the same reel. This willingness to openly compare and offer unfiltered opinions, whether positive or negative, highlights Gen Z's demand for authenticity and transparency from brands. Brands must be prepared to take it with a pinch of salt and appreciate the honesty, believes Grover. The I word Brands in several categories such as beauty and food cannot do away with influencers. Gen Z is described as light-hearted and fun, necessitating a shift in a brand like Dove's content guidelines. Traditionally, Dove's visuals were a white world in a studio-like setup. Now, the brand encourages content creators to shoot in their authentic setups, recognizing that Gen Z values genuine environments over polished ones. This subtle but significant change allows for a more relatable and engaging experience, says Kumar. Dove aims to build longer-term relationships with influencers, viewing them as a personal army. This fosters genuine advocacy, as influencers want to be treated as 'real people' rather than mere content producers. In a recent campaign, Dove used the popular internet acronym BYOB and gave it a spin, calling it Bring Your Own Bar. At the event, influencers were encouraged to test their everyday soap against a Dove. Maheshwari of Tata Starbucks echoed this sentiment, stressing the importance of authenticity and credibility in influencer partnerships. Not so long ago, Tata Starbucks saw that their Gen Z customer base was increasingly drawn to single-origin and specialty coffees from around the globe. To push its blonde roast, the brand hosted an event where they invited influencers who genuinely cared about coffee. The content that came from this featured them tasting the blonde roast, and without any prompting from the brand, they started tagging others they knew would appreciate it. This organic sharing felt incredibly seamless and natural — almost like a friend recommending something they truly love, says Maheshwari. Vibe loyal vs. brand loyal With the problem of plenty in hand, can brands really gain loyalty from Gen Z? The answer is yes and no both. Kumar candidly says that traditional brand loyalty is a bit of a distant dream. She, Grover, and Maheshwari collectively believe Gen Z are vibe loyal. Rathor, on the other hand, shares her framework for earning Gen Z's 'STAN' (fan) loyalty, an acronym she uses: Storytelling: Connecting through human truthsTopicality: Staying relevant to their current livesAuthenticity: The 'buzzword' of the panelNo bull#%&*: Gen Z 'will see through lies completely' Shetty opines, Gen Z values energy over SKU and demands consistent authenticity. 'Otherwise, a brand can be easily replaced by an indie brand from Bandra,' he concludes.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
ETBWS 2025: Brands, music and the new marketing frontier
Music has never been just a sound, it's a powerful cultural currency, and Indian brands are cashing in like never before. At ETBrandEquity's Brand World Summit 2025 , marketing leaders unveiled the shift in live entertainment during an intriguing panel discussion. The statistics are nothing short of revolutionary - over 30 million Indians attended live events in 2024, a jaw-dropping three-fold increase from 2019. The live entertainment industry is set to explode, projected to surge from ₹12,000 crore to ₹23,000 crore by 2030. This is a cultural metamorphosis reshaping how brands connect with audiences. The constellation of marketing leaders who decoded this phenomenon during the panel "Live Events Unleashed: What CMOs Make of Concert Crazy Indians" moderated by Anirban Chowdhury, senior assistant editor,The Economic Times revealed insights that are transforming the marketing landscape entirely. Chandrika Jain, CMO, Lenovo India who sees technology as the heartbeat of culture. "Technology isn't just a tool; it's the very DNA of modern culture," she proclaimed during the discussion. Her 'Brave New Art' initiative has already captured 10 million organic views, proving that creativity knows no boundaries. Her most profound insight resonates throughout the industry: brands must breathe the culture they want to inhabit rather than merely observe it from the outside. The approach taken by Shantanu Gangane, senior director- integrated marketing experience, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, demonstrates how brands can become cultural anthropologists. "We don't just support events; we create cultural moments that become generational memories," he explained to the assembled marketing leaders. Coca-Cola's Coke Studio isn't just a music platform - it's evolved into a cultural institution that has fundamentally redefined musical collaboration in India, bridging generations and musical traditions. Vineet Sharma, VP marketing , AB InBev, views live events through an entirely different lens - one that places fans at the absolute centre. "We're not selling a product; we're crafting experiences that become lifelong memories," he shared with the audience. Budweiser's strategy transcends traditional beer marketing; instead, the brand creates immersive narratives that resonate deeply with young India, from NBA collaborations to music festivals that become cultural touchstones. Fashion intersects with this live entertainment revolution in fascinating ways, as Amit Kothari, head of marketing, H&M eloquently demonstrated. "Fashion is a language of self-expression," he noted during the panel discussion. For H&M, a concert isn't merely an event - it transforms into a runway of personal storytelling where brands become enablers of individual creativity, allowing people to express themselves with joy, positivity, and confidence. Understanding Generation Z proves crucial to this transformation, as Akanksha Dalal, marketing director, Mountain Dew, PepsiCo, clearly articulated. "This generation doesn't just consume content; they want to be part of the narrative," she observed. This insight reveals why brands that don't evolve risk becoming cultural footnotes, as Gen Z demands authentic, immersive experiences rather than passive consumption. What truly transforms these events from mere concerts to cultural phenomena is the alchemy of music, fashion, technology, and genuine human connection. Brands are no longer passive observers but active creators of experiences that resonate on multiple levels. These events have become platforms for self-expression, cultural exchange, and brand storytelling, where concerts serve as canvases for brands to paint their narratives. Infrastructure remains a significant challenge as these experiences aim to go mainstream. The journey from niche to mass market requires breaking down multiple barriers, with accessibility becoming paramount for widespread adoption. However, the ROI paradigm has shifted fundamentally - success isn't measured in sales alone anymore but calculated in cultural capital, social media engagement, and brand perception. Metrics have become more nuanced, more human. As India's live entertainment industry strikes its crescendo, brands are discovering that the sweetest melodies emerge when they become part of the symphony rather than merely conducting from the sidelines.
Time of India
11-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ETBWS 2025: From Urbanic to Savana: Rahul Dayama's playbook for D2C Growth
Addressing the spotlight session at the ETBrandEquity's Brand World Summit 2025 , Rahul Dayama , founding partner at Urbanic , shared invaluable, impromptu insights into building and scaling D2C brands in today's dynamic digital landscape. With Urbanic and the newer Savana under his belt, Dayama's expertise comes from navigating the intricate relationship between brands, platforms and consumers. The shifting sands of social media control Dayama opened with a fundamental question: Who truly controls social media – influencers, platforms, or consumers? His initial instinct as a brand founder leaned towards platforms, given the advertising spend. However, a deeper reflection revealed a more nuanced reality. "There is no control with anyone," he concluded, emphasising the symbiotic relationship where platforms rely entirely on consumers and content creators, and brands, in turn, depend on platforms to reach those consumers. This intricate dance necessitates a thorough understanding of a platform's "product psychology" to build an effective strategy. Dayama offered a practical example: he invests more on YouTube because its search-based nature allows content to remain relevant for a year, unlike Instagram's fleeting 48-hour window. Instagram, for him, is more of a "discovery-led platform than conversion," influencing his spending and engagement tactics. Strategic tech investment The second crucial pillar for D2C success, according to Dayama, is technology – but with a caveat. Many companies, when adopting tech, attempt to solve every problem at once. Dayama advocates for a focused approach. At Urbanic, a strict policy dictates: "If the GMB [Gross Merchandise Value] is not affecting at least by five per cent by the particular thing, then we will not invest anything on tech till then." He highlighted the significant role of influencer marketing for Urbanic, with over 35,000 influencers across both brands and millions of pieces of content generated (more than four million for Urbanic and more than a million for Savana). This experience underscores the importance of prioritising tech investments to tackle the most impactful problems first. "My biggest takeaway from that is prioritising tech and then building on it," he summarised. The first step Dayama frequently fields questions about the initial steps of launching a brand. His advice is deceptively simple but profoundly effective: "First, just figure out your niche or the channel, where your audience is." He stressed that understanding your audience goes beyond demographics; it's about observing their behavior. He recounted a personal epiphany while his tech team was meticulously defining Urbanic's target audience based on age and city. That same night, he observed a party promoter creating a guest list filled with women who "pull the crowd" and noted that Urbanic's party collection perfectly suited them. This led to a guerrilla marketing tactic: distributing free clothes to these influential club-goers. This provided immediate access to content and a highly receptive "100 per cent conversion rate" audience that might have been missed by conventional ad targeting. "I think the first step is to figure out who your audience is, understand them, find the first channel and then you can go aggressive on it," he advised. Building community for amplified growth Once the initial channel is mastered, the focus shifts to building a community. Dayama pointed to Savana's growth as a testament to this. While Urbanic garnered two million mentions in six years, Savana achieved a million mentions in a much shorter span, largely by leveraging Urbanic's established community infrastructure. He cited a campaign for Savana where they utilised a community of at least 1,000 known-performing influencers. This allowed them to execute a "one to one impact" campaign that propelled the brand above Facebook and Instagram in just three days, completing the entire initiative within a week. Their preparedness, including robust customer service (CST) for consumer feedback, further amplified the success. In conclusion, Dayama's framework for D2C success boils down to: using social media wisely by understanding platform psychology, prioritising tech investments for maximum impact and starting by identifying your niche and truly understanding your audience's behavior to build a strong community.
