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The world’s largest religious carnival, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Top-10-crazy-stuff-companies-doat-the-Kumbh-Mela/articleshow/48185752.cms">Kumbh Mela</a> in Nasik, will have a footfall of around three crore people this year. Apart from being a crowd puller, the magnificent event has also become a centre of attraction for<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Companies-dive-in-for-a-bite-of-the-Kumbhpie/articleshow/48124752.cms"> tech companies</a> like MIT, Nokia, Wikipedia, the Tata Center for Technology and Design, the IITs and Reliance Innovation Lab. 
 The trendsetters and researchers from such tech giants are looking forward to the event-‘<keyword id="2577221" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kumbhathon">Kumbhathon</keyword>’, an opportunity to work with the masses—a larger test group—to study the stress of rapid urbanization and create disruptive solutions in the domains of health, housing, food, payments and transportation. Kumbhathon, a 365-day project, has been set-up by few organizations to come up with solutions to address the challenges like stampedes, an ordinary concern during such events. 
 
The 30-day period will become a golden goose for them to test out frugal innovations that will, in the future, power the smart cities of developing economies. 
 Sophie Vandebroek, chief technology officer and president of the <keyword id="6490330" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Xerox">Xerox</keyword> Innovation Group, in her address to the Kumbhathon members, said, "Our research team in Bengaluru is looking forward to collaborating with MIT during the Kumbhathon in Nasik, to pilot innovations that will make a positive difference for rapidly growing communities. Researchers at Xerox are addressing a wide range of urban challenges using a combination of mobile sensing, crowd-sourcing, and prescriptive analytics to create actionable insights for cities and their citizens." 
 Not just this, religious leaders like <keyword id="1197765" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Swami-Chidanand-Saraswati">Swami Chidanand Saraswati</keyword>, founder of Ganga Action Parivar, along with Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji, secretary-general of Global Interfaith WASH Alliance, too, are working to strengthen PM Narendra Modi’s renewable energy initiative. To make <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Maha-Kumbh-to-generate-a-whopping-Rs10000-Crore-in-revenue/articleshow/48022906.cms">Kumbh </a>clean and energy-friendly, the spiritual leaders will use their clout among devotees to promote the use of solar lamps sold by Urjakart, an Indian startup. 
 
Under the guidance of tech companies, students are hoping on to the Kumbh bandwagon with their ideas for startup. The two apps developed by them so far are Epimetrics and Meditracker. While Epimetrics attempts to curb the spread of epidemics by digitizing doctors' logs across the city, Meditracker acts as a '911' service alerting medical personnel in case of any serious injuries. 
 
Another innovation gaining momentum at <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Shortage-of-condoms-raises-fears-of-spread-of-HIV/AIDS-before-Kumbh-Mela/articleshow/47937531.cms">Kumbh </a>is the concept of crowd steering with the help of mobile towers, a real-time system that not only shows the density distribution of a large crowd but also tracks the flow, allowing people to be redirected away from saturated areas. There are also low-cost pop-up housing systems that use industrial racks from cold storage to create multi-level habitable spaces for people, and Annadan, an innovative supply chain that diverts food donated to temples to those who are hungry, thus reducing food wastage. 
 
Image: indiatimes

Here’s how tech companies are exploiting the Kumbh Mela this year

The world's largest religious congregation <keyword id="52356" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kumbh-Mela">Kumbh Mela</keyword> has created an unbeatable opportunity for companies to display their brands. The 2015 version will start this week at Nashik in Maharashtra with over 100 million people gathering over three months. 
 <keyword id="6391475" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Coca-Cola">Coca-Cola</keyword>, <keyword id="44672" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Pepsi">Pepsi</keyword>, <keyword id="15492" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Vodafone">Vodafone</keyword>, <keyword id="6357073" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="ITC">ITC</keyword> and <keyword id="44863" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="HUL">HUL</keyword> are some of the major companies gearing up to tap this huge potential market. This year's mela is likely to generate around Rs 10,000 crore for Maharashtra. 
 
"Call it a brand mela. From umbrellas to ropes, every inch is branded during Kumbh”, Harish Bijoor, a Bengaluru-based brand expert told ET. "Religion and size is a fantastic combination and Kumbh has both. The Hajj at Mecca is also comparable to the scale and size of Kumbh, but there, brands have to be conservative. Imagine Woodstock or soccer leagues in Brazil and the UK, and multiply the scale by 10. That's Kumbh for you." 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

Companies dive in for a bite of the Kumbh
pie

The <keyword id="79070" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Maharashtra-State-AIDS-Control-Society">Maharashtra State Aids Control Society</keyword> (MSAC) has expressed fear of possible spreading of <keyword id="63552" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="HIV/AIDS">HIV/AIDS</keyword> in the run-up to the Kumbh Mela because of shortage of condoms. 
 

	The project managers said if the condoms did not reach the sex workers, the efforts taken during the past decade to reduce infections and spread of HIV would go in vain.
 

	Yogesh Pardeshi, the district programme officer, MSAC, told TOI that some hospitals have run out of stock and condoms were being brought in from rural hospitals and primary health centres. "A meeting was held on Friday and a request for more condoms has been made to the head office," he added.
 
 

	Another official from MSAC said the district now has a stock of about 50,000 condoms for the female sex workers and the men-having-sex-with-men (MSM). "The stock will get over before Kumbh," he said.
 
 MSAC officials said the <keyword id="86950" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-AIDS-Control-Organisation">National Aids Control Organisation</keyword> (NACO) has stopped the supply of condoms, leaving the AIDS control society with a stock that can last only for a week. Kumbh Mela is beginning on July 14 and nearly a crore people, including lakhs of sadhus, are expected to visit <keyword id="42738" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nashik">Nashik</keyword> to participate in the mega religious congregation. 

	The city has an estimated 2,000 female sex workers, 560 MSMs and 70 transgenders, while there are one lakh migrants in the district that has a monthly requirement of 1.5-2 lakh condoms. Given the current situation, the officials fear that the current stock of condoms might not be enough to cater to the huge number of people visiting the city.
 

	The average annual requirement of condoms estimated for 2015 is 24 lakh, including those received through social marketing. Stating that an equal number of condoms was expected to cater to Nashik's requirement during Kumbh Mela, the officials attributed the crisis to the Centre's order of curtailing funds for NACO. "This, in turn, compelled NACO to curtail its funds for the MSAC and other NGOs," an official said.
 

	Kuldeep Pawar, the project manager of the Female Sex Workers Targeted Intervention at Pravara Medical Institute, told TOI that the requirement of condoms and medicines to treat sexually transmitted infections would double during the Kumbh Mela. He said, "As there is virtually no stock left for free distribution from the government, the customers may refrain from buying condoms. This might increase chances of infection. It is also not possible for all sex workers to buy contraceptives for safe sex because of their meager income."
 
 

	Pawar said the proportion of infection among the general population was more compared to the female sex workers. "But with no protection to provide, the chances are that the sex workers may get affected as well. The problem is that the government has stopped the support three months before the Kumbh. As of on July 3, we have a stock of about 22,000 condoms and this will hardly last for a week. The monthly requirement is 1.5-1.8 lakh condoms. Considering the requirement, the government should provide additional contraceptives," he said.

	 
	 
	(image credits: kumbhmela-nashik)

Shortage of condoms raises fears of spread of HIV/AIDS before Kumbh Mela

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Mass gatherings such as the farmers' protests didn't become the superspreader events experts feared.</li><li>COVID cases have steadily fallen, raising hopes the country is close to achieving herd immunity.</li><li>One expert says misinformation may have been an "accidental game changer" at encouraging mingling.</li></ul>When Indian farmers began gathering to protest in November 2020, at the height of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/superspreader-protest-as-experts-worry-about-covid-farmers-say-new-laws-bigger-threat-to-their-survival/articleshow/79492667.cms">experts predicted these would be superspreader events</a>.Three months later, tens of thousands are still gathered in tents on the outskirts of Delhi with more still arriving in tractors for speeches and impromptu marches. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-54657433">Big election rallies took place in October</a> in the state of Bihar. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flocked to the annual religious gathering of Kumbh Mela in January, <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1692725">mostly without masks.</a>But not only have these not led to spikes in COVID cases, such cases have plummeted.This densely-populated country of nearly 1.4 billion people, whose median age is only 28, recorded just <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/india?country=~IND">11,583 cases on February 10, down from a high of nearly 100,000 a day in September</a>.<div type="image" title="India's daily cases" height="2400" width="3400" msid="80927635" hostid="261"></div><keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> began a full lockdown in March when cases were relatively low, then <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1692725">gradually emerged in stages from June</a>. Cases began to fall long before the country embarked in January on a vaccination programme that has so far inoculated nearly 8 million people."None of the horrors, that were imagined, happened during these gatherings," Dr Rajib Dasgupta, chair of the Centre of Social Medicine &amp; Community Health at Jawaharlal Nehru University, tells Insider.As India's case numbers continue to decline, experts hope that the world's second biggest country is approaching herd immunity, the "indirect protection" from infections "when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection," according to the World Health Organization.<div type="image" title="GettyImages 1231155229" height="3608" width="5128" msid="80927638" hostid="261"></div>Dasgupta says mass gatherings may have accelerated this among a population that is less vulnerable to COVID, due to a relatively young population.Misinformation about the danger of COVID may have emboldened people to gather together, he adds, saying it "might well have been an accidental game changer."The myths, often circulated through WhatsApp and social media, included that <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword> was no worse than seasonal flu and that traditional herbal concoctions or spices such as turmeric or gooseberries can safeguard against it.Boom, an independent website that fights misinformation, <a href="https://www.boomlive.in/fact-file/fake-news-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-a-boom-study-8008">published 178 fact checks of false claims circulating about COVID</a> in the first five months in 2020.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/majority-of-coronavirus-cases-asymptomatic-study-2021-2">As little as 13% of people who get the coronavirus develop symptoms, a new study suggests</a><div type="image" title="Bihar election rally India October 2020" height="1185" width="2100" msid="80927643" hostid="261"></div>Monish Sengupta, who divides his time between Calcutta and the UK, tells Insider, a doctor friend "recommended consuming some homeopathic medicine and camphor with hot milk."At a tea shop in Calcutta in mid-February, Insider encountered a group of young men sipping tea and loudly arguing whether herd immunity meant they might skip taking the <keyword id="24209" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="vaccine">vaccine</keyword>. "Where's the coronavirus? It's gone," one of them said. On February 5, a flight between New Delhi and Calcutta was packed. Both airports were crowded.But despite the warnings about mass gatherings, one volunteer reports seeing no one with COVID symptoms at a camp set up by doctors and volunteers at the site of the farming protests.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-worried-getting-coronavirus-trump-white-house-superspreader-2021-2">Fauci said he worried about getting COVID-19 while working in the 'superspreader' Trump White House</a>Indranil Mukhopadhyay, co-convener of the Delhi chapter of health movement Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan, says there is a noticeable lack of distancing and mask wearing at the protestors as well as a reluctance to getting tested for the virus.The professor, who teaches at New Delhi's Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, tells Insider the camp is "fertile ground" for the virus. But he adds the group's medical camp has so far not come across anyone displaying COVID symptoms, despite attending to more than 15,000 patients.A <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w27408">working paper</a> by the US National Bureau of Economic Research, that used data from last year's Black Lives Matter protests, provides a potential insight into why this was the case.It concluded that people who were least likely to contract the virus, were most likely to attend the protests in America, while those who were high-risk stayed away.<div type="image" title="Hindu devotees take a holy dip in the waters of the River Ganges" height="3000" width="4501" msid="80927646" hostid="261"></div>The BLM protests also prompted those who didn't participate in demonstrations to follow safety protocols more diligently because the protests raised the risk they perceived, the paper noted. The paper's lead author, economics Professor Dave Dhaval, tells Insider "some of the above factors may be in play" in the farmers' protest.Dr Satyabrata Routray, director of immunization at the India chapter of Path, a global nonprofit health organization, says misinformation played its part, but poverty was crucial in forcing people out of their homes.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/covid-19-vaccine-does-not-affect-fertility-doctors-reassure-public-2021-2">Doctors are speaking out to dispel the 'groundless' myth that the COVID-19 vaccine affects fertility in women or men</a>More than <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---ifp_skills/documents/publication/wcms_734503.pdf">90 percent of India's workforce</a> is in the informal sector - lacking social insurance and often earning a low daily wage. India also has around <a href="https://www.indiaspend.com/1-77mn-indians-are-homeless-40-of-them-are-getting-no-lockdown-relief/">1.77 million homeless people</a>, who have no homes to lock themselves into."People needed to get out of their homes and get on with the business of earning their daily bread. A large majority of the Indian population are poor and depend on daily wages," Routray tells Insider."Any intermixing of infected population with the rest of the population would hasten herd immunity. And looking at the numbers I would say we are very close to herd immunity."Dasgupta says people are asking "if the situation is real" - whether India genuinely is approaching herd immunity. "I would say it is reasonably real. <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/1-out-of-4-in-t-has-had-covid-reveals-nins-3rd-sero-survey/articleshow/80777381.cms">The sero surveys</a> have thrown up evidence of pretty high levels of exposure to infection," he adds, referring to blood testing to estimate the extent of exposure.The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)'s latest sero survey showed 21.5% of Indians have been <a href="https://twitter.com/COVIDNewsByMIB/status/1357284699702390786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1357284699702390786%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-asia-india-559453825382">exposed to the virus</a>. While a sero survey in Delhi - <a href="https://www.mygov.in/covid-19">which has so far recorded 636,000 cases and 10,886 deaths</a> - showed more than 56% of people there had <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/delhis-5th-sero-survey-over-56-people-have-antibodies-against-covid19-101612264534349.html">developed antibodies against the virus</a>. Calcutta -- which has more than 14 million in its wider metropolitan region - has so far recorded 571,000 cases and 10,220 deaths. Last June, much earlier in the pandemic, the ICMR had said <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/kolkata-people-covid19-antibodies-icmr-sero-survey-1694917-2020-06-28">14% </a>of people in Calcutta had developed antibodies, while a private laboratory in September put the figure at <a href="https://www.thestatesman.com/cities/kolkata/kolkata-one-four-people-covid-antibodies-1502922912.html">50%.</a>Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doctor-nhs-covid-safety-social-distancing-hospital-protocol-lockdown-2021-2">I'm a NHS doctor and I've seen firsthand how devastating COVID is. Everyone needs have give up some freedoms to make it through the final stretch of the pandemic.</a>Dasgupta adds the coronavirus is not a new virus in the region. India was hit by the 2002-3 outbreak of SARS, which is <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/sars-2002-03-india-coronavirus-outbreak-1683404-2020-05-29">a variant of the coronavirus</a>. The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) hit in 2015. Studies have also detected the presence of <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12098-018-2840-8">Human Coronavirus 229E</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12098-018-2840-8">Human Coronavirus HKU1</a> among Indian children."COVID-19 is a new disease but the coronavirus is a very common virus in Asia and South Asia which means the pool of susceptible people was not as large as it was initially assumed," Dasgupta adds.Dasgupta agrees India is nearly at herd immunity, adding: "It's unlikely that there will be another huge wave." But he warns that there may yet be surges in rural areas, which so far have been less affected than cites."The game changer at this point would be to get more and more people vaccinated against the virus," he adds. "To convince and communicate to the people constantly that the threat is still alive."

Experts feared India's farming protests would be COVID superspreader events. Poverty, misinformation and a younger population may explain why cases plummeted instead.

<ul><li>Ad &amp; Media Insider’s latest property Storyline, brought to you in association with <keyword id="1959531" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wattpad" source="Orion">Wattpad</keyword>, one of the world’s most loved <keyword id="282281" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="storytelling" source="Orion">storytelling</keyword> platforms, endeavors to decode what storytelling stands for today.</li><li>Today, we bring you highlights from our fourth and fifth episodes where we discuss the changing role of <keyword id="35666" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="advertising" source="Orion">advertising</keyword> creatives, how brands are choosing to communicate with GenZs innovatively and what role a platform like Wattpad is playing in this innovation.</li><li>Watch <keyword id="3844857" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="harshad-rajadhyaksha" source="Orion">Harshad Rajadhyaksha</keyword> and <keyword id="3844858" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kainaz-karmakar" source="Orion">Kainaz Karmakar</keyword>, Chief Creative Officers, <keyword id="531122" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ogilvy-India" source="Orion">Ogilvy India</keyword> and <keyword id="3747310" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="devashish-sharma" source="Orion">Devashish Sharma</keyword>, Country Head, Wattpad India talk about the evolution of creativity and storytelling and how they are evolving as storytellers to tell successful stories in today's world.</li></ul>Episode 4: Harshad Rajadhyaksha and Kainaz Karmakar, Chief Creative Officers, Ogilvy India Most of us have loved the work coming out of Ogilvy India in the last few years and the creative powerhouse between most of that work is Harshad Rajadhyaksha and Kainaz Karmakar, the Chief Creative Officers at the agency. The duo, along with Sukesh Nayak, Ogilvy India’s third CCO, have been at the forefront of crafting inimitable stories that have won our hearts while creating an impact. Be it the recent recreation of Cadbury Dairy Milk’s famous Cricket stadium ad, or its work for Hindustan Unilever titled ‘The Shower’ which won a National Award, Ogilvy has time and again proven the impact good storytelling can have in brand building and in making a brand a part of a consumer’s lives. In the 4th episode of Ad &amp; Media Insider’s Storyline, brought to you in association with Wattpad, one of the world’s most loved storytelling platforms, we spoke to Karmakar and Rajadhyaksha to understand their creative process and their thoughts on the evolution of storytelling and what the future holds. The evolution of storytelling We have seen the <keyword id="6354839" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="marketing" source="Orion">marketing</keyword> landscape transform at a fairly rapid pace in the last 5 years. With more and more platforms cropping up, consumers are finding more places to express themselves, and brands are having to reach out to them at different touchpoints. What kind of impact has that had on the way Ogilvy has been telling stories? “Storytelling is as timeless as love or friendship, so I don't think it's going out of fashion anytime soon, or even later. But there has been a rapid transformation, especially in the last five years. I would not call it a change, rather, I feel there has been an expansion. Something fantastic has happened, media has become more open and liberalised and our first encounter with this happened back in 2015, when we did a campaign on zero budget to end open acid sale. We worked with like-minded people and with a real acid attack survivor. We shot the film. Had this been 20 years back, we would have had no place to show the film because media needed to be bought. It still needs to be bought but now there is also freedom to put out your own content. We put the film on YouTube and Facebook, promoted it ourselves, and the trajectory of the campaign has been astounding. It has won everything there is to be won, and we could achieve our goals with zero budgets and it was made possible largely by the changing nature of media,” said Karmakar. But does having a plethora of platforms pose the problem of plenty? Do creatives now have to think of communications suited for individual platforms? “Between Kainaz and I, we have spent around 20-25 years in advertising and we have ourselves evolved from the era of Print to Television. Then somewhere in the second decade, we started getting used to the concept of smartphones and multiple apps and hence multiple screens. But if your story is engaging with the relevant connect, the medium becomes secondary. Technology has put the spotlight on people who could all become storytellers, and brands saw people enjoying this content and slowly realized its power and thought of latching on to it. So, in terms of the number of mediums, I feel the more the merrier because today you just have a width and variety of storytelling,” explained Rajadhyaksha. From advertisers to product managers to solution finders With the evolution of media and advancement of technology, many brands are now also open to experimenting where, as a pat of a campaign, they have ended up creating a completely new product. In an attempt to encourage the habit of washing hands with soap among children in rural India, Ogilvy helped Savlon create special chalk sticks infused with soap. In another campaign to promote a similar habit, Ogilvy created a heat stamp to put on roti at the Maha Kumbh Mela for Lifebuoy. The brand’s message-on-a-roti ended up reaching over 5 million people. In both these campaigns, the idea led to the creation of a completely new product. Both these campaigns won awards and hearts. Is it challenging for agencies to then have clients come up to them and say they want to create a completely new product and take the business to a new trajectory? “It's not a stress at all. What I really love about the times that we work in is that our clients are super excited about doing work that is new and innovative. And that is something we should grab with both hands and make the most. I would be very worried if our clients weren't pushing us. The fact that they want different solutions, to use different media and support us, is a great sign. Recently, one of our teams has come up with a karaoke technique to help people with early Alzheimer's, in collaboration with MTV. So, the fact that clients are asking us to do such work and they are excited about it, is not a pressure but a thing of joy. The truth of the m after is we are actually becoming solution finders above and beyond just communicating a message. People are interacting, touching and feeling things beyond your client’s products, these are products made by you. They're actually getting to experience technologies that have been just ideas in your head and now we’re seeing them out there actually helping someone. It has also brought clients and agencies closer than before. It's a great time to be in the creative business,” said Karmakar. A message for marketers With the advent of Web 3.0 and us looking at a world where a metaverse might soon become a reality, things are changing at a rapid pace. What are a few things marketers should keep in mind to be able to navigate these highly dynamic times? “I feel no matter how much technology you have, or whatever new media comes in, the absence of a great idea means your money is not well spent. In fact, it's money wasted. So, first find yourself a partner who can give you a great idea, and then use your media, technology, etc, as partners to that. Do not work the other way around because everything starts with an idea and that is not going to change,” said Karmakar. Sharing his tip for marketers, hought, Rajadhyaksha added, “Completely well-meaning clients and brand custodians, at times, have brand guidelines about what the brand’s personality should be. But when it comes to exploring certain new-age things, treat your brand DNA and the personality of your brand like your family name, but treat the new media like the grandkids of the family. While they will bear your family name, allow them to be a little different, to take a few more risks. That's how I would encourage all clients to look at the newer mediums. You might be an 80-year-old legacy brand who advertises and talks in a certain way in your storytelling on TV. We aren’t saying become someone with a completely different personality on the newer mediums, but be a little adventurous and bolder and allow the younger kids in your organization and the agency to deviate a bit. Let them live their lives their way, as long as they still bear your family surname.” Watch the full episode here: <div type="twitter" handle="admediainsider" handlename="Advertising and Media Insider India" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1281482517443305472/8RPcjmow_normal.jpg" favoritecount="1" retweetcount="1" status="LIVE | Join Kainaz Karmarkar (@spalifekainaz) and Harshad Rajadhyaksha (@Harsh_Words), CCOs, @Ogilvy_India as they… https://t.co/63l7yYar9K" createdat="1645702223000" id="1496809730655748100"></div> Episode 5: Devashish Sharma, Country Head, Wattpad India The art of storytelling has changed and new-age mediums like Wattpad are at the heart of this change. To understand the role Wattpad has been playing in this evolution of storytelling, we caught up with Devashish Sharma, Country Head, Wattpad India, who told us how consumers are using the platform, how that is helping brands connect with an engaged set of audience and what the future of storytelling could look like. From one-way communications to interactivity The biggest way in which storytelling has transformed in today’s digital era is by opening it up to consumers. In the TV and Radio era, a brand would come up with a one-way communication, which has undergone a complete transformation now. Explaining this evolution, Sharma said, “About 15-20 years back, a lot of brand building was one-way messaging. Brands would create something and then push it down to millions of Indians, predominantly TV or billboard. However, in the Internet era where the target audience has become younger, the focus of brands have shifted to digital platforms. And recently, it is also about interactive content. Today, brands don't just want to push their messaging, they want the audiences to create their viewpoint about the messaging and have a discussion with the brand about it. In lieu, it creates more awareness in a very interesting and exciting manner.” Communicating with GenZ With the younger generation which is difficult to please and said to have reduced attention spans, brands now have the task of finding innovative ways of engaging with them. Explaining how Wattpad has been building its communication to engage with this audience Sharma said, “If I were to look at it from a Wattpad lens, we are a very democratic platform where anybody can write on a topic they love, and at the same time, consume stories on a specific niche topic that might interest them. However, what differentiates us is the fact that the experience you get on our platform is not just of reading a book, it is also about connecting with other readers, leading to social engagement. Beyond this, the stories that become really popular and are highly engaging are taken on by production houses and top studios to turn into movies, TV shows, web series or other forms of digital entertainment. As a platform, being at the epicenter of ideas directly coming in from Gen Z storytellers allow us to really capture the right stories which we amplify.” Why long-form content works While there has been a debate for a long time around decreasing attention spans, Wattpad has been able to make long-form content, and has held its audiences captive with engaging stories on its platform. So what is it that Wattpad has gotten right? “Personally, I feel that the idea that people have less attention span is a bit of a misnomer. It might be true in certain contexts, but given the right content in the right format, people definitely make time to consume it. If a certain content captures your interest group and the experience of consuming it is something that you really enjoy, people will definitely prefer long- form content because it adds meaning and gives you much more than just snacking on punchlines,” explained Sharma. There has also been an ongoing debate about whether the younger population reads at all. However, the fact that Wattpad has a community of about 94 million readers and writers on its platform proves that given the right content and right amount of social engagement, people will stay on the platform and consume content, added Sharma. “The entire social element really elevates the user experience because we are able to give our audiences the liberty of connecting with the creator of the content and also other readers who love the same content as you. This bonding evokes a strong emotional response which is something that brands really like because when they work with us, they know that the content they're getting already has a built-in audience that did not just skim through it but actually interacted with it. So, the secret sauce is to have a platform that enriches the experience of consuming content and provides more democracy in terms of capturing diverse voices.” How brands are using Wattpad Today, more and more brands are open to experimenting with mediums and formats that is giving them highly innovative ways of engaging with their target audiences. So how has a platform like Wattpad helped brands create engaging stories and build enduring relationships with their audiences? “At Wattpad, our focus is on figuring out how our community can bring value to brands in the form of stories. And that's the real value that brands get. So, when brands have a brief, they come to us, we work with them to figure out how to engage the community from day one, where we invite all our users on the platform to write their version of stories on the messaging that the brand wants to create awareness on. So, instead one story, you get maybe thousands of stories from all over the world from your target audience that really connects with your brand messaging. Once the stories come, we pick the top stories and promote them for more readership because we realize that readers around the world who may not have written content still want to connect with the brand on the messaging that other users on Wattpad have written. And since we also have a studios division, we are able to adapt these stories into video and other formats that can traverse the messaging of the brand beyond Wattpad into more video-focused channels,” he explained. Earlier this year, Wattpad worked with Maybelline on a campaign for raising awareness on the impact the pandemic had on the mental health of Gen Zs around the world under the hashtag Brave Together. Wattpad invited everybody to write a short story or a personal experience around the topic and for every story that came in, the platform partnered with an NGO to donate a certain amount to raise awareness around mental health. “A campaign like this made the community feel that the brand cares about its voice and is not pushing its messaging on them. Secondly, the involvement of the nonprofit increased the connection with the brand, making the entire initiative more genuine. And this sort of brand positioning really benefits the brand in the long-term because they are able to create fans instead of just consumers,” he shared. So are there a few factors that can help brands success on Wattpad? Sharma said, “The key to being successful as a brand on Wattpad is to support a messaging for your brand that Gen Z users really care about. And secondly, be open to their interpretation of the message that you want to create awareness on. For example, we did a campaign with Puma in India where they launched a clothing and shoe line with Mary Kom and the hashtag was Born to Provoke. I really liked the way they used Wattpad. They invited our community members in India to write a story, a personal experience, a song or poetry to celebrate women breaking barriers. We got stories from different parts of the country that spoke about women from different age groups and backgrounds breaking societal norms. This was a very successful campaign and I think I use it as a benchmark because the brand here took a backseat, letting its target audience do all the work, whether its creation or consumption of the content. And a lot of users, on finding a story or song that they resonated with, shared it on their social network. So, the voice of the whole campaign went beyond just Wattpad.” With a community of more than 94 million people on its platform from across the world, Wattpad is witnessing an increasingly growing community of highly engaged audiences, opening up opportunities for brands to drive their brand messaging to a highly targeted audience. Watch the full episode here: <div type="twitter" handle="admediainsider" handlename="Advertising and Media Insider India" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1281482517443305472/8RPcjmow_normal.jpg" favoritecount="4" retweetcount="2" status="LIVE | Join Devashish Sharma (@devunofficial), Country Head, Wattpad in conversation with Ashwin Raghunath as they… https://t.co/zqsgEg6zo0" createdat="1646047811000" id="1498259230859542530"></div>

Storyline: Decoding the art of storytelling in today's highly dynamic world

The 2015 edition of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=united+nations">United Nations</a> <keyword id="6361617" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Climate-Change">Climate Change</keyword> Conference (COP 21) is scheduled to be held in Paris, France. The conference which starts on 30th November, becomes all the more significant considering the objective is to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, from all nations of the world. 
 The importance of this conference is not lost on <keyword id="1941434" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Yeb-Sano">Yeb Sano</keyword>, who is walking from his hometown to Paris to attend the conference. 
 Sano, the <keyword id="3750" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Philippines">Philippines</keyword> <keyword id="297497" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="climate-commissioner">Climate Commissioner</keyword> made headlines in 2013 during the Warsaw Climate meeting when he was moved to tears due to the lethargy in the negotiating hall. 
 
His breakdown came at the heels of his country experiencing the horrors of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-What-Typhoon-Haiyan-Means-For-The-Philippine-Economy/articleshow/25687732.cms">Typhoon Haiyan</a>, which had left a trail of devastation across his hometown Tacloban, and had affected everyone he knew. He himself wasn’t aware if his family was still alive. 
 
As a demonstration of his personal anguish, he fasted until the end of that meeting, triggering a worldwide movement #FastForTheClimate, inspiring thousands to follow his example. 
 
Sano started his journey from Philippines to Paris in May as a part of the 'People's Pilgrimage'. He travelled to Australia, and to hurricane-ravaged Vanuatu in the Pacific, meeting and walking in pilgrimage with holy men and women, all determined to remind us to do all we can to protect this precious planet. 
 
His pilgrimage also brought him to India last month due to the efforts of the Clean Kumbh Initiative by the Bhumi Project. While here, he visited the survivors of Cyclone HudHud, met holy leaders in Varanasi and Kumbh and also made his way to one of India’s flagship solar farms. 
 
At Nashik, he offered prayers along millions of worshippers, interacted with religious heads, addressed the media, all with the aim of raising awareness for climate change and quick action in the near future 
 
Sano’s two-week stay in India also saw him making mini-pilgrimages to various locations while meeting religious and environmental leaders who’re doing their bit to ensure issues regarding climate change are addressed. 
 
This month, he is set to participate in a bicycle pilgrimage in Africa, continue his pilgrimage in North America and then depart from the Vatican City on 30 September to walk through Italy, Switzerland and France to Paris with a group of 26 fellow pilgrims, arriving just in time for the first day of the UN conference. 
 
Sano is of the belief that as we, humans are the ones who were behind the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Climatechange-World-looks-at-India-but-wheres-India-looking/articleshow/47082272.cms">climate change</a>, hence we should also be the very ones solving the crisis. 
 
To know more about his pilgrimage log on to www.peoplespilgrimage.org 
 
Image credit: @YebSano

The People's Pilgrimage: Meet the man who’s walking
from Philippines to Paris

India's largest software services company <keyword id="6357585" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tata-Consultancy-Services">Tata Consultancy Services</keyword> (<keyword id="6357150" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="TCS">TCS</keyword>) will now solve social problems in local communities via an open innovation centre that it has opened in Nashik, Maharashtra. 
 
At the centre, TCS will look for ways to reduce the number of school dropouts, improve soil and water health, and ease parking woes in the city, among other social problems of the locality. The innovative solutions to these problems can be offered by students, early-stage start-ups and even individual entrepreneurs. 
 
TCS had also launched the physical and online initiative Digital Impact Square (DIS) on March 1, and as of now, 40 innovators are working on 11 projects under DIS. 
 
Hasit Kaji, who heads special initiatives at TCS, told ET that the number of innovators working under different projects would go up to 100 by June. "We have selected seven social themes based on interactions with local community and administration and crafted a set of challenges," he added. 
 
These seven themes are: health and hygiene, food and agriculture, citizen empowerment and transparency, transport and housing, education and skills, energy, water and environment, and financial and personal security. 
 
It was during TCS’s involvement in Kumbhathon, a project that was aimed at ensuring an incident-free Kumbh Mela in Nashik in August 2015, that the officials thought of DIS. 
 
"Most companies have innovation centres within the boundaries of the organisation or in partnership with academic institutes or other organisations but we wanted to create an open innovation platform, which is why we set up the DIS in the heart of Nashik," said Kaji. 
 
For the projects, the first cycle will run for six months, after which the successful prototypes will get another six months to mature their solution. Within another year, the innovations will be deployed to the first set of users within the city. 
 
<a href="http://www.tcs.com/about/corp_responsibility/corporate-social-responsibility/PublishingImages/GoIT-4.jpg">Image source</a>

TCS aims to solve social problems with its open innovation platform

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">AP Photo/Bernat ArmangueA Naga sadhu, or naked Hindu holy man, pauses inside a tent during Kumbh Mela, or Pitcher festival, at Trimbakeshwar, India, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015.</div></div></div>Hello! Here's what you need to know for Friday.1. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/china-market-about-to-open-2015-8">Chinese stocks opened sharply higher on Friday</a>, following Thursday's rally after days of major losses. 2. Up to <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/migrants-found-dead-in-a-truck-in-austria-2015-8">50 migrants were found dead in a truck in Austria</a> on Thursday as European leaders were meeting in Vienna to discuss the deepening migrant crisis.3. Hundreds of people are feared dead after <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34082304">two boats carrying up to 500 migrants capsized off the Libyan city of Zuwara</a>. More than 2,300 migrants and refugees have died so far this year in attempts to reach Europe by boat, according to the UN.4. The <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/savannah-state-university-is-on-lockdown-after-a-shooting-on-campus-2015-8">campus of Savannah State University in Georgia was placed on security lockdown</a> after a reported shooting on Thursday night.5. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/moodys-chops-global-growth-expectations-2015-8">Moody's downgraded its global economic growth forecast for 2016 to 2.8% from 3.1%</a>, partially due to the slowdown in China.6. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/sudan-peace-agreement-2015-8">South Sudanese president Salva Kiir finally signed a peace agreement</a><a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/sudan-peace-agreement-2015-8"> that will formally end nearly two years of civil war</a> in the world's youngest nation, though warned that he has some reservations.7. Tens of thousands of Guatemalans staged marches on Thursday to demand the resignation of President Otto Perez, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-thousands-march-in-guatemala-to-pressure-president-to-resign-2015-8">who refuses to quit amid accusations that he was involved in a lucrative customs racket</a>.8. Facebook <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/27/facebook-milestone-1-billion-people-used-it-in-a-day.html">announced it had one billion users on its site on Monday</a>, a single-day record. 9. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-obama-marks-rebirth-of-new-orleans-10-years-after-katrina-2015-8">US President Barack Obama visited New Orleans on Thursday</a> to mark the rebirth of the city, 10 years after it was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.10. Usain Bolt won the 200 meters at the 2015 World Championships - <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/usain-bolt-wins-200-meters-in-dominant-race-video-2015-8">even while taking it easy on the last 5 meters</a>.And finally ...<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/new-instagram-update-introduces-portrait-and-landscape-mode-2015-8">Instagram will now allow users to post in landscape and portrait formats. Rejoice!</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/1998-mclaren-f1-auction-15-million-dollars-2015-6">This 1998 supercar could auction for $15 million</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Rsc3hodTqM0OE0pn7eL8MJ-yolA-SZHN" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

The 10 most important things in the world right now

In the last few days, TV channels and newspaper headlines have been screaming out not-so-pleasant headlines of IS men arrests, murders, suspicious activities, intelligence warnings of threat and tightened security across several cities. All of this is not without a reason. In fact, it would be correct to say that India is reeling under greater terror threat than any time in the past as R-Day approaches. Flurry of intelligence reports have been warning us of possible <keyword id="6406102" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Terror-attacks">terror attacks</keyword> in the country for the past few days. Two men on the radar are Mr Modi and Mr Francois Hollande, the Chief Guest of our R-Day celebrations. Of course, India’s warming up to the French President in the aftermath of Paris attacks has not gone down very well with IS terrorists, who are now on the prowl waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 
 So, we are doubly under threats this time around– from Pak-based terrorists and <keyword id="174501" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ISIS">ISIS</keyword>. In the wake of nationwide alert to stay aware and safe, here’s why stepping out of your homes this <keyword id="6416557" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Republic-day">Republic Day</keyword> would not be a good idea at all: 
 
SEVERAL ISIS SYMPATHISERS ARRESTED 
 
Nearly twenty people with suspected Islamic State links were nabbed from across the country in just a single day on Friday. This was the biggest crackdown on ISIS sympathizers in India. Six men, including a chemical engineering dropout, detained by the National Investigation Agency in Karnataka is suspected to have links with the Islamic State. According to reports, the raids were carried out after Indian intelligence agencies received tip-off from the CIA. Cops recently arrested four more men in Uttarakhand last Wednesday on suspicion of planning an attack in Delhi. Security officials said the four had been under surveillance for several months after their online activities drew suspicion, including contacts with people in territory in Iraq and Syria controlled by the Islamic State group. Police said the men had also been planning strikes in Haridwar, where thousands of devotees are now gathered for the Ardh Kumbh festival. 
 
SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES 
 In Panaji, Goa Police have stepped up security in the state and were investigating a postcard received by the State Secretariat and warning to harm Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. In Mumbai, the police are yet to trace six mysterious paragliders who were seen near the city’s coast on January 13. Authorities said they have taken the incident seriously because of a 2010 intelligence report that the terrorist group <keyword id="53557" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lashkar-e-Taiba">Lashkar-e-Taiba</keyword> had procured 50 paragliders from Europe and was conducting a training in Pakistan to launch an aerial attack. Authorities in Madhya Pradesh are on alert after a suspected terrorist named Syed Ahmed escaped from police custody by jumping off a running train on Wednesday night at Hoshangabad, about 70 km south east of Bhopal. 
 
ENEMY’S FRIEND IS ALSO AN ENEMY 
 French President Francois Hollande is the Chief Guest of the republic day celebrations at a time when France is engaged in an air-strike against ISIS following the <keyword id="2677655" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paris-terror-attacks">Paris terror attacks</keyword>. Extra paramilitary forces were deployed in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, where the French consulate received a letter warning against its president’s presence at India’s Republic Day celebrations. Police are investigating the source of the letter which said Francoise Hollande should cancel his trip to India beginning Sunday. Bangalore’s additional commissioner of police, Chengal Reddy, told reporters that the letter--written in poor English and mentioning al Qaeda--has still not been ruled out as a hoax. 
 
CARJACKING FOR TERROR PURPOSES 
 
Delhi Police on Friday issued an alert after the driver of a taxi hired by three unidentified persons from Pathankot was found dead in Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, in the aftermath of the airbase attack. The taxi driver, identified as Vijay Kumar, a resident of Gaggal village in Kangra district, was found dead on Wednesday at the Kalta bridge in Kangra and his taxi missing, police said. In a similar incident, on Tuesday night an SUV belonging to a top ITBP official had gone missing from his residence in Noida. These activities are suspected to have been done by terror outfits like ISIS who are notorious for car-bomb attacks in Iraq and Syria could use them as potential weapons to target to carry out blasts in crowded places. 
 
POSSIBILITY OF LONE WOLF ATTACK 
 
Mohammad Sirazudin, an executive of the Indian Oil Corporation, who was arrested in Jaipur in December 2015 for allegedly spreading ISIS activities online and trying to recruit Indian youths in the Middle-East terrorist group, was allegedly on the verge of turning into a ‘lone wolf’. With increased activities of ISIS supporters online, the government has taken the threat of this dreaded terror group seriously and asked states to remain alert against the possibility of ‘lone wolf attack’ in the country. The threat of ISIS was discussed threadbare at a meeting of top officials of central intelligence and investigative agencies and police of 13 states on Saturday which was chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

You Searched For "Kumbh 2015" and got 9 results

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