[TechSparks Grand Finale Speaker] Ramesh Srivats: Building brands in the digitized world by actions, not words

It takes you to be Ramesh Srivats to tweet like the above examples 24X7 across 365 days a year on politics, poems, sports, scams, and anything and everything of interest. Equally unique is his twitter bio, ‘An armchair thinker, excessive drinker, occasional writer who wants to be lighter.’ Just like his twitter account, Ramesh Srivats is also one of the most creative individuals you’ll come across.

Here's a brief account of the Ramesh's journey so far and what can you expect at TechSparks grand finale from the maestro.

The digital world celebrity

Voted by ‘GQ’ as its ‘Digital Man of the Year’ in 2012, Ramesh is not just someone who works in the digital space. He plays in it. He used to write a very popular political humor blog called ‘Let’s Put Da’ that won the Indibloggies for ‘Best New Blog’. But today, his 225,000 followers on Twitter and 50,000 subscribers on Facebook get a steady stream of comments on everything happening in India, ranging from groan-inducing PJs to profound pithy perspectives.

Introduction to the advertising world

Ramesh is an IIT-Madras and IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus with almost an impossible knack to be at the peak of creativity and humor all the time. He spent a good 15 years in the advertising industry in JWT and then Rediffusion. He handled a variety of brands, including Kingfisher, Standard Chartered, Pepsi, Kurkure and Airtel, before his last stint as Executive VP and Managing Partner of Rediffusion’s Delhi office.

TenTenTen, where creativity weds technology

In 2008, Ramesh came to the conclusion that the future lay in digital. He therefore remained in advertising by getting out of advertising agencies. In his own way, he had mentioned, “… a few years back, I realized that ad agencies, at least in India, not only have no clue about digital, but also show no signs of figuring it out in the near future. While, on the other hand, digital agencies didn’t seem to understand brands very well. I therefore saw an opportunity to create something.”

Banking on this opportunity, he first started a creative products company - Hungry & Foolish - and then moved on to founding TenTenTen. Ramesh had earlier spoken about the uniqueness of TenTenTen, “I don’t think any company has married creativity and technology the way we have. And I am convinced that in today’s world, brands are built by actions, not words. So, we have really good ideas, and it’s immense fun bringing those ideas to life. But the biggest motivation is our opinion that we’re doing something new and right.”

TenTeTen designs apps for brands that are fun, useful, social, and have the potential to become powerful brand assets. The company has created and manages the immensely successful official IPL Fantasy League.

From blog to social media, keeping the ‘armchair thinker’ alive

Ramesh feels that social media has changed the way we make friends, interact with friends, consume information and relate to the world. He says, “For me, social networks are not just ‘new media’. They are the new life.”

At the heart of his success in social media is complete irreverence to everything under the sun (expect Sachin Tendulkar), and an ability to see the funny side of every happening, be it happy, mundane or tragic.

Could there be a better person with such a perfect balance of understanding of branding and digital media? Well, good luck with your expedition to find one.

Till you do that, wisdom lies in taking the advice on ‘Branding in the age of digital clutter’ by the man himself at TechSparks 2014 Grand Finale on 18^th October at Leela Palace, Bangalore.

TechSparks is not just about innovation but also about interaction. Do you have questions in mind for our speakers? Here’s an opportunity for you. Let us know and we will ask them for you at the TechSparks Grand Finale 2014.

Don't hesitate, because he who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.

Come, hear Ramesh Srivats speak at India's biggest entrepreneurial summit - TechSparks' Grand Finale on October 17-18 at Bangalore.

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