In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun Duggirala is joined by Malini Agarwal, Founder & Creative Director MissMalini Entertainment, Girl Tribe & Co-Founder of Good Creator Co. She takes us through the journey of establishing Miss Malini, how it began as a blog and eventually became an empire consisting of multiple offsets that aim at helping creators with tips to make great content, create a safe space for women, and give all the news from the glam world. Further, she also...

In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun Duggirala is joined by Pooja Chhabria (APAC Head of Creator Management, LinkedIn) and Pooja Dhingra (Pastry Chef, Founder- Le15 Patisserie) to talk about LinkedIn's Creator Accelerator Programme. Creation on LinkedIn is about the opportunities that can happen when our members connect with each other. Acknowledging the growing space, LinkedIn is launching the Creator Accelerator Program in India - a new initiative designed to support creators on...

In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Chef Saransh Goila joins Varun Duggirala to tell us about his latest venture 'Bambai Meal Rolls'. He also tells us how he became a Chef- from failing Biotechnology to acing Hotel Management exams, working as a Chef in a Hotel, a Food channel, a Food Show, and now a Foodpreneur. He shares his inspirations on the way, how the Indian palette is super varied and dynamic and one can never fully cover every flavor that arises from the nooks and corners of...

This week on Advertising Is Dead, Varun is joined by Anupam Gurani, the Chief Marketing Officer of LEAD- India’s foremost player in the School EdTech category. It currently empowers 3000+ affordable private schools catering to 12 lakh+ students in tier 2+ cities and is solving the problem at the core education level by encouraging schools to transform and smoothly fit into the new normal by implementing SchoolEdTech. Be it in assessments, teacher training, or students’ learning, LEAD...

In this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun is joined by Hitesh Dhingra, Founder of the Man Company. He has an interesting story of how the idea of starting a man's grooming and wellness products company happened. He tells us about the present consumers, shares some interesting insights about how the product was received initially and how it is now. He also discusses the concept of being a gentleman and how it came to be an important trait of his organization. All this and much more. Find...

Fill out our brand recall survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6HP2RVB In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun is joined by Vedant Lamba, founder of The Mainstreet Marketplace, a company that has been redefining the sneaker culture in India by making exclusive kicks accessible to the niche yet prevalent market of sneakerheads. Vedant talks about subcultures, and how a vlogging routine and his love for sneakers eventually led him to set up shop in Pune and eventually expand across...

In this episode, Varun is in conversation with Aneesh Bhasin who is one of the co-founders of Svami drinks that makes progressive drinks and mixers. He takes us through the company's genesis, the experiments they conducted with reference to the product and its marketing, responses from a diverse market like India, and probable future trends and plans. Aneesh is on Instagram and Twitter @aneeshb Check out Svami drinks on their Instagram, Twitter and Website Talk to Varun Duggirala on...

In this episode, Varun is in conversation with Aman Gupta, Co-Founder & CMO of boAt. He talks about capturing the audio accessories market at the right time, foraying into wearables and more, and being profitable from day zero. Varun also questions him about being one of the sharks on Shark Tank India and his experiences on the same. Further, Aman tells us about having multiple brand ambassadors, assessing the beat of his consumer and playing the right cards, working with a young...

In this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun is joined by Alex Dwek from Nas Academy to talk about creators turning educators. Access to social media and technology has enabled many to take creative initiatives, not necessarily with any formal education. As they embark on the journey and gather experiences on the way, it is a learning for them, and sharing it empowers potential future creators too. Nas Academy is one such platform where creators learn not just the creative side of things but...

On this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Rohit Raj joins Varun Duggirala and gives us an insight into what it takes to be the business partner of a beloved content creator- BBKiVines, and gives us exclusive BTS into the making of 'Dhindora'. He also tells us what it takes to be a creator's backbone, handling the business side of things, emerging through crises. And last but not the least, he shares his thoughts and hacks on the creator life, and how can one make the most of it. Talk to Varun...

In This Episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun speaks to Arman Sood from Sleepy Owl Coffee. They discuss everything from marketing Coffee to a generation that has seen their parents majorly have Tea, to the interesting name that 'Sleepy Owl' is. Arman gives us insights into how Merch has been a significant contributor to their revenue and their educative initiatives to types of brews and preparation processes etc have been a hit among their TG. Talk to Varun Duggirala on Twitter and Instagram:...

In this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala talks to Anil Viswanathan from Mondelez India. They discuss our beloved Cadbury and its campaigns over the years, how festivities and romance have been at the core of their brand messaging. They also talk about the campaign done with SRK that aimed at promoting local brands. Anil shares an interesting insight into how Chocolates were ideally non-essential goods during the lockdown but had steady sales as it helped them beat stress. Tune...

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala is joined by Yan Liu (CEO and Co-Founder of TVision) and Shikher Chaudhary (Director, Neurons Inc Asia). The three discuss sports and the kind of emotional engagement that sports-based programming has with the audience watching from home. The conversation goes through various aspects of how viewers consume content and takes a closer look at the phenomenon that IPL is and why is it so unique. They also discuss the 'Halo Effect' around IPL...

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala talks to Anmol Gill, Head of Consumer Marketing, BACARDÍ, India. The two discuss how the AlcoBev industry reaches out to the consumers and the kind of brand connect it has with the consumers. Varun and Anmol also discuss the role of culture in marketing, as well as the evolution of the modern consumers and how brands reach out to them. Talk to Varun Duggirala on Twitter and Instagram: @varunduggiYou can find Anmol on LinkedIn at...

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala talks to Divyanshu Damani, co-founder and CEO at TagMango. The two discuss how content creators can monetize their content - going beyond the traditional ads and brand deals. The conversation goes into the details of influencer marketing, NFTs, organic reach and various aspects of content creation, how to reach audiences better - and an interesting bit about how the name TagMango came to be. You can follow Divyanshu Damani on Twitter,...

Content Creator and gamer Mythpat joins Varun Duggirala on this episode of Advertising is Dead. The two discuss how Mythpat started off his journey towards content creation, his experience in the world of gaming content, the recently conducted 'Ticket to Cricket' event, and about him being an all-round entertainer! Make sure to tune in to this episode to check out a very interesting conversation about how the YouTube algorithm works, as well as to know what Mythpat's advice to upcoming...

The Founder and CEO of Growth School, Vaibhav Sisinty joins Varun Duggirala in this episode of Advertising is Dead to talk about cohort based learning courses and to take a macro view at where learning is headed. The ed-tech sector is one of the hottest spaces in the startup landscape. The conversation takes a closer look at the sector from various lenses. Ed-tech isn't just reframing education itself, but also building a framework for how to blend what modern technology allows with what...

The startup ecosystem as a whole has helped solve many a problem and challenge while driving immense innovation in every space. They’ve also been boosted by programs that have helped accelerate their process of innovation. One such accelerator that has enabled startup’s not just with advanced technology but also with broad based mentorship and support has been the Google for Startups Accelerator On this episode, Varun is joined by Paul Ravindranath G, Program Manager, Developer Relations...

The journeys of creators and entrepreneurs hold a ton of insights and learnings for all of us dig into. On this special 150th episode, Varun is joined by Pooja Dhingra, Pastry Chef, Creator, Podcaster, Author & Founder/ CEO of Le15 Patisserie. Pooja talks about her entrepreneurial and creator journeys and makes us understand how she does, what she does and how we can all learn from it. Follow Le 15 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/le15india?utm_medium=copy_link Follow Le 15 on...

The content marketing space has been ripe for disruption for some time now. And with the advent of the marketplace as well as the AI driven capability set around content marketing we are at an inflection point on not just how we market content but how we create the content supply as well. On this episode, Varun is joined by Sharmin Ali, Founder and CEO of Instoried to discuss how AI can help enhance empathy in content writing and also talk about neuromarketing. Website:...

Brand experiences in a post-pandemic world have evolved far beyond the realms of physical and digital. In many ways platforms like Facebook have facilitated the growth of different formats with different forms of interactivity to truly expand the consumer brand experience. This has made AR a mainstay and the opportunities beyond especially in commerce and shopping a strong driver of economic and digital transformation in the world around us. Tune into this episode, as Varun discusses the...

The increased privatisation of education over the years has led to the dynamic evolution of the educational system as a whole . However, its also led to severe inequality in the the way we educate, as well as given rise to a need to regulate how this privatised model should function especially keeping in mind the disruptions driven by the pandemic and the need to drive equality in the way we educate. One company that’s working to drive this regulation in India is Oxfam India. On this...

The fin-tech segment has grown by leaps and bounds with many tech-first entrepreneurs coming in to enable easy access to financial instruments for a product consumer base. On this new episode, Varun is joined by Co-founders of dezerv. Sahil Contractor and Sandeep Jethwani. Sahil and Sandeep talk about their business model, their experience in investment space, and how consumers and their point of view on money has evolved. Follow Sahil on LinkedIn:...

The journey of a creator tells us many stories and insights. Right from balancing between creating content, building businesses around them and their personal lives, also ways of growing as individuals and as creators. One such creator is Masoom Minawala. On this week's episode, Varun is joined by Luxury Fashion Influencer, Masoom Minawala. Masoom talks about her journey from fashion blogging to growing as a creator, and as a business. She also talks about her focus on elevating women in...

Understanding how millennials and Gen Z create, curate and experience culture will help us understand the shifting habits and tastes of the world around us. Add to that, the shifts that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about and a deep dive is the need of the hour. A lot of these insights come to light in Spotify’s Global Trends Report “Culture Next”. On part 2 of the discussion, Varun is joined by podcasters: Yogi, Kabir and Sarthak Mishra along with Arjun Kolady from Spotify India to...