As of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, here are some of the top digital marketing trends that are expected to continue and evolve in 2023:

1. Personalization: Personalized marketing is becoming increasingly important. Tailoring content, offers, and experiences to individual customers based on their preferences, behavior, and demographics can significantly improve engagement and conversions.
2. Video Marketing: Video content continues to dominate digital marketing. The popularity of platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels highlights the importance of incorporating video into marketing strategies. Live videos, interactive videos, and short-form videos are expected to gain further traction.
3. Voice Search Optimization: With the rise of voice assistants and smart speakers, optimizing content for voice search is crucial. Marketers need to understand how people use voice commands and adapt their SEO strategies accordingly to capture voice-based search queries.
4. Influencer Marketing: Influencer marketing is projected to continue its growth. Brands are leveraging the influence and reach of social media influencers to promote their products and services. Micro-influencers, who have smaller but highly engaged audiences, are also gaining popularity.
5. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): AI and ML technologies are revolutionizing digital marketing. These technologies enable marketers to automate tasks, analyze vast amounts of data, deliver personalized experiences, and optimize campaigns for better results.
6. User-Generated Content (UGC): UGC has a significant impact on consumer purchasing decisions. Encouraging customers to create and share content related to a brand or product can foster authenticity, build trust, and increase engagement.
7. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): AR and VR technologies are becoming more accessible and immersive. Brands are utilizing AR and VR to create interactive experiences, allowing customers to visualize products, try virtual samples, and enhance engagement.
8. Chatbots and AI-Powered Customer Service: Chatbots are being used to deliver instant customer support and assistance. AI-powered chatbots can handle routine inquiries, provide personalized recommendations, and enhance the overall customer service experience.
9. Privacy and Data Protection: With increasing concerns about data privacy, marketers need to ensure compliance with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and prioritize transparent data practices. Building trust by safeguarding customer data is crucial.
10. Social Commerce: Social media platforms are increasingly integrating e-commerce functionalities, allowing users to discover and purchase products directly within the social media environment. Brands are leveraging social commerce to streamline the purchasing process and drive sales.

It’s important to note that digital marketing trends are constantly evolving, and new trends may emerge as technology and consumer behavior continue to change. Stay updated with the latest industry news and adapt your marketing strategies accordingly to stay ahead in the digital landscape.

boAt is often regarded as India’s fastest growing audio & wearables brand. The company has become really popular in the last few years and gained further recognition when one of its co-founders, Aman Gupta, appeared as a “shark” in Sony TV’s smash hit show “Shark Tank India”. Reports suggest that the sales of boAt headphones have gone further up a notch, courtesy of the investment-raising show that had rocked the TRP charts and social media trends in early 2022.

I this post, we will ‘dive’ into boAt and take a detailed look at the company and its marketing strategies through a thorough case study.

A Brief History of boAt

boAt began its journey in the year 2016 when co-founders Aman Gupta and Sameer Mehta decided to offer fashionable audio products at a price never seen or heard before. The two co-founders started out with a capital of INR 30 crore. BoAt wanted to create value for the users so they started looking to solve common problems reported by the youth. It was the time when Apple users were suffering because of their charger getting damaged without any apparent reason. So they decided to make Apple charger that could withstand wear and tear for long, and they were quite successful at that.

Later, the company went on to add a number of quality products such as earbuds, headphones, smart watches, wireless speakers, etc to its product range. As of December 2020, boAt was already selling 14,000+ products in India every single day. BoAt’s both audio and wearable range offer top-notch quality whilst keeping the price affordable. Established audio electronics brands like JBL had to drop down their prices in order to stay relevant in the target industry.

boAt Funding

• Kanwaljit Singh of Fireside Ventures invested INR 60 crore in boAt in the year 2018
• Warburg Pincus, a New York-based private equity fund invested $100 million in boAt for a significant minority stake
• The company raised INR 50 crore from Qualcomm Ventures at a valuation of INR 2,200 crore

boAt Revenue and Marketing Performance

The company struggled in the first two years of its operation (2016-2018), mainly because of the lack of funding. However, once the company raised INR 6 crores from Fireside ventures, there was no looking back. According to filings with the Registrar of Companies, boAt’s FY2018 revenues grew by 4 times to INR 108 crore.

Fast forward FY-2019, boAt became the leading ear wear brand with a 27.3% market share. In FY 2020, the fashionable audio brand generated revenue of INR 500 crore. This was a staggering 108% increase from 239 crore in FY 2019.

When boAt started off, it was just available on popular E-commerce stores like Amazon and Flipkart. However, its products are now available in 5,000+ retail stores. boAt has reportedly served more than 20 million customers so far!

boAt Marketing Strategies

The company knows just too well the likes and dislikes of their target audience and the places they visit often- social media, Google, gym, etc. In a nutshell, boAt has targeted the youth of the nation very well as can be seen from the below mentioned marketing strategies:

1) Presenting itself as a lifestyle brand

boAt has never portrayed itself as a consumer electronics company. Rather, it has always taken immense pride in presenting itself as a lifestyle accessories brand. Doing so creates an image in the mind of the user that boAt products can be used at all places whether you are sweating in the gym, or commuting in a bus.

This intent of the company was also visible at the Lakme Fashion Week (2009) in Mumbai, where all the models sported only boAt products.

2) Digital Marketing

Over the years, the company has spent a lot of money on online marketing, as they have targeted the youth. BoAt has mainly run its campaigns on Google and social networking websites like Facebook and Instagram. Interestingly, all customers of boAt are referred to as ‘boAtheads’. The company has also appointed youth icons such as Kiara Advani to win the trust of the customers.

3) Expanding Range of Products

Some companies launch a product, gain success and then fizzle out as they fail to expand their catalo. Expanding your product range over the years is a good marketing strategy in itself and boAt has been exceptional at that. The company first made indestructible apple charging cables and chargers. Tasting success, they did not stop at that introduced ear phones, which was followed by wireless speakers and headphones. With this continuous, well-thought expansion, they were able to capture a large share of the market, owing to which its popularity grew by leaps and bounds.

4) The Perfect Targeting

boAt products offer affordability without cutting down on style. This was not a common thing 7 or so years ago, when the market had either premium brands or cheap ones that did not offer an X-factor. The blend of two was rare. BoAt addressed that gap with its products that attracted the youth. The brand ambassadors were also carefully chosen which had a great face value among the millennials, especially from industries such as Bollywood and Sports (Cricket). In terms of quality of the ear wear, the products could be worn without any fear of damaging them even while gymming or performing high-intensity exercise in the outdoors.

Conclusion

boAt has made a huge name for itself in the last 4 years. It’s reputation and popularity was bolstered after the appearance of one of its co-founders, Aman Gupta, on Shark Tank India season 1. On the marketing, pricing and styling front, the company has left no stone unturned in outsmarting the existing competition. The impact has been such that renowned brands like JBL had to cut down on its prices in order to stay relevant in the industry.

The future of the company looks quite promising, courtesy of a dedicated R&D team, millions in funding and the zeal to stay appealing to the youth. Notably, Aman Gupta’s present net worth is INR 10,500 crore.

Dream11 Case Study and Marketing Strategy – When Dream11 started its operations, little did anyone know what the future had in store for this fantasy gaming platform? Dream11 has more than 100 million users registered on its platform, up from a mere 2 million in 2016. There have been many driving factors behind this overwhelming success including, regular funding, partnership with cricketers for endorsements, top-notch marketing campaigns and the prize money involved.

In this post, we will take a detailed look at the success story of Dream11. Through a thorough Dream11 case study and marketing strategy, we will establish the factors that have led to its success in a relatively short span of time. Let us first take a look at its founders and their vision behind launching a fantasy gaming app in India.

The founders of Dream11

Dream11 is the brainchild of sports enthusiasts Harsh Jain and Bhavit Seth. While Harsh is an alumnus of the Columbia Business School and the University of Pennsylvania, Bhavit has completed his education from Bentley University and Harvard. The two are reportedly childhood friends and ardent sports fans.

The idea and vision behind Dream11

Co-founder Harsh is a huge fan of fantasy sports. According to an article in YourStory, Harsh has been playing English Premier League (EPL) Fantasy Football since 2001. When the IPL was launched in 2008, Harsh started to look for a fantasy platform for cricket. However, he was astonished to see that there was not even a single Cricket fantasy gaming platform at the time. As a fantasy lover, he was shocked to see this, considering the fact that Cricket is such a popular game in India.

This situation presented him with the idea of launching his own cricket fantasy app. He asked his friends to join him up in this effort and so came along his childhood friend, Bhavit. The duo co-founded Dream11 in 2009. But it wasn’t until 2012 that the app gained some recognition when it began offering freemium single-match contests to its users.

Dream11 Problems and Challenges Faced

Here are a few challenges faced by Dream11 over the last 12 years:

1) Bypassing the potential legal hurdle

Anything that comes even remotely near to gambling is usually made illegal in India. Dream11 too had to surpass this infamous tag of a “gambling app”. First, the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a petition against it calling it a “game of skill”, which was followed by the Supreme Court’s approval.

The removal of any legal hurdles meant that more fantasy platforms could enter the market. As a result, the Indian fantasy gaming industry now has more than 70 players! The surge in the number of players has been possible because of India’s first and only sports gaming self-regulatory body, the Indian Federation of Sports and Gaming (IFSG), which came into force in the year 2017.

2) Removal from Play Store

Google has very stringent policies about the apps that can be uploaded on its app better known by the name ‘Play Store’. In its days of infancy, “Dream11 Free” did not offer any paid contest. However, as soon as the app added paid contests, Google had to remove it as its Play Store policies do not allow such apps on its platform.

3) Convincing people that it’s a game of skill – not gambling!

It takes a broad mindset to see the differences between fantasy gaming and betting. In the initial days, without any brand ambassadors and funding, it was an uphill task for the company to market its product as a game of ‘skill.’ However, after the landmark ruling of Punjab and Haryana high court and the Supreme Court to allow the operations of the fantasy app, there has been a huge growth in the number of users and the platform has gained credibility too. Dream11 has now become a household name!

4) Outsmarting the emerging competition

Many fantasy gaming apps have emerged since 2019. But, none of them have been able to reach the benchmark set by Dream11. None of the apps is as fast, robust and intuitive as Dream11. The customer support offered through its app and social media is top-notch.

Dream11 Contest format

Only team sports such as Cricket, Football, Basketball, Volleyball, etc. are listed on Dream11. The platform doesn’t yet offer singles games such as Tennis, Table-Tennis, Badminton, etc.

Users of the app can enter free or paid contests. There’s a paid contest to suit every player’s budget and winnings expectations. Upon the completion of a paid contests, the prize money is distributed among the players “in the winning zone” as per the distribution mentioned across each contest before the match starts.

Users can make a number of “fantasy teams” comprising players from both sides. Each player is awarded certain points by the end of the match, based on certain performance metrics such as ‘runs scored’, ‘wickets taken’, ‘goals and assists”, ‘baskets scored’, etc. There are negative points as well for poor performances. Once all the points have been assigned, users can check their final rank in the leaderboard. There are “mega contests” as well, the winners of which can win lakhs and crores of cash prize, though mega contests have come under the scrutiny of a lot of users who think that many players in the mega contests are ‘bots’ and not actual human beings.

Furthermore, those who just want to test the waters, can enroll in ‘practice contests’ and learn how the whole process works. There is no prize money involved in the practice contests though.

Dream11 Revenue Model

Dream11 doesn’t generate revenue through ad networks such as Google Adsense. It generates its revenue from the joining fee of the contests that each user has to pay in order to participate in a paid public/private contest. Dream11 takes 15-25% of the total pool and this is the only way through which it generates its revenue.

Dream11 reported a net profit of INR 181 crore in FY2020. This feat helped it become one of the few Indian consumer-tech unicorns to have turned profitable. Notably, the company had recorded a loss of INR 87 crore in FY2019.

Dream 11 Funding

Dream 11 has raised funds through multiple rounds of funding since 2014. Come 2018, Sporta Technologies, the parent firm of Dream11 has been raising huge sums of money. For instance:

• September 2018 – Dream 11 raised $100 million from Tencent holdings
• April 2020 – Raised $60 million from Steadview Capital
• September 2021 – Raised $225 million in private equity round comprising Tiger Global Management, Chrys Capital, Footpath Ventures, and TPG.
• March 2021 – Raised $400 million in the Secondary Market consisting of investors – Falcon Edge Capital, D1 Capital Partners and TCV.

Dream11 Marketing Strategies

Dream11 spends the majority of its advertising budget on TV ads and digital marketing, especially social media advertisements. Here are a few notable marketing tactics that the company has used in recent times:

• Dream11 hired Khaby Lame as their new advertisement partner for the second leg of IPL, who is very popular on social media for his tik-tok videos. According to a report in a leading daily, Khaby Lame received INR 2 crore as part of the deal.
• The fantasy gaming platform became the official partner of IPL 2020 when Vivo pulled out for a year. Reportedly, Dream11 spent $2.2 billion to beat its competitors and finalize this deal.
• India’s #1 fantasy gaming app became the title sponsor of the domestic T20 tournament of New Zealand that goes by the name “Super Smash”, in 2019. The New Zealand Cricket Board has extended this relationship till 2026.
• The partnerships of Dream11 are not just limited to Cricket. In 2018, for instance, Dream 11 signed partnerships with the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), the World Basketball League (WBBL), the International Hockey Federation (FIH), and the British Basketball League (BBL).
• In 2017 too, Dream11 became the official sponsors of many major sports leagues – the most notable ones being Hero Caribbean Premier League and Hero Indian Super League, NBA.

Dream11 Awards & Achievements

• Dream 11 holds a Guinness World Record! The company achieved the incredible feat of the “largest online fantasy cricket match” during the 2019 IPL final between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK). As many as 1,03,17,928 teams were created by dream11 users for the competition. This was the first-ever Guinness World Record created in the online fantasy sports category.
• Dream11 was listed among the top 10 biggest and most popular trends of 2018, as per a Google report.
• The brand was among the top 42 innovative startups as per Inc42’s 42Next list
• Dream 11 clinched the 9^th rank among India’s great Mid-Size workplaces, in 2018.
• It was honoured with the prestigious Red Herring Global 100 Award in 2013. The Red Herring Awards highlight the most exciting startups from Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Dream11 Interesting Facts & Stats

The journey of Dream11 has been quite fascinating. Let’s take a look at some of the interesting facts and stats about the #1 fantasy gaming app:

• The fantasy platform has nearly 100 million verified users
• The company claims to have grown at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 230% from 2018-2021
• Became a proud member of the Indian Unicorn club – the companies that reach the $1 billion valuation mark – in 2019
• Although the fantasy gaming platform took 3 years to reach the 1 million users mark, it took only 2 months to add 2 million more users.

Dream11 Top Competitors

Although Dream11 has the highest user base of all fantasy platforms, there are some emerging players that are providing decent competition to the former. Let’s take a look at the top competitors of Dream11:

• MPL
• MyTeam11
• My11Circle
• Paytm First Games
• Gamezy
• Howzat
• HallaPlay
• MyFab11
• BalleBaazi
• Fanfight
• FanMojo

Dream11 Brand Ambassadors

Dream11 has so far appointed many Indian Cricket players as its brand ambassador. You will usually see multiple brand ambassadors of the fantasy gaming brand, especially during the IPL. The following cricketers have been the face of Dream11 on and off:

• MS Dhoni
• Rohit Sharma
• Shikhar Dhawan
• Rishabh Pant
• Hardik Pandya
• Shreyas Iyer
• Jasprit Bumrah

It is interesting to see that Virat Kohli has never featured in any ad for Dream11. He endorses dream11’s rival Mobile Premier League (MPL).

Is it safe to play on Dream11?

This question often crosses the mind of beginners who install the app for the first time. Dream11 is a legal fantasy gaming app; so you shouldn’t worry about its safety anymore. Fantasy sports though can be addictive and users must exercise caution and not over-indulge.

Conclusion

The landscape of fantasy sports has drastically changed over the last decade. New apps are entering the picture at a very rapid pace. As a result, the fantasy gaming industry has already started to become saturated. Innovation, however, is needed to bring some freshness. For instance, a fantasy app could also introduce singles games to make itself more appealing to the fans of badminton, tennis, etc.

All present-day rivals of Dream11 use a similar point system and interface, which makes many users lose interest in the first go itself as most of them are searching for something fresh. Despite the emergence of powerful rivals, Dream11 has only grown and that too by leaps and bounds.

The future of Dream11 looks very promising considering how commercialized every sport is getting. We hope that you got some great information from this case study of Dream11!

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If you are a Bachelor of Commerce, you are probably aware that a B. Com degree alone isn’t usually enough to land a well-paying, promising job. Because of this harsh reality, many commerce graduates have to pursue a master’s degree. If you too have just completed B. Com or are worried about possible job prospects after acquiring any bachelor’s degree in commerce, this post is for you. Today, we are going to list the top 10 rewarding courses that B. Com graduates can consider pursuing.

Top 10 Rewarding Courses after B. Com

There are 2 reasons why a B. Com degree is not sufficient to live your dream life:

1) No practical exposure

Both B. Tech and B. Com are undergraduate courses, then how do people having only a B. Tech degree go on performing way better than individuals possessing a B. Com degree only? We are pretty sure that you must have pondered upon this question often.

This answer is quite straightforward – B. Tech graduates gain a lot of practical exposure through mandatory industrial training, projects and college workshops/labs. On the other hand, B. Com graduates have mere theoretical knowledge which doesn’t impress top recruiters who are always on the lookout of talent that can work under pressure and perform well in practical environment. Unfortunately, B. Com doesn’t provide the required practical exposure to students.

2) Low number of jobs

Millions of graduates pass out with a B. Com degree every year, but there are only a limited number of jobs that require the skills learned during the degree. Hence, all graduates must upgrade their skills either through a master’s degree, such as MBA, or through other relevant qualifications such as Chartered Accountancy.

Top 10 Rewarding Courses after B. Com

You can choose a course according to your passion or long-term goals. Still, here are a few top rewarding courses for B. Com graduates:

1) Chartered Accountancy (CA)

Many people aspire to become a Chartered Accountant but because of the difficulties involved, they often give up mid-way. However, we must remember that the tougher the battle, the sweeter are the rewards. Perseverance is the key.

You must clear three stages – CPT, IPCC and CA Finals – along with an internship in order to become a certified chartered accountant. It will take at least 3 years for you to become a chartered accountant. Once you achieve this qualification, you can either set up your own firm or work with reputed national and international accounting companies. Notably, the average annual salary of a chartered accountant in India is INR 7,90,662.

2) Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Most of the B. Com graduates pursue an MBA degree. However, the degree will prove valuable only when received from a well-reputed, notable university. As an MBA, you will learn to manage every aspect of a business for the specialization of your choosing.

There are as many as 9 national-level MBA entrance exams for which students can appear. They include:

• CAT
• CMAT
• MAT
• XAT
• NMAT
• SNAP
• ATMA
• GMAT

Besides these, there are also many state-level and university specific exams, where one may find lower competition. There is a decent demand of skilled MBAs at both national and international companies.

3) Digital Marketing

Another top rewarding course after B.com is digital marketing. B. Com graduates can enrol in any of the digital marketing courses; all you need to know is how to use basic Google search and social media. Modern-day companies spend a lot on their digital ad campaigns and social media (including YouTube). Post the coronavirus pandemic, almost all businesses have moved online, which implies that there are numerous well-paying roles in this relatively new field.

You can specialize in one or more of the following vertices of digital marketing:

• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads
• Social Media Marketing/Management
• E-commerce Marketing
• YouTube Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Affiliate Marketing

There has been huge growth in the field of digital marketing post the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, it is the only industry where the number of employment opportunities has increased ever since the coronavirus outbreak!

4) Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is an internationally recognized professional designation. The CFA course comprises many topics such as corporate finance, probability theory, economics, statistics, financial analysis, security analysis, fixed income, derivates, portfolio management, etc.

The CFA course takes 2.5 years to complete and the exam consists of 3 tiers. As a CFA, you may find a place with dream companies such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Royal Bank of Canada, UBS, BlackRock, etc. The remuneration too is quite overwhelming at INR 6.6 lakh per annum.

5) Company Secretary (CS)

In case you aren’t aware, a company secretary is in charge of all the legal aspects of an organization. They are the ones tasked with taking care of an organization’s tax returns, keeping records of all paid taxes, providing suggestions to the board of directors, and ensuring that the organizations continue to meet all legal and statutory regulations.

Now you must be wondering, what degree or course you are required to complete in order to become a company secretary. Well, if you aspire to be a CS, you must study corporate law, which is a 3-year long degree. It consists of 3 stages, namely Foundation, Intermediate and Finals. You can earn anywhere between INR 4-10 lakh in this profession.

6) Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

This course is for those B. Com graduates who are looking to settle abroad. You are supposed to clear 2 stages of examination and gain a work experience of at least 2 years. Please note that CMA is a professional certification offered by the Institute of Management Accountants based in the United States. Financial management and management accounting are the two fields that the course focuses on.

The best part about being a CMA is that you can find a job in all companies – small, medium and large-scale; public and private firms; educational institutions and not-for-profit organizations.

7) Business Accounting and Taxation (BAT)

Here’s a course that has been designed by industry experts to give you 100% practical experience so that you are industry-ready for all kinds of accounting roles. Since the course is designed to give you a complete industry exposure, you will master many accounting tools and software used by companies across the globe.

The BAT course modules comprise the following topics:

Financial reporting using ERP

• GST
• Direct Taxation
• Finalization of financial statements
• Excel and MIS reporting
• Payroll Components ESIC

Once you have completed this course, you can choose any role – finance manager, tax consultant, company law assistant, corporate legal assistant – according to your preference. As a BAT professional, you may earn anywhere from 3.5 – 4 lakh annually.

8) Financial Risk Manager (FRM)

The designation of Financial Risk Manager (FRM) is considered gold standard in the financial risk management industry. This certification – which is only 9 months long — is offered by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). Obtaining this certificate will ensure that you have practical in-depth understanding of risk management concepts in the present financial world.

In order to become an FRM-certified professional, you must complete both the parts of the exam, which are conducted in the months of May and November respectively. Your roles and responsibilities as a financial risk manager will include identifying and  

analyzing threats to the company’s earning capacity and assets. This is a highly lucrative job – a Financial Risk Manager may earn anywhere from INR 8-16 lakhs annually in India.

9) Certificate in Investment Banking (CIB)

Certificate in Investment Banking is another rewarding course that B. Com graduates can pursue. It takes no longer than 6 months and adds great value to your skill set. Upon the successful completion of the CIB course, you can choose from a plethora of fields, namely equity research, investment banking, private equity, hedge funds, private wealth management and asset management.

Investment Bankers in India enjoy good remuneration, considering the fact that their average annual salary is INR 9 lakhs.

10) Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

If you wish to become a financial consultant or an insurance consultant, this certification is a custom pick for you. However, you must meet these 4 criteria to earn this certification:

• Education
• Performance in the CFP exam
• Relevant work experience
• Demonstrated professional ethics

Once you become a CFP after B. Com, you can set up your own company and help clients on matters like insurance decisions, investment plans, tax issues and financial advice. CFPs earn anywhere between 3.5 – 4 lakh/annum in India.

The Bottom Line

We hope that this blog post has given you some decent knowledge about the top rewarding courses and certifications that you can pursue after your B. Com. The first step, however, would be to identify your key interests. It is not wise to take up a course or certification only for the monetary benefits that it brings. B. Com alone usually doesn’t fetch an individual a well-paying job – this is indeed the harsh reality. That is why a master’s degree or an additional certification is always needed.

Of all the above-mentioned courses, one course that you must consider in today’s scenario is digital marketing. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed all businesses to the online platform. No company, whether small or large, would now run the risk of operating only offline. This shift in landscape has opened up millions of job opportunities for the youth, which are only going to increase with time. A digital

marketing course doesn’t cost much and adds real value to your CV!