MAM
RepIndia appoints Purnima Bali as creative director
New Delhi: RepIndia on Tuesday appointed Purnima Bali as creative director. She will be tasked with leading the creative endeavour at RepIndia, and further grow the creative business across Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.
Bali was previously working as the associate creative director at Interactive Avenues, Gurugram, where she headed the creative team and led the creative business for brands such as Honda Cars India, Hero Cycles, Havmor Icecreams, DishTV, and Oppo Mobiles.
On her new role, Bali said, “In a very short period, RepIndia has managed to make its presence felt in a space that has long been inundated with network agencies. Their body of work, prestigious clients, and their feet firmly on the ground are the attributes that have stood out in the awards circuit, and even amidst brands that are eagerly and earnestly looking for effective creative solutions where brand-agency camaraderie is the only way work gets done. I’m excited to be a part of team RepIndia and looking forward to breaking new creative barriers and creating new digital milestones.”
RepIndia founder Ayesha Chenoy said, “We have wanted to bring Purnima on board for years, her mad digital-first ideas and incredible drive are just what we wanted to add to RepIndia’s arsenal as we go on to have one of the best leadership teams across the country.”
Brands
From mega bills to spontaneous dates: Swiggy Dineout Valentine’s report
From mega bills to last-minute plans, India celebrated love with flair
MUMBAI: Valentine’s Day 2026 was a feast for the senses and wallets alike, according to Swiggy Dineout. India’s on-demand dining platform revealed how the nation celebrated romance with big gestures, lively nights out, and plenty of spontaneous bookings.
Metropolitan hubs continued to rule the roost with Bengaluru, Delhi, and Hyderabad seeing the most reservations. Emerging cities aren’t far behind, with Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh joining the party. Growth was particularly striking in Surat (up 180 per cent), Vadodara (155 per cent) and Bhubaneswar (145.5 per cent) compared with the previous Saturday.
Mumbai stole the headlines with a single customer splashing out Rs 130,155 – the highest bill in the country. The city also hosted the largest single group booking, with 30 diners coming together to celebrate in style. Most Valentine’s transactions took place between 10pm and 11pm, proving love, and hunger, strike late.
Mumbai stole the spotlight with a mega-spender whose bill made everyone else blush, while savvy diners were cashing in on discounts, including a Pune customer saving 60% and another in Bengaluru saving 50 per cent. Fine dining was on fire, with bookings up 121 per cent year-on-year, though pubs, bars, and lounges remained the crowd favourites, accounting for 30.6 per cent of all reservations. Last-minute romance was the order of the day, with 66 per cent of diners booking within two hours of heading out. Together, India saved over Rs 6 crore, proving that love can be grand, yet thrifty.
Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi led the premium dining rush, showing a growing appetite for curated, high-end experiences. Meanwhile, spontaneous bookings reinforced modern lifestyles, where convenience and instant gratification rule the day.
Whether it was big spends, huge groups, or a last-minute romantic dash, Valentine’s Day 2026 proved love and dining go hand in hand – and sometimes, they go all out.
