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Great Learning appoints Aparna Mahesh as chief marketing officer
NEW DELHI: Great Learning, one of India’s leading ed-tech companies for professional and higher education has appointed Aparna Mahesh as the company’s chief marketing officer (CMO). She will be responsible for managing Great Learning’s global marketing strategy, development and delivery of brand communication, strategic marketing partnerships and user engagement.
Aparna joins Great Learning with more than two decades of experience under her belt and a track record of building and nurturing successful brands nationally and internationally.
Her previous role was chief marketing officer of BankBazaar, a leading fintech company. Prior to that, as VP Marketing at Quikr, Aparna was part of the early team and drove all brand building that made Quikr a well-known and trusted name. Aparna has also worked in the U.S and U.K devising communication for brands like Microsoft, MasterCard, and Royal Mail.
Great Learning founder and CEO Mohan Lakhamraju said, “The professional learning and higher education space is growing rapidly with digital skills becoming increasingly essential for professionals’ students. The need of the hour is to embrace lifelong learning and continuously upskill to build a successful career. We are confident that Aparna, with her experience of building brands and leading marketing functions, is the right person to amplify our message and take it to a newer and much larger audience. We are pleased to welcome her onboard as we build on our mission of providing high-quality education to professionals and students in India and beyond.”
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Great Learning CMO Aparna Mahesh said, “The speed at which things are changing today is mind boggling and staying contemporary by constantly upskilling is a necessity for survival. Covid has only accentuated this need and today 'learning' is at the centre of our collective consciousness, whether it's picking up entirely new knowledge & skills or going deeper into certain domains. I am thrilled to join Great Learning, a company that is committed to making professionals and students future-ready. I have tremendous respect for the vision of the founders and found a strong alignment with their values. The future belongs to those who learn continuously, and I am excited to be part of this journey.”
Great Learning concluded its financial year FY20 with booked revenue of Rs 325 crores; a growth of close to 150 per cent from FY19. On the brand side, the company recently roped in Virat Kohli as their new brand ambassador after launching its first-ever TV Campaign as a part of their new “Power Ahead' campaign.
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Barista partners Ginny Weds Sunny 2 with mango campaign
Cafe chain blends cinema buzz with summer menu and 20 per cent offer.
MUMBAI: Love may brew slowly, but marketing clearly doesn’t especially when coffee meets cinema and mangoes steal the spotlight. Barista Coffee Company has partnered with the upcoming hindi film Ginny Weds Sunny 2 as its official beverage partner, in a move aimed at tapping into youth culture through entertainment-led engagement. The collaboration is not just a logo placement exercise. Instead, Barista is translating the film’s high-energy vibe into its cafés with a themed summer menu titled “Main Hoon Mango”, accompanied by a limited-period 20 per cent discount on combo offerings across outlets.
Actors Medha Shankr and Avinash Tiwary feature in the campaign, seen engaging with the mango-themed menu inside Barista cafés, a visual cue designed to blur the lines between reel and real-life consumption moments.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how consumer brands are leveraging hindi film industry not just for visibility, but for immersive, on-ground engagement. By embedding the film’s narrative into its product experience, Barista is aiming to drive footfall, especially among younger audiences who increasingly seek experiential touchpoints over traditional advertising.
Barista Coffee Company CEO Rajat Agrawal described the partnership as both a branding and growth play, focused on expanding reach beyond the existing customer base and aligning with evolving consumer preferences.
The emphasis on a seasonal, flavour-led hook mango, one of India’s most culturally resonant ingredients adds a timely layer to the campaign, aligning with summer consumption trends while riding on the film’s promotional momentum.
For Barista, the move is part of a larger positioning shift. Rather than operating purely as a coffee retail chain, the brand is increasingly framing itself as a lifestyle destination, one that intersects with entertainment, conversation and shared experiences. By integrating cinema into its physical spaces, Barista is effectively turning cafés into micro-extensions of the film’s universe, where consumers do not just watch a story unfold but participate in it sip by sip.
The 20 per cent offer further nudges trial, lowering the barrier for consumers to engage with the themed menu while amplifying recall through a tangible incentive.
Brand-film collaborations are hardly new, but their execution is evolving. Where earlier partnerships relied on co-branded ads or product placements, the current playbook leans towards immersive storytelling and retail integration.
In that sense, Barista’s “Main Hoon Mango” push is less about promotion and more about participation inviting consumers to experience a slice of the film within a familiar, everyday setting. As the film industry continues to act as a cultural amplifier, such partnerships underline a growing truth, in today’s attention economy, it is not enough to be seen brands must be experienced.
And if that experience comes with a mango twist and a cinematic backdrop, all the better.
