Advertising is Dead: It's all Business with Varun Duggirala

Ep. 00: Introduction

Advertising has a bad name, its often perceived as that one thing which we cant wait to skip or block. But is that all its about Because if you listen to all the conversation around it, its endgame advertising Well, all is not what meets the...

Rohit Raj: The Glitch in the System

52 min 43 sec

How does breaking the rules work in your favour Find out from two men who had no background in advertising and are now CoFounders of one of Indias most successful creative agencies. Varun Duggirala, CoFounder and Content Chief at The Glitch is...

Kunal Jeswani on Why Chaos is Good

43 min 32 sec

How is traditional advertising getting swept away in this new age of digital disruption Varun Duggirala, CoFounder and Content Chief at The Glitch is joined by Kunal Jeswani, CEO of Ogilvy India, whos spent over 20 years in the industry. They talk...

Akshaara Lalwani on The blurred line between PR & Digital Marketing

36 min 5 sec

Whats the deal with PR in the digital age How have the lines blurred between what PR agencies have traditionally done and end up doing now Varun Duggirala, CoFounder and Content Chief at The Glitch is joined by Akshaara Lalwani, CEO of Communicate...

Vinodh Bhat: When Audio Is On The Rise, You Monetize

49 min 11 sec

When you look around, everyone has earphones plugged in. It makes you wonder, what are they listening to Is it just music, or is there a whole other medium that has been growing and expanding Varun Duggirala, CoFounder and Content Chief at The...

Sagar Gokhale on Marrying Brands with Creators

43 min 23 sec

While we are surrounded by creators, there are also those who have built the ecosystems around them, to help grow, encourage and amplify their message and content. Varun Duggirala, CoFounder and Content Chief at The Glitch is joined by Sagar Gokhale,...

Karthik Nagarajan Wrapping Up 2018 in Advertising

47 min 58 sec

2018 has been an interesting and transitional year a year that has defined many aspects of the advertising and media space. To look back at the year that was and the year that 2019 will be, Karthik Nagarajan, Chief Content Officer at Wavemaker joins...

Roshan Abbas on Live Events 101

1 hr 0 min 42 sec

Roshan Abbas has worn many hats over the years whether its radio, television, his company Geometry Encompass, Kommune or the SpokenFest. On this episode, he paints a picture in the theatre of our minds about how you can sell a dream, and dives into...

Rituparna Som on The Editorial Landscape & The Cultural Filter

42 min 52 sec

Today, content is allencompassing and brands need to be part of relevant content thats both credible yet engaging. And thats why the word journalist is too narrow to describe the editorial landscape. Tune in to this fun and freewheeling...

Anshulika Dubey on Crowdfunding For Creators

39 min 55 sec

Traditionally, creators havent faced as much of a creative block as they have a monetary block. With the advent of crowdfunding platforms, the consumer helps fund the content they want to consume. Its patronage that helps enrich the arts. In this...

Priyanka Khimani on Understanding IP & Creative Rights

41 min 14 sec

In todays era of creativity, having someone to advise you on the complexities and realities of your rights is a requisite. As a creator, you ought to understand the fundamentals of copyright, piracy, intellectual property and licensing. Join Priyanka...

Shreyas Srinivasan on Why Engineers Excel At Creativity

42 min 20 sec

Shreyas Srinivasan, Founder CEO of Insider, joins host Varun Duggirala whos also his batchmate from engineering college, on this weeks episode. They discuss how technology has been a large force to alter the media, content and advertising...

Pooja Jauhari on Bringing Structure To Creativity

40 min 18 sec

On this Valentines Day edition, Varun Duggirala is joined by Pooja Jauhari, his wife, whos also CEO of The Glitch. They talk about how they met, how to make relationships work in the workplace, Poojas role at The Glitch and how shes brought in...

Amit Doshi and Kavita Rajwade: A Conversation About Conversations

46 min 19 sec

Amit Doshi and Kavita Rajwade, Founder and CoFounder of IVM Podcasts joins host Varun Duggirala, CoFounder and Content Chief at The Glitch, to discuss the future of podcasting. They talk about how IVM Podcasts came into existence, the way brands can...

Viral Jani on The Bridge Between Platforms & Brands

41 min 52 sec

The evolution for media companies is far beyond their box. Their growth now lies outside it. There are not only platforms for content but also companies that are better positioned to engage in multiindustry collaborations companies that have the...

Gaurav Kapur on The Untapped Potential Of Sports Media

54 min 51 sec

Gaurav Kapur, widely known as the TV presenter, and also the Founder of Oaktree Creative Solutions, joins host Varun Duggirala. The former Channel V alumni talks about his journey to becoming a sports presenter, why creators need to be taking more...

Nirmika Singh on Culture Curation, Music & What Lies Beyond

54 min 32 sec

Nirmika Singh, Executive Editor of Rolling Stone India joins host Varun Duggirala for a riveting conversation. They talk about: The importance of understanding various nuances to be a music journalist The rise of Indian hiphop How the music...

Naveen Richard on Looking Through The Humorous Lens

44 min 34 sec

Writer and comedian, Naveen Richard, joins host Varun Duggirala to discuss his writing process and finding his source material, being a writer for a web series and integrating brands into it, why everyone must attend a standup workshop, tongue...

Prashanth Challapalli on Inside The Complexity Of Agency Life

49 min 18 sec

Prashanth Challapalli, Chief Operating Officer at Leo Burnett Orchard joins host Varun Duggirala to discuss whats the role of an agency in this complex digital environment, transitioning from mainline to digital, the key things they look for when...

Sunetro Lahiri &Prashant Kohli: The new age creative director

58 min 47 sec

Sunetro Lahiri and Prashant Kohli, Senior Creative Directors at The Glitch join host Varun Duggirala, CoFounder and Content Chief at The Glitch to discuss the role of being a creative director. They also talk about their journey and experiences at...

Vijay Subramaniam on Managing Talent & Human Emotions

44 min 59 sec

What constitutes the ecosystem around talent What does it take to be a talent manager today What does it take to be a creator Vijay Subramaniam, CoFounder CEO, KWAN Entertainment and Marketing Solutions, joins host Varun Duggirala on this...

Saurabh Kanwar on Why Campus Is The Answer?

56 min 2 sec

Saurabh Kanwar, CoFounder of ATKT and Varuns exboss at Channel V is on this weeks episode discussing the importance of giving campus students a platform to showcase their talent, why the influencer market in India is suffering, the evolution of...

Pranay Swarup on People-Powered Influence

45 min 8 sec

Pranay Swarup, CoFounder and CEO of Chtrbox, joins Varun Duggirala this week to dig deep into the space of influencer marketing. They talk about the overuse of the term influencers, understanding the authenticity of a creators content, how Chtrbox...

Advait Gupt on The New Age of Purpose-Driven Content

46 min 25 sec

Advait Gupt, Founder and CEO of Supari Studios joins host Varun Duggirala as he walks down the memory lane and shares the story of their first project, which was a birthday video. They talk about nonfictional content production, branding, and the...

Nikhil Taneja on The Voice Of The Youth

1 hr 1 min 58 sec

On this episode, host Varun Duggirala is joined by Nikhil Taneja, CoFounder and CEO of Yuvaa. They talk about the good old days of working at MTV, the concept and agenda of Yuvaa and how addressing issues through a youth media organization helps...

Varun Duggirala's AMA: 25 Not Out*

1 hr 12 min 16 sec

Since this is the 25th episode, we decided to change things up a little. Weve put the host Varun Duggirala on the hot seat Thats right. Hes the guest on his own podcast. So whos hosting Thats a surprise. Tune in to find out Varun answers...

Harshad Chavan is Jack Master of all Trades

46 min 55 sec

On this weeks episode, Harshad Chavan, Managing Director at Toast Events joins host Varun Duggirala to talk about his professional journey. From space selling for The Indian Express to hosting night club events to starting his own agency. He also...

Sidharth Rao on Founder to Founder

40 min 49 sec

This week, host Varun Duggirala is joined by Sidharth Rao, CEO and CoFounder of Dentsu Webchutney. Sidharth talks about the initial challenges he faced while setting up a digital marketing firm in 1999, mistakes he made as an angel investor, the...

Cyril D'Abreo on The Industry of Faff

53 min 58 sec

On this weeks episode, we have the man who has done it all from being a DJ in Goa to a videogame tester, to a librarian at some point. He currently owns two media companies and you can occasionally spot him on Jos Covacos videos. Its Cyril...

Roopak Saluja on Pivots, Flux and Production

52 min 2 sec

On this episode, Varun Duggirala is joined by Roopak Saluja, Founder and CEO of The 120 Media Collective. They talk about the value system followed by Roopaks organization, what is there in it for the advertising industry for the future, how...

Sivaram Parameswaran on Marketers of Today

55 min 42 sec

On this weeks episode, host Varun Duggirala is joined by Sivaram Parameswaran, Senior Marketing Manager, LinkedIn. In this conversation, they talk about the dynamics of the brand agency relationship, their mutual love for Rohit Shetty movies and...

Ravina Rawal on Content Around Content

48 min 1 sec

On this weeks episode of Advertising is Dead, host Varun Duggirala is joined by Ravina Rawal, Founder, and Editor of Dead Ant. Ravina talks about the evolution of the Indian comedy scene and the growth of regional comedy. She talks about how the name...

Ashwin Suresh &Anirudh Pandita on Attention Traders

54 min 43 sec

On this weeks episode of Advertising is Dead, host Varun Duggirala is joined by Ashwin Suresh and Anirudh Pandita, founders of Pocket Aces. Their conversation answers the question of whether the content quality suffers from brands coming in. They...

Pratish Mepani on Branding, Design & the Process

53 min 21 sec

On this weeks episode, host Varun Duggirala is joined by Pratish Mepani, Founder Creative Director at Starting Monday Design Branding Co. Yes, he talks about how he came up with the name The Starting Monday Design Branding Co. In...

Gaurav Lull on Evolving The Branded Content Model

49 min 46 sec

On this weeks episode, host Varun Duggirala is joined by Gaurav Lulla, CoFounder of Loose Cannons Content Studio. They talk about the importance of collaboration in the content industry and why it is important to define the role of an individual in...

Ronnie Screwvala: Of Dream Merchants & Entrepreneurship

26 min 22 sec

Its a fanboy moment for Varun Duggirala as he is joined by entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala on this episode. They talk about being an outsider in the media industry and he also shares tips for budding entrepreneurs. They also talk about the importance...

Keya Madhvani on Purpose, Communication & Conversation

47 min 43 sec

Communication is a funny word, it is something we use very loosely and many a time we get so tightfisted on how it needs to be used especially in media and advertising space. Join Keya Madhvani, Head of Communications, Twitter India along with host...

Anant Rangaswami on The Journey Of Ideas And Advertising

49 min 22 sec

On this weeks episode, host Varun Duggirala is joined by Mr. Anant Rangaswamy, Editor of MELT on WION. They speak about how the space of advertising has grown through the years, and the explosion of the various mediums or platforms through which...

Indira Rangarajan on Radio in the Digital Age

51 min 47 sec

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, our host Varun Duggirala speaks to the National Programming Head at Mirchi Love, Indira Rangarajan. They discuss how the world of radio is today and how it has evolved over time to become an ecosystem of...

Saurabh Bhowal on Blending Left and Right Brains

46 min 32 sec

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, host Varun Duggirala is joined by his longtime friend Saurabh Bhowal as they discuss their efforts to create content from ideas that stem from both sides of the brain. The two discuss how to go about balancing...

Anuj Gosalia on Not-so-Micro Storytelling

50 min 18 sec

This episode of Advertising is Dead features CEO and CoFounder of Terribly Tiny Tales, Anuj Gosalia. Host Varun Duggirala discusses how Terribly Tiny Tales has evolved and found different ways to tell stories and created immersive content. They also...

Khushboo Benani on Brand Hustlers

44 min 8 sec

On this episode of Advertising is Dead host Varun Duggirala is joined by the Head of Content, Influencer Marketing, and Brand Advocacy at Diageo India, Khushboo Benani. They discuss consumer behaviour, creator trends, being culturally relevant and how...

Gaurav Wadhwa on Music Re-Labelled

51 min 21 sec

Content around music has evolved a lot. Aspects such as marketing have started to gain as much importance as the composition itself. On this episode of Advertising is Dead host Varun Duggirala is joined by the CEO and Cofounder of Big Bang Music,...

Shamsuddin Jasani on Evolving the Digital First Agency Model

48 min 41 sec

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, host Varun Duggirala is in the studio with Shamsuddin Jasani, Group MD at Isobar South Asia. Together they discuss the fact that the term digital agency has become irrelevant and has rather evolved into an...

Himanshu Vaswani & Nikhil Udupa on Amplifying and Balancing Subcultures

48 min 1 sec

What is a subculture Why does everyone want to be a part of it How does it work as an ecosystem On this episode of Advertising is Dead, host Varun Duggirala is joined by CoFounders of 4/4 Experiences, Himanshu Vaswani and Nikhil Udupa. They...

Ankur Tewari on The Artists POV

53 min 3 sec

On Advertising is Dead host Varun Duggirala is joined by none other than storyteller Ankur Tewari as they talk about how artists find newer forms of expression and monetize their work, along with making distinctions between what is art and what is...

Sonali Gupta on Mental Health and the Workplace

1 hr 1 min 57 sec

Mental Health has gained more importance through the years, and for a long time we have been looking at surface level solutions to tackle those problems. Although it can be said that we have a better understanding of mental health than we did before,...

Angshuman Ghosh: The Unsegmented Director

54 min 15 sec

One of the pivotal pieces across the media, advertising, and entertainment landscape is the director. The director is at the center of everything to realize the vision of every aspect, be it the brand, the agency, platform, or medium. On this episode...

Akshat Harbola Doubling Down on Audio

42 min 42 sec

Audio is having its moment. There was a time when a marketers plan would generally have a lot of video or print, with audio just a small supporting element. Nevertheless, that trend has changed and audio has gained newfound importance. On this...

Aditya Swamy is The Evolving Marketer

46 min 32 sec

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, host Varun Duggirala is joined by an old friend and Head of Agency Partnerships and Creative Services at Google India, Aditya Swamy. They discuss his journey in the advertising industry, where they speak about...

Rohan Joshi & Rytasha Rathore on Stories, Authenticity & Randomness

45 min 33 sec

With the introduction of apps such as Instagram and Snapchat, the world of social media has morphed into a completely different one. On this episode of Advertising is Dead, host Varun Duggirala is joined by comedian Rohan Joshi and cohost of Agla...

Sattvik Mishra on New Media & The Publisher Mindset

44 min 42 sec

With the emergence of new media and the digital age, at times its best that brands have a publishers mindset. With content taking various forms and shapes, brands and agencies have had to adapt to keep up with this new wave of media. On this episode...

Tesa Joseph on Casting Stories

59 min 45 sec

Casting is so crucial for anything you want to create as everything else is what youre adding on to it. They speak about how despite the best location, equipment or crew, if the actor cant perform on camera, youre not going to get the product you...

Ranveer Allahbadia: From Creator to Entrepreneur and Beyond

51 min 26 sec

When you talk about the creator economy, it started with a bunch of people creating content and sharing it with the world. All the barriers that were there to create content 10 years ago dont exist anymore. On this episode of Advertising is Dead,...

Efe Çakarel on Hand-Curating Cinema

51 min 24 sec

We live in a time where there are so many platforms to consume content, but so many times we end up scrolling through and taking more time to decide what we want to watch instead of actually watching something. On this episode of Advertising is Dead,...

Nishad Ramachandran : From Creative Director to Consumer Experience

54 min 47 sec

One of the common misconceptions about the disruption in the advertising and marketing space is the fact that this is all about social platforms and content creation. However, the underlying fact is that the influx of availability of data and its...

Chaitanya Kataria on Building a Business around an Artist

47 min 29 sec

Artists have a central ethos within which they build their art form. This has also led many artists to build entire businesses, that are centred around that very ethos. This practice of building businesses around artists has most times been...

Lloyd Mathias: From Marketer to Angel Investor

44 min 28 sec

There are periods that are called the golden years of a brands marketing and these ebb and flow. There are also those who facilitate these waves, not just on one brand or company, but push boundaries and generate brand value as they change roles and...

Anto Philip & Shreyans Jain on Building Youth Experiences

1 hr 13 min 3 sec

Happy New Year folks : How can one build experiences that the young feel they can relate to, while not being pandered to To understand that, why not start out this year with a talk on youthculture On this first episode of the New Year, host Varun...

Avinash Jai SIngh on Creating Through Different Lenses

58 min 57 sec

Developing the design, determining the visuals, figuring out how the content fits as a part of the project, etc., are all innate parts of being a creator. Our tendency, however, is to put people into buckets, into categories, whether theyre a photographe

Pooja Jauhari: AMA Episode

44 min 17 sec

Why is there a need to do this long overdue AMA episode, you ask Its because you all asked some interesting questions that Varun felt needed to be addressed.On this episode, Varun is joined by Pooja Jauhari, CEO, The Glitch, for an AMA episode.

Sucharita Tyagi is Not 'Just' A Film Critic

52 min 15 sec

A great thing about this age of the internet is that we get to voice a pointofview, as well as create content around it. But, can the pointofview be expanded into larger pieces of content A category of content creator that has seen its ups and downs

Viraj Ghelani & Pulkit Kochar on Meme Sabha

1 hr 8 min 47 sec

There are trends in marketing that we dont think of as trends in marketing, because of how entertaining or engaging they are. Memes and meme content comes in that category.M

Tejas Menon is The Professional Fan

1 hr 10 min 52 sec

The term pursuing your passion is used very often and is very loosely bandied about. We should realise, that for most creative folks, the term should be passions plural, and not passion . This is because creative people usually have multiple thi

Harshil Karia on Evolving The Creative Agency Business

1 hr 9 min 41 sec

Managing young workforces, building businesses around them, and constantly keeping those businesses evolving for what the industry requires is no easy task, and its only gotten more and more complex over the last decade or so. But, in some ways, its go

Kunal Rao on The Introverted Creator

1 hr 2 min 3 sec

This week, Varun is joined by comedian Kunal Rao, who talks about being an introvert and how finding that out changed a lot of things in his life for the better. They also

Varun Duggirala's AMA FEB 2020 - agency FAQ, content next, talent+culture & lots more

43 min 43 sec

A lot of us are interested in advertising as a career and business. Its an exciting industry with endless possibilities. But we all have tons of questions regarding it. How does it all work

Tarika Soni on Power of The Camera

57 min 41 sec

As an advertiser, Varun ends up meeting people who have interesting stories, job roles and journeys.

Sarvesh Shashi on The Business of Wellness

45 min 28 sec

Most brands today talk about purpose as being central to what they need their brand to be. This is driven primarily by the fact that consumers today demand purpose from the brands whom they interact with, purchase, or make part of thei

Varun Duggirala's AMA - Adapting to the New Normal & What’s Next?

33 min 45 sec

Selfquarantine time does not mean that its an off time for questions about advertising. Those never cease, and so, nor do we

Jay Mandel on Content in The Time of Corona

55 min 11 sec

Think about this new normal were in, and then think about the boundaries that weve had for years that have been shattered as were stuck within the boundaries of our homes.

Tara Bedi & Niharika Pande on Enabling Safe Self-Expression on Instagram

1 hr 19 min 44 sec

We live our lives on social media. Thats been true for a while now.However, over the last couple of weeks or even over the last couple of months for some people,

Ankur Warikoo on Failure Resume, Work-Life & Beyond

46 min 4 sec

We are living in a time of tremendous disruption. Yet, its also an interesting time because it is making us sit back and reassess how we function, both, as businesses and as people, or rather, how we function as businesses with our people.

Karthik Srinivasan on Communicating & Adapting During Lockdown & Beyond

42 min 56 sec

The last month or so, has been one of the most disruptive times for the way we work, communicate and live. And not just as individuals or people, but even as entire businesses and industries. This has led to a series of trends and changes that might shape

Jacob Pace on Building The Next Stage of Content on TikTok

48 min 26 sec

When one says TikTok, what comes to mind is all the fun, dance, comedy, and other user generated content that were all so addicted to consuming. But, where is this platform headed And what makes it so addictive

Ankita Tandon Democratising Education

51 min 31 sec

The COVID19 pandemic has pushed many sectors into hyperdrive. Not just by spawning growth in usage, but also by bringing about an enhanced focus on these sectors.

Be You Nick Creating Relatable Content

44 min 22 sec

Many creators are changing their content to adapt to the times as theyre confined to their homes. However, there are some whose content has seamlessly continued being as fun as ever, even without making too many changes. How are such creators doing this

Bharat Sethi on Direct to Consumer in a Pandemic & Beyond

56 min 8 sec

One of the biggest market disruptors in recent times have been directtocosumer brands. These brands have grown by making products around specific consumer needs,

Anand Chakravarthy on Media & the Future of Marketing

42 min 24 sec

The growth of digital put the entire advertising and marketing industrial complex on a path of accelerated transformation.

Rajeev Chatterjee & Shriram Iyer on Balancing Traditional Experience With New Age Thinking

48 min 58 sec

The evolution of what brands look for in their partners has resulted in many stages of agencies reinventing themselves.

Deepali Nair on Growth, Leadership & Evolving Businesses

51 min 48 sec

The new economy of the world today has been driven ahead by leaders who dont just focus on a few singular aspects of the companies they lead, but also have a broader outlook on all the core pieces

Rushindra Sinha & Satyen Poojary on Scaling the E-Sports Ecosystem

48 min 52 sec

Sports. Theres something about them that brings us together and makes us feel the entire spectrum of emotions. It brings us together as a community. Its not just about playing sports, but also watching them

Vijay Parasuraman on Evolving the Role of the Marketer

1 hr 1 min 1 sec

The fields we work in go through cycles. These cycles dont just evolve the places but also us as professionals. One of the spaces that has seen tremendous cyclical change has been marketing,

Masaba Gupta on Building Brands Around a Unifying Aesthetic

41 min 9 sec

Many modern brands have been built by creators not just by keeping a keen eye on the consumer, but also from having the ability to take the essence of their brand and personal sensibility, and building horizontality around it.

Rafiul Alom Rahman & Nikhil Taneja's POV: Beyond Pride Month: Queer Culture & The Youth

1 hr 18 min 55 sec

Sometimes, to understand culture and change it, we just need to have deeper conversations and listen to multiple POVs. Varun Duggirala.

Tanmay Bhat on Staying Ahead of the Content Curve

52 min 56 sec

There are some creators who have a genuine knack for seeing what is going to work. Not just what works now, but what is scalable going ahead.On this episode, Varun is joined by comedian and YouTuber Tanmay Bhat,

Varun Satia on Upskilling & Retooling Marketers

37 min 43 sec

The marketing space is one of the most everyevolving practises in our world today. Its a space where the need to constantly learn, upgrade and get handson with the execution is paramount.

Mantra Mugdh Telling Stories Through Audio

45 min 33 sec

Theres a uniqueness in telling a story, especially in audio form, as the person listening isnt just listening to the voice, but is also imagining the story playing out, similar to reading a book.

Divya Aggarwal on Using Consumer Insights to Digitise Physical Experiences

35 min 35 sec

There has never been a more important time to truly understand consumers and the insights we get from them.

Jon Cook on Building a Global Marketing Force Through Creativity & Culture

45 min 31 sec

The journeys of global agencies are filled with an immense number of learnings that we all can dig into both from the choices theyve made as an organisation, as well as the work that has propelled them to succeed and grow.

Varun Thakur on Building a Career With Comedy as a Foundation

53 min 16 sec

The journeys of artists be it comedians, creators, actors, or anyone who falls in the subset are not linear journeys. There are various things that they try along the way, and various things that remain a constant and become the foundation for their c

Suveer Bajaj & Pratik Gupta on Evolving as an Independent Agency Network

1 hr 2 min 14 sec

The journey of new age agencies which are driven by a focus on digital, sees many points of evolution, led both by the way the market moves, but also built on the natural progression of their everexpanding vision.

Dhimant Parekh on Sustainability, Community Building & Commerce

39 min 17 sec

Sustainability has grown as a focus area for many of us not just as a thing we do from time to time, but as a definitive way of living our lives moving forward.

Pankaj Zatakia Redefining Reading & Information Sharing

40 min 27 sec

Our definition of the word content becomes myopic many times in between all the visual and audio chatter, and we forget that content in its origins refers to the written word.

Dhruv Sehgal on Evolving As A Creator

41 min 30 sec

The most engaging modern day content has been defined by storytellers showcasing stories that reflect the authentic workings of the world around us and

Arjun Kolady on Brands, Audio & Modern Platform Ecosystems

49 min 45 sec

The ecosystem of modern platforms has been grown by professionals whove helped them scale in the market, by building awareness and capitalising on opportunities that come with it.

Anshu Mor on Following Your Passion

44 min 31 sec

The choice between passion and profession is something we all battle with. In some cases, we try to balance it, but in most cases, we veer towards profession.

Suchita Salwan on Curation, Discovery & Commerce

53 min 3 sec

Suchita Salwan, Founder CEO, LBB Little Black BookThe process of curation has been one of the most important aspects of us, as human beings, that the advent of social platforms and the internet in general, has helped amplify.

Archana Vohra on Scaling SMB’s Through The Power of Social Commerce

40 min 41 sec

One of the gamechangers for small and medium sized businesses or SMBs to scale up in recent years has been the advent of social commerce.

Cyrus Broacha on The Art of Randomness

1 hr 0 min 59 sec

There is something beautiful about randomness. It makes every interaction, every conversation, and life in general, fun.

Rana Daggubati on Stories, Animation, VFX & the Future of Entertainment

32 min 43 sec

Episode 100 Thats right, 100Throughout the last 100 weeks, Varun has had the pleasure of speaking to some truly fascinating people across spaces, genres and pointsofview. What a journey its been Thanks for tuning in and staying with us alon

Ronnie Screwvala (Rebroadcast) Of Dream Merchants & Entrepreneurship

26 min 22 sec

Note: While we take a short break after 100 amazing episodes, we thought youd enjoy a throwback to some of our earlier ones. Check out this one with Ronnie Screwvala.

Gaurav Kapur (Rebroadcast) The Untapped Potential Of Sports Media

54 min 53 sec

Note: While we take a short break after 100 amazing episodes, we thought youd enjoy a throwback to some of our earlier ones. Check out this one with Gaurav Kapur.

Ranveer Allahbadia (Rebroadcast) From Creator to Entrepreneur and Beyond

51 min 28 sec

Note: While we take a short break after 100 amazing episodes, we thought youd enjoy a throwback to some of our earlier ones. Check out this one with Ranveer Allahbadia, aka Beer Biceps.

Amit Doshi & Kavita Rajwade (Rebroadcast) A Conversation About Conversations

46 min 21 sec

Note: While we take a short break after 100 amazing episodes, we thought youd enjoy a throwback to some of our earlier ones. Check out this one with Amit Doshi and Kavita Rajwade.

Faye D'souza on The Evolution of Journalism

50 min 18 sec

Were back after a month long break with a big oneJournalism and the news industrial complex finds itself at a crossroads. On one hand, its narrative is being defined by what we share and consume in our own

Aparna Mahesh on The Structure of Marketing

42 min 11 sec

The structure of marketing has been through some interesting evolutions. Its also demanded professionals who, over the years, have seen the practise itself evolve, both globally and locally, to constantly evolve and understand its paradigm shifts.

Kabir Biswas Helping People Save Time

55 min 56 sec

Markets evolve and get disrupted by changes and change drivers in consumer behaviour. One massive shift in recent times, especially in 2020, has been the growth of hyperlocal solution drivers. Theyve helped locals and local businesses

Agasthya Shah, Ruhee Dosani & Aparna Mulberry on Manifesting Positivity in 2020

1 hr 19 min 52 sec

Creators have had a unique role in defining humanitys mindset this year. Its because 2020 has been a year when content consumption and social media interactions have been our gateway to human connections.

The Unprecedented Episode (2020 Roundup Special)

1 hr 39 min 26 sec

What a year its been for us all We could all use a nice way to finish it off in high spirits both literally and figuratively.So, to round it off, we have got a banger of a year ender for you

Bhavesh Somaya on The Evolution & Future of The Toy Industry

33 min 58 sec

We all love toys. It doesnt matter if were toddlers or supposed grownups, the one that brings a unanimous sense of joy to all of us are toys. Be it by bringing families together over a board game or igniting ones imagination with action

Malika Sadani on The Science of Motherhood

48 min 25 sec

Mothers make the world go round. Or rather they are the support system that hold it together. As the world has revolved in the recent years so has the science of motherhood and the ecosystem of products services around modern mothers.

Praval Singh on B2B & Trans-national Localism

54 min 46 sec

One of the areas, where Advertising is Dead hasnt focused enough has been traditionally called B2B companies.This B2B space that was always been looked at as separate industry from more consumer facing businesses has evolved a lot closer in approach to

Shivank Agarwal on Riding the Homegrown short-form Video Wave

27 min 25 sec

The shortform video app space has been one of the most interesting spaces to look at not just from the range of competitors in it and the opportunities but also the various hurdles, twists and turns that have affected its market dynamic.

Viraj Sheth on Growing the Influencer Economy

54 min 48 sec

The creator influencer economy has been one of the biggest growth engines of the digital content space. Its not just enabled platforms and creators to scale but also grown businesses that have helped build the ecosystem around them.

Akshay Narvekar on Scaling a "Bespoke" Business

33 min 27 sec

Fashion has always been a space that has been fascinating. Not just as a consumer but as someone looking at the industry outside in and seeing a constant set of shifts that have been changing not just how we as consumers buy but also how

Pooja Jauhari & Flipped Script: Valentine’s Edition (on stuff beyond what you know)

41 min 14 sec

Welcome to an very interesting episode of Advertising is Dead, mainly because Varun is not hosting today has handed host duties to a higher power. Pooja Jauhari, yes you heard it right. Pooja would be hosting this weeks episode on Valentines Special.

Siddarth Menon on Evolving Products & Product Categories

43 min 56 sec

The transformation of the consumerproduct relationship has been redefined in recent years through the troika of what we like to call ConnectPurchase and Delivery.

Akshay Pai on Evidence Based Nutrition

48 min 21 sec

We all have started to look at our health nutrition more focused manner in recent times. We have got in a habit of checking ingredients label behind the products or researching the true effects of what we putting into our body has

Gauri Devidayal on Evolving Our Relationship with Food

51 min 12 sec

Our relationship with food, especially newer cuisines, different kinds of flavors even fine dining has evolved over the last decade. Its gone from being something we try it all once in a while to something thats part of how we look at and

Sumedh Chaphekar on Building the Narrative Structure of a Creator

1 hr 1 min 47 sec

The narrative structure of a creator involves building the character storyline over time multitude of content pieces. It requires taking what is an authentic expression of their creative flow into a structure that evolves over time which in

Anirudh Singla on Building a Modern Content Ecosystem

59 min 10 sec

The word content is such a broad based term in todays world that it is perceived as different things by different people. But the area of content that is changing how brands are and will engage with their consumers is content that is build on

Ajit Mohan on Shaping Popular Culture & the Social Video Experience

52 min 26 sec

In todays world popular culture isnt just shaped by social media, it is in many ways created, grown, evolved and disrupted in the matter of a few swipes and clicks. And the last year has accelerated this to no end.

Mansi Zaveri on Building a Platform for Discovery through Trust & Depth

55 min 3 sec

Platforms built with editorial content at their core are most times built around a specific audience and grow on the basis of depth of content they provide that trust their garner. With each platform, there is a lot to learn on how to build and grow

Gowthaman Ragothaman on Blockchain, NFT’s and a World Beyond Cookies

44 min 42 sec

Words like blockchain, crypto, first party data, NFTs and beyond surround us in

Suhas Rajkumar on EVs, Modern Mobility & Design Thinking

45 min 16 sec

The EV market presents a paradigm shift in modern mobility

Pranav Panpalia on Evolving the Gamer+Creator Ecosystem

52 min 23 sec

Gaming as an industry has grown to being one of the most prominent cultural diverse in the world today.

Rashi Narang on Enabling & Supporting the Pet Friendly Consumer

41 min 17 sec

Varun speaks to Rashi Narang, Founder CEO, Heads Up For Tails to discuss the pet care industry, the categories in it and how she has seen the pet parent consumer evolve through her journey.

Ruhan Naqash on Enabling Learning for the Passion Economy

1 hr 7 min 28 sec

Tune in, as Varun speaks to Ruhan Naqash, CEO CoFounder of MyCaptain to understand their unique methodology around education, how theyre evolving it and also dig into their origins as a company to understand where this space is going in the future.

Harsh Lal on Building a Business on the Foundation of Pop Culture

46 min 6 sec

We love our pop culture Content we binge not just for the entertainment

Guru Bhat on Democratising Digital Money & Building Trust across Borders

1 hr 4 min 48 sec

Digital money has been a great unifier in the world today

Dhruv Chitgopekar on The Business of Influence

52 min 6 sec

The creator economy is the buzz word of the season

Mayank Jain on Building Solutions for the Content Gig Economy

30 min 33 sec

The gig economy around the content ecosystem has seen massive growth over the last couple of years

Piyush Kumar on Streaming the Gaming Economy to Growth

45 min 28 sec

On this episode, Varun speaks to Piyush Kumar, Founder CEO at Rooter about how these platforms are rapidly becoming the hubs for all ends of this industry to scale.

Shiladitya Mukhopadhyaya & Amit Doshi on Crossover: Brands, Tech & Lots In-Between

1 hr 1 min 28 sec

A very special crossover episode on Advertising is Dead with Shiladitya Mukhopadhyaya and Amit Doshi from Shunyaone

Curt Marvis & Pranay Swarup on Globally Aligned for Local Growth in the Creator Economy

1 hr 0 min 38 sec

The creator economy is simultaneously a global

Lekhinee Desai on Building an Ethnic Brand through Social Commerce

38 min 10 sec

Varun is joined by Lekinee Desai, CoFounder Head of Marketing Operations of The Indian Ethnic Company to talk about the origins of her company on Instagram

Devaiah Bopanna on "Evolving the Value of a Writer"

53 min 39 sec

On this episode, Varun is joined by Devaiah Bopanna, Cofounder Chief Content Officer at All Things Small

Vivek Srivatsa on Evolving the Phygital Consumer Experience

42 min 1 sec

On this episode, Varun is joined by Vivek Srivatsa, Head, Marketing, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit at Tata Motors

Kavita Shenoy on Connecting the Dots for Publishers

53 min 1 sec

On this episode, Varun is joined by Kavita Shenoy, Founder and CEO of Voiro to discuss how a company like Voiro have helped publishers connect their dots with digital ecosystem

Aakash Shah on Helping Brands Tap into Internet Culture

57 min 30 sec

Understanding internet culture is crucial for the

Ankur Bhatia on Democratising the Home Bar Experience

43 min 54 sec

On this episode, Varun is joined by Ankur Bhatia, Founder and CEO of Jimmys Cocktail

Stas Tushinskiy on Making Audio Advertising Conversational

38 min 59 sec

Audio advertising has for the longest time been one

Kabir Siddiq on the Sleep Economy & the Need to Invest in Rest

38 min 52 sec

When was the last time you started thinking about your sleep and thought of buying a new mattress or pillow

Sameer Nair on Building a Studio for the Future of Content

54 min 25 sec

On this episode, Sameer Nair tells Varun about how hes building a content studio for the streaming age and where the future of the media space lies

Varun Mayya on Blending Content, Community & Education

55 min 3 sec

Education in its traditional sense is behind the times to put it lightly. And this has given rise to many models that have come up in the EdTech space.

Vikas Gupta on Evolution of Learning

50 min 58 sec

On this episode, Varun is joined by Vikas Gupta, Managing Director, Wiley, WileyNXT mthree in India. They talk about Wileys focus on industry 4.0 skills and also dig into the history of education and learning.

Culture Next: Music ft. Kevin Fernando, Hanita Bhambri & Arjun Kolady

1 hr 7 min

On part 1 of discussion on the insights, Varun is joined by musicians Hanita Bhambri and Kevin Fernando along with Arjun Kolady from Spotify to talk about the shifts in the music space and what they mean for the culture of tomorrow.

Culture Next: Podcasts feat. Yogi & Kabeer, Sarthak Mishra & Arjun Kolady

1 hr 7 min 38 sec

On part 2 of the discussion, Varun is joined by podcasters: Yogi, Kabir and Sarthak Mishra along with Arjun Kolady from Spotify India to talk about the shifts brought about by the growth of podcasting and what it means for the culture of tomorrow.

Masoom Minawala on her Creator Journey, Fashion Blogging & beyond

55 min 31 sec

On this weeks episode, Varun is joined by Luxury Fashion Influencer, Masoom Minawala. Masoom talks about her journey from fashion blogging to growing as a creator, and as a business. She also talks about her focus on elevating women in business

Sahil Contractor & Sandeep Jethwani on Reimagining & Democratising Investing

59 min 11 sec

On this new episode, Varun is joined by Cofounders of dezerv. Sahil Contractor and Sandeep Jethwani.Sahil and Sandeep talk about their business model, their experience in investment space, and how consumers and their point of view on money has evolved.

Ankit Vyas on Equality in Education

34 min 27 sec

The increased privatisation of education over the years has led to the dynamic evolution of the educational system as a whole .

Arun Srinivas & Sravanth Aluru on Reimagining Brand Experiences

47 min 17 sec

In many ways platforms like Facebook have facilitated the growth of different formats with different forms of interactivity to truly expand the consumer brand experience

Sharmin Ali on Evolving Empathy in Content with AI

34 min 41 sec

On this episode, Varun is joined by Sharmin Ali, Founder and CEO of Instoried to discuss how AI can help enhance empathy in content writing and also talk about neuromarketing.

Pooja Dhingra on Her Entrepreneurial & Creator Journeys

38 min 44 sec

Pooja talks about her entrepreneurial and creator journeys and makes us understand how she does, what she does and how we can all learn from it.

Paul Ravindranath on Helping Startups Accelerate and Innovate

39 min 59 sec

On this episode, Varun is joined by Paul Ravindranath G, Program Manager, Developer Relations Head of Google Accelerator India to talk about the startup ecosystem and how Google is enabling innovation through this program.

Vaibhav Sisinty on Cohort Based Learning, Growth Hacking & Beyond

39 min 23 sec

The Founder and CEO of Growth School, Vaibhav Sisinty joins Varun Duggirala in this episode of Advertising is Dead to talk about cohort based learning courses and to take a macro view at where learning is headed.

Mythpat on his Creator Journey & Being an Entertainer

43 min 7 sec

Content Creator and gamer Mythpat joins Varun Duggirala on this episode of Advertising is Dead. The two discuss how Mythpats journey, his experience in the world of gaming content, and about him being an allround entertainer

Divyanshu Damani on Helping Creators Monetise Beyond Advertising

42 min 58 sec

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala talks to Divyanshu Damani, cofounder and CEO at TagMango. The two discuss how content creators can monetize their content going beyond the traditional ads and brand deals.

Anmol Gill on Balancing Culture, Technology and Brand Experiences

32 min 57 sec

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala talks to Anmol Gill, Head of Consumer Marketing, BACARD, India. The two discuss how the AlcoBev industry reaches out to the consumers and the kind of brand connect it has with the consumers.

Decoding Audience Attention and Emotional Engagement on IPL with Yan Liu and Shikher Chaudhary

33 min 50 sec

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun Duggirala is joined by Yan Liu and Shikher Chaudhary. The three discuss sports and the kind of emotional engagement that sportsbased programming has with the audience watching from home.

Anil Viswanathan on Evolving Brand Storytelling, Senior Director- Marketing, Mondelez India

48 min 43 sec

Varun talks to Anil Viswanathan of Mondelez about Cadbury and its Adverts

Arman Sood On Reinventing How We Drink Coffee

40 min 11 sec

Varun Duggirala speak to Armaan Sood about Sleepy Owl Coffee

Rohit Raj On Being a Creator's CEO, Dhindora & Beyond

47 min 52 sec

Varun speaks to Rohit Raj from BB Ki Vines on Dhindora and Bhuvan Bam

Alex Dwek on Creator-led Education

44 min 53 sec

Varun speaks to Alex Dwek on Creatorled Education

Aman Gupta on building boAt, Shark Tank & Happiness

41 min 5 sec

Varun Duggirala talks to Aman Gupta about building a profitable and futureready brand like boAt.

Aneesh Bhasin on Building Mass Premium Non-Alcohol Products

43 min 23 sec

Varun speaks to Aneesh Bhasin about Svami drinks and building premium alcohol products

Vedant Lamba on Scaling Sneaker Culture

51 min 32 sec

Varun talks to Vedant from The Mainstreet Marketplace about Sneaker Subculture and Business

Hitesh Dhingra on the Evolution of the Male Grooming Industry

46 min 56 sec

Varun speaks to Hitesh Dhingra of The Man Company about the Male Grooming Industry

Understanding School Ed-Tech with Anupam Gurani

50 min 44 sec

Varun talks to Anupam about how technology can empower schools

Saransh Goila on the Journey of a Foodpreneur

1 hr 4 min 27 sec

Varun talks to Saransh Goila about his journey to being a foodpreneur

Linkedin & Creator Acceleration with Pooja Chhabria & Pooja Dhingra

37 min 32 sec

Varun Speaks to Pooja Chhabria about LinkedIn Creator Acceleration Program and Pooja Dhingra about using LinkedIn to build a community

The Business of Fame with Malini Agarwal

35 min 9 sec

Varun speaks to MissMalini about her journey, and the recent acquisition by Good Glamm Group

Building Digital-First Businesses with Pallavi Utagi & Mamta Roy

57 min 24 sec

Varun talks to two entrepreneurs Pallavi Mamta, who have been scaling their business digitally.

Being True with Food & Consumers

52 min 13 sec

Varun talks to Shashank Mehta of The Whole Truth Foods about clean eating and cleaner packaged products.

The evolution of the Furniture Market

37 min 46 sec

Varun is in conversation with Naveen Murali from Pepperfry about the latest trends in the Furniture market.

Manish Pandey on The Creator Economy

53 min 33 sec

Varun talks to Manish Pandey about the content / creator economy

Guilt-free snacking with Suhasini Sampath

36 min 44 sec

Varun talks to Suhasini Sampath of Yoga Bar about guilt free desserts

Aayushman Sinha on the Growth of Musicians as True Culture Drivers

44 min 30 sec

Varun is in conversation with Aayushman Sinha about the life of musicians in this day and age.

The Metaverse & Virtual Experiences with Piyush Gupta

48 min 26 sec

Integrated and Experiential Marketing, and the Metaverse Virtual Experiences with Piyush Gupta from Kestone

D2C Deep-Dive ft. Arjun Vaidya, Founder - Dr. Vaidya's

35 min 26 sec

In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun is joined by Arjun Vaidya, Founder, Dr. Vaidyas. He talks to us about building Dr. Vaidyas, trial and error with various strategies and approaches and in the process understanding the consumer.

Shephali Bhatt on the Evolution of the Creator Economy

1 hr 2 min 28 sec

Varun Duggirala is joined by Shephali Bhatt, Senior Assistant Editor, Live Mint to discuss the booming industry of content creation how it impacts us.

Anurakt Jain on Building a Capital Platform that enables Growth for Businesses

44 min 37 sec

Varun is joined by Anurakt Jain, the cofounder of KlubWorks who takes us on his entrepreneurial journey his approach to revenuebased finance, startups venture capital.

Minu Margeret on the Importance of Community Building for a Brand

40 min 18 sec

Minu Margaret and discusses her journey of building a communitycentric brand. Being a young entrepreneur, she also talks about the challenges strategies that she applies with respect to her business content.

Abhishek Patil on Problem-Solving Brand Growth through Community

52 min 2 sec

On this episode of Advertising is Dead, Varun is joined by Abhishek Patil, Founder of GrowthX. He talks about how he built a community of individuals in charge of solving growth problems across domains.

Blending Fitness & Tech with Ketan Mavinkurve

39 min 1 sec

In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun is joined by Ketan Mavinkurve, CEO Founder of Alpha Coach, a fitness app.

HDFC Investverse E1: Preparing to be Unprepared ft. Varun Duggirala

16 min 42 sec

Anupam Varun discuss Varuns learning as an entrepreneur on managing finances, creating contingency funds and so much more.

Enabling Creators through Community & Spaces with Azaan Feroz Sait

37 min 27 sec

In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun talks to Azaan Feroz Sait Founder Chief Happiness Officer, The Hub, Bengaluru.

Twitter Trends Report 2022 with Rishabh Sharma

42 min 36 sec

In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun is joined by Rishabh Sharma, Head TwitterNext India. They discuss the latest India Twitter Trends report.

Personal Branding & the Communications Landscape with Karthik Srinivasan

51 min 53 sec

In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Karthik Srinivasan joins Varun Duggirala to discuss the communications space.

Your Phone is Your Production Studio ft. Nicola Mendelsohn

24 min 52 sec

Varun Duggirala is joined by Nicola Mendelsohn, VP, Global Business at Meta.

Crossover Episode: AiD X Think Fast: Founder to Founder ft. Suchita Salwan

1 hr 3 min 12 sec

This episode of Advertising Is Dead is a crossover with Think Fast and we have Varun Duggirala joined by Suchita Salwan, CoFounder of LBB.

Destigmatising Absorbent Hygiene Products For Elder Care ft. Kartik Johari

37 min 32 sec

In this episode, they talk about opportunities in the absorbent market space, the challenges of branding a product like Friends, stories from market research, Mental diet, and much more.

Kaushik Mukherjee on The Journey & Evolution of SUGAR

36 min 28 sec

In this episode of Advertising Is Dead, Varun is joined by Kaushik Mukherjee, CoFounder COO of SUGAR.

Then & Now of Podcasting & Advertising ft. Amit & Kavita (Part 1)

30 min 57 sec

Varun, Amit, Kavita discuss the then and now of Podcasting and Advertising from 2019 to 2022

Then & Now of Podcasting & Advertising ft. Amit & Kavita (Part 2)

38 min 11 sec

In this episode, Varun is joined by Amit Kavita of IVM Podcasts to revise the 4 years of running this podcast, and 8 years of running the company that produces the show along with many others.