MAM
Hinduja’s innovative marketing via Pune IPL team
MUMBAI: For the first time in 10 years of the IPL, cricket fans are expressing their passion for their team and its heroes through a unique, one-of-its-kind digital marketing solution.
In the ongoing IPL 2017, HGS Interactive (HGSi) has helped Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited, principal sponsor of the Rising Pune SuperGiant, create a unique customer experience for fans of the team as they follow their players’ exploits and cheer them on. It has designed a clutter-breaking and innovative activation – an IOT-based LED t-shirt for fans that can light up on the press or trigger of a button on the t-shirt or any Android device. So, whenever a player from the RPS team hits a ball for a six or four, or bags a wicket, fans wearing the t-shirt could light up ‘4, 6 or Out’ – similar to the TV screen, and cheer their team.
“The big idea was to marry technology and the fans’ love for their team and players and come up with a disruptive solution that helps Gulf Oil easily stand out in the crowd. These IOT-based LED t-shirts transform cricket fans into human banners cheering their team,” said Sachin Karweer, Business Head, HGS Interactive, which is the digital business unit of BPM firm Hinduja Global Solutions Limited (HGS) .
“The IOT-based LED t-shirt is testimony to Gulf Oil Lubricants’ passion for innovation. Fans and the game have converged with this disruptive wearable technology, thus creating an unmatched experience for the spectators of the sport,” said Ravi Chawla, Managing Director, Gulf Oil Lubricants India Limited (GOLIL), adding, “We will continue to embrace such trends and continue to excite our audience and cricket fans all across the country.”
The innovative fan t-shirt initiative is part of an aggressive marketing campaign unleashed at the 10th edition of IPL by Gulf Oil. The campaign titled “GulfGoFarHarBaar” is currently running in RPS’ home base Pune, and also features the Gulf Fan Bus, Radio Experience, digital videos of players and their interviews. The Gulf Oil campaign intends to communicate the message of “Performing under Pressure” through digital, radio and OOH channels to excite and build a deeper connect with RPS fans.
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.
