MAM
Hashtag Orange bolsters creative team with three appointments
Mumbai: Hashtag Orange, a full-service digital communication agency, has announced the appointment of senior creative hires to further strengthen its creative team. The three senior appointments include Suresh Joshi as senior creative director, Ratna Mishra as associate creative director – art, and Abhishek Prakash Khankriyal as associate creative director – copy.
This new development comes in line with some recent account wins like Wildcrafty, Mufti, Kama, and GLS and the appointees would spearhead their respective domains under the creative leadership of Hashtag Orange chief creative officer Gaurang Menon, said the agency in a statement.
“I am delighted to Suresh, Abhishek, and Ratna on board. They bring the right mix of experience across brands in both digital and mainline and are hungry to do more,” said Menon. “As we move on to our next stage of growth and expansion, I am sure they will add more value to the work we do for our partner brands.”
Joshi brings in multi-agency expertise with 15 years of work experience at some prominent players like Lowe Lintas, Contract Advertising, M&C Saatchi on a diverse brand portfolio including LG Electronics, Sony, JP Group, Fortis, Future Brand, Amar Ujala, Dominos, Dabur, Funda Candy, and Carl’s Jr.
Mishra has been the face behind several award-winning campaigns and has hands-on experience on brands like Samsung, Pepsi, Nestle, Maruti, Havells, Uber, ITC, Max Bupa, HDFC, JK Tyres, etc. In her career span of over a decade, she has worked with some of the prominent network digital & mainstream agencies like Havas worldwide, Group M, Dentsu, and Cheil worldwide.
Khankriyal joins from Dentsu International and brings along a rich experience of over 10 years of having worked upon several award-winning and functionally benefitting advertising campaigns across various brands.
“With the recent pitch wins in view, we needed the best mix of thoughtful people to sail the ships on these brands,” said Hashtag Orange founder Mukesh Vij. “I am quite excited to extend our arms further, with so many creative capabilities added to our tribe of the un-commons at Hashtag Orange. I wish us all a benefitting journey ahead.”
Brands
From mega bills to spontaneous dates: Swiggy Dineout Valentine’s report
From mega bills to last-minute plans, India celebrated love with flair
MUMBAI: Valentine’s Day 2026 was a feast for the senses and wallets alike, according to Swiggy Dineout. India’s on-demand dining platform revealed how the nation celebrated romance with big gestures, lively nights out, and plenty of spontaneous bookings.
Metropolitan hubs continued to rule the roost with Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad seeing the most reservations. Emerging cities aren’t far behind, with Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh joining the party. Growth was particularly striking in Surat (up 180 per cent), Vadodara (155 per cent) and Bhubaneswar (145.5 per cent) compared with the previous Saturday.
Mumbai stole the headlines with a single customer splashing out Rs 130,155 – the highest bill in the country. The city also hosted the largest single group booking, with 30 diners coming together to celebrate in style. Most Valentine’s transactions took place between 10pm and 11pm, proving love, and hunger, strike late.
Mumbai stole the spotlight with a mega-spender whose bill made everyone else blush, while savvy diners were cashing in on discounts, including a Pune customer saving 60% and another in Bengaluru saving 50 per cent. Fine dining was on fire, with bookings up 121 per cent year-on-year, though pubs, bars, and lounges remained the crowd favourites, accounting for 30.6 per cent of all reservations. Last-minute romance was the order of the day, with 66 per cent of diners booking within two hours of heading out. Together, India saved over Rs 6 crore, proving that love can be grand, yet thrifty.
Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi led the premium dining rush, showing a growing appetite for curated, high-end experiences. Meanwhile, spontaneous bookings reinforced modern lifestyles, where convenience and instant gratification rule the day.
Whether it was big spends, huge groups, or a last-minute romantic dash, Valentine’s Day 2026 proved love and dining go hand in hand – and sometimes, they go all out.
