Brands
HDFC Life, Amole Gupte join forces for ‘Hawaa Hawaai’
MUMBAI: It isn’t uncommon for brands to piggyback cinema as the medium with arguably the greatest mass outreach.
HDFC Life is no stranger to this strategy; having co-promoted the franchise Spiderman in 2007 and in 2010, followed it up with an association with the Hindi film, Patiala House. This time round, the brand has gone a step further with in-film placement and theme integration with director Amole Gupte’s upcoming film, Hawaa Hawaai, about the triumph of the human spirit in the face of insurmountable odds.
Through this collaboration, HDFC Life wants to send out the message that strong determination and sound planning (pakka iraada and pakke plans) go a long way in helping you fulfill your personal and financial goals.
Of the association, HDFC Life marketing, product, digital and e-commerce senior EVP and head, Sanjay Tripathy says: “As a brand, HDFC Life has always propagated ‘independence and self respect’ or ‘Sar utha ke jiyo’ as a way of life and the film’s core message is a perfect fit with our brand philosophy. Through this film, we are celebrating people who help fulfill others’ dreams through their efforts and live life with their head held high.”
Gupte’s team has gone so far as integrating the line, Sar Utha Ke Jee, in a song from the film to bring out the strong thematic and philosophical connect.
Associating with films is not new for brands across FMCG, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), what with marketers constantly searching for newer and better ways to reach out and connect with customers. HDFC Life has consistently launched marketing campaigns that bring out the relevance of life insurance for consumers.
“Our core brand thought – Sar Utha Ke Jiyo – is about ‘financial independence’ and ‘self respect,’ which has always been a core value for all Indians. We stand for and celebrate achievement of every individual’s dreams and aspirations, being triumphant against all odds, and thereby, living life with the head held high,” says Tripathy.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
