Gaming
Saatchi & Saatchi India turns gamers into drivers with Renault Kiger challenge
MUMBAI: Saatchi & Saatchi India has given car launches a fresh spin with a gamified on-ground activation for the all-new Renault Kiger, designed to bring the brand’s “Rethink Performance, Rethink Kiger” positioning to life. The campaign turned bystanders into players, transforming a digital billboard into a live gaming experience that showcased the Kiger’s speed, agility, and responsiveness.
Conceptualised by Saatchi & Saatchi India and executed by Digitas India, the activation ran from 23rd to 29th September at Dlf Cyberhub, Gurugram. Participants simply scanned a qr code to sync their smartphones as controllers and navigated a fast-paced, one-minute virtual course, complete with sharp turns and obstacles that mirrored the Kiger’s dynamic capabilities.
To fuel the buzz, RJ Naved joined the challenge, inviting fans to beat his high score, a move that lit up social media. The activation trended as the 4th most talked-about topic on X, generated over 500,000 views, and drove strong engagement through influencer collaborations.
“With the new Kiger, we wanted to shift the conversation from design to performance,” said Saatchi & Saatchi India chief creative officer Kartik Smetacek. “The playable billboard combined the reach of outdoor with the interactivity of gaming, an eye-catching way to make people experience performance rather than just hear about it.”
Renault India VP – sales & marketing Francisco Hidalgo Marques added, “Innovation for Renault isn’t just in our cars, but in how we connect with people. Under the ‘Rethink’ umbrella, this activation turned a product showcase into an immersive gaming experience that redefined how consumers engage with the brand.”
Following its on-ground success, the Kiger Challenge hit the digital racetrack, rolling out as playable ads online, allowing users to test their reflexes and experience the car’s performance anywhere, anytime.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
