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✦Girish Mathrubootham, Who Marketed Software Like a Product✦When Creators Influence Agencies More Than Agencies Influence Creators✦What A Creative Director Does On A Shoot Day✦The Categories Where Generated Copy Still Needs A Signature✦Jayesh Veralkar Leaves Dolby After Thirteen Years For A Record Label✦Turtle Wax Gives Ashutosh Saxena India And ASEAN✦Prose Integrated Picks Up The Communications Mandate For EaseMyTrip✦Cummins India Hands The Managing Director Role To Gbile Adewunmi✦JLL Puts Its First Big India Statement On The Bandra-Worli Sea Link✦The Intern Who Stayed: Himanshu Sharma Takes Sales At JSW Sports✦Bark Out Loud Builds A Campaign On How Little Effort A Dog Makes✦Instagram's Edits App Gets A Canvas That Runs Across Slides✦Girish Mathrubootham, Who Marketed Software Like a Product✦When Creators Influence Agencies More Than Agencies Influence Creators✦What A Creative Director Does On A Shoot Day✦The Categories Where Generated Copy Still Needs A Signature✦Jayesh Veralkar Leaves Dolby After Thirteen Years For A Record Label✦Turtle Wax Gives Ashutosh Saxena India And ASEAN✦Prose Integrated Picks Up The Communications Mandate For EaseMyTrip✦Cummins India Hands The Managing Director Role To Gbile Adewunmi✦JLL Puts Its First Big India Statement On The Bandra-Worli Sea Link✦The Intern Who Stayed: Himanshu Sharma Takes Sales At JSW Sports✦Bark Out Loud Builds A Campaign On How Little Effort A Dog Makes✦Instagram's Edits App Gets A Canvas That Runs Across Slides

Ad Tribe — daily news on India’s advertising industry

Watercolour and ink portrait of Girish Mathrubootham, founder of Freshworks
Brand Builders

Girish Mathrubootham, Who Marketed Software Like a Product

Enterprise software is bought by committees. He built a brand for the person who searches before the committee meets.

Two arrows in terracotta and dusty blue crossing, the larger one pointing back towards a studio shape
Work Life

When Creators Influence Agencies More Than Agencies Influence Creators

A lone folding chair sits small in a wide black frame under three strips of torn masking tape
Creative Room

What A Creative Director Does On A Shoot Day

The Latest
The Ai Shift

The Categories Where Generated Copy Still Needs A Signature

People

Jayesh Veralkar Leaves Dolby After Thirteen Years For A Record Label

People

Turtle Wax Gives Ashutosh Saxena India And ASEAN

News

Prose Integrated Picks Up The Communications Mandate For EaseMyTrip

People

Cummins India Hands The Managing Director Role To Gbile Adewunmi

Brands

JLL Puts Its First Big India Statement On The Bandra-Worli Sea Link

People

The Intern Who Stayed: Himanshu Sharma Takes Sales At JSW Sports

Campaigns

Bark Out Loud Builds A Campaign On How Little Effort A Dog Makes

PeopleAll →
Jayesh Veralkar, leaving Dolby after thirteen years to co-found the UAE independent music culture platform Vinyl Souk full time

Jayesh Veralkar Leaves Dolby After Thirteen Years For A Record Label

Ashutosh Saxena, named managing director for India and ASEAN at Turtle Wax after nearly two decades in the automotive industry

Turtle Wax Gives Ashutosh Saxena India And ASEAN

Gbile Adewunmi, becoming managing director of Cummins India from November while continuing to lead Industrial Markets

Cummins India Hands The Managing Director Role To Gbile Adewunmi

Himanshu Sharma, named head of sales at JSW Sports after nine years with the company, having joined as an intern

The Intern Who Stayed: Himanshu Sharma Takes Sales At JSW Sports

Christopher Paul, joining WPP Media as senior vice president for client services to lead the agency's Tamil Nadu business

WPP Media Puts Christopher Paul In Charge Of Tamil Nadu

Nikhil Soni, named head of brand and marketing at HCL Group, with a remit across brand, sports, culture, learning and environment

Nikhil Soni Takes Brand And Marketing At HCL Group

FeatureWork LifeAll →
Two arrows in terracotta and dusty blue crossing, the larger one pointing back towards a studio shape
Work Life

When Creators Influence Agencies More Than Agencies Influence Creators

The influence used to run one way. Watch a creative review now and it plainly does not.

Can Reverse Mentoring Actually Work In Agencies?

It works in the pairs where the senior person has something to lose by not learning.

Is Advertising Still Designed Around A Young Workforce?

The hours, the pay curve and the ladder all assume you are 26. Most of the industry is not.

Is Freelance Becoming A Career Choice, Not A Backup Plan?

It used to be what you said when you were between jobs. Increasingly it is the plan.

FeatureBrand BuildersAll →
Watercolour and ink portrait of Girish Mathrubootham, founder of Freshworks
Brand Builders

Girish Mathrubootham, Who Marketed Software Like a Product

Enterprise software is bought by committees. He built a brand for the person who searches before the committee meets.

02
Watercolour and ink portrait of P.C. Musthafa, founder of iD Fresh Food

P.C. Musthafa, Who Branded Something Nobody Branded

03
Watercolour and ink portrait of T.S. Kalyanaraman, founder of Kalyan Jewellers

T.S. Kalyanaraman, Who Bought Trust With a Face

04
Watercolour and ink portrait of Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho Corporation

Sridhar Vembu, Who Made Refusal the Positioning

05
Watercolour and ink portrait of R.G. Chandramogan, chairman of Hatsun Agro Product

R.G. Chandramogan, Who Started With Ice Candy

06
Watercolour and ink portrait of C.K. Ranganathan, founder of CavinKare

C.K. Ranganathan, Who Scaled an Idea He Did Not Invent

07
Watercolour and ink portrait of Swapnil Jain, co-founder of Ather Energy

Swapnil Jain And The Engineering Behind Ather

CampaignsAll →
Kalki Koechlin sitting on a sofa beside her dog, from the Bark Out Loud campaign film about premium pet nutrition
Campaigns

Bark Out Loud Builds A Campaign On How Little Effort A Dog Makes

She does the gym, the yoga, the mindful eating. The dog eats from a bowl and is winning. That gap is the whole idea.

Kriti Sanon in a pink fleece jacket beside a tent, from the Uniqlo autumn and winter fleece campaign film
Campaigns

Uniqlo Sends Its Fleece Campaign Out With Two Very Different Days

A woman and a man exchanging a look inside a lift, from the returning Imperial Blue Packaged Drinking Water film
Campaigns

The Lift Comes Back, And This Time The Women Are In On It

A young man in tears embracing his father, from the Google India film about telling a parent of a plan to open a cafe
Campaigns

Google Puts A Difficult Conversation At The Centre Of Its Search Film

Flipkart Turns A Mother's Oldest Line Into A Television Pitch

Indriya Puts A Couple At The Centre Of Its Diwali Film

JSW Dulux Sells Velvet Touch Eterna On The Whole Room

California Almonds Widens The Diwali Gifting List

FeatureSocial-FirstAll →
A cluster of comment bubbles crowds the top of a blue frame above one small torn portrait
Social First

Why Brands Are Paying For Comments, Not Just Posts

A play button lands across the corner of a torn halftone portrait on a flat magenta ground
Social First

Live Shopping Is Finally Working, Quietly

Three price tags descend in a line towards a torn halftone portrait of a man on a coral ground
Social First

The Festive Creator Rate Card

Torn fragments of two faces flank a clapperboard on a diagonal across a flat teal ground
Social First

Why Short Drama Became A Brand Format

A thirty-second film asks for attention once. Twelve episodes ask for a habit.

What ASCI's AI Labelling Rules Mean For Creator Posts

What A Brand Owes A Creator After The Campaign Ends

The Real Cost Of Always-On Social Content

Why B2B Brands Are Finally Getting Social Right

BrandsAll →
A cable-stayed bridge lit by a projector beam, as halftone cutouts, for a brand activation on a Mumbai landmark
Brands

JLL Puts Its First Big India Statement On The Bandra-Worli Sea Link

A real estate firm that sells certainty picks the most photographed piece of infrastructure in the city to say so on.

02
A folded length of fine cloth and a brass oil lamp, as halftone cutouts, for Vijay Deverakonda fronting Ramraj Cotton's wedding range

Vijay Deverakonda Fronts Ramraj Cotton's Wedding Range

03
A high-top sneaker and a water bottle, as halftone cutouts, for Royal Challenge moving its Choose Bold line into streetwear

Royal Challenge Water Steps Into Sneaker Culture

04
An armchair beneath a striped shopfront awning, as halftone cutouts, for Royaloak taking its compact store format to smaller towns

Royaloak Value Stores Post Early Sales In Smaller Towns

05
Gold Shunya frames resting on red velvet with a sitar behind them, from Lenskart's Indian Accents collection

Lenskart Builds An Eyewear Collection Out Of Indian Music

06
A boarding pass and a desk calendar, as halftone cutouts, for ixigo for work bringing corporate fares into the main booking flow

ixigo for work Puts Corporate Fares Inside The Main App

07
A smartphone and a string of festive lights, as halftone cutouts, for Sreeleela becoming the Vibe Face of HMD in India

HMD Names Sreeleela The Vibe Face Of Its Smartphones

Newsletter

The Buzz, in your inbox.

Ad world news, campaigns and moves, a few times a week. No noise.

FeatureIndian Ad LegendsAll →
A graphite pencil portrait of Prasoon Joshi, the poet who gave brands their voice
Indian Ad Legends

The Story of Prasoon Joshi, the Poet Who Gave Brands a Soul

Read the story of Prasoon Joshi, one of Indian advertising's most influential figures, known for McCann, Coca-Cola's Thanda Matlab campaign and a rare career that spans advertising, poetry and film.

A graphite pencil portrait of Arun Nanda, the adman who built Rediffusion
Indian Ad Legends

The Story of Arun Nanda, the Adman Who Built Rediffusion

A graphite pencil portrait of Mohammed Khan, the adman who built Enterprise
Indian Ad Legends

The Story of Mohammed Khan, the Gentleman Who Built Three Iconic Agencies

Graphite pencil portrait of K.V. Sridhar, the Leo Burnett creative chief known across Indian advertising as Pops.
Indian Ad Legends

The Story of K.V. Sridhar, the Artist the Industry Calls Pops

The Story of Prasoon Pandey, the Director Who Filmed India's Most Loved Ads

The Story of Prahlad Kakkar, the Man Who Made Ad Films Fun

The Story of R. Balki, the Adman Who Turned Ideas Into Films

The Story of Swati Bhattacharya, the Voice That Changed How India Talks About Women

NewsAll →
01

Prose Integrated Picks Up The Communications Mandate For EaseMyTrip

02

Star Squared PR Turns Ten, And Wants To Double Everything Again

03

OPEN Strategy And Design Builds A Jewellery Brand For HK Group

04

Press Council Of India Gains 13 Nominated Journalists

05

Macis Newsi Unveils Its Logo Ahead Of A Five-Channel Launch

06

JioStar Opens Its Regional-Language Cricket Feeds To Advertisers

07

91.6% of consumers to maintain or increase festive spending, reports BigCity Promotions.

08

CBC Gives 90 Channels Until 21 October To File Papers

FeatureCreative RoomAll →
A clipped stack of papers bursts outward in coral rays beneath a small photograph of a full hall
Creative Room

How Agencies Decide What To Enter For Awards

A ring light cropped by the corner of the frame with torn teal and coral fragments drifting away
Creative Room

How Teams Work With Creators They Did Not Cast

A tall blank phone and a wide letterbox landscape card set at right angles on a black ground
Creative Room

How The Vertical Frame Became The Default

A lone folding chair sits small in a wide black frame under three strips of torn masking tape
Creative Room

What A Creative Director Does On A Shoot Day

By the time the camera rolls, the creative director has one job left, and it is not directing.

How An Agency Decides Not To Pitch

What A Treatment Looks Like When There Is No Shoot

Who Decides The Final Cut

What Happens After A Hit Campaign

Ad TechAll →
A panoramic photographic strip and a fanned stack of square prints, as halftone cutouts, for a carousel editor that spans slides
Ad Tech

Instagram's Edits App Gets A Canvas That Runs Across Slides

An empty picture frame and a blank speech bubble, as halftone cutouts, for advertising arriving inside an AI assistant
Ad Tech

OpenAI Tests A Visual Ad Format Inside ChatGPT

A funnel and a clipboard holding a blank form, as halftone cutouts, for Reddit expanding its lead capture tools
Ad Tech

Reddit Builds Out Lead Generation For Advertisers

An address bar and a fanned stack of blank cards, as halftone cutouts, for a tool that builds ads from a web address
Ad Tech

X Lift Turns A Website Address Into A Finished Campaign

FeatureCampaigns That Built IndiaAll →
Halftone collage of a salt packet and a pair of scales on charcoal, for Tata Salt’s Desh Ka Namak positioning
Campaigns That Built India

How Tata Salt’s Desh Ka Namak Turned A Commodity Into A Claim

Salt is the hardest thing in a shop to differentiate. Tata stopped trying to and argued about the country instead.

02
Halftone collage of a paper kite and a pair of spectacles on charcoal, for Google’s Reunion film

How Google’s Reunion Made A Search Box Feel Like A Border Crossing

03
Halftone collage of a laundry basket and a wedding ring on charcoal, for Ariel’s Share the Load campaign

How Ariel’s Share The Load Put A Chore At The Centre Of An Argument

04
Halftone collage of a tanpura and a vintage broadcast microphone on charcoal, for Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

How Mile Sur Mera Tumhara Became The Film India Cannot Agree On

05
Halftone collage of a boxy television set and a pair of horns on charcoal, for the Onida devil campaign

How Onida’s Devil Sold Envy To A Country That Had To Wait

06
Halftone collage of a detergent sachet and a bicycle on charcoal, for the Nirma washing powder story

How Nirma’s Jingle Undercut Surf And Rewrote The Detergent Market

07
Halftone collage of a detergent carton and a shopping basket on charcoal, for the Surf Lalitaji campaign

How Surf’s Lalitaji Made Thrift The Smart Woman’s Argument

FeatureBrand ComebacksAll →
A collage of a Nokia candybar handset beside a modern smartphone, with a hand reaching for it
Brand Comebacks

Nokia India: A Nostalgia-Led Mobile Comeback

Nokia once was the phone in India before the smartphone era. How it came back through licensing, nostalgia feature phones and lingering goodwill.

A collage of a vintage wooden television set beside a modern flat screen on a magenta ground
Brand Comebacks

BPL: Reviving a Legacy Electronics Brand in a New Market

Wooden barrels beside a dark rum bottle in a warm toned collage
Brand Comebacks

Old Monk: The Brand That Stayed Alive Without Advertising

A collage of a motorcycle, riders in helmets and an open road with arrows
Brand Comebacks

Royal Enfield: From Fading Motorcycle Brand to Global Cult

Tanishq: From Market Skepticism to India's Most Trusted Jeweller

Maggi: The Ultimate Trust-Rebuild After the 2015 Crisis

Rasna: A Childhood Summer Brand Fights to Stay Relevant

Kinetic Luna: From Middle-Class Icon to Electric Comeback

Tribe TicksAll →
Invoices fan out in an overlapping stack pushed hard into one corner of an amber frame
Tribe Ticks

How Indian Agencies Actually Make Money Now

A traffic signal and a bunch of roses as white-bordered halftone cutouts on amber, for a column on selling at the lights
Tribe Ticks

Traffic Signal: The 90-Second Sales Pitch

A supermarket shelf edge runs the full width of a teal frame like a horizon with empty space above
Tribe Ticks

What Retail Media Did To The Indian Media Plan

A resistance band coiled beside a delivery bag as halftone cutouts on a flat warm orange ground
Tribe Ticks

Ten-Minute Delivery Changed What Fitness Brands Can Sell

Most Read
01

R.S. Sodhi, the Man Who Turned Amul's Trust Into Market Share

02

Jessica Shoemaker Joins Netflix As Global Director Of Product Marketing

03

The Bull That Bowed: Inside Alpha Bull Rum's Open Letter To Old Monk

04

The Anatomy of a Great Brand Reply

05

Pizza Hut India Joins Forces with MoEngage to Power Customer Engagement

06

Amigos Foods Joins Hands with Orion Digital to Power Its Online Growth

Brand Builders, episode 01: Verghese Kurien
Ad Tribe Podcast

Brand Builders

Episode 01  ·  Verghese Kurien13 min

An engineer who did not want the job, did not like milk, and built the most trusted consumer brand in the country by giving it away to the farmers who supplied it.

Read the written version
An independent industry studyTell us what you are actually seeing in the industry right now. Five minutes, confidential unless you choose to be quoted.Take the survey
EventsAll →
Ad Tribe Awards - South
03DEC

Ad Tribe Awards - South

The inaugural edition, for agencies, brands and work led from South India. 12 agency awards, 20 brand awards, 22 work awards, and no category obliged to produce a winner.

Hyderabad, India

The Next 50
03DEC

The Next 50

Fifty individuals under 30 whose work, thinking and contribution are already making India's agency industry better. Agency-led nomination, transparent scoring, no public voting.

Hyderabad, India