News:

Melt Update | 18 Aug | Microsoft Hires Manik Gupta to Lead New Consumer Apps Effort & MORE

Ritwika Gupta, August 18, 2021

Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt is now face of Samsung India.

At Kyoorius, we’re dealing with the coronavirus situation with the seriousness it deserves.
Therefore, we’re doing what can be done remotely while keeping our followers informed on all that is happening in the world of media, advertising and marketing.
Consequently, till things improve, Melt in a Minute will change a bit.
The format will change from all video to a text-based post. A little more difficult to consume, but it’s the best we can think of under the circumstances.
All of you, stay safe.
And stay informed with posts like this one.

Top News:

1. Microsoft Hires Manik Gupta to Lead New Consumer Apps Effort

Microsoft is hiring Manik Gupta, the former head of product at Uber, in a renewed effort to boost Microsoft’s consumer apps. Gupta will be responsible for Microsoft Teams consumer, Skype, and GroupMe, and he will report directly to Jeff Teper, Microsoft’s head of Microsoft 365 collaboration. As per The Verge, Microsoft has big ambitions for getting consumers into using Teams, and other opportunities to create communities or apps focused on consumers.


2. Pizza Hut Collaborates with Kwality Walls

Pizza Hut is collaborating with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) to add Kwality Wall’s ice cream and desserts to its dine-in as well as the delivery and takeaway menu. With this partnership, Pizza Hut becomes the first ever Pizza QSR chain to offer ice creams and desserts across its owned and aggregator platforms. As per afaqs, the brand expects to increase its taverage order value by approximately 10% for orders that have Kwality Wall’s Ice-cream & desserts.


3. Thinkstr Announces Expansion to Bengaluru

Gurgaon-based independent agency Thinkstr has announced its expansion to Bengaluru. The agency has also promoted Ravi Raghavendra to its National Creative Director. As noted by exchange4media, Raghavendra will be heading the Bengaluru office.


4. Alia Bhatt is Now Face of Samsung India

Samsung India has announced its partnership with actor Alia Bhatt for its premium Galaxy Z Series foldable smartphones. The actor is now part of Samsung Galaxy family and will be the face for their smartphone portfolio. Over the course of next few months, Bhatt will be involved in a campaign that entails digital and outdoor activations.

5. Slack Appoints Harsha Bennur as Head Marketing, India

Harsha Bennur, Head – Digital Marketing, India Public Sector, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has stepped down. As reported by exchange4media, he has now joined Slack as Head Marketing, India. In the past, he has been associated with organizations like IBM, Oracle, and Dell.