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Amid the increased adoption of AI, a wealth management platform, Upstox has issued a cautionary advisory regarding an uptick in impersonation scams targeting investors. Recently, there has been a surge in scams wherein a group of individuals tries to impersonate brands and defraud the general public. Upstox said that its cybersecurity team has observed patterns - such as the creation and usage of fake Social Media accounts, Apps, WhatsApp groups, and Websites pretending to be Upstox offering educational courses, stock tips, and promising guaranteed returns. Upstox said that customers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 are especially affected by these impersonation scams due to a lack of awareness and limited access to reliable information sources.

Expressing concerns over the surge in fraudulent activities, Ravi Kumar, CEO and Co-founder of Upstox said, "As one of India's largest wealth-tech companies, it's our responsibility to educate individuals about these events and our commitment to preparing them to tackle such situations. We take the safety and security of our investors very seriously. We are committed to providing a secure investment environment and request all investors to conduct transactions only through our official channels. Please help us spread awareness and stay vigilant. Our goal is to ensure that every investor can transact with confidence and peace of mind".

Upstox shared a few crucial measures to avoid falling prey to impersonation scams

Check broker legitimacy: Always conduct thorough research before engaging with any individual or platform. Look for SEBI registration and Stock Exchange membership to ensure credibility. 

Beware of unsolicited offers: Exercise caution with unexpected calls, emails, or messages promising quick profits. Block and ignore such communications to avoid falling victim to scams. 

Verify communication channels: Pay close attention to the communication handles of brokers offering quick returns. Upstox always uses its official channels, details of which are provided at the end of this blog. 

Protect personal information: Keep sensitive information private, especially when dealing with unknown individuals or suspicious requests. Upstox or its employees will never ask for personal details without proper verification.

Upstox cautions investors of impersonation scams

Kalyan Jewellers has announced to expand its stores in the country by launching 40 more showrooms by Diwali. Besides, the Kerala-based Jewellery maker has also planned to launch 30 Candere showrooms and the first showroom in the US this year. 

Kalyan told stock exchanges, "As part of the previously communicated plan of launching 130+ new showrooms during the current financial year, in addition to the showrooms already opened, we have drawn up plans to launch another 40 Kalyan showrooms in India, 30 Candere showrooms and the first showroom in the US by Diwali". Candere is Kalyan Jewellers' digital-first jewellery platform.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-marketing/kalyan-jewellers-records-34-percent-revenue-growth-in-q4-fy2024-plans-to-launch-130-showrooms-in-india-in-fy-2025-28291.htm">Kalyan Jewellers records 34 percent revenue growth in Q4 FY2024; plans to launch 130 showrooms in India in FY 2025</a>

"We are upbeat about the upcoming new showroom launches and are gearing up with fresh collections and campaigns for the upcoming festive and wedding season across the country, starting with Onam towards the end of the current quarter," the company said in a BSE filing.

<a href="https://www.storyboard18.com/brand-marketing/kalyan-jewellers-rolls-out-a-new-campaign-on-gudi-padwa-featuring-brand-ambassador-pooja-sawant-27825.htm">Kalyan Jewellers rolls out a new campaign on Gudi Padwa featuring brand ambassador Pooja Sawant</a>


By the first quarter of FY2025, Kalyan launched 24 showrooms. The Jewellery brand has 277 total showrooms, of which 217 are in India, 36 in the Middle East, and 24 are of its Candere platform.

Kalyan Jewellers reported consolidated revenue growth of around 27% in Q1 FY2025 compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. In the Middle East, the Kerala-based jewellery brand witnessed 16% revenue growth in the first quarter of current fiscal year.

Kalyan Jewellers plans to launch 40 more showrooms in India, first store in US by Diwali

"Hindustan ka dil dekho!"

Nearly 20 years ago, the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board and Ogilvy released a TV commercial that not only placed the state firmly on India’s tourism map but also set a new benchmark for the advertising industry. The partnership between the state tourism board and Ogilvy India from 2006 to now has been a long one, and both sides have benefited. Madhya Pradesh stood among the top 10 states in tourist arrivals as per Ministry of Tourism data for 2022. Ogilvy on its part bagged numerous awards, including a Silver and Bronze Lion at Cannes for MP's ‘Memories of Destination’ ad and Graphite Pencil for 'MP Mein Dil Hua Bacche Sa' at the D&AD Awards in 2018.

"We have created a benchmark by launching a series of innovative TVCs (television commercials) such as 'Hindustan Ka Dil Dekho’ in 2006; 'MP Ajab Hai Sabse Gajab Hai’ in 2010; 'Rang Hai Malang Hai' in 2013; 'MP Mein Dil Hua Bacche Sa' in 2016; 'MP— Memories of Destination’ in 2018, and 'Jo Aaya Wo Waapas Aaya, Ye MP ki Maaya’ in 2023. We focus on ensuring that our TVCs are a visual and audio treat that will stay on viewers' minds," an official from the MP Tourism Board told Storyboard18. "Madhya Pradesh is undoubtedly an offbeat multispecialty destination of first choice and Madhya Pradesh Tourism is in line to promote it through strategised TV ad campaigns," he added.

In the age of social media, travel has witnessed a significant boost and as per the Federations of Association in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH), tourism will contribute $3 trillion towards GDP by 2047. And several states have found potential in their hidden spots and unexplored art and culture. But well before the advent of smartphones and social media, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board proved a trailblazer in promoting the state's unseen culture and historic forts.

Anurag Agnihotri, chief creative officer, Ogilvy West, said MP Tourism ads are "creatively satisfying", and the entire team wants to contribute. Agnihotri quipped that it's the only 'tourism brand' in which they don't travel but shoot everything on a set. Agnihotri recounted his experience in working on the 'Jo Aaya Wo Waapas Aaya' commercial that was released in September last year. He said, "We wanted to shoot the ad using MP's famous Gond art but it takes at least two years to complete an entire piece. Therefore, we shot the ad by replicating the original art and launched it in two months."

When it comes to promoting the state's tourism, an MP Board official said, they believe in "minimum expenditure and maximum branding".
"We pitch media based on their visibility; higher visibility implies better reach. For instance, branding in the metro rail card, instead of the unipole hoarding. We prefer branding with digital screens at airports and railway stations. Our focus is also branding at our renowned UNESCO sites including Khajuraho and spiritual destinations like Ujjain," the official said.

The MP Tourism Board said it has empanelled four to six agencies and 64 media owners under different categories such as photography, video production, brand management, media buying, printing and souvenir production, and creative branding at national and state levels to promote the state. 

"The national-level agencies for media buying and creative branding empanelled with MP Tourism are the agencies that are also empanelled with DAVP and Ministry of Tourism," it added.

According to the state's financial data for FY23, the Madhya Pradesh government allocated Rs 50 crore for promoting tourism including marketing and advertising in digital and print media, event management, and other activities. Of the Rs 50 crore, the department had spent Rs 43 crore.

TAM AdEx, a division of TAM Media Research, shared data exclusively with Storyboard18 showing Madhya Pradesh’s percentage share based on ad volumes for TV and radio, and ad space for print and digital. According to this, MP Tourism's television commercials grew at 475 percent of indexed growth, on average, in 2023 from 100 percent indexed growth in 2021. Additionally, 2023 witnessed the highest ad space growth for MP Tourism per month in print media at 648 percent of indexed growth in the past three years. In the digital space, monthly advertisements grew by 77 times in 2023 compared to 2021. In 2024, 993 percent of indexed growth in ad volumes was seen in the digital space.

An official said that spiritual tourism in Madhya Pradesh increased threefold last year, with 11 crore visitors in 2023 against 3.4 crore in 2022. In 2024, 3.15 crore visitors came to India in March, out of which 1.89 crore visited Ujjain. As per Ministry of Tourism data, Madhya Pradesh bagged the eighth spot in both foreign and domestic tourism in 2021.

 
What next?

The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has said that a new TVC, which is currently in the post-production phase, will be released in a few months. The campaign will be through print ads, jingles on the radio, cinema campaigns, ads on different TV channels, and creatives (10-15-second video clips) at airports and railway stations in metro cities. Earlier this month, it launched PM Paryatan Vayu Seva, an intra-state air service. The air service currently connects eight cities: Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa, Ujjain, Gwalior, Singrauli and Khajuraho.

The art of the matter: How MP Tourism and Ogilvy told and retold a success story

VS Mani & Co, a South Indian filter coffee and snacks brand, has roped in music composer Anirudh Ravichander as its co-founder and brand ambassador on Wednesday. Ravichander became a national sensation in 2011 after he composed the viral hit song ‘Why This Kolaveri Di', featuring Tamil actor Dhanush. He is the nephew of Thalaivar Rajnikanth.
 
On this move, Ravichander said, “I am a hard-core filter coffee lover. My family and I grew up with it and I still enjoy my cuppa everyday. But when I tried VS Mani’s Easy Filter Coffee, I was floored! Just like the homemade, mom-made coffee I grew up with, but ready in seconds. This is a game-changer for my generation of filter coffee lovers. I also tried their delicious snacks and that clinched it—I decided that I wanted to be an active force in their story, not just a consumer. And while I’m at it, I want to do my bit to shine the light on our South Indian cuisine and filter coffee for the world to see".
 
VS Mani's founder GD Prasad and co-founders Rahul Bajaj and Yashas Alur said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with Anirudh as we set about building a destination brand for South Indian filter coffee & snacks". Alur, came on board as co-founder in 2021 to handle the brand.

Established in 2020, VS Mani & Co. initially served customers through its own website and marketplaces. Later, it opened 1,000 retails stores stores across Bengaluru, Chennai, Pondicherry, Coimbatore, Salem and other parts of Tamil Nadu.
 
Backed by celebrity investors like Shaadi.com's Anupam Mittal, Sobhita Dhulipala, Rana Daggubati, Ranbir Kapoor, Disha Patani and Huma Qureshi among others, the snack brand has raised a total of $1.5 million—including a $900,000 pre-series A round led by Kettleborough VC, with participation from Lets Venture, Hyderabad Angels, Supermorpheus, and others. The company rose to fame when it appeared on Shark Tank Season 2 last year.

VS Mani ropes in 'Kolaveri Di' music composer Anirudh Ravichander as co-founder

Digital debt financing platform CredAvenue’s brand revamp as Yubi ties well with its goal of going beyond being a credit-only platform into its international expansion to markets such as West Asia and North Africa.

Founded in 2020, Yubi facilitates debt financing for companies by connecting lenders and investors with borrowers through an online marketplace. Its offerings include term lending and working capital solutions, co-lending partnerships for banks and NBFCs, bond issuance and investment for institutional and retail participants, trade financing solutions and end-to-end securitisation and portfolio buyouts.

The Chennai-based fintech startup entered the unicorn club in just 18 months after raising around $137 million in its Series B funding. Flush with funds, the company is looking to create awareness about availability of hassle-free credit and new verticals (investment/real estate) that it intends to launch.

In an exclusive conversation with Storyboard18, Karanpreet Bindra, Yubi’s chief marketing officer, breaks down the objective behind the brand revamp. According to him, the company is looking at a large global category that can’t be contained in CredAvenue, which was a functional name.

“Our intent or ambition is to be the invisible layer covering the entire credit and debt ecosystem in the world. CredAvenue is not going to do justice to our ambition because our goal is much wider than just providing credit,” he says.

Bindra says that Yubi aims to facilitate all sorts of credit transactions right from connecting a borrower and lender, which happens to be the marketplace side of things (and what CredAvenue sounds like), ensuring smooth digitised execution on the platform itself, monitoring the journey end-to-end, and enabling connections for that loan.

Why Yubi?

So, what does Yubi mean and how did the company arrive at the new name?

Yubi means being ubiquitous, Bindra tells us. It’s like water, air or even the internet, which is out there all around you and powering life. "We wish to be that ubiquitous layer that’s the origin of Yubi, which is short for ubiquity. I think the other one is that we have a strong fundamental belief in the power of humans in doing great things and that’s where the tagline comes from."

"We believe in the fundamental right of access to capital and the potential of humans. We stand for leveraging human potential – You be – so you be at your best, which is the other inspiration for the brand name,” he explains.

Many TGs and eleven marketing plans

Yubi works with various target audiences (TGs). In the marketplace model, the company has lenders (banks/NBFCs) and borrowers (enterprises, which can have as little as Rs 10 crore annual revenue / taking a loan against property, to a unicorn or Rs 10,000 crore listed organisation looking to raise debt).

“We cater to almost six TG sets within the borrower ecosystem and three segments around the lender ecosystem. We work with two broad categories: B2B and B2B2C. For instance it can be a firm like CRED or payment app Slice, which are our customers; although they are dealing with the end customers we are powering their transactions," Bindra says.

The company will soon build and launch a B2C vertical focussed on investment products.

"We are like a single mother brand catering to almost eight different sub-brands,” Bindra notes.

For each of these sub-brands, the company has an individual marketing budget and campaign as well as a marketing strategy.

“As a group CMO, I’m working on 11 marketing plans, including the mother brand," says Bindra. He draws a comparison to an iconic global brand: "With Yubi, we have done the umbrella or mother branding similar to what FedEx does."

But all of Yubi's sub-brands will also have individual marketing plans aimed at their respective TG. For instance, one of its product brands is 'Yubi Invest', so that’s a product about wealth and it targets wealth managers. The whole marketing campaign and strategy for this sub-product will be built independent of the mother brand.

Translating vision to a new identity

Yubi’s marketing goal in the next two years is to establish itself as a leader powering the entire debt ecosystem in India, West Asia and the North Africa region. On product lines, it is targeting a leadership position in six of the eight sub-brands.

Talking about the brand identity change, Alexa Hargreave, client partner, Venture3, says that the agency has developed a set of brand principles that underpin the way Yubi speaks, acts, looks and behaves to drive the experiences it creates.

These principles include ‘Freedom to collaborate’ (which focuses on breaking down barriers and discovering opportunities), ‘Power of transparency’ (inspired by integrity and honesty in the open exchange of ideas and capital) and ‘Equitable and fair’ (a belief in the public good and opportunity that capital creates).

The agency says that it has repositioned Yubi from a debt marketplace to a ‘possibility platform’.

Design and brand expert Shekhar Badve, founder-director, Lokusdesign, says that the identity looks young and has an interesting play of 2D and 3D effects. “It looks like a marketplace for young investors. (But) I feel the identity should have been a bit serious and build confidence just by looking at it,” he notes.

Bindra, however, is confident that the new brand identity effectively captures Yubi's reason to be and future direction.

Yubi CMO Karanpreet Bindra: Our umbrella branding is similar to what FedEx does

All brands have image, symbolism, and prestige to some degree, but charisma is quite another matter. When possessed of it, brands ascend to being icons. This is encountered but rarely understood.

What is a charismatic brand personality?

Is it something exclusive to luxury brands and high involvement categories?

Is it possible to possess charisma without evidence?

What are the behavioral attributes of charismatic brands?

This understanding is sorely needed for building sustained brand-consumer relationships and as a foundational input to brand strategy and operations. Companies build brand equity via shaping of brand personalities. This encourages consumer interactions and builds relationships. Where brand interactions have emotionally transformative effects, certainly a brand charisma is at play.

The dictionary defines charisma as ‘a special magnetic charm or appeal’. Most of the research on charisma has focused on individuals as charismatic leaders that create a sense of excitement among followers, build strong bonds, and ultimately possess the ability to exercise a strong influence on the values and behaviors of followers. The idea that consumers’ relationships with brands can resemble their relationships with people has increasingly become accepted in branding and consumer behavior.

This implies that charisma creates and shapes a special relationship with the brand. Conversely, a large following and mass of relationships can elevate a brand to charismatic status. To possess charisma represents a highly rated report card from consumers. These cognitive appraisals cause feelings of admiration which subsequently impact purchase behavior.

The word charisma has Greek roots:  charizesthai - to gratify and charis which implies being gifted.  A natural starting point for understanding the concept of charisma is the work of Max Weber. He referred to charisma as a widely perceived appeal which transcends ordinary conceptions of reality. It can be attributed to persons, actions, roles, institutions, symbols, and material objects. Charisma is a kind of aura that emerges ‘with ultimate, fundamental, vital, or order-determining powers’

This ‘person-charisma’ complex must be decoded so it can be applied to brands. Charismatic leaders radiate confidence and set high expectations for themselves and their followers. Charismatic leaders are also role models for others as they have moral courage, assertiveness backed by power and a disruptive ability to challenge the status quo.

Leaders with charisma also foster motivation and galvanize their followers with a value-laden vision of the future. Likewise, brands can use mission as a platform to get consumers aboard and infuse them with self-esteem, self-worth and social identification. Just as charismatic leaders affect followers because of motivational mechanisms that are induced by leader behaviors, so also brands affect consumers that are induced by the behaviors of the brand. Adidas, Nike, Budweiser,Marlboro, Apple,Nike , Harley, Volkswagen Beetle, Jack Daniels, Superman, Range Rover, Zippo, Harvard, Oxford, MTV, Rambo, Elvis all are possessed of it. I am quoting universally acclaimed Western brands that have gone global, but it is only illustrative.

Charisma is not one thing. It is a composite of many: being visionary, articulate, sensitive to community, unconventional, and boldness. A charismatic brand can influence, inspire and motivate followers. It exudes confidence, dominance, energy, and the ability to prescribe actions for which followers are psychologically primed.

A brand’s articulation done with expressiveness and eloquence is a prerequisite to building, growing and sustaining charisma. Charismatic brands do highly expressive communication and excel at storytelling. An Apple, Nike or Louis Vuitton always has a story to tell. Behind each product, there is a history of what brought it to market. It adds inherent value to the brand. Brands that elicit great admiration, draw attention easily and inspire.

Brands that are charismatic are honest and reliable. No one can break trust, be insincere and yet retain a charismatic sway. Credibility is the anchor for Charisma. It is foundational. Whether in politics, entertainment, journalism, politics or advertising – the crux of charisma is ‘being credible’. It is not a fantastical construct.

Charisma is often treated synonymously with finesse. It cues a very special type of attractiveness – magnetic, charming, appealing, beautiful, elegant, sophisticated, and classy. But that is not definitional. Awe is also related to scale and quantum. Big is beautiful too. Bigness is about solidity. Charismatic brands have a sense of permanence and are there for the long term.

The importance of being visionary in unconventional and bold ways cannot be overstated. It is a vehicle to legitimize brand charisma. A vision for the future, positive energy, focus on unexploited and futuristic opportunities presents a brand that is dynamic, outgoing, and ambitious in nature. Being visionary clearly says something about the brand’s strength of character and the will to achieve this vision.

Max Weber offered one of the most nuanced and insightful treatments of awe in his analysis of charisma and charismatic leaders. Weber noted that, throughout history, social groups tend to settle into patriarchal or bureaucratic modes of organization, which are stable. In times of crisis people sometimes overthrow these stable forms of power, transferring their allegiance to a charismatic leader who awes the masses by performing miracles or acts of heroism. Charismatic leaders bring about revolution from the inside, by changing people, who then go on to change society. Hence the context can empower an individual or brand with game changing charisma. It can happen very suddenly.

Like Weber, Emile Durkheim posited that certain collective emotions have transformative powers; they change people's attitudes and inspire them to follow something larger than themselves. A man who experiences such sentiments feels that he is dominated by forces which he is not the master of but is led by. Durkheim approached Charisma as a form of Awe. According to him, for something to be thought of as awesome and hence charismatic was a social sentiment based upon collective interests. Collective sentiments are triggered by stimuli that are associated with collective values, goals and outcomes. A group feels unity (as supporters of a brand, political party, sports team, cult), collective action (cheering, voting, ritualism, dressing, adoption of norms) and triumph (winning an election, tournament, becoming a dominant trend).

Abraham Maslow is well known for his descriptions of ‘peak experiences’, which clearly involve awe. Maslow listed many. These include disorientation in space and time, ego transcendence and self-forgetfulness; a perception that the world is good, beautiful, and desirable; feeling passive, receptive, and humble; a sense that polarities and dichotomies have been transcended or resolved; and feelings of being lucky, fortunate, or graced.

Two things connect in sequence to foster awe. These are vastness and acceptance. Vastness refers to anything that is experienced as being much larger than the self, or the self's ordinary level of experience or frame of reference. Vastness is often a matter of simple physical size, but it can also involve social size such as fame, authority, or prestige. When bigger than self, it elicits respect and when subsuming the self via acceptance, it elicits motivation. This is a big deal, and I can be a part of this big deal. This is the sequence.

The English word ‘awe’ is about dread mingled with veneration, reverential or respectful fear. Modern Western attitudes are about awe-like emotions when in the presence of people who are famous like movie stars, exceptionally skilled like sports stars, or morally admirable as gallantry award winners. None of these cases involves feelings of threat, fear, or dread. They are awesome and yet charismatic in a thoroughly positive way. People seek out contact with such awe-inspiring figures, asking for autographs, getting a photograph with them or trying to touch them.

Celebrities often take on a larger-than-life presence which causes awestruck onlookers to gape, point, fawn, and act deferentially. In this case, awe is elicited by the social size and importance of the individual, the extent to which they are known, and the extent to which their actions affect others.

All of these are true for brands. Those exceptional brands that make it to becoming charismatic. There is no measure or qualifier for it. Yet charisma is well recognized and rewarded.

There is a clear need to map the markers of charisma and awe and aim for admiration, elevation and perhaps even brand love.

Goosebumps matter.

Reference:

The Care and Feeding of Ideas – Bill Backer

The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture and the Rise of Hip Consumerism – Thomas Frank

Approaching Awe, a moral, spiritual and aesthetic emotion – Dacher Keltner and Jonathan Haidt

How Brands Become Icons – Douglas Holt

Note to readers: I'm intrigued by information such as that eight percent of the population is left-handed, that giraffes only sleep five minutes every twenty-four hours and so on which is useless but important! In the eighteenth century, German aristocrats kept glass-fronted cabinets which displayed curios. They called it Wunderkammern. This column is some such thing. In an unmarked field it is easy to wander… I want to open windows to glimpse views rather than a whodunnit or a how-to-do-it. I have a licence to be long or short. To be structured or abrupt. This column has no beginning, middle or end. It's a journey without a destination. Simply speaking...

BRANDING