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Vamsi Murthy joins Netflix India to script next chapter in marketing
MUMBAI: He’s helped Indians travel smarter, shop sharper, and stream bigger and now he’s ready to binge on his boldest role yet. Marketing veteran Vamsi Murthy has joined Netflix India as senior director and head of marketing, where he will lead the platform’s creative and brand strategy across one of the streaming giant’s fastest-growing markets.
Murthy, who comes with nearly two decades of experience shaping marquee Indian consumer brands, will oversee Netflix’s marketing charter in India blending data, storytelling, and culture to fuel the streamer’s next phase of local growth. “Here’s to stories that connect, entertain, and inspire, the Netflix way,” Murthy shared while announcing his move.
Before joining Netflix, Murthy led marketing at Disney+ Hotstar, where he redefined entertainment marketing for the OTT era. His three-year stint saw him spearhead full-funnel campaigns that drove both brand love and subscriptions, revamping Hotstar’s marketing playbook across fiction, non-fiction, and sports. Under his watch, the platform’s ROI and customer acquisition costs improved significantly, while its sporting campaigns, especially for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2024 cemented Hotstar’s status as India’s home of cricket.
Murthy was also the creative force behind several Hotstar Originals, including Aarya, Special Ops, Criminal Justice, Koffee with Karan, and Taaza Khabar campaigns that struck a rare balance between critical acclaim and cultural buzz. His efforts earned recognition at Promax Asia, Kyoorius, and the Indian Telly Streaming Awards, positioning him among India’s most innovative entertainment marketers.
Before his Hotstar innings, Murthy helmed marketing at Bookmyshow, leading the brand through the pandemic by reviving its cinema ticketing business and driving live events into the spotlight. He also served as vice president for marketing at Zee5, where he led audience growth for its AVOD content vertical.
At Myntra, Murthy’s five-year journey saw him shape the brand’s voice at the intersection of fashion and technology. As director of brand marketing, he crafted consumer outreach and visual identity strategies that helped Myntra emerge as a style-first lifestyle destination.
Murthy’s marketing roots trace back to Makemytrip, where he spent over four years defining the travel brand’s communication strategy, social storytelling, and identity. His early career at Reliance Communications and Radio Mirchi gave him the foundation to navigate both the creative and commercial sides of India’s fast-evolving consumer market.
Across roles, Murthy has built a reputation for blending insight-driven storytelling with measurable business impact, a mix tailor-made for Netflix’s content-driven universe.
With his move, Netflix gains a marketer fluent in India’s language of entertainment, someone who’s helped build fandoms from cricket to couture and now steps onto the country’s biggest streaming stage.
For Murthy, the reel has come full circle from crafting campaigns about what Indians love to watch, to shaping how India watches itself on screen.
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Barista partners Ginny Weds Sunny 2 with mango campaign
Cafe chain blends cinema buzz with summer menu and 20 per cent offer.
MUMBAI: Love may brew slowly, but marketing clearly doesn’t especially when coffee meets cinema and mangoes steal the spotlight. Barista Coffee Company has partnered with the upcoming hindi film Ginny Weds Sunny 2 as its official beverage partner, in a move aimed at tapping into youth culture through entertainment-led engagement. The collaboration is not just a logo placement exercise. Instead, Barista is translating the film’s high-energy vibe into its cafés with a themed summer menu titled “Main Hoon Mango”, accompanied by a limited-period 20 per cent discount on combo offerings across outlets.
Actors Medha Shankr and Avinash Tiwary feature in the campaign, seen engaging with the mango-themed menu inside Barista cafés, a visual cue designed to blur the lines between reel and real-life consumption moments.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how consumer brands are leveraging hindi film industry not just for visibility, but for immersive, on-ground engagement. By embedding the film’s narrative into its product experience, Barista is aiming to drive footfall, especially among younger audiences who increasingly seek experiential touchpoints over traditional advertising.
Barista Coffee Company CEO Rajat Agrawal described the partnership as both a branding and growth play, focused on expanding reach beyond the existing customer base and aligning with evolving consumer preferences.
The emphasis on a seasonal, flavour-led hook mango, one of India’s most culturally resonant ingredients adds a timely layer to the campaign, aligning with summer consumption trends while riding on the film’s promotional momentum.
For Barista, the move is part of a larger positioning shift. Rather than operating purely as a coffee retail chain, the brand is increasingly framing itself as a lifestyle destination, one that intersects with entertainment, conversation and shared experiences. By integrating cinema into its physical spaces, Barista is effectively turning cafés into micro-extensions of the film’s universe, where consumers do not just watch a story unfold but participate in it sip by sip.
The 20 per cent offer further nudges trial, lowering the barrier for consumers to engage with the themed menu while amplifying recall through a tangible incentive.
Brand-film collaborations are hardly new, but their execution is evolving. Where earlier partnerships relied on co-branded ads or product placements, the current playbook leans towards immersive storytelling and retail integration.
In that sense, Barista’s “Main Hoon Mango” push is less about promotion and more about participation inviting consumers to experience a slice of the film within a familiar, everyday setting. As the film industry continues to act as a cultural amplifier, such partnerships underline a growing truth, in today’s attention economy, it is not enough to be seen brands must be experienced.
And if that experience comes with a mango twist and a cinematic backdrop, all the better.
