How The Culture Machine founders hit it off over their common passion for creating video channels
For an Indian millennial with an internet connection, Culture Machine’s work is hard to miss. From ‘Being Indian’ to ‘Put Chutney’, its channels are creating content for a generation that has replaced the quintessential Idiot Box with YouTube. Founded in 2013, by Sameer Pitalwalla and Venkat Prasad, Culture Machine’s website claims to have around 22 million subscribers with an average of half-a-billion views per month. The story began when Pitalwalla and Prasad met at VidCon, an annual event held in the US for those who love online video streaming. Few conversations and 72 hours later, the duo chalked out a plan to start Culture Machine. What sets the company apart is its strong investment in technology, resulting in multiple revenue streams. Its analysis software, Intelligence Machine, sifts through video data and trends to acquire a treasure trove of data for brands and creators telling them how well their content works. Their other product, the Video Machine, creates high impact videos at scale from audio and text. Pitalwalla and Prasad are similar to pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that fit perfectly. While Pitalwalla is from a business and media background (thanks to his stints at Disney, UTV and Times Internet), Prasad is a pure techie who has worked at Yahoo and Google. Pitalwalla is aggressive and hot-headed by his own admission, while Prasad is soft-spoken and thus, the calmer influence. They play the perfect foil for each other. Their partnership has solidified with time and the work Culture Machine does reflects on the same. Continue reading “Outlook Business Best Buddies 2017: Venkat Prasad And Sameer Pitalwalla”
As a brand, Nilkamal needs no introduction. The name is synonymous with plastic furniture that no public gathering or function would be complete without. But did you know the brand also offers wooden home furniture? If you didn’t, the company is now making sure that everyone does with its all new campaign. The ad that aptly says ‘Ab Plastic Furniture Se Kahin Zyaada’ showcases the range of Nilkamal’s wooden home furniture.
“We Indians prefer to have options,” starts off Akshay Verma, co-founder, Fitpass when asked about how the start-up was conceptualised. “Whenever we go to a restaurant, people love to order a thali. They like to try a lot of things,” he says. But when it comes to working out in India, there weren’t many options available. The lack of proper running tracks or parks coupled with poor air quality rules out training outdoors. Thus gyms were the popular choice to get fit, which again, were not devoid of challenges. “One workout doesn’t solve all needs; there has to a be a mix of a lot of workouts. For example, marathon runners need to hit the gym for strength training while they need CrossFit and yoga for flexibility,” says Verma. 
Ramesh and Suresh are back with their goofy antics. The endearing duo that has been the face of the Cadbury 5 star’s advertisements have returned to the small screen in a new avatar via the new TVC that promotes the chocolate brand’s extra caramel variant.
When Mohammad Illiyaz quit his job at Amazon to start something on his own, he wasn’t clear on where he was headed. But when he heard about the problems his friend faced in getting a good transporter, he decided to venture into logistics. He started his own transport company in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh to understand the issues in the industry. During the course of business, he met Gouri Patil who was also running her own logistics company then. With an initial investment of 
20 lakh, they decided to launch Truckkers, an online trailer aggregator. Sometime after the start-up was launched the third co-founder, Naveed Ahmed, joined the team. 
Do customers need a friend or a banker? While banking ads are currently promising to be a friend, philosopher and what not, the need of the customers is an efficient banker. The new BankingNibhao campaign from IDFC Bank attempts to convey the same, reiterating their position as the ‘Bank of now’.
What do Vivian Richards, Allan Border and Kapil Dev have in common? Three things— they were captains of their respective teams, world cup winners and were featured by Reliance’s textile brand, Vimal in their ads during the cricket World Cup in 1987. The brand, well known for its star-powered campaigns, is now back to claim its space on Indian television after 8 years with an all-new campaign targeting the young buyers.
Every year, getting fit is an item that features in the New Year resolution list for a major sect of the population. Ironically, it is also a task that always gets pushed to the next year. Stemming off the trend, ICICI Lombard, in its new campaign, is exhorting its customers to lead an active lifestyle by providing health solutions that include benefits like yoga and gym reimbursements, fitness and sports therapy.
Ashameera Aiyappan 