World Startup Convention fiasco: A lesson for influencers?
Influencers who were quite strident in their association with the festival initially quietly disassociated with it when things went south, raising some questions in influencer ethics
“Disheartened and devastated. What a shame for the entire startup ecosystem. Ankur Warikoo I was your fan,” read a LinkedIn post by had invested Rs 50 lakhs as a sponsor for the World Startup Convention, however, with the turn of events, legal recourse may be in the offing.
On a usual day, Warikoo gets a lot of praise from giddy followers, but his recent association with World Startup Convention has turned things on the head. Comments like Anant's have become rife across social media.
For the initiated, World Startup Convention, originally touted to be a “unique opportunity to connect with other entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders from around the world,” turned out to be a damp squib.
With ticket prices as high as Rs 3,600, the fest initially promised attendance of global leaders like Sunder Pichai, Elon Musk, and Gautam Adani amongst others, but the attendees were disappointed to know that there were very few investors. In the end, it even earned unfavourable comparisons with the doomed Fyre Festival. Talks of police cases and legal interventions have been plaguing the fest.
One of the biggest fallouts of this event is its impact on influencers like Warikoo, Chetan Bhagat and Raj Shamani who were vociferously promoting the event.
However, when things went south, these big names explained that they had long disassociated with the festival even though they were aware that their promotional videos were still circulating on the internet.
E4m reached out to Warikoo to understand his side of the story, he said, “I am not involved in the conceptualizing or organizing of the event. We had done an Instagram collab reel on 19th January where I spoke about the importance of funding for a startup and how this event could be a good opportunity to explore the same and meet other founders. The terms of the collab were clear that my video will NOT be used for promoting the event. However, I realized that this was not respected. While they took down ads of the video when we asked them to, the video was and is still being used on their website and in all of their communication.
“In January itself we distanced ourselves from the event. They repeatedly asked me to be present for the event, which we declined. As late as February we had to keep sending them emails asking them to take down ads they were running to promote the event using my video. It is really tragic to see how the event eventually ended up. It showed promise and could have genuinely helped founders if done the right way.” Warikoo also said that he is personally responding to the DMs he is receiving from people asking him for clarification.
This raises a question in basic influencer ethics: Don’t influencers have a responsibility towards their audience to vociferously disassociate with something with the same fervour as promoting them? We asked our experts.
Speaking on disassociation, the founders of One Hand Clap Media said that when influencers disassociate, sometimes they have contract clauses, wherein the termination has happened but they can’t talk about it publicly.
“However, it is fair to let people know they have not associated with the brand anymore but yes legally there might be a clause that doesn’t allow them to talk about it. And this can be one possible reason for these influencers to not come out and talk about it,” said the founders.
Iesh Dixit, Co-founder and CEO, Powerplay (Bengaluru-based SaaS startup), said: “While they may not be entirely responsible for the chaos that ensues, they should be held responsible for their promotion. An appropriate course of action by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) or another governing body is necessary to address this issue.”
Apoorv Bhatnagar, Co-Founder, The Plug Media, is not comfortable with judging the creators for the fate of the event, but does believe that due diligence should be a must. “With the government also regularizing the creator economy, both influencers and managers have become very conscious of their choices. This particular incident looks like a case of wrong portrayal by the organisers and hence it would be unfair to judge a particular creator for the consequences. However, all of us need to be more mindful and conduct thorough due diligence before associating with a particular brand.”
Ayush Shukla, the founder of Finnet Media, believes that while the influencers have a moral responsibility of informing their followers about their disassociation, it could be a case of an honest mistake. “They are not promoting scams; they were themselves scammed by the organisers. This campaign happened a few months ago and they just took an advantage of the video and started running ads. It was a mistake by the creators because they didn't do their due diligence but at the same time, they were also fooled by the organisers,” he adds.
Simple communication could have absolved the errant influencers and saved their followers from being misled, says Neel Gogia, Co-Founder, IPLIX Media: "If influencers have disassociated themselves from an event, we advise them to communicate this with their audience even if they are no longer affiliated with the company or event in question, especially if their content is still being used for the promotions of the event. This will ensure that others aren’t being misled or scammed."
The thought was also summed up by a comment on social media: “Influencers are not cops, and hence it is tough to accuse them of not doing adequate research. Everyone is a victim here (including the influencers) and everyone should come together against them. Nothing is going to come out of hating these influencers. I can say the same thing that the so-called investors didn't do their due diligence by doing a background check on WSC. Diligence is not a one-step process. It needs to be carried out at all levels.”
The CCPA has come out with guidelines for influencers. Flouting them can cost influencers a fine up to Rs 50 Lacs. E4m reached out to ASCI who said that this is a matter of CCPA and they should take some action. E4M also reached out to CCPA’s Anupam Mishra (Joint Secretary), who is yet to reply to our queries.
The incident will serve as a great case study in due diligence and the moral responsibility of influencers.
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e4m Digital Marketing Leaders Awards laud contributions of 33 industry pioneers
The leaders have been honoured for their successful digital strategies, campaigns and innovations
By exchange4media Staff | Jun 9, 2023 9:14 PM | 3 min read
The exchange4media Group hosted the inaugural edition of the e4m Digital Marketing Leaders Awards on Friday, June 9, at the Taj Santacruz in Mumbai. The star-studded award night recognized and felicitated the game-changers in the digital marketing domain for their outstanding and impressive contributions to the industry. The awards celebrated the best minds in the digital marketing space for their successful digital strategies, campaigns and innovations that leverage new technologies.
A total of 33 digital marketing leaders were awarded at the dazzling awards night. The occasion was graced by top leaders, industry heads and experts from a wide cross-section of marketing, media and brands. Spotify Advertising is the Celebratory Partner of the event while Lemma is the Networking Partner.
The winners who were honoured with the award include Abhishek Mehta, Digital Marketing Lead, FMCG- Jubilant Foodworks, Altamash Khan, Digital Lead- Kellogg India, Ankit Desai, Head - Media & Digital Marketing (India & Global Centre of Excellence)- Marico., Anvesha Poswalia, Head of Digital & E-commerce - Home Care- Unilever, Apoorva Maheshwari, Head of Marketing- Bestseller, Deepa Krishnan, Director - Marketing, Category, Loyalty, Digital- Starbucks, Dipti Sudhir, Head- Digital Marketing & PR- Britannia Industries, Divya Batra, Head of Marketing- Haldiram’s, Girish Hingorani, Senior General Manager & Head – Marketing & E-commerce Cooling & Purification Appliances Group- Blue Star, Jahid Ahmed, Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Acquisition/ Website/ Content & Social Media Marketing- HDFC Bank.
The other winners are Madhu S Dutta, Head of Marketing & GM- Brand, Media, & Digital Social- Raymond, Madhur Acharya, Vice President E-commerce- Lenskart, Manik Mahajan, Director - Digital Marketing and E-Commerce- Versuni, Niranjan Mutkekar, Associate Director - Digital Marketing- Purplle, Pierre de Greef, Digital Marketing Director- Pernod Ricard India, Priyanka Gandhi, Associate Director - Integrated Marketing Communication & E-commerce Marketing- Colgate Palmolive India, Priyanka Sethi, Director - Head of Marketing- Haier Appliances India, Proshanjit Dey, Marketing Head- Strategy & Innovation, ATL, Digital & Social Media, Nutrition- India & EM Markets- Dr. Reddy's Lab, Puneet Gupta, Business Head - Digital & Marketing- Nuvama Wealth and Rajeev John, Vice President Marketing- Health Care & Strategic Investments- Dabur India.
Adding more to the winner list were Ritu Mittal, Head of Marketing & Digital- Bayer, Sachin Mishra, Digital Marketing Lead- Cipla Health, Sachin Vashishtha, Chief Marketing Officer- Paisabazaar, Sadhana Daswani, Head Brand and Digital- JSW Paints, Saurabh Saini, Head, Digital Marketing & Communication- Havells India, Shaktipriyo Sikdar, Head - Digital Marketing- Emami, Sheena Kapoor, Head - Marketing Corp Comm & CSR- ICICI Lombard, Sunil Nat, Head of E-commerce & Digital Marketing- Galderma, Urmesh Chandra, Head - Digital Marketing- PolicyBazaar.com, Vidya Kailasam Hangal, India Consumer Digital Leader- Mondelez International, Vikram Jeet Bhayana, Head of Marketing- Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Vinay Dholakia, General Manager - Digital Marketing & Media Head- Tata Motors and Vishal Gaba, Associate Director - Marketing- Bira 91.
Here’s the complete list of winners:
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Disney+ Hotstar offers free streaming of Asia Cup, ICC Men’s Cricket WC on cellphone
Both tournaments will be held later this year
By exchange4media Staff | Jun 9, 2023 11:10 AM | 1 min read
Disney+ Hotstar has announced that Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup tournaments being held later this year will be made available as free-to-view to all mobile phone users accessing Disney+ Hotstar.
“Disney+ Hotstar has remained at the forefront of the rapidly evolving OTT industry in India and the various innovations we have introduced to continue enhancing the viewer experience has allowed us to delight our audiences across the region. Making the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup available to a wider audience, we believe, will help us grow the overall eco-system,” said Sajith Sivanandan, Head of Disney+ Hotstar.
We reached out to Disney+ Hotstar for a comment on the same but are yet to receive a response.
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e4m-ESP Indian Online Gaming Landscape 2023 Report: Glimpses unveiled
The report seeks to decode the growth of the online gaming landscape in India and focus on how brands can leverage this billion-dollar industry
By exchange4media Staff | Jun 9, 2023 10:54 AM | 2 min read
India has witnessed a digital revolution over the past decade, driven by various factors such as technological advancements, government initiatives, increasing internet penetration and the rapid adoption of smartphones. With over 750M active internet users in 2022, the country has become a prime destination for the open internet and all that digital media entails.
The key driver of India’s digital revolution is gaming, with the country being home to close to 500M individual gamers. The ever-evolving gaming market in India is fuelled by devices, data and digital penetration, all of which are getting cheaper, better, and faster.
The e4m GameOn Online Summit held in Mumbai today gave a sneak-peek into the much-awaited e4m-ESP Indian Online Gaming Landscape 2023 report. The comprehensive report serves as a compass, guiding stakeholders through the vast opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in the gaming sphere. The detailed report is set to be unveiled soon and will be available for public use.
Gaming has emerged as a powerful force and the industry has experienced remarkable growth in recent years. 2022 has been a game changing year for the gaming industry in India with publishers, streaming platforms, esports organizers, and teams coming together to create a very healthy gaming ecosystem. It is believed that with professional teams training to compete and win in global tournaments, 2023 may well be a crucial year for esports.
The gaming industry in India has created bundles of opportunities for gamers, making them economically independent. Moreover, e-sports has gained substantial popularity in India and is poised for significant growth in the coming years. The emergence of professional teams, increased prize pools, and a growing fan base, esports is expected to become a mainstream form of entertainment and a lucrative industry in India.
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Sociowash bags eBay India’s integrated digital mandate
The agency will develop performance media strategies while deploying its video production and influencer marketing verticals
By exchange4media Staff | Jun 8, 2023 2:41 PM | 1 min read
Sociowash, an integrated advertising agency, has won the integrated digital mandate for eBay India. The agency will be responsible for enhancing the brand’s overall digital presence by developing creative tactical strategies. The account was won in a multi-agency pitch and will be handled by the agency’s Mumbai team, stated a release.
As part of this strategic partnership, Sociowash will be responsible for creating awareness about the brand and executing campaigns to onboard more sellers onto the platform. The agency will provide end-to-end solutions and services for the brand's creative, performance media, video production, and influencer marketing needs while resonating with its target audience and helping them achieve their business objectives.
Pranav Agarwal, the co-founder of Sociowash, commented on the win, "eBay India is a prominent leader in the e-commerce industry. We are elated to have been chosen by them to manage their digital landscape. Our team's extensive experience and expertise will redefine and elevate the brand's digital positioning. Together, we can create an impact that goes beyond what has been achieved before, setting new benchmarks and adding genuine value for the brand"
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Meta Verified now in India
As per reports, the subscription is available for ₹699 monthly on iOS and Android3
By exchange4media Staff | Jun 8, 2023 11:35 AM | 1 min read
Meta has said that Meta Verified will now be available in India.
The announcement was made in a post by Mark Zuckerberg who also mentioned that previously verified accounts will maintain the status for free.
Meta Verified in a subscription bundle on FB and Insta.
Subscribers will get a badge indicating their account has been verified with a government ID, extra protection against impersonation, direct access to customer support and more visibility, the company had earlier said.
As per media reports, this subscription is available for ₹699 monthly on iOS and Android3. The company also plans to introduce a web purchase option for ₹599 a month.
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e4m GameOn Summit to explore the future of gaming
The conference will be held on June 9
By exchange4media Staff | Jun 8, 2023 8:55 AM | 2 min read
The gaming market in India is dynamic and is a rapidly evolving ecosystem. Gaming has emerged as a powerful force and the industry has experienced remarkable growth in recent years and continues to expand at a rapid pace. The widespread availability of affordable internet access, affordable data plans, has led to a surge in online gaming, allowing people across the country to access and engage with various gaming platforms. In order to explore the gaming industry further, e4m has announced the third edition of the e4m GameOn-Online Gaming Summit. The conference is set to be held on June 9 in Mumbai. The Presenting Partner of the event is AnyMind, the Growth Partner is Mobavenue while AdScholars is the Co-partner.
At the conference, top leaders from the gaming ecosystem will come together and share insights on key topics under the theme ‘Online Gaming, The Next Big Thing?’. The summit will also give a sneak-peek to the much-awaited e4m-GroupM ESP Report on the Indian online gaming landscape.
As per industry experts, 2022 was one of the landmark years for the Indian esports and gaming industry, as publishers, streaming platforms, esports organizers, and teams came together to create a very healthy ecosystem. It is believed that with professional teams training to compete and win in global tournaments, 2023 may well be a breakout year for esports.
Click here to see the full agenda: https://e4mevents.com/e4m-GameOn-2023/agenda
Due to the advancements in technology, the gaming market is only getting bigger. Top leaders and experts from the gaming industry are set to come together under one roof to discuss the opportunities, challenges and the future of the gaming industry in India. The e4m Summit explores the industry’s rapidly growing revenue streams, the drivers of growth, the changing demographics of the gaming universe, and ways brands can seize the opportunity to target consumers.
To ensure you don’t miss out on valuable insights, click here to register:
https://e4mevents.com/e4m-GameOn-2023/login
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e4m Digital Marketing Leaders Awards: Inaugural edition on June 9
The awards recognize and honour digital marketing leaders for their impactful strategies, campaigns and innovations
By exchange4media Staff | Jun 8, 2023 8:51 AM | 1 min read
Digital marketing leaders play a crucial role in shaping the industry and driving innovation. Their expertise, insights, strategies and vision help others advance their knowledge and understanding of digital marketing practices. These leaders inspire the next generation of marketers and help the industry grow.
With an aim to honour the great minds in the digital marketing sphere, the exchange4media Group is hosting the first edition of the e4m Digital Marketing Leaders Awards on June 9 in Mumbai. The awards night will celebrate and acknowledge the stars of the domain in India and witness the coming together of some of the best brands, individuals and agencies. Spotify Advertising is the Celebratory Partner of the event while Lemma is the Networking Partner.
e4m Digital Marketing Leaders Awards acknowledges the great leaders who have developed & implemented successful digital strategies, campaigns, and innovations by leveraging new technologies for digital marketing. The awards aim to inspire leaders to stay ahead of the curve and unlock their full potential as digital marketers by felicitating pioneers in the digital marketing sphere.
The star-studded awards night is a perfect opportunity to network with the best and brightest minds from the digital marketing ecosystem, expand knowledge and get an overview of the functioning of several digital marketing agencies.
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