MAM
Online entrepreneurs now have a curated platform to share their stories and better connect with the online shoppers, with the launch of Shopmatic World
MUMBAI: Spearheading the cause of enhanced visibility for the SMBs, international e-commerce platform, Shopmatic announces the launch of its ground-breaking new platform, ‘Shopmatic World’.
The avant-garde curated platform, Shopmatic World is harboured around the real stories of online entrepreneurs, their distinguished ingenuity and perseverance that have gone into the genesis of their brands. Endeavouring to transform the way small businesses connect with their audience, the Shopmatic World global platform will invite online shoppers to spend time discovering unique products and services from unique merchant stores.
Online shoppers spending time on Shopmatic World will be delighted to discover the intent, idea, and values that serve as the foundation of these brands.
Shopmatic prides itself in enabling the entire gamut of the e-commerce ecosystem for a number of inspired entrepreneurs and online merchants. With the solutions and support provided by Shopmatic, over 50,000 hobbyists, artisans, craftsperson, stay-at-home mothers, small and medium businesses, amongst others, have found their way to becoming online entrepreneurs. Now with the launch of Shopmatic World, Shopmatic will help these online entrepreneurs share their individual narratives and better connect with shoppers. This real connection would beget more opportunities for the brands to bolster their sales, presence, and influence in the digital world.
While unveiling this never-seen-before platform, Anurag Avula, CEO of Shopmatic, said, “We are very excited to launch Shopmatic World especially since it aims at delivering significant value to our merchants, by helping them get discovered online.
Oftentimes, brands go unnoticed in the cloud and need some help getting noticed by discerning buyers. Shopmatic World curates the stories of ingenuity and perseverance of entrepreneurs and the resilience with which they transformed from skilled professionals or hobbyists to successful entrepreneurs. With this curated platform, we intend to help small businesses get discovered for their uniqueness. “
Shopmatic World is only open to sellers who have created their own ecommerce stores using the Shopmatic platform. Shopmatic World will serve as a discovery platform for buyers : it will showcase individual stories of these different sellers, and the products or services they are selling; those interested in buying any of the products/ services showcased, will be redirected to the sellers' individual websites, for fulfilling their orders.
The curated platform opens to an enchanting showcase of different brands, carrying a brief snippet about each seller, with accompanying pictures. Online visitors can delve deeper into the brands that intrigues them at first sight and discover the story behind its genesis, along with its top-selling products. If the online visitors wish to purchase from the brand of their liking, they would then be redirected to the individual, online store of the brand.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
