iWorld
“We study the creator’s profile to determine which videos perform best on their channel”: Sourabh Kumar
Mumbai: In the bustling realm of digital media, two formidable players stand out: PunToon Kids and VidUnit Media Pvt. Ltd. Each entity commands its domain within the digital landscape, captivating audiences and brands alike with their unique offerings.
PunToon Kids, founded with a vision to engage and educate young minds, has become a household name in children’s content. Through its vibrant YouTube network, featuring beloved characters Gattu and Chinki, PunToon Kids seamlessly blends entertainment with learning, fostering values and cultural appreciation among children aged 3 to 8.
On the other end, VidUnit Media Pvt. Ltd. emerges as a trailblazer in the realm of influencer marketing, harnessing the power of multilingualism to connect brands with diverse audiences across India. With its headquarters in Mumbai, VidUnit has redefined brand management through a data-driven approach and a keen understanding of audience demographics.
Delving into the intricacies of VidUnit’s methodology unveils a meticulous blend of technology and human expertise. From selecting influencers to crafting bespoke campaigns, VidUnit navigates the dynamic landscape of digital marketing with finesse, ensuring that each collaboration resonates authentically with its target audience.
Indiantelevision caught up with VidUnit founder Sourabh Kumar to explore its unique strategies, successful collaborations, and unwavering commitment to driving meaningful outcomes for brands and creators alike. From captivating campaigns to insightful analytics, VidUnit epitomises excellence in multilingual influencer marketing, shaping the future of digital engagement.
Edited excerpt
On VidUnit ensuring a comprehensive understanding of audience demographics and engagement metrics
We ensure a comprehensive understanding of audience demographics and engagement metrics through two steps. First, we utilise an in-house tool that we’ve developed. Second, our team scrutinises the shortlisted profiles, analysing factors such as comments, likes vs. views, subscriber vs. views ratio, and more. We have a dedicated team that focuses on examining creators’ demographics and engagement, not solely through marketing tools, but by actually analysing each profile. This involves reading comments on their latest reels, determining when they last collaborated with a brand, evaluating the performance of specific videos, and so forth.
On the process of selecting and collaborating with the 500 celebrities and key opinion leaders (KOLs) across various industries
The first step is to select influencers and celebrities based on various metrics such as the type of content they create, their target audience, engagement ratio, likes/views ratio, and the appeal of their content, among others. Following that, we review each creator once again with team members who are experts in specific subjects like fashion, education, tech, and so on, ensuring alignment with the brand’s objectives. If necessary, we also provide one or two lines explaining why we suggest these creators and their rationale. Once the team is convinced that a particular creator or celebrity aligns with the brand, it becomes easier to convince the brand as well
On challenges, if any, does VidUnit face in catering to such a diverse audience base
VidUnit operates as an agency in 13 different languages and deals with creators from various backgrounds and cultures on a daily basis. Since we work with numerous creators across the country, we encounter some cultural and regional differences that we must eventually address.
For example, in Odia culture, one might perceive certain content as less visually appealing, yet it may resonate well within that particular region. Initially, this posed a challenge for us. However, with growing experience and an expanded team dedicated to specific regions, it has now become one of our strengths.
On VidUnit ensuring that each campaign aligns with the brand’s objectives and target audience
We provide clients with a brief template that we’ve developed over years of experience. This template addresses all the fundamental queries and concerns necessary for us to understand the brand’s requirements.
Understanding the brand’s brief, objectives, and brainstorming ideas and strategies as a team is our forte. Collaboration allows us to generate ideas collectively, recognising that input from six people is always better than one, isn’t it? During our discussions, we ensure to address basic questions such as:
1 Are we clear on the brand’s brief and objectives?
2 Is there anything the brand may have missed out on during the briefing call?
3 We shortlist creators who best fit the brand, providing reasons and ideas for what the influencer can bring to the table.
4 Are we paying the creator the appropriate amount? If not, what’s the best possible cost to finalise the deal?
When planning a campaign, we remain open to necessary changes during execution. After the first few videos go live, we analyse what’s working and what’s not. If something isn’t performing well, we swiftly devise alternate solutions without disrupting the campaign’s flow.
On VidUnit evaluating the success of a campaign post-execution
Based on the campaign brief from the brand, we design the campaign strategy and develop the best plan possible to achieve the desired results for the brand.
We consider two metrics to measure the success of a campaign, depending on the brand’s requirements. The first metric is an engagement-based success campaign, which relies on factors such as the reach of a particular video, the number of likes and comments received, and the quality of comments on the post. The second metric is Installs/registration campaigns, which measure the number of installs generated through a specific link mentioned in the creator’s description. This could also involve the use of a coupon code if the goal is to increase product sales.
We hold weekly discussions with the client to review the creators that have gone live during the week and assess their performance. If the performance is below expectations, we conduct a brief discussion to identify the reasons and seek solutions.
On VidUnit ensuring brand messaging integration within influencer content is seamless and effective
Once an influencer is shortlisted by the brand, we immediately conduct a brainstorming session to generate ideas on how the influencer can best promote the product.
Following this, we also engage in discussions with the creators to gather their input, aiming to collectively develop the most effective ideas while ensuring the quality of the content remains high.
Several factors are involved in this process, including ensuring that the ideas align well with the creator’s content. We study the creator’s profile to determine which videos perform best on their channel, integrating the brand or product into such videos to achieve the best possible traction.
On VidUnit ensuring efficient reach to niche audiences across the country
VidUnit, as a platform, hosts over 20,000 creators spanning various categories and regions. The platform provides us with the option to filter creators and select those that meet our requirements. Once we have an understanding of the brand’s brief and budget, we devise a plan to ensure we reach the right target audience and an optimal number of people.
For instance, if the budget is 10L, we may suggest engaging two prominent creators charging 5L each or a combination of creators whose fees collectively amount to 10L. This approach ensures the brand reaches as many people as possible. If we don’t achieve the desired views from a particular creator, we may request additional deliverables. While creators are not obligated to comply, VidUnit as an agency endeavours to maximise their contribution to ensure the brand’s satisfaction
On the examples of successful campaigns executed in collaboration with these trusted partners
Telugu Launch on Duolingo
We launched Telugu as a language for one of the most popular language-learning applications worldwide. We worked with more than 200 YouTube creators from Telangana and AP in just one month, and the campaign was a huge success.
Dipika ki Duniya X Duolingo
Collaborated thrice in 3 years with a creator called Dipika. During each collaboration, we added an emotional touch to the integrations and discussed how learning English can genuinely transform someone’s life.
Reddit X Saiman Says
Working with Saiman was a great idea because he is an enthusiastic Reddit user himself and can talk extensively about the app. This helped us get a lot of new installs on the app since the collaboration was genuine and built trust around the brand.
Nishu Tiwari X Orient
On Republic Day 2023, Orient elegantly decorated several locations throughout India with tri-coloured lights. The idea was to visit the location, create a reel as organically as possible, and capture the lighting and décor in addition to showcasing the amazing work that Orient has done through Influencers.
3D Bear – Puntoon Kids
The brand started off with 2 videos initially as a pilot project which worked out really well. They then decided to do a long-term deal as well with a mix of pre-rolls and integrations.
On VidUnit differentiating itself from other influencer platforms, especially in terms of its multilingual capability
On VidUnit, it’s not just talents and influencers who can register; there are also agencies that register themselves on the platform, providing us with an additional push to execute campaigns with quick turnaround times (TAT).
Some agencies manage 4-5 exclusive artists, and our in-house language experts play a vital role in handling briefs from specific regions. Having worked in 13 different languages for a significant period, we have established strong relationships with artists from various regions and backgrounds, reducing our dependency on the platform
eNews
How short, addictive story videos quietly colonised the Indian smartphone
A landmark Meta-Ormax study of 2,000 viewers reveals a format that is growing fast, paying slowly and consumed almost entirely in secret
CALIFORNIA, MUMBAI: India has a new entertainment habit, and it arrived without anyone really noticing. Micro dramas, those short, cliffhanger-driven episodic stories built for the smartphone screen, have quietly embedded themselves into the daily routines of millions of Indians, discovered not by design but by algorithmic accident, watched not in living rooms but in bedrooms, on commutes and in the five minutes before sleep.
That, in essence, is the finding of a sweeping new audience study released by Meta and media insights firm Ormax Media at Meta’s inaugural Marketing Summit: Micro-Drama Edition. Titled “Micro Dramas: The India Story” and based on 2,000 personal interviews and 50 depth interviews conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 across 14 states, it is the most comprehensive study of the category in India to date, and its findings are striking.
Sixty-five per cent of viewers discovered micro dramas within the last year. Of those, 89 per cent stumbled upon the format through social media feeds, primarily Instagram and Facebook, without ever searching for it. The algorithm did the heavy lifting. Discovery, as the report puts it bluntly, is algorithm-led, not intent-led.
The typical viewer journey begins with accidental exposure while scrolling, moves through a cliffhanger-driven incompletion hook that makes stopping feel unfinished, and is reinforced by algorithmic repetition until habitual consumption sets in. Only then, when a platform asks for an app download or a payment, does the viewer pause. Trust, not content quality, determines what happens next, and many simply return to the free feed rather than pay. It is a funnel with a wide mouth and a narrow neck.
The numbers on consumption tell their own story. Viewers spend a median of 3.5 hours per week watching micro dramas, spread across seven to eight sessions of roughly 30 minutes each, peaking sharply between 8pm and midnight. Daytime viewing is snackable and low-commitment, squeezed into morning commutes, work breaks and coffee pauses. Night-time is where the format truly lives: private, uninterrupted and, for many viewers, socially invisible. Ninety per cent watch alone, compared to just 43 per cent for long-form OTT content. Half the audience watches during their commute, well above the 37 per cent figure for streaming platforms, a direct reflection of the format’s low time investment advantage.
The audience itself breaks into three segments. Incidental viewers, comprising 39 per cent of the total, are passive consumers who stumble in and rarely seek content actively. Intent-building viewers, the largest group at 43 per cent, are beginning to form habits and seek out episodes but remain cautious. High-intent viewers, just 18 per cent, are the ones who download apps, tolerate ads and occasionally pay: skewing male, younger and urban.
What audiences want from the content is revealing. The top three genres are romance at 72 per cent, family drama at 64 per cent and comedy at 63 per cent, precisely the same top three as Hindi general entertainment television. The format rewards emotional familiarity over complexity. Romance in particular thrives because it demands low cognitive investment, needs no elaborate world-building and plays naturally into the private, pre-sleep viewing window where inhibitions lower and emotional intimacy feels safe.
The most-recalled shows, led by Kuku TV titles such as The Lady Boss Returns, The Billionaire Husband and Kiss My Luck, share a common narrative DNA: rich-poor conflict, hidden identities, power imbalances, melodrama and cliffhangers that make stopping feel physically uncomfortable. Predictability, the research warns, is fatal. Each episode must re-earn attention from scratch.
The terminology question is telling. Despite the industry’s embrace of the phrase “micro drama,” viewers have not adopted it. They call the content “short story videos,” “short dramas,” “reels with stories” or simply “serials.” One respondent from Chennai said bluntly that “micro sounds like a scientific word.” The category is at the stage that OTT occupied in 2019 and podcasts in the same year: widely consumed, poorly named and not yet crystallised in the public imagination.
Platform awareness remains alarmingly thin. Only three platforms, Kuku TV at 78 per cent, Story TV at 46 per cent and Quick TV at 28 per cent, have crossed the 20 per cent awareness threshold. The rest languish in single digits. This creates a trust deficit that directly throttles monetisation: viewers who cannot remember which app they used are hardly primed to enter their payment details.
Yet the appetite is clearly there. Sixty-five per cent of viewers watch only Indian content, drawn by the TV-serial familiarity of the storytelling, the comfort of Hindi as a shared language and the sight of actors they half-recognise from decades of television. South languages are rising fast: Tamil, Telugu and Kannada together account for 24 per cent of first-choice viewing. And AI-generated content, still a novelty, has landed better than expected: 47 per cent of viewers call it creative and unique, with only 6 per cent actively rejecting it.
Shweta Bajpai, director, media and entertainment (India) at Meta, called micro drama “a category that is rewriting the rules of Indian entertainment,” adding that the discovery engine being social distinguishes this wave from previous content formats. Shailesh Kapoor, founder and chief executive of Ormax Media, was characteristically measured: the format, he said, is showing “the early signs of becoming a distinct content category” and, given how closely it aligns with natural mobile behaviour, “has the potential to scale very quickly.”
The format’s fundamental mechanics are working. It enters lives quietly, through boredom and a scrolling thumb, and burrows in through incompletion and habit. The challenge now is monetisation: converting a category of highly engaged but deeply anonymous viewers into paying customers who trust the platform enough to hand over their UPI credentials. The story, as any micro-drama writer knows, is only as good as the next cliffhanger. India’s platforms had better have one ready.
