MAM
Mobile trumps desktop as 55 lakh consumers visit the Grand Diwali Mela!
Mumbai: The Grand Diwali Mela organised by GroupM in association with Google, Amazon.in, LINE, Games2Win and Hungama.com was a runaway success, attracting over 55 lakh visitors. The first of its kind initiative by GroupM to take the offline concept of Diwali Mela to an online destination was a hit with users across India. The ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ saw very high engagement with users, who spent time getting product samples @ Re.1, enjoying movies and videos, playing games and greeting each other via the LINE messenger. The number of visits on the virtual mela as well as time spent surpasses any offline brand activation initiative organised during the festival in India.
The ‘Grand Diwali received an overwhelming response with over 55 lakh visitors,the majority of which came from mobile phones with over 45% women visitors!. On October 24th, Diwali day, the mela received over 4.6 lakh visitors! In all mela visitors spent over 125,000 hours browsing various brand and entertainment stalls in the mela besides which many more hours were spent on partner sites – Amazon.in, Games2win and Hungama.com. Interestingly almost half the visitors discovered the mela through Search and LINE Messenger.
The ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ emerged as the largest online sampling platform for brands. Over 150,000 samples were shipped across India, with 70% samples going to Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. The samples ranged from skincare and household products relevant to both men & women. To celebrate the partnership LINE Messenger came out with a set of special edition stickers for the ‘Grand Diwali Mela’. More than 5 million ‘Grand Diwali Mela’ stickers were exchanged in during this festive season, as visitors wished friends and family via the LINE platform.
Popular Diwali games like Rummy and the Diwali Chakri kept people engaged and entertained with over 36 lakh game plays. Diwali Chakri which was a special game launched by Games2Win to celebrate Grand Diwali Mela – saw over 1M plays!
On the success of the Grand Diwali Mela, CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia said, “We are excited about the success of the first Grand Diwali Mela. We were able to create a great platform for consumers to come and sample products and interact with brands. It is also heartening to see the reach of the virtual mela was not restricted to the metros but filtered down to smaller towns where the digital penetration is growing exponentially. We also have seen a distinct spike in access via mobile phones, a clear indicator that India is opening up readily to mobile data and communication.”
MAM
Republic Media Network appoints Mohit Dhamne as group CEO
Founding member elevated as network reports 149 million monthly digital users
NEW DELHI: Republic Media Network has appointed Mohit Dhamne as its group chief executive officer, elevating a founding member who has been part of the organisation since its inception in 2016.
Dhamne’s rise within the network has been steady and multi-layered. He began as head of finance, later taking on responsibilities as company secretary and EVP (Finance), before being elevated to chief financial officer in December 2023. In his new role, he will now oversee the group’s overall strategic and operational direction.
The network described him as a key architect of its evolution into one of India’s leading broadcast and digital news platforms. He brings cross-functional expertise spanning finance, law and management, backed by qualifications as a chartered accountant, company secretary, and a postgraduate management degree from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
Congratulating him, Arnab Goswami said Dhamne has been instrumental in shaping the organisation’s growth journey since inception. He added that the founding team’s shared experience and leadership framework will help the network pursue new opportunities and scale further.
The appointment comes at a time of strong momentum for the network. Over recent months, Republic has expanded its core business team by 30 per cent and strengthened its leadership structure with senior executives managing defined revenue portfolios across platforms.
On the digital front, Republic Digital has reported 149 million monthly users, according to Comscore data, reinforcing its position as one of India’s most widely consumed digital news offerings.
The growth has also been supported by expansion in its integrated brand solutions division, Republic Brand Studio, as the network continues to build a more diversified revenue ecosystem.
With this leadership transition, Republic Media Network is positioning itself for its next phase of expansion, combining broadcast strength with accelerating digital scale.
