Info Edge’s Group CMO on staying relevant in a FOMO-driven world

Info Edge India, a consumer internet company and the parent company of brands including Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com, and 99acres, has been consistently leveraging content-driven marketing to create engaging campaigns. By integrating humour, cultural trends, and relatable themes, the company has captured audience attention across its portfolio of brands.

Naukri.com, a job searching platform, recently capitalised on the buzz surrounding the Coldplay concert. With witty billboards referencing the spike in ‘sick leaves’ taken by employees, the campaign seamlessly blended workplace humour with pop culture.

Similarly, Jeevansathi.com, a matrimony platform by Info Edge, has taken an unconventional approach to matchmaking promotions. Whether through Delhi Metro jingles encouraging millennials to embrace marriage or activations like distributing water bottles exclusively to singles at the Diljit Dosanjh concert in October 2024, the brand has resonated with a generation navigating the balance between tradition and modernity.

Sumeet Singh, group chief marketing officer, Info Edge India, shares that when it comes to content marketing, each brand under the group operates in a unique vertical. According to her, Naukri.com, 99acres, and Shiksha are market leaders, so the goal is to expand the market.

Jeevansathi, on the other hand, is a challenger brand, meaning the brand’s strategy focusses on gaining market share from the leader. These differences shape its content marketing approach while ensuring relevance to each target audience.

The campaigns, as mentioned earlier, have a recurring theme—humour. Singh highlights that it has been part of the brand’s DNA since the early days of advertising, even when it primarily used television and display ads.

“While our brief has never explicitly been to create humorous content, our objective has always been effectiveness. We’ve found that humour works well for our brands because it makes the message more engaging and memorable."

Sumeet Singh, Info Edge India

As younger audiences consume content across multiple platforms, brands face the challenge of maintaining a consistent voice while adapting to diverse formats. Info Edge has embraced a flexible yet cohesive approach to marketing, ensuring that each brand retains its unique identity while catering to evolving media consumption habits.

“It’s important to clarify that Info Edge does not impose uniformity across brands. Each brand—Naukri.com, Jeevansathi, 99acres—has its own distinct messaging and strategy,” says Singh.

The brand’s focus is on ensuring consistency within each brand. That being said, the marketing mix varies. While digital is the dominant medium today, it still uses television selectively.

"For example, with Jeevansathi, we target both those looking to get married and their parents. Since many parents still watch TV, we incorporate traditional media into our strategy."

Sumeet Singh, Info Edge India

With digital platforms becoming increasingly cluttered and attention spans shrinking, Info Edge tailors its campaigns to platform-specific formats. “To stay relevant, we work with influencers, create native content, and ensure our messaging is aligned with the audience’s preferences,” Singh adds.

She does not believe in force-fitting pop culture into its marketing strategies but “choosing only those that generate significant buzz.”

For instance, rather than opting for expensive sponsorships, Jeevansathi found a creative way to engage with audiences at Diljit Dosanjh’s concert by distributing water bottles exclusively to singles. “This was a simple yet highly effective activation because it resonated with the right audience and organically went viral on social media,” she notes.

As digital behaviour evolves, content marketing has become a cornerstone of Info Edge India’s brand strategy, with a significant share of its marketing budget allocated to storytelling-driven activations.

Singh says that in categories like matchmaking, where storytelling plays a huge role, content marketing is even more critical.

“Jeevansathi invests the most in content marketing, followed by Naukri.com, and then 99acres, which is a more serious category. In real estate, we work with high-profile figures like Rana Daggubati and Jackie Shroff, as the audience skews older,” she states.

While the company takes a proactive approach to marketing, it remains agile in responding to industry trends and shifts in consumer behaviour. “Our teams invest heavily in consumer insights and secondary data analysis. Being an internet company gives us access to vast amounts of data, allowing us to develop data-driven strategies,” Singh explains.

Looking ahead, Info Edge is actively exploring opportunities for major sporting events like the IPL, WPL, and Champions Trophy, though plans remain under discussion. The company also continues to embrace influencer-driven campaigns over traditional celebrity endorsements.

“Today, influencers are the new celebrities. We work with a diverse range of influencers rather than focussing solely on traditional celebrity endorsements."

Sumeet Singh, Info Edge India

As content consumption habits continue to evolve, Info Edge India is sharpening its focus on video-driven performance marketing to engage younger audiences. With Gen Z increasingly favouring short-form video content, the company is experimenting with even more concise formats to enhance engagement across its brands.

Singh says that video-driven performance marketing is a big focus for the brand, as Gen Z primarily consumes video content. “We are experimenting with shorter formats—20 to 30 seconds already feel long, so we are pushing for even more concise content,” she says.

Beyond shorter video formats, the company is also exploring emerging technologies to refine its performance marketing strategy. “We are constantly exploring new technologies and tools to improve our performance marketing. It’s an ongoing process, and we will continue innovating to stay ahead of the curve,” Singh says.