iWorld
Unlock the power of brand amplification with ZEE5’s ampli5
MUMBAI: ZEE5, India’s fastest growing ConTech brand has launched a unique brand amplification tool called ‘Ampli5’, a one of its kind offering from ZEE5’s industry defining Ad-suite stack. Ampli5, as the name suggests, will strengthen brand loyalty, and improve sales conversions by helping brands execute high impact campaigns with the help of Influencer engagement, Social marketing, Branded content, Content marketing and Integration.
A powerful brand story instils a sense of bigger purpose that is beyond the product or service being offered. With the help of Ampli5, brands will be able to evaluate what type of content works best for them; images vs video, short form vs long form, listicle vs standard editorial. By understanding what users respond best to, brands will be able to adapt their content strategy and improve the effectiveness of the campaign which can be easily tracked and optimised.
Taranjeet Singh, Chief Revenue Officer and Business Head, ZEE5 India said, “We are thrilled with the initial response received from brands who used Ampli5 to enhance their presence in a cluttered digital market. Launch of Ampli5 and other offerings as part of the ad-suite fortifies our commitment to invest in the latest and relevant ad tech to give advertisers the best solutions for building brands, reaching their target consumer in the most cost-efficient manner and in a brand safe environment.”
Ampli5 is the first of many offerings that ZEE5 has launched as part of its ‘Ad-suite’ offering for brands and the advertising ecosystem at large. The innovative advertising solutions from ZEE5’s Ad-suite coupled with the large and loyal consumer base of ZEE5 will help brands segment and target their consumers in an efficient manner to achieve their brand goals & boost imagery.
In 2019 itself, ZEE5, India’s fastest growing ConTech brand has rolled out around 25 original shows across genres, and the platform is committed to launching 72+ shows by March 2020. It has crossed 50 million+ gross downloads since launch on the Play Store and had 76.4 million global monthly active users globally as of June 2019.
Some of the original content launched so far include widely acclaimed Kaafir, Rejctx – new age thriller drama, Barot House – a suspense drama film and Posham Pa – psychological thriller to name a few. In the launch pipeline includes, Jamai 2.0 – a romantic thriller starring Ravi Dubey and Nia Sharma which is a digital sequel of popular Television series Jamai Raja, Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala – an Indian romantic comedy web series starring Divyanka Tripathi and Rajeev Khandelwal, Mission Over Mars (MOM) – Sakshi Tanwar, Mona Singh led drama series and Bhram – featuring Kalki Koechlin and many more.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
