MAM
GUEST COLUMN: Going beyond the short video format for digital media
Mumbai: Coconut Films has been in the business of TV commercial production for more than a decade and has recently delivered a digital film for the bullet brand, Royal Enfield. Breaking digital stereotypes, the film is a long-format one & profound. Much like the bike, the film – ’Home’ moves at a cruising pace, and leaves the audiences with a lingering feeling of connecting back with their roots. Coconut Films co-founder Tushar Raut shares his insights on creating the ad-film and how different it was to write for a digital audience.
Digital has been on the rise for a while. More occasions and more stories have been the mantra for marketers trying to connect with a divided audience whose attention span floats from window to window and app to app. So, how are ad-makers navigating through in a cluttered market? These are some questions that the entire marketing community has been facing since the short format video and video consumption online became a way of life.
The good news is that we are no longer being dictated by the inherent challenges of the medium and being dictated by the format. Digital gives you a lot of creative freedom on the upside. Brevity is no longer the order of the day. We are not writing for 30 seconds. Of course, the audience has the option of skipping but every second does not count so I believe there is a lot of wind beneath our wings by that count.
Short format videos are moving fast and selling like hotcakes but the medium has space for longer format and a lot of other kinds of storytelling. The thumb rule here is that there are no thumb rules. It is as ‘lawless’ as it gets. So, you have to do a lot of self-censorships and not get overindulgent with your own ideas. The script is the hero and the story you want to convey guides you rather than the medium.
For Royal Enfield, we picked a subject that most people would relate to, irrespective of the age group and the format of media they consume. The film for Royal Enfield speaks about going back to roots, going back home and that can’t differ in terms of emotions. Even when it comes to the tech-savvy audience, going back to roots (in most cases) is very soothing. Anybody who has been away from home while having a similar set of feelings. People may change with every passing day, their physical needs also change but emotional needs are less fastidious, it is far more basic and confined. That is what makes us so similar despite many differences. I believe that is what one should focus on while working on a film, be it for TV or theatre, or digital.
As for us, ‘Home’- the ad film which is roughly over seven minutes long, was not even conceived with the digital platform on our mind. We wanted to tell a story and tell it in the most authentic way. It was conceived with a feeling of wanting to give things back to where we all came from! Roots! We just wanted to make a film with a pure passion for storytelling without limiting ourselves to any parameters. We strongly believe that good content will be seen be it on TV or digital.
ALSO READ | https://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/marketing/mam/royal-enfields-new-ad-film-kindles-the-joy-of-returning-home-210804
The market dynamics these days are such that brand managers are often pushed by visibility, recall factors and maintain a continuous presence. While the line between content and advertising is blurring, on one hand, there is a constant need for being present and being connected with the audience. I don’t know whether to call it a downside but that tends to dictate a lot of other factors in terms of making the films, production values, etc. Initially, when the medium started putting out films, the brands would have smaller budgets, more films that were restricted to the short format. But over the years, marketers are coming to terms with the fact that a film is a film irrespective of the medium. It has to have a story, good production values, and weave well, overall. It really doesn’t matter if the film is for digital or any other medium because everything remains the same while producing one. One big takeaway for me has been that this is a very dynamic medium and still at nascent stages so it is evolving at a paid pace every day.
It is important for the client, agency, and the production house to be on the same page and understand the objective of the film both in terms of the creative and budgetary aspects. If the brief is clear and everyone is aligned, then you can do a phenomenal job on a tight budget also. Budget is not the prerequisite of success; it gives you more freedom to do a lot of things. But I think it is a sort of a litmus test for professionals.
All marketers will want the best bang for the buck and hence the entire value chain, therefore, aligns to this direction. ‘Home’ luckily was our pet project and the objective was to make an authentic, true-to-life film, which we managed to achieve. By the way, it looks opulent too and that is where our years of hard work has come into play, to achieve what we have achieved within the price points we had earmarked.
(Tushar Raut is co-founder of Coconut Films. The views expressed in the column are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
