MAM
Wakefit.co Introduces the ‘BaaBaa’ of Sleep to Help Indians Rest Better
Bengaluru: If you know what BaaBaa knows you will sleep better! Have you ever counted sheep in a desperate attempt to fall asleep? Wakefit.co, India’s largest sleep solutions startup funded by Sequoia Capital, will tell you there are better ways to get that elusive beauty sleep. The three-year-old startup unveiled its new brand campaign, #KnowMoreSleepBetter, presenting the affable and all-knowing BaaBaa who will aim to bring the magical world of sleep into people’s consciousness.
Want to get to know BaaBaa? Check these videos out!
With India being deemed the second most sleep-deprived country by a global study and internal studies by Wakefit.co revealing that 1 in 5 Indians believe they have Insomnia, sleep-related disorders have become a pertinent lifestyle ailment. However, the focus on sleep health in India is still wanting. Wakefit, with its peppy new campaign, aims to add a dash of excitement and enthusiasm in the space by creating a dynamic world of sleep that helps people take actionable steps towards improving their sleep habits.
Counting sheep to fall asleep has been a cultural reference for a long time. In its endeavor to get people to talk ‘sleep’, it was important for Wakefit to create a strong visual differentiator and depict it through a character that is quirky yet sophisticated and knowledgeable yet fun. ‘BaaBaa’, the sheep, was conceptualized to reflect Wakefit’s brand personality and is a personification of the brand’s values, expertise, and experience.
The more you know, the better you sleep, goes the tagline of Wakefit.co’s three brand videos released today. Known for its innovative marketing campaigns – an earlier campaign called OneIndiaOneWakefit was nominated for the prestigious SABRE Awards – Wakefit.co’s brand videos aim to distill the complex science of sleep in short, digestible and witty content. In addition to unveiling BaaBaa, Wakefit has also incorporated subtle branding elements into its website design. For example, the color scheme on the website reflects the last color one sees when the lights are switched off at night, while the fonts resemble those in a fairytale storybook to bring back the nostalgia of peacefully going to bed as a child.
Speaking on the launch of the new campaign, Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Director and Co-founder, Wakefit.co, said, “The sleep industry in India is pegged at INR10,000 crore (growing to INR14,000 crore by 2021), yet there is little innovation in this space. We have witnessed disruption in the nutrition and exercise segments of wellness but sleep has so far been ignored due to the lack of visually appealing representation in the space. The idea of the campaign was to create a world around sleep that is inhabited by cool and likable characters who are eager to unravel the mysteries of sleep and present it in a simple and digestible form The campaign strongly aligns with our brand ethos of making great quality sleep accessible to people across India.”
Vineet Gupta, Founding Partner, Spring Marketing Capital, shared his thoughts on collaborating with Wakefit as its brand partners, for this and future campaigns. He said, “Sleep is one of the most important factors impacting a person’s health, productivity and success. However, in today’s world, sleep is often de-prioritized, taken for granted and riddled with misconceptions. Wakefit was founded as a sleep solutions company and aims to bring sleep back into the consciousness and conversation of Indian consumers. We are thrilled to partner Wakefit in their journey of building a brand that is meaningful, fun and differentiated.”
“Wakefit is a truly innovative brand that is disrupting the space of sleep solutions with its unique technology, service delivery, and product offerings. This product segment will never be the same again, with consumers being the ultimate winners. We are truly excited to partner with the team at Wakefit and bring our media, data and measurement capabilities to help build the brand and drive business.” said Anand Chakravarthy, Managing Director, Essence, who are partnering with Wakefit, as their integrated media agency.
From offering 100-nights free trial to doorstep delivery to over 19,000 pin codes in India, the Bengaluru-based startup is on a mission to provide a good night’s sleep to every Indian, every night.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
