IMPACT Top 30 Under 30 alumni address the Class of '23

Zooming in on Gen Zoomers

Shrenik Gandhi discussed why marketers should shift their focus on GenZ which is already moving the needle on social media and emerging trends and will soon dictate consumption patterns.

Shrenik Gandhi, Co-Founder & CEO of White Rivers Media threw light on GenZ which is on its way to making up 75% of the mass consumption audience in India. He shared an anecdote from the time he realised the stark difference between Gen-Z and the marketers who are planning to target them – when he was buying a piece of clothing at an event and asked for it in his size, the Gen-Z folks who were around him gave him a ‘look’. That was when he realised that this age group does not look for a 'size,' instead when they like something they buy it. This pushed him to think about the disconnect and distance between marketing communications and the target audience. "Gen-Z does not like to buy clothing with a size in mind as size doesn't define their style", he added.

He cited an example of what youngsters call ‘Finsta,’ which allows users to create a fake Instagram account to stalk other users, saying that these are some of the new and interesting things about this age group.

He also stated that traditional marketers would never think of these elements and encouraged the new lot of IMPACT Top 30 Under 30 to start nudging CMOs to think Gen-Z-first and take proactive initiatives to catch them young before they make up for 75% of mass consumption of audience by 2030.

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Advertising For Good

Mahesh Ambaliya enlightened the new batch of Top 30 Under 30 by sharing how responsibility is closely intertwined with the work

During his address at the event, Mahesh Ambaliya, Creative Director, VMLY&R stated "Advertising for good does not mean ideas that win big at Cannes". He further shared that solving real-life problems is a part of advertising for good.

Quoting a thought shared by Piyush Pandey, he said: "You cannot solve problems of India sitting in your air-conditioned room." Ambaliya then emphasized the practice of going to places and experiencing the concerns and problems of the people.

He spoke about the time he visited Myanmar and held a 3-month-old orphan who did not have any family or agency to take care of her. He stated that when you experience something like this, "The world shifts for you."

He concluded his thoughts by stating that the title of IMPACT Top 30 Under 30 makes the winners one of the top people in this industry in India. He urged the winners to make their company responsible for one initiative at least.

He stated, "Younger generations are focused on brands that focus on good, you have a responsibility now".

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Being a Young Entrepreneur in the Ad World

Chandni Shah shared the story of her journey through advertising and described being a young entrepreneur in the ad world

According to Chandni Shah, Founder & COO, FCB Kinnect, her journey in advertising started when she was 3 years old. She was a child actor in several of the ad films from that time and was mesmerized by the industry so much that she stepped into it, and ended up founding her own agency at the age of 22. As a young entrepreneur, she went through several ups and downs on the roller coaster ride of running her agency. She spoke of a time when things were up and running, and her entire content team quit on her.

But that didn't stop her from growing the agency further and she added, "Building a team has been the most gratifying part of my journey". Shah also shared that finding the right mentor is as important as building the right team.

She further emphasized having a strong vision as an entrepreneur in the ad world, "We had a strong vision even when we were a loss-making company, and by 2018 we thought we achieved all of it.... But then we landed at Cannes and realized that we're just getting started".

"Lastly, the most important thing is having grit, how you show up every day with energy and march towards success..." she said.

Bear-Hug The Cynic

PG Aditya deep-dives into the changing power equation in the business and shares the importance of networking and more

PG Aditya, Co-Founder, Talented urged all ad industry professionals to be better at networking. He stressed the fact that it is an integral part of the job, and added, "Pretend you're an extrovert... who loves networking, but do it".

Acknowledging the inhibitions that an aspiring professional might have; he shared an anecdote to encourage professionals to break the ice. He mentioned that once upon a time, he didn't know the do's and don'ts of networking, so he jumped the gun with one of the ad veterans present and shared a concern he was deeply moved by but later realized it was not the time or place for that.

But Aditya stated, "The industry doesn't judge you for networking mistakes, young people do, because veterans know how to take it easy and look past these mistakes".

He shares a tiny regret from 2016, the year when he was included in the IMPACT Top 30 Under 30 list. It was that he didn't initiate enough conversations to make connections. "Your batch essentially becomes your syllabus... and this industry thrives on frepocism... that is nepotism with friends. You end up doing a lot of work and business with your friends,” he said.