ELEVATE: An outsider’s takeaway from inside the L&F war room

Whether we might’ve noticed or not, we’ve already entered the post-information age - the extensive-information-from-multiple-digital-sources age and there is no dearth of marketing events organised by so many players across the industry.

But rarely you come across a digital agency hosting an event that claims to get notable industry leaders & platforms under one roof to host multiple sessions addressing a variety of complex questions from brand building to media investments to quick commerce, overseas expansion and new platforms that warrant marketers’ attention today to ace the digital game.

So, when we were invited to attend Elevate, Lyxel&Flamingo’s flagship marketing event last week, we had to see if it was worth the hype.
And to be honest, it was not what we expected.

Did you know that while we were burning through our marketing budgets over Meta, Pinterest has become huge in India?
Neither did we.

Now we know there are more than 30 million active Pinterest users in India and it is a platform that needs to be taken seriously by brands.

There were other similar revelations - like during one session, we found out that Lyxel&Flamingo is Google’s IGAP partner - a program that helps brands scale their business internationally.

And, also that they have exclusive access to the Google Partner Eco-system to help brands in other business requirements

An incredible eye-opener was the conversation between Dev Batra, CEO & the Chief Culture Guardian at L&F and Abhishek Ganguly - the man behind the pathbreaking marketing playbook that made Puma the biggest international sports & lifestyle brand in India.
What it entailed was a heady cocktail of impressive stories, cultural learnings & marketing breakthroughs that are driving his plans to take Agilitas, his new venture, to similar and much bigger heights while building the future of Sports Marketing in the country.

This set the tone of the day for us. We were drawn in. Ready to commit to the day.
But lunch happened before we could see out our commitment and it does deserve a special mention. We had noticed how amidst the pre-event hype, L&F made sure they kept mentioning their food menu and now we know why!

Well done guys! Really well done.

While we tried to navigate the agency’s expansive 20,000 sq. ft corporate office in Gurgaon, attending multiple sessions happening simultaneously, we realised that the complete event management was done in-house.
From the online registration process to how the attendees were being ushered to various action areas - the flurry of activity was quite seamless (like the live stream that was also managed by their in-house tech team)
You could sense the madness that comes with hosting an event of this scale but a closer look revealed the method that was at the core of it all.

PrsmX by Mobavenue and Kargo, who co-powered Elevate’25, also led panel discussions about CTV advertising and the growing preference for ad-free content.
PrsmX is a media buying platform that facilitates brand visibility with the right kind of data to reach the right audiences for an omnichannel engagement throughout a connected ecosystem of CTV, OTTs, mobile & DOOH while Kargo specialises in creating innovative advertising solutions across multiple platforms.

We were really impressed by the list of platforms in attendance - Google, Pinterest, Amazon, Flipkart, Shopify, MX Player by Amazon, Zepto, Bigbasket, Swiggy Instamart, MyGate, Quora & Inshorts, most of which were hosting or co-hosting a session around occurrent trends in the world of digital marketing and branding building. Way2News, Taboola, and PhonePe were the event's key partners, adding further credibility to Elevate's stature and ensuring an engaging mix of insights. 

Another session involved an interesting paradigm that the agency has been relentlessly advocating for a few years now - Unlocking the full potential of Full-funnel marketing that drives brand growth across key metrics like awareness, engagement and conversion.

Multiple sessions and panel discussions later, we realised it was time and we were almost heading towards the end of the event which again was a surprise because when do these events ever begin & end on time right?

The mood changed. The 100 odd volunteers - almost one-fifth of the company’s roster - seemed relaxed after an honest day’s work. Colleagues, compeers, comrades - it was hard to tell who they were because all they looked like was a big band of friends ready to see out the final session.

Cocktails!
The bar was open.

Our verdict?
Great day. Good event. Insightful sessions.
But what we took away from the event was far more than what the sessions offered. From catering to case studies, from standees to sessions, from the floor plan to the complex marketing plans - the minute and the marquee - so much was delivered and with such a method that we did find ourselves wondering what all the next Elevate would bring.
Whatever it is, is a conversation for the future. But any doubts we had about Lyxel&Flamingo being able to successfully organising an event of this might were put to bed by the time we left.