MAM
Network Advertising bags creative mandate for Essilor India
NEW DELHI: Among India’s leading independent advertising agencies, Network Advertising has won the above-the-line creative mandate for Essilor India, a world leader in prescription lenses, following a multi-agency pitch. The account will be serviced out of Network's Mumbai office; the mandate includes all consumer-facing and partner communication across India for Essilor India. Network Advertising is best known for its path-breaking campaigns for HDFC, Jet Airways, Henko, Mahindra Lifespaces, Goa Tourism, i-Pill, Vijay Sales, Charagh Din, Vinod Cookware, among others.
Commenting on the win, Network Advertising managing director Vinod Nair said, "Essilor India is a strategic addition to our growing clientele and this is a responsibility we feel proud to own. It was basis our ability to understand their business challenges and our sound strategic thinking that has helped us won this mandate. The win is sweeter because a global organization, with global alignments has chosen us, a 100% Indian agency, for their India business."
Network Advertising chief creative officer Shayondeep Pal has an interesting take, "From an advertising standpoint, Essilor is unlike many other categories. Because you are communicating with the end consumer indirectly through her optician, knowing very well that the buyer is more interested in the frame, than in the lens. Having said that, both strategically and creatively, we are working on new-world insights as Indians embrace a new work culture where our exposure to screens is maximum. We hope to create excitement in a category which for some reason has believed in functional advertising."
Speaking on the partnership, Essilor South Asia Head – Marketing Neha Sharma said, “We have decided to associate with Network’s seasoned team due to their long standing exposure to the changing advertising landscape, their creative consumer mind-set, and a good strategic approach. This will help Essilor strengthen its brand presence further. We are delighted to have Network on board with us and look forward to an enriching association.”
Essilor is the world leader in the ophthalmic industry and prescription lenses. Globally, Essilor is committed to providing solutions to correct and protect the visual health of people. Essilor India, with its headquarters in Bangalore, was founded in 1998 and since then has been providing solutions to correct vision of Indians through their various brands like Crizal, Varilux, among others. They are the leaders in their category and have been maintaining this position in the post-Covid world with a lot of product innovations and trade programs.
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Brands
upGrad acquires Internshala in 90 per cent stock deal to own career funnel
Deal aims to scale Internshala’s revenue from Rs 45 crore to Rs 100 crore
MUMBAI: upGrad has acquired Internshala, the world’s largest internship and early-talent marketplace, in a bid to stitch education, skilling and employment into a single career pipeline.
The transaction, announced on 26 February, is structured as a 90 per cent stock-swap, with the financial terms undisclosed. The deal deepens upGrad’s push to control the full career lifecycle, from learning to hiring, at a time when India’s skilling economy is under pressure to deliver outcomes, not just credentials.
Founded in 2010, Internshala claims more than 34 million registered users and 450,000 employers, with roughly 3 million active applicants each year. Over 40 per cent of its users come from tier 2 and tier 3 cities, and most of the platform’s traffic is organic. The company currently reports an annual revenue base of Rs 45 crore.
Under upGrad’s ownership, Internshala is expected to scale aggressively. The company aims to grow the platform’s revenue to Rs 100 crore and beyond, backed by increased investment in product development, AI-led talent matching and enterprise hiring solutions.
Internshala will continue to operate as an independent brand, led by its founder and CEO Sarvesh Agrawal, while tapping into upGrad’s technology stack, distribution and learning ecosystem.
“Education and employment in India have operated in silos for too long,” said upGrad head of corporate strategy and growth Chirag Samdaria. He said the acquisition strengthens the earliest and most consequential stage of the career journey, where intent is high and outcomes can be shaped.
Agrawal described the deal as a natural convergence of learning and opportunity, adding that the partnership would allow Internshala to skill millions of candidates and supply pre-trained talent to employers at scale.
Investec acted as exclusive financial adviser to Internshala.
The acquisition marks a strategic milestone for upGrad as it seeks to position itself not merely as an education provider, but as an end-to-end workforce development platform aligned with India’s evolving labour market.
