MAM
Schbang owns up to its mistakes on Mental Health Day
NEW DELHI: As the world celebrates Mental Health Day, marketing solutions agency Schbang acknowledged the negative feedback it has received on its work culture and vowed to make changes through proactive initiatives.
The agency put up a carousel post on Instagram with the first slide reading, “We F**ked Up”. On the next slide, one can read some of the negative testimonials the company has received for its demanding work culture, long working hours, and less work-life balance.
The post also had a personal message from the agency: “Mental Health > Everything else. Time to acknowledge and be the change, start a conversation, because we all deserve better.”
Admitting its mistakes, the agency elaborated on five solutions that they have devised to make Schbang a more positive and mental-health friendly place. These include: ramped up hiring (they had hired 150+ new employees during the lockdown); getting an in-house therapist for employees; additional two mental health wellness leaves; enabling managers to have honest conversations with clients on work-load, briefs, and deliverables; and training managers to get full clarity on briefs before they start the work.
The two-day mental health leaves can be availed during a calendar year, and are carried forward, like other leaves, for three years in case one doesn’t take them.
The post was met with mixed reactions in the comments section. While many lauded the agency for making the bold move of owning up to its mistakes and taking serious corrective measures, other questioned whether this was just a marketing gimmick. One commenter also suggested that the agency should set some rules and guidelines for clients too, for the initiative to work.
Brands
Airtel, Jio, Vi quietly raise tariffs with tweaks ahead of major hike
Airtel, Jio and Vi test subscriber response with subtle plan changes
NEW DELHI: India’s top telecom operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, are quietly reworking their prepaid plans in what appears to be a calculated run-up to a broader tariff hike expected later this year.
Rather than announcing headline-grabbing price increases, the operators are opting for subtle tweaks that are less likely to trigger immediate consumer backlash. Industry observers describe this as a “testing the waters” approach, where small changes help gauge subscriber sensitivity while gradually improving revenues.
Among the most visible moves is plan pruning. Airtel has discontinued its popular Rs 799 pack, widely seen as a high-value offering, while nudging up the price of its Rs 859 plan to Rs 899. The changes may seem marginal, but across millions of users, they translate into meaningful revenue gains.
Reliance Jio, on its part, has taken a sharper route by slashing the validity of its Rs 195 plan from 90 days to just 30 days. The price remains unchanged, but the value per day has dropped steeply, effectively raising costs for consumers without altering headline tariffs.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea is restructuring its “NonStopHero” packs, limiting unlimited data benefits to night hours in several circles. The move trims usage flexibility while keeping plan positioning largely intact.
Another common tactic is bundling. Operators are increasingly pairing plans with OTT subscriptions such as streaming services, framing price adjustments as value additions even when the core offering remains largely unchanged.
The broader goal behind these moves is to lift ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), a key profitability metric in the telecom business. Airtel is targeting an ARPU of around Rs 300, up from roughly Rs 250, while Jio is under pressure to demonstrate stronger revenue growth ahead of a potential IPO. For Vodafone Idea, the urgency is more immediate as it seeks higher cash flows to fund 5G expansion and manage outstanding dues.
Industry estimates suggest that these incremental changes are a precursor to a larger, industry-wide tariff hike of 15 to 20 per cent, likely towards the end of 2026. The delay in announcing a full-scale increase is partly due to macroeconomic concerns, including inflation and volatile fuel prices, which could dampen consumer sentiment.
The push to monetise 5G is also gathering pace. After investing more than Rs 3 lakh crore in next-generation networks, operators are expected to gradually phase out free 5G data and reposition it as a premium service.
For consumers, the impact is already visible in small but steady increases in monthly bills. For telcos, however, this is a carefully choreographed build-up, easing users into higher spending before the bigger pricing reset arrives.
