MAM
Virat Kohli turns mentor to freshers in Great Learning’s new campaign
Mumbai: Byju’s Group-backed edtech company for higher education Great Learning has rolled out its new campaign featuring brand ambassador Virat Kohli. The campaign titled ‘Great Learning for Great Careers’ is targeted at freshers and young professionals and throws the spotlight on the degree and certificate programs offered by the online platform via two sad films.
Conceptualised by The Script Room and produced by Dreampunk films, the ad spots use the cricket pitch as a metaphor for the corporate ‘career game’ and highlight the need for upskilling to play brilliant innings on that field. Kohli donning the brand’s cricket jersey portrays the expert mentor on the field as he steers a troubled corporate employee and a fresher away from potential blunders in their respective career games.
“This is a new emerging category, with lots of news and advertising happening around. Usually in this category people seem to take a more serious approach. It was important for us to crack a tone of voice that can help break the clutter,” said The Script Room founder Rajesh Ramaswamy. “With all the complications of COVID and Virat in a bio-bubble, we did manage to pull off this idea along with the director Shekhar Kamble and team.”
The campaign integrates Kohli into the film from the place he rules – the cricket field. The highly relatable narrative in both ads emphasises the importance of quality learning amongst freshers and young professionals and its critical role in empowering them to build great careers.
“We had to find common ground between the brand spokesperson Virat and the fact that Great Learning can help you get the right skills to land a great job,” shared The Script Room writer Ujjwal Kabra. “Since most of us are always thinking about running away from our job and Virat being a great runner between the wickets, the connect was not too hard to find. The marketing team also related to the sentiment and the idea of two worlds, corporate and cricket, meeting at the centre of an esoteric pitch, to have a life-altering conversation, was sold.”
“Great Learning offers degrees and certificate programs from the world’s leading educational institutions, that enable aspirants to learn industry-relevant skills. This campaign is sure to hit the sweet spot with our target audience as it revolves around very common situations which many of us have experienced at some point in our careers,” stated Great Learning CMO Aparna Mahesh.
The campaign will run through TV, digital media, and the company’s social media assets for a period of five weeks starting 10 September.
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
