MAM
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank launches its sonic identity
Mumbai: Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (Ujjivan SFB), a small finance bank, has launched of its sonic brand identity, named ‘The Sound of Ujjivan’. The sonic identity aims to strengthen the connection with the customers through the strategic use of sound.
At the heart of sonic identity is the bank’s sonic logo, crafted to capture fundamental values like opportunity and freedom which seamlessly resonates with what Ujjivan stands for – trust and progress.
Conceptualised and created by Unmute, a Scandinavian sonic branding agency, the new sonic identity helps the customers connect emotionally with the bank. Unmute has used the ’Geneva Emotional Music Scale’ – a model designed to describe how humans respond emotionally to music. When adapting this method to the Ujjivan brand, a list of descriptors were defined and used as a common “language” throughout the creation process. As music is very subjective, it’s important to find ways to evaluate the sound from the brand’s perspective.
The new sonic identity will be integrated across various customer touchpoints including phone banking, mobile banking applications, ATMs and the website.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank executive director Carol Furtado said, “Since its inception, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has been a partner in progress to millions of customers. To deepen this relationship, ‘The Sound of Ujjivan’ is a heartfelt endeavour to create a strong brand recall. The new sonic identity reflects our commitment to enhancing the customer experience, across all touchpoints both physical and digital.”
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank CMO Lakshman Velayutham said “Music has the power to create an emotional connect with the customers and capture the true essence of a brand. The Sound of Ujjivan is not merely a branding initiative, but a reflection on the need to create a universal musical expression that captures the spirit of Ujjivan, making it both relatable and engaging for our diverse audience.”
Commenting on the association, Unmute’s Simon Kringel, said “Ujjivan has really embraced their sonic branding and for us it’s been a fascinating collaboration. Coming from another part of the world we’ve had to learn so much about Indian music and culture; and by adding our own musical touch I think we’ve achieved a sound that is unique, distinctive and truly cross-cultural.”
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
