iWorld
Times Internet and GirnarSoft partner to offer marketers access to 27 million in-market vehicle buyers
Times Internet, India’s leading digital products company, has partnered with GirnarSoft, parent company of leading auto portals CarDekho.com, BikeDekho.com, Gaadi.com and Zigwheels.com to offer marketers an opportunity to reach out to 17 million in-market car buyers and 10 million in-market bike buyers, through integrated advertising and business solutions.
Times Internet’s smart marketing platform, Colombia, reaches over 270 million visitors per month. Combined with GirnarSoft’s expertise for auto-related information, Times Internet advertisers can engage prospective in-market auto buyers at every stage of their decision making process. Using the power of Colombia’s machine-learning algorithms and GirnarSoft’s intent data, marketers can now convey the right message to the right audience at the most opportune time across Times Internet properties.
Commenting on the alliance, Times Internet, Chief Revenue Officer, Gulshan Verma said, “Buying a vehicle is one of the biggest purchase decisions for Indian consumers. In order to make the right choice, buyers typically consider 4 to 5 brands and pass through different stages of the consumer funnel to arrive at a conclusion. Unlike a consumer browsing for a low involvement product online, the purchase intent of a consumer visiting a GirnarSoft website, such as CarDekho, is quite clear. Our partnership with GirnarSoft will allow marketers to ensure that a prospective car buyer is equipped with the right information to enable their decision, thus making it an imperative investment for marketers to drive results.”
“Today, India is the fastest growing passenger vehicle market among the global eight markets. In such a burgeoning marketplace, and growing digital maturity of Indian audiences, we expect that auto companies will significantly ramp up their digital spends. Research reports estimate that by 2020, digital advertising will influence as much as 70% of India’s annual auto sales. Given that India clocked 21.8 million units in auto sales in 2016-2017, this is a big opportunity, and one that we’re extremely excited about.” said Umang Kumar, President, GirnarSoft. “Our association with Times Internet will offer the auto sector, enhanced and effective user targeting capabilities, thus helping both parties capture a significant share of the digital ad spend in the auto sector.”
e-commerce
ONDC names Vibhor Jain MD and CEO; Rohit Lohia joins as CBO, Manoj Thakur as CTO
Leadership formalised as open commerce network sharpens focus on scale and user value
The Open Network for Digital Commerce has formalised Vibhor Jain as managing director and chief executive officer, cementing a leadership transition at India’s ambitious open commerce platform as it pushes for scale and relevance.
Jain, who had been serving as acting chief executive officer since April last year following the exit of Thampy Koshy, steps into the role with effect from 7th April , according to a report by The Economic Times. He previously served as chief operating officer at the government-backed network, which enables buyers and sellers to transact across applications through an open, interoperable system.
Setting out his strategy, Jain underscored the network’s differentiated architecture. “Going forward, we are concentrating on what open, interoperable infrastructure can uniquely enable, things that no single platform has the incentive or the architecture to do,” he said.
He added that the immediate priority is to widen ONDC’s impact across user cohorts often underserved by platform-led commerce. “My priority is to deepen the value ONDC creates for the people it exists to serve: kisaans, karigars, kiranas, gig workers, first-time investors, and daily commuters across India,” he said.
Jain also flagged leadership reinforcement within the organisation, noting that ONDC has “a strong and exciting leadership team in place”, with Rohit Lohia joining as chief business officer and Manoj Thakur as chief technology officer.
With over 18 years of experience spanning entrepreneurship and consulting, Jain brings a track record in technology-led, large-scale transformation programmes and internet businesses. At ONDC, he has been closely involved in shaping strategy and operations as the network seeks to move digital commerce away from platform-centric models towards an open network approach.
Before ONDC, Jain worked with JUMO, where he helped set up the fintech firm’s India operations, and led the India launch of Mobike, handling regulatory, policy and operational aspects of its market entry. Earlier, he co-founded Atlanta Healthcare, an air quality management company, and spent more than a decade in consulting roles at Andersen and EY, advising governments on public policy and technology-driven reforms, including work on the Aadhaar programme and tax systems.
The mandate is clear but the path is complex. As ONDC attempts to rewrite the rules of digital commerce, Jain now carries the burden of turning open architecture into mass adoption, in a market still dominated by platform power.
