MAM
Cult Branding seminar in Mumbai a thumping success
MUMBAI: Cults. They are common as gardens in India and globally. Almost every few years a cult crops up, balloons into a movement, only to diminish quickly.
Agencyfaqs, BusinessWorld and Alchemist group, got together to organise a seminar around a phenomenon as fascinating as cults, namely that of cult brands. And holding centre stage to an audience of 100 plus was 28-year-old Matthew Ragas, the co-author of the book (along with Bolivar J Buneo) The Power of Cult Branding.
The seminar, held at the JW Marriot in Mumbai’s western suburb of Juhu, and titled Beyond Advertising: The Phenomenon of Brand Cultism, was sponsored by Amity School of Communication, Hav-A-Tampa Jewels Birchwood Tip Cigars, Altavista, Cutty Sark, and Express Colour Scan. Among the big names who attended included: Arvind Sharma of Leo Burnett India, Times of India’s Pradeep Guha and Bhaskar Das, Chandy of Malayalam Manorama, ace promotions professional Pradeep Narashima.
Ragas elaborated over two sessions why cult brands are crucial today, what goes to make a cult brand and how it is sustained, and the seven golden rules of cult branding. His belief is that because of product and advertising clutter, brands are getting commoditised and competition is getting fierce, with decreasing consumer loyaty. Cult brands help marketers to ensure repeat consumer purchase because of the intense customer loyalty. Cult brand consumers are hooked and happy.
Ragas explained that there are destructive cults (a La Hitler) and benign cults (a la Harley Davidson biker groups). He added that cults are not bad, rather their members are normal people, who want to improve their lives and be different, and want to feel like they belong. He elucidated that cult brands offer their customers love, attention, and to many of their consumers, they are a living surrogate family with like minded individuals.
According to Ragas, Abraham Maslow who postulated his heirarchy of human needs is the father of cult branding. Maslow’s pyramid placed physiological, safety, belongingness and love, esteem and self-actualistion needs as a gradually narrowing group of human needs with self-actualisation being at the peak. Ragas says that cult brands primarily fulfil the higher level human needs of esteem, social interaction, and self-acutalisation. “Once a brand fulfils the higher needs, it becomes irreplaceable in the mind of the consumer,” he says.
He then went to throw light on the seven golden rules of cult branding which were drawn up after two years of researching for his book. These are:
*Consumers want to be part of a group that’s different.
*Cult brand inventors show daring and determination.
*Cult brand sell lifestyles.
*Listen to the choir and create cult brand evangelists.
*Cult brand always create customer communities.
*Cult brands are inclusive.
*Cult brands promote personal freedom and draw power from their enemies.
He then went to illustrate how each of these golden rules apply to four cult brands: Apple Computer, Linux, Volkswagen Beetle, Harley Davidson (the other five that Ragas has studied in his book include: Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Buffet, Vans Shoes, WWE, Star Trek).
His session was followed by a session by former BBC veteran and Indophile Mark Tully wherein he tried to give his perspective on what India truly is and how it has changed over their years. His biggest regret was that companies are paying lip service to the rural market.
Last on was Alchemist Consulting founder Samit Sinha who elaborated on Indian cult brands such as Old Monk, Enfield Bullet, Thums UP, Khadi, comedian Ajit, and the Ambassador.
Ragas will be working closely with Alchemist Brand Consulting for the Indian market. Those wanting to get in touch with either Ragas or Sinha can send an email to matt@powerofcultbranding.com orsamit@brandalchemist.com.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
