MAM
Payworld awards creative duties to Grasshoppers
MUMBAI: Grasshoppers has won the creative mandate for the E-pin distributor and aggregator, Sugal and Damani Group’s Payworld.
With its boutique of electronic voucher distribution (E-Commerce) services, Payworld operates in a niche market with few players. Subsequently the industry offers over 72 per cent potential share yet to be covered, generating the scope to tap the media space in terms of rebranding to generate customer loyalty, brand recognition and positioning Payworld as a market leader, the company said.
The initial marketing budget for the campaign is approximately Rs 60 – 70 million.
Payworld marketing manager Rahul Sharma said, “In the last 5 years since its inception, Payworld has done extremely well. But with our ongoing expansions we find a large communication gap between the brand and its target audience. For our future growth, it is vital that we create the right kind of brand awareness in effective and smart ways.
When we called for a multi-agency pitch, what we were really looking for was the ‘connect’; people who could share our vision.”
Grasshoppers CEO Arjun Banerjee said, “E-Commerce in India is increasing with a high magnitude and so are the users. Over the last few years, Payworld has shown highly promising growth with 20,000 authorized outlets. Given the current lack of awareness of the industry, we intend to make full use of the ‘first player’ advantage that Payworld has given us. Such opportunities are rare and we are keen to experiment new ideas and bring not just Payworld but the entire industry into the limelight”.
Payworld COO Praveen Dhabhai added, “Previously we have only focused on the quality and total technical support of our services, ensuring complete customer satisfaction. But now it is time that we reach out to more customers and expand our base in the market. To achieve this goal, Grasshoppers is working out a comprehensive plan of action which includes a rebranding campaign and apropos print and outdoor collaterals. We are looking forward to work with Grasshoppers and together take Payworld to its full potential as a truly efficient commercial service provider”.
AD Agencies
The Advertising Club adds new categories to Creative Abby 2026
Awards expand global focus; entries open until 6 April
MUMBAI: The Advertising Club has unveiled a fresh set of categories for Creative Abby 2026, sharpening the awards’ global edge while keeping creativity firmly centre stage.
The updated entry form, reflecting all category refinements, is now live on the Club’s website. The awards continue their partnership with The One Club and The One Show. Entries close on April 6, 2026, and eligible work must have been released between April 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026. Winners will be announced at Goafest 2026.
This year, the Abby Awards Governing Council went a step further, inviting some of India’s most awarded creative leaders and global jury veterans to help reimagine the categories and judging process. The result is a sharper, more future facing framework.
Two new categories have been introduced:
Social content and influencer marketing
Recognising the fast expanding universe of digital creators, collaborations and community building.
Creative commerce, use of data and B2B
Celebrating innovation across online and offline commerce, payment solutions, data driven channels, creative B2B and immersive brand experiences.
Both categories are designed to reward craft and quality of impact, rather than pure effectiveness metrics.
In a bid to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, seven sub categories within the Digital vertical have been removed after being deemed redundant.
Three social good verticals, Green Abby, Red Abby and Diversity Equality and Inclusivity, have now been merged into a single category titled Sustainability and Inclusion, bringing purpose driven work under one cohesive umbrella.
The Mobile category has been discontinued, reflecting the reality that mobile is no longer a niche medium but embedded across digital formats. The new Social Content and Influencer Marketing vertical is expected to absorb much of this work.
Acknowledging the role of marketers in driving creative excellence, a new honour titled Client of the Year has been introduced. It will be awarded to the client whose brands accumulate the highest number of points.
There is also a key change in how Creative Agency of the Year is calculated. Previously determined by points across eight traditional categories such as Print, Film, OOH, Integrated, Audio and Digital, the award will now consider performance across 18 creative categories, excluding Video Craft and Young Maverick Abby. The shift broadens the competitive canvas and reflects the industry’s expanding definition of creativity.
The Advertising Club president and McCann India CEO Dheeraj Sinha said Goafest has long stood for collaboration and creative excellence. He noted that in its 57th year, the Abby Awards continue to raise the bar and bring together the brightest minds in the business.
Abby Awards 2026 chairperson Ajay Kakar, added that the categories had been co created with leading creative luminaries for the first time. He expressed gratitude to The One Club and The One Show for supporting the judging process over the past five years and thanked agencies and clients for their consistent participation.
With new categories, sharper criteria and a broader lens on creativity, Creative Abby 2026 signals that in advertising, evolution is not optional. It is the brief.
