MAM
Weekend Unwind’ with: Socxo CMO Ajit Narayan
Mumbai: With another weekend upon us, it is time to unwind with the latest Q&A edition of Indiantelevision.com’s Weekend Unwind — a series of informal chats that peek into the minds of corporate executives through a fun lens in an attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better.
In this week’s session, advocacy marketing platform & brand advocacy solutions provider Socxo CMO Ajit Narayan opened up the windows to his thoughts. Socxo is currently planning to launch its new product, Socxly, a one-of-a-kind smart linking and affiliate marketing product suite.
Narayan runs everything’s marketing at Socxo. He built the entire brand framework: visual identity, visibility, demand generation, and the rest of the marketing playbook.
With over two decades of experience in the marketing services, technology, and advertising industries, Narayan has extensive experience in brand, CRM, and experiential marketing at companies such as OgilvyOne Worldwide, Wunderman and Bates CHI, and Sercon. He understands the practical and implementation aspects as well as the big picture, strategy, and ideas.
He enjoys experimenting with new ideas. His belief that ideas are what make life interesting and engaging stems not only from his own but also from strong collaborations and teamwork, as well as from inspiring his team and others around him.
Narayan has a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Calcutta. He is also a Google Adwords, Mobile, and Search certified professional.
He began his career in traditional marketing and has a thorough understanding of what distinguishes brands, in addition to hands-on experience with digital branding, performance marketing, social media, and analytics.
He built integrated communications tools and strategies around B2B and B2C marketing communications at Bates CHI and Sercon, and many of the projects resulted in campaigns that won various international awards such as the PMAA-Dragons of Asia awards, DMA Awards, B2B Marketing (UK), and so on.
So without further ado, here it goes…
- Your mantra for life
“Life is Hard. Get used to it.”
- A book you are currently reading/plan to read
None. I don’t read books too frequently.
- Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic
Your dog is your best friend. He makes sure you get your backside moving and it is fun. Play with him. A couple of hours on the trail is always a weekend away.
- Your comfort food
Sambar rice and poriyal. Also, daal chawal and aloo ki sabzi.
- When the chips are down a quote/philosophy that keeps you going
Either of the two. Depending on mood.
1. Keep your head down and ignore the noise. Work away at your skills.
2. Even this will pass. So, chill.
- Your guilty pleasure
Rumali roti, galouti kebab, and dal makhni (provided it is well made).
- A life lesson you learnt the hard way
Extremes of wealth (bankruptcy or opulence) are harmful to one’s health. I have been through the former. On the latter, I have a deep realisation of what’s enough for me. I wouldn’t know what to do with it.
- What gets you excited about life?
New adventures, new things to do. Or there are times when nothing to do is exciting.
- What’s on top of your bucket list?
Where is the bucket?
- If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Be wise with your money. Otherwise, you will become poor at the benefit of your so-called friends.
- One thing you would most like to change about the world
The level of fakery surrounding us is so high that a couple of hundred notches lower would be better.
- An activity that keeps you motivated/charged during tough times
Three things: playing the bass guitar; playing with my dog; and taking a long bike ride.
- What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
Any one of the three above.
- Your go-to stress buster
Old Monk.
AD Agencies
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.
