MAM
Crypto platforms ramp up ad spends this festive season
Mumbai: As the market pins its hope on the festive season for a hike in sales, the crypto exchange platforms too aren’t lagging behind in wooing users to invest in the digital asset class. In an evident change from last year when the platforms were cautious and muted in their approach, they are all set to make the most of the opportunity this year, with an increase in ad-spend across all media.
Apart from the digital, crypto brands are also opting for mass mediums such as TV and print as they plan an advertising salvo. The fledgling industry is trying to mark a dent in the market with promotions and marketing activities involving audio-visual podcasts and even full front-page displays in leading dailies.
One such platform, which has been investing heavily in print is CoinSwitch Kuber, which claims to have onboarded as many as 10 million users already. The brand has come out with full front-page ads in leading newspapers in the last few days. “Print is always a viable medium. While digital media enables us to target a certain set of audiences, print has the accessibility to the most basic audience group which finds credibility in the print news,” said CoinSwitch Kuber chief business officer Sharan Nair.
The brand is also constantly connecting and engaging with local newspapers, media, and prominent ‘finfluencers’ (finance-influencers) on social media platforms to reach its target set.
“Traditional media can make audiences search and engage with them on the website, while digital media through apps can be used to continue re-targeting the interested segment,” said Havas Media India managing partner – South Saurabh Jain, highlighting that crypto platforms need to focus on “building the top of the funnel first” to attract new retail investors since the penetration of this category is currently low. Jain recommends a 65 per cent spend on traditional media and 35 per cent on digital display plus programmatic spends in this phase, as the threshold costs associated with traditional media remains high.
A recent study by Havas Media Group India also highlighted how print remains one of the most trusted mediums to influence brand perceptions on critical factors like quality, price, and trust, despite the short-term interrupted circulations and de-growth of newspapers during the initial wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Especially for new-age categories like crypto exchanges who are in their next phase of growth in India, it becomes even more crucial to target beyond the early adopters of this digital world by associating with traditional mediums like television and print,” added Jain. “Building trust will be key as a lot of uncertainty and risk has been associated with cryptos in the past. So, print will definitely be a viable medium to build credibility and trust.”
CoinSwitch Kuber is also planning to reach the audiences via emerging OTT platforms. It has already been working with Amazon Prime Video, and SonyLIV, and has partnered with Disney+ Hotstar for the current edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which resumed on Sunday. “Considering the huge traction we witnessed after the last IPL campaign, we are looking to promote crypto assets through upcoming sports events as it perfectly captures our target group, which is – upwardly, young and tech savvy-mobile Indians,” added the CoinSwitch Kuber chief business officer.
On the other hand, crypto trading platform Mudrex is completely targeting digital. The focus of the brand’s marketing campaigns for the coming months is primarily through influencers and creators on different platforms across the social spectrum.
“We believe the demographics of the investors and traders in the crypto market are such that the digital medium is best able to reach the target audience,” said CEO and co-founder Edul Patel. “At Mudrex, we usually associate with influencers who have a deep interest in cryptocurrencies and believe in the idea of smart investing and trading in the crypto market.”
Cryptocurrencies have gained traction over the past few months, and the subsequent interest from the investor sentiment, leading to rising trading volumes despite the regulatory uncertainty. As the brands try to cash in on this crypto gold rush ahead of festivals, there is also a need, however, to create more awareness and to share knowledge on the finer aspects of the virtual currency. And that is what CoinDCX is aiming at, through ‘DCX learn’ during the festive season.
“We have always tried to find fresh ways to entice and educate new investors through our marketing efforts. One of our main objectives is to raise awareness about the cryptocurrency business and urge Indians to consider it as a viable investment option,” said CoinDCX head of brand and communication Ramalingam Subramanian.
The brand has recently come out with a campaign #BitcoinLiyaKya, which was in line with its direction of raising investor awareness and CoinDCX plans to build on that. “We are offering coupon codes of Rs 100 worth of bitcoins to everyone who signs on the exchange for the first time to raise curiosity among prospective new users. This encourages them to learn more about crypto, and interests them to enter the space,” explained Subramaniam adding that the brand is also looking to form new brand alliances to enable the users.
According to the crypto platforms, the interest in dealing in the new asset class is definitely increasing among Indians.
To put it in perspective, India today ranks second in terms of crypto adoption worldwide, ahead of countries such as the US, UK, and China, according to the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain data platform Chainalysis. This is chiefly led by crypto adoption in the smaller towns of India. Currently, active crypto users in the country are around 15 million with the number of blockchain startups going up to over 300 in the current year.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
