MAM
QYOU Media to acquire influencer marketing firm Chtrbox
Mumbai: QYOU Media Inc on Tuesday announced that it has entered into a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire leading Influencer marketing company Chtrbox in India.
The acquisition is part of the company’s continued focus on India, and in the creator economy and content domain. QYOU Media will initially purchase a majority stake in Chtrbox, with a three year earn out. Founder and CEO Pranay Swarup and COO Julie Kriegshaber will continue in their leadership roles with Chtrbox.
Founded in 2016 Chtrbox is a data-driven influencer marketing, with a diverse pool of over three lakh influencers, from celebrities, social media stars, Gen-Z creators to micro and nano influencers. According to the company, it will continue to run as an independently positioned brand, while benefiting from QYOU Media’s complementary businesses including the TV channel – The Q.
Highlighting the common goals shared by the companies QYOU Media Inc., CEO and co-founder, Curt Marvis, said collective synergies between the two businesses could not be better aligned. “Our channel in India, The Q, with its massive recent ratings growth shows the power of the right creator led content. When we combine this with Chtrbox’s digital acumen and unparalleled knowledge of the world of influencer marketing, it is truly a match made in heaven,” he said.
QYOU Media has been built with ‘influencers’ at its core. Its India TV Channel, The Q is also primarily creator-led and records nearly 100 million viewer impressions weekly. The acquisition is aimed at substantial expansion of QYOU’s influencer marketing business in India and also deliver immediate and accretive capabilities to QYOU’s India broadcast operations, said the company.
Chtrbox, CEO and founder, Pranay Swarup said, “With QYOU, we gain access to massive distribution reaching millions of households, while we continue to power awesome creator-led content across digital platforms and apps. Our biggest stakeholders are influencers and brands and they now have the opportunity to positively influence millions more.”
The Q India, chief operating officer, Krishna Menon said, “Chtrbox will also help strengthen our presence in the rapidly rising digital streaming space. Together, we are perfectly positioned to consolidate and advance influencer marketing, content development, distribution and engagement to the next level in India. We welcome Chtrbox to The Q family.”
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
