MAM
Dhanteras sparks a gold rush of campaigns ahead of Diwali 2021
MUMBAI: The festive revelry of Diwali has kicked off with Dhanteras, the first day of Diwali. The occasion is an anticipated affair for both brands and consumers alike, considered auspicious for buying gold and silver in some form, apart from other big-ticket purchases. Keeping that in mind, brands across categories are leaving no stone unturned in going all out to woo the masses with special campaigns and attractive offers to ring in the festivities with an added sparkle.
This Dhanteras, the demand surge for precious metals witnessed a significant QoQ 20 per cent jump, with demand for gold remaining high, almost three times of silver during this festive season, according to the latest Just Dial Consumer Insights study. The hyper-local search engine reported higher demand for the precious metals in Tier-II cities vis-à-vis Tier-I cities.
Gold prices have fallen since reaching the peak in August 2020 and this festive season it remained the most searched precious metal on the search engine, as per its latest report. Silver too saw the highest QoQ growth in demand of 30 per cent while demand for both gold and diamond saw a growth of 18 per cent.
Just Dial CMO, Prasun Kumar said, “Correction in gold prices and strong demand triggered by the festive season across the country, have made the yellow metal the most sought after. On Just Dial, demand for gold in Tier-1 cities remained high but it was also interesting to witness faster growth in demand in Tier-II cities led by Lucknow, Jaipur, and Coimbatore. With volatility in the market, we will see more and more consumers investing in gold for security reasons. Besides, the rise in demand for other precious metals such as silver and diamond is also encouraging.”
This year on Dhanteras, jewelry brand Reliance Jewels paid homage to India’s rich heritage by launching Kaasyam, a collection inspired by Banaras. The collection is inspired by the architectural marvels of the holy city and seeks to represent the confluence of rich Indian culture and the charisma of modern India. Keeping this in mind, the entire campaign, conceptualised by Scarecrow M&C Saatchi is strategised around the central theme of ‘Dive into divinity’.
The film has been shot by Shamik Sengupta and is produced by Tandem Media.
During Dhanteras, digital gold and investment through Exchange Traded Funds have also gained momentum.
To leverage the auspicious occasion, Digital payment platform Paytm has announced the launch of its #YehDiwaliGoldWali offer ahead of Dhanteras, through which users will be able to win Goldback or additional gold worth up to ₹5,000 for the digital gold that they buy on the platform.
Paytm Gold enables users to create their own gold saving plans by opting for weekly or monthly auto payments, while also offering the option to redeem the digital gold into coins or bars, the brand stated.
Amazon Pay has also announced offers of cashback on digital gold to all its customers ahead of Dhanteras. The e-commerce giant announced its ‘Dhanteras Store’ for a wide selection of specially curated products ranging from gold and silver coins, festive jewelry, electronics, pooja items, home décor, large appliances, smartphones, accessories, Amazon Devices, digital gold, and much more.
Italian confectionery company Ferrero Rocher celebrated the onset of festivities with #MakeDiwaliGolden campaign highlighting ‘golden moments of togetherness.’ The campaign builds on the idea of connecting with your precious ones, coming together, and creating golden memories, further emphasised through digital and on-ground activations.
Gold loan company Muthoot Finance has launched its ‘Diwali Dhamaka Campaign’ offering ‘one of the best ever gold loan schemes offered by the brand’ in recent times.
The purpose of this campaign, the brand stated, was to get maximum first-time loan seekers to avail gold loans and help them meet their objectives. The campaign aims to encourage everyone, particularly hesitant first-time loan seekers to avail gold loans convincingly.
The Muthoot Group general manager, marketing & strategy, Abhinav Iyer said, “In these resurgent times post-Covid, when individuals, families, and businesses are picking up speed to regain their lost momentum, we at Muthoot Finance strongly believe that we can be the harbingers of change and a great festive offering like ‘Muthoot Finance Diwali Dhamaka’ can hugely help fellow Indians realise their dreams and become self-reliant.”
“With +25000 tons of Gold stocked in Indian households and less than five per cent of this being monetised by way of gold loans; I feel there is tremendous opportunity to unlock the latent potential of this emotional currency to turbocharge economic growth and realise our Government’s vision of making an Atmanirbhar Bharat,” Iyer further added.
There is optimism about rising consumer confidence this festive season, said the brand. With gradual improvement in the economic situation, much can be attributed to pent-up demand after almost 18 months of the pandemic-led lull.
MAM
One Hand Clap acquires Agenseed to enter distribution space
Creative agency expands into full-stack services with strategic buyout.
MUMBAI: One Hand Clap has decided to stop just clapping for great ideas now it wants to make sure they actually travel. The leading new-age creative agency and production house has acquired Agenseed, a seeding and distribution firm, marking its formal entry into the distribution segment. The move is aimed at expanding its role across the entire marketing value chain and unlocking new growth opportunities.
One Hand Clap expects the new distribution vertical to contribute up to 15 per cent of its overall revenues over the next 12–18 months, signalling a clear strategic shift beyond pure creative services.
Agenseed, founded by Monish Hardasani and Akram Malik, will function as the agency’s dedicated distribution arm. This acquisition strengthens One Hand Clap’s position as it aims to become a full-stack creative and distribution company in India’s rapidly growing digital advertising market.
With over 90 million posts shared daily on Instagram and brands allocating 25–35 per cent of their digital budgets to distribution and creator-led reach, amplification has become critical to campaign success. By integrating distribution early into the creative process, the agency hopes to help campaigns gain stronger cultural traction and momentum.
One Hand Clap founder Aakash Shah said, “The future of advertising is not just about executing great ideas, but about placing them intelligently. By owning both storytelling and distribution, we can drive greater impact for brands while opening up new revenue streams.”
Agenseed co-founder Monish Hardasani added, “The future belongs to ideas designed to travel. This partnership allows us to integrate distribution thinking at the source.”
Founded in 2019 by former AIB leaders Aakash Shah and Naveed Manakkodan, One Hand Clap has worked with major brands including Swiggy, Google, Netflix India, Crocs, Duolingo, CRED, Bumble, BGMI and Chetak. The agency also secured investment from Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath last year.
In an increasingly fragmented attention economy, this acquisition reflects a broader industry shift where agencies are building end-to-end capabilities to stay competitive. One Hand Clap is clearly clapping louder and ensuring its ideas now reach much further.
