iWorld
Guest column: Navigating India as a global brand with a pre-conceived reputation
MUMBAI: When an organisation, often termed globally as ‘a challenger’, ‘provocative’, or ‘millennial whisperer’, expands to be present across multiple screens reaching millions of new viewers in new geographies, there’s always a dilemma between living up to the years and years of brand legacy or forming a new identity that the local community can trust. On one side is the brand DNA and on the other are the cultural nuances of a country like India.
As this proverb puts it in the best way, “Every two miles the water changes, every four miles the speech.”
In such a scenario, the biggest challenge for any global entity, especially in the content and media landscape, is to understand diversity, not only in the context of geographical boundaries or topographical differences but in terms of culture, food habits, customs, beliefs, attire, scripts, and more.
High mobile penetration and connectivity in the country have provided us with avenues that unify communication in a way that transcends most of the aforesaid barriers. A young girl in a remote town has access to not only entertainment at her fingertips but also more time at hand to be influenced or inspired.
This represents a great canvas to do business but also a high sense of responsibility when it comes to creating and distributing content. Hence, for those looking at the country from the outside, India cannot just be an opportunity game of exceptional audience numbers or percentages; it has to be a learning process to help brands navigate and set up a business away from home.
Investment in research and local talent acquisition are two important factors that need to be emphasized on while drawing business models and go-to-market strategies for India. No one understands India like Indians and no amount of time invested is enough in understanding the nuances that make us truly who we are.
While establishing VICE in the country, the team deliberately invested time in hiring the best talent to form local content and research functions even before a business development team was put in place. This allowed the brand to develop its own indigenous tonality while keeping the global brand DNA intact. Furthermore, widespread on-ground primary research allowed the local teams to educate the global counterparts about the market and what makes it unique in terms of regional variations, etiquette and languages.
It is an exciting time for India with a new wave of audiences coming online for the first time. These users will experience content and entertainment in way that they haven’t imagined yet. To play a significant role in creating a brand that represents the voice of the youth of India, and help bring their stories and creativity to the rest of the world, we have to believe in the importance of staying authentic.
Operating in India demands organizations to remain true to their core ethos. For VICE, it means content taking center-stage with a strong youth focus. And above all, full transparency while communicating with our audience.
In today’s dynamic times, companies have to create what the audience wants and not get influenced by what is working in some of the more developed parts of the world. We have to believe that we are building a culture that is unique and that will have an impact on how the parent brand does business in other parts of the world.
The author is CEOat Vice India. The views expressed here are her own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.
iWorld
Epic Company launches unified Epic Studio for films and OTT
Vivek Krishnani to head films business; Samar Khan leads OTT & Television.
MUMBAI: Epic just merged its creative superheroes under one cape because when films and OTT need to fight for attention together, you don’t keep them in separate universes. The Epic Company has launched Epic Studio, a next-generation creative and production powerhouse that unites Juggernaut Productions and Movieverse Studio under a single banner. The move creates a streamlined, scalable platform for premium storytelling across theatrical films, OTT originals, television, digital-first formats and branded content.
Vivek Krishnani has been appointed chief executive officer, Epic Studio (Films), overseeing the theatrical and film business with a focus on culturally resonant narratives across Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and Malayalam cinema. Samar Khan continues as chief executive officer, Epic Studio (OTT & Television) and retains his role as chief content officer for Docubay and Epic On.
The Epic Company managing director Aditya Pittie said, “Epic Studio brings together our entire creative ecosystem under one unified studio vision. This is not just an integration of verticals, but the creation of a collaborative environment where writers, filmmakers, creators, and brand partners can seamlessly develop and scale stories across formats and screens.”
Vivek Krishnani added, “We are building an audience-focused mainstream film studio committed to delivering fresh, engaging, and innovative stories for both theatrical and streaming platforms.”
Samar Khan commented, “This alignment allows us to approach storytelling with a unified studio mindset. We are building IP under one creative umbrella, with scale and longevity in mind from inception.”
The unified structure eliminates silos, enabling ideas to flow fluidly from concept to screen while adapting to evolving audience behaviour. Epic Studio positions itself as a creator-led ecosystem championing purposeful, resonant storytelling with commercial strength.
In an entertainment landscape where stories now leap between screens faster than plot twists, Epic isn’t just building a studio, it’s crafting a single launchpad where every tale gets the best shot at soaring across every platform.
