YouTube unveils 2022 list of India’s top creators, breakout creators and women breakout creators

Shorts Break, a YouTube channel that offers short comedy videos, topped the list, with about 16.8 million subscribers. This was followed by creators Akshay Nagwadiya (14.7 million) and Gulshan Kalra (17.9 million subscribers). YouTube has not disclosed specific numbers on the subscriber growth these creators have witnessed during this year. (Representative image via Unsplash)

About half of the top 20 creators have made only short videos in the past year, a Moneycontrol analysis of the list provided by YouTube shows. Several other creators have been prolific with minute-long videos while also making a few long-form videos in the past year. Only a single creator in the list solely focused on long-form content.

Gaming studios focus on Indian characters in games as brands eye growth through collaborations

The backdrops to the game’s environment are drawn in the Pahari art style and combine hand-painted textures rendered in 3D.Some are keeping it more realistic. Inspired by films like Satya, Gangs of Wasseypur and KGF, Bengaluru-based gaming studio Hypernova Interactive is coming up with a game called Mayanagari. (Image source: Hypernova Interactive)

Both national and international gaming studios are adding Indian themes and characters to their games to tap the country’s huge gaming population in the country.

Spotify India is a premium Gen Z urban platform: Arjun Ravi Kolady

As per Arjun Ravi Kolady, Spotify’s audience is highly attuned to streaming services. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, who are in the streaming business have done some fantastic work too. Such brands have three objectives. Either they want to show the breadth of their library or they want to help people find more of what they love. The other objective is around the launches of new shows. (Stills from ads)

Arjun Ravi Kolady, head of sales, Spotify India speaks on audio advertising, programmatic ads, creativity and more.

How meat unicorn Licious is going regional and cracking Southern markets

Plant based meat is an interesting launch and obviously has taken a lot of people by surprise. The way Licious have positioned themselves on “Crave”, which is a plant based meat offering, is that there are days in a week when a lot of meat eaters refrain from consuming meat and Crave is meant to cater to that particular consumer segment so that anyone who has a craving for something like meat should not miss out for whatever reason.

Santosh Hegde, VP Marketing, Licious, talks about its evolving target consumer base, more women buying meat online and why customers in South India can be unforgiving when it comes to recreation of local delicacies.

Throwback: The Spice route to MDH’s Rise

Dharampalji’s entry into the advertising of his own brand gave it a fillip. It all started when an actor portraying the father of the bride in a MDH TV commercial didn’t show up for work. Dharampalji took up the role. Since then, he was a constant fixture in all MDH advertisements, becoming the face of the brand he had created. This was an unconventional approach to creating brand awareness. (Stills from ads)

Apart from the memorable jingle, the presence of Mahashay Dharampalji Gulati, founder of MDH in the ads became notable too. He became the “Dadaji” figure in the commercials, dressed in traditional wear and adorned with a string of pearls.

This is a moment of reckoning for Indian brands: Vivek Gambhir, boAt CEO

"I believe that the future is even more exciting. So being paranoid, being humble, being agile, being obsessed with consumers, that's what keeps us going. We are market leaders, but at the heart, this is a company with a lot of hustle and a company that is continuing to be a challenger." - Vivek Gambhir, CEO, boAt

boAt’s chief executive officer, Vivek Gambhir speaks about the brand’s journey from challenger to leader and plans to become a global Indian brand.

Workplace Bullying: How Unilever’s Nitin Paranjpe dealt with a boss who was a bully

Nitin Paranjpe, 61, joined Unilever's Indian unit in 1987 as a management trainee. He was the youngest CEO at the Indian unit and had a successful five-year tenure at the helm of HUL before he took on the role of president-homecare business in 2013.

Paranjpe, who is non-executive chairman of HUL and chief transformation officer and chief people officer at Unilever, says that he dealt with a former boss whose working style was nothing short of bullying.

Suniel Shetty: Those who have their cash flow and business plan in order will survive

Actor turned investor, Suniel Shetty had recently posted on LinkedIn about edtech firm Byju's layoffs. He had said that startups should "think long term. Think sprint vs marathon. Think Rahul Dravid. Stable and slow are just as great," he said after Byju's laid off 2,500 employees. He had also shared tips about how to make companies survive the economic downturn

Actor-turned-investor Suniel Shetty shared what he looks for in startups while investing, the current funding scenario and which categories he would like to put his money in.

Why D2C companies need new brand building lessons

The toolkit of a marketer and the canvas of the designer has no shortage of emotions to play on. Why not use humour, surprise, sassiness, idealism, and other attributes to create a brand that is distinct? Why not take a mindful risk, an intentional departure, a true innovation in brand instead of simply toeing the line? (Representational image via Unsplash) of emotions to play on. Why not use humour, surprise, sassiness, idealism, and other attributes to create a brand that is distinct? Why not take a mindful risk, an intentional departure, a true innovation in brand instead of simply toeing the line?

With a wave of new Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers entering the market, D2C brands need to understand that aesthetics like products, need to evolve too in order to stay relevant.