Brands
Viral Fission rolls out creative campaigns for Carmesi and Boult
Mumbai: Viral Fission, a tech-enabled youth community platform, has collaborated with wearable brand Boult and personal care company Carmesi to roll out unique campaigns to raise awareness among Gen Z. These campaigns, which are currently underway, are aimed at generating a buzz among the youth, pique their interest and also educate them about the brand and their products.
“It is estimated that two out of five urban consumers in the 18-55 age bracket are Gen Z. Brands are looking for ways to connect with this audience as they are more aware, open to interactions, and tech-savvy than others. We are excited to collaborate with brands like Boult and Carmesi to connect them to their target audience and gain valuable insights from them,” shared Viral Fission co-founder Shreyas Hegde.
Carmesi, a personal care and hygiene brand, collaborated with Viral Fission to set up offline kiosks in colleges to raise awareness about its plant-based sanitary pads. The 10-day pilot project was rolled out across five colleges in Mumbai. Each kiosk was set up in a way to connect with students to raise awareness about its natural sanitary pads, distribute samples and gather feedback. The kiosks also served as a means to run creative engagement activities to get the youth to talk about sanitary hygiene.
“Viral Fission is excellent at execution. It was our first-ever offline marketing activation programme targeted at the Gen Z population, and the team ensured that we understood what was happening at every step. Even when the programme was ongoing, the team went above and beyond – each and every one of them was super helpful, said Purplle marketing manager Zinia Bhattacharya.
Boult, a popular Indian audio and wearables brand, is celebrating its 6-year anniversary with a 6-week Boult-Z program piloted by Viral Fission to increase brand awareness and affinity among youth peer groups. The program involves 65 key opinion leaders (KOLs), identified by Viral Fission from its youth ambassador network, who are creating branded content to drive conversations about the brand. They have formed brand advocate groups within their college campus through online and offline activities to encourage conversations about its products.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Viral Fission for an exclusive 6-week program, celebrating our 6-year anniversary. Through this partnership, we aim to deepen brand affinity and raise awareness among the youth about our innovative audio and smartwatch gadgets. Together with Viral Fission’s youth ambassador network, we are fostering meaningful conversations and excitement around our products, inspiring the tech-savvy generation,” said Boult co-founder Varun Gupta.
Both campaigns have been highly successful in connecting with the Gen Z audience through Viral Fission’s youth ambassadors. Boult has been able to create a buzz about its products with surprise gifts, offline events and new product launches. Carmesi’s kiosks at 30 colleges distributed over 1,300 samples of its plant-based sanitary pads and drew an overwhelming response from students. Enthused by the response through Viral Fission’s connect, Carmesi has already begun a second round of brand awareness with 10 college girls who will promote the product through word of mouth marketing.
Viral Fission has worked with over 50+ brands including Spotify, Meta, JBL, Hammer, Fastrack, Unacademy, Myntra, Jio Saavn, OnePlus, Pepsi, and more. It connects brands to the Gen Z community—its target audience—through its 60,000-strong youth ambassador network all over India.
Brands
Microsoft faces worst quarter since 2008 financial crisis
Cloud giant battles soaring AI costs and fierce competition from nimble startups.
MUMBAI: When the tech titan starts looking a little wobbly, even the Magnificent Seven can feel the tremors because Microsoft is currently starring in its own sequel, “Clouds and Doubts.” Microsoft is on track for its worst quarterly performance since the 2008 global financial crisis, according to Bloomberg, as investors grow increasingly uneasy about rising capital expenditure and intensifying competition from nimble AI firms. The company has been pouring money into AI infrastructure, yet markets are questioning when these hefty investments will finally deliver stronger revenue growth.
At the same time, investors are shifting away from traditional software stocks amid fears that AI startups such as Anthropic and OpenAI are developing autonomous agents capable of replacing established products, including those from Microsoft. Jonathan Cofsky, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, noted growing concern that customers may bypass Microsoft and deal directly with AI vendors, potentially disrupting its core business and putting pressure on pricing and margins.
Microsoft’s stock has tumbled 25 per cent in the first quarter, putting it on course for its largest drop since a 27 per cent fall in the fourth quarter of 2008. It has also emerged as the weakest performer among the so-called Magnificent Seven technology stocks, while a broader index tracking the group has fallen 14 per cent over the same period. The shares slipped a further 1.7 per cent after markets opened on Friday, marking a potential fourth consecutive session of declines.
Cofsky pointed out that Microsoft has become more capital intensive and that improved investor confidence will hinge on assurances that software growth will not slow materially. Despite the sell-off, the stock is now trading at less than 20 times projected earnings over the next 12 months, its lowest valuation level since June 2016. Its valuation remains slightly above that of the S&P 500 Index, although it has recently traded at a discount to the broader benchmark for the first time since 2015.
Bloomberg data shows Microsoft’s capital expenditure, including leases, is expected to surge to $146 billion in fiscal 2026, up around 66 per cent from $88 billion in fiscal 2025. Spending is projected to climb further to $170 billion in fiscal 2027 and $191 billion in fiscal 2028, based on average estimates. Investors are growing cautious about such levels of spending without clearer signs of stronger growth.
Microsoft’s Azure cloud division has reported a slight slowdown in growth compared with the previous quarter, while its Copilot AI product has seen limited user traction, prompting internal changes aimed at improving performance. Ben Reitzes, an analyst at Melius Research, warned in a March note that Microsoft’s upside in Azure could be constrained as the company works to address challenges related to its AI models and Copilot offering, adding that these issues are unlikely to be resolved in the short term.
Of the 67 analysts covering Microsoft, 63 maintain buy ratings, three hold ratings and one a sell rating. The average 12-month price target of $592 implies a potential upside of more than 64 per cent, the highest on record based on data going back to 2009. The stock is also trading below its 200-day moving average by the widest margin since 2009.
Reitzes suggested the dominance of buy ratings may indicate complacency among analysts, while highlighting risks in Microsoft’s productivity and business processes segment as well as its More Personal Computing division. In contrast, Tal Liani of Bank of America reinstated coverage with a buy rating, citing durable multi-year growth prospects across cloud and AI. Jake Seltz, portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, maintained that Microsoft retains strong long-term value and that its AI strategy is likely to be validated over time, viewing near-term concerns as a potential opportunity for longer-term investors.
The report highlights a growing divergence in market sentiment, with optimism around long-term AI potential weighed against immediate execution risks and investor uncertainty. In the world of big tech, even the mightiest clouds can have silver linings but right now, Microsoft’s investors are scanning the horizon for clearer skies.
