Latest news with #Acko
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
MS Dhoni joins Acko as investor and brand ambassador
In a partnership rooted in shared values and a common vision for the future, Mahendra Singh Dhoni - the Indian cricket icon, join forces with Acko , the fastest growing D2C insurer , as both an investor and brand ambassador . As part of this long-term partnership, Dhoni has made a strategic investment in Acko through his family office, Midas Deals. His move signals a strong belief in Acko's mission to build India's most loved insurance brand, one that reimagines insurance as simple, intuitive, and accessible for the urban modern Indian. Commenting on the association, MS Dhoni said, 'As an automobile enthusiast , I've often found insurance to be unnecessarily complicated.' 'Acko brings clarity where there was confusion. Their tech-first, customer-centric approach reflects the way new India wants to engage with insurance. I'm excited to support a brand that's focused on trust and transformation.' Welcoming Dhoni to the Acko family, Varun Dua , founder, Acko, said, 'Dhoni's association with Acko isn't just a brand collaboration but it is a meeting of mindsets. He mirrors the values that have shaped Acko's journey: customer-first thinking, simplicity, and bold innovation. Dhoni represents everything we stand for - trust, discipline, and the ability to stay calm while reinventing the game. His presence strengthens our resolve to rewrite the playbook for insurance in India. Together, we aim to make insurance simpler, more relatable, and truly loved by the people.'
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
MS Dhoni's family office invests in new-age insurer Acko
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Former Indian men's cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has made a strategic investment in direct-to-customer (D2C) insurance platform Acko through his family office, Midas Deals . The company did not divulge the financial details of the investment."Their tech-first, customer-centric approach reflects the way new India wants to engage with insurance. I'm excited to support a brand that's focused on trust and transformation," Dhoni said, on his investment in the in 2016, Acko has a customer base of 70 million, and processes more than two million insurance claims annually in the motor, health, and travel cricket star will also serve as Acko's brand ambassador, according to a statement from the company, on Go Digit , Acko's main competitor, counts cricketer Virat Kohli and his wife, actress Anushka Sharma, as investors and brand ambassadors.
Time of India
23-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
From First Click to Forever: How AI is Redefining Personalized Marketing
Marketers today are under constant pressure to not just reach their audiences but to create relationships that last. With consumer expectations evolving rapidly, the role of artificial intelligence in marketing has become more pivotal than ever. ETBrandEquity, in association with CleverTap , convened a dialogue under The Big Leap Collective, exploring how AI can help brands deliver seamless, personalized experiences from the first click to enduring loyalty. The day began with a keynote by Shivani Tiwari, Head of Growth and Digital Marketing, Ajio, who spotlighted the non-negotiable value of brand consistency . 'We are extremely rigid about brand consistency. What we show off-app must match exactly what the customer experiences on-app,' she stated, underscoring how consistency across all digital touchpoints fosters trust. Tiwari explained how this principle extends to every campaign component, from creative messaging to color palettes, across push notifications, WhatsApp, SMS, and RCS. 'If I'm calling the customer with a tennis-themed push during Wimbledon, they shouldn't land in a cricket stadium. Only then can we truly earn their trust and build a seamless brand journey,' she added, framing consistency as the foundation of credibility. The session transitioned into a panel discussion 'From First Click to Forever: The AI Advantage for Marketers.' The panel featured industry leaders including Deepak Lamba, Head of Marketing, CleverTap; Nitin Khanna, VP Marketing, Acko; Anand Thakur, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Reliance Retail; Jhoomer Sinha, AI Lead, CleverTap; and Rasika Prasant, Chief Marketing Officer, Tata Soulfull. Lamba emphasized that personalization is now a consumer expectation, not a differentiator. 'Imagine a customer walking into a store. He instantly gets recognized and enjoys a tailored experience. Online, without the right technology, that same customer sees generic, irrelevant content. That disconnect is what CleverTap aims to solve,' he said. He traced the evolution of personalization from 2015, when it was restricted to demographics and geography, to today's AI-driven precision. 'Our IntelliNode technology understands user behavior, context, and preferences across multiple channels, deciding what message to send, when, how, and where. That's the true AI advantage for marketers,' Lamba concluded, highlighting how millions of unique journeys can now be crafted for individual customers. Khanna underscored that brands must first assess their readiness before entrusting AI with strategic decisions. 'The magic of AI is only as good as the magician. The maturity of your people, your data, and your organization determines how effectively AI can work,' he noted. Drawing from Acko's experience, he stressed the value of owning complete customer data, free from intermediaries, to unlock AI's full potential. Thakur elaborated on how Reliance Retail adapts journeys based on customer signals. 'When we classify someone as a 'value customer,' we first show them products within a certain range but strategically introduce premium options. If they engage, we adjust their experience accordingly,' he said. Beyond traditional data, he emphasized the importance of geospatial and socioeconomic insights to refine personalization further. 'You can never say 'I know exactly who this customer is' because customers themselves keep changing,' Thakur added. 'Continuous experimentation and refinement are essential to delivering truly personalized experiences that resonate over time.' Sinha addressed the limitations of many AI-powered interactions. 'Many AI chatbots feel generic because they're trained on limited, low-quality data, leading to poor experiences,' she observed. At CleverTap, years of high-quality, real-world data collection have enabled their AI to 'learn and evolve like a well-nurtured one-year-old,' ensuring smarter and more meaningful interactions over time. Prasant reminded brands that staying relevant starts with meeting consumers where they are, especially in fast-digitizing spaces like offline categories. 'At Soulfull, every team member observes customer habits, app usage, and shopping behavior to identify audience cohorts. Using AI-driven personalization , we then target these segments across OTT, YouTube, and Instagram,' she explained, noting how this approach builds awareness and cultivates advocacy. The discussion concluded with the insight that data is the foundation for guiding customers from first click to lifelong engagement. By leveraging AI to interpret and act on this data, brands can deliver experiences that are not just personalized but truly memorable, ensuring relationships endure well beyond the initial interaction.
Time of India
18-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
ETBWS 2025: CMOs decode AI's role in marketing transformation
Marketing is undergoing a seismic transformation. Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping how brands connect with customers, predict behaviours, and deliver personalised experiences at scale. From content generation to predictive modelling , today's CMOs are using AI to accelerate decision-making, enhance customer journeys, and unlock real-time growth opportunities. At the 7th edition of the Brand World Summit, organised by ETBrandEquity, a panel of leading CMOs explored how AI and data are revolutionising not just marketing operations, but also customer engagement . The panel featured Ashish Mishra, CMO, Acko; Darshana Shah, CMO, Aditya Birla Capital; Sai Narayan, CMO, Policybazaar; and Krishna Kota, head of marketing – consumer business, DBS Bank India. While AI currently acts as an enabler, it is expected to become a key growth driver. Mishra noted that most current applications focus on AI's predictive capabilities, including customer segmentation and fraud detection. On generative AI , he said: 'It's easy to get carried away by the scale at which content can be generated. Internally, we are still vetting its use. I believe predictive and generative AI will eventually work in tandem, but for now, our emphasis is on predictive applications.' Shah said, 'When the omnichannel ecosystem first emerged, AI-powered bots gained traction. These systems, fuelled by vast datasets, enabled voice conversations, journey mapping, and drop-off detection. With martech platforms now leveraging data for highly personalised interactions, AI has shifted from being an enabler to a true growth driver in many areas of our business.' She added, 'There are challenges around built-in biases. For example, when prompting tools like Gemini to generate an image of an Indian woman of a certain age, the results often default to cultural stereotypes – a bindi , sindoor , or brown skin – irrespective of context. Even in categories like health wear or activewear, such biases persist. We are actively retraining these models to mitigate these stereotypes.' Narayan said, 'Although insurance is largely digital, customers still require human support when selecting a policy. Traditionally, queries that came in after business hours were only addressed the following morning, which led to lower conversion rates.' To address this, Policybazaar introduced Finova AI for its life insurance division, an AI-powered bot that replaces human agents outside working hours. 'Finova AI understands Indic languages and responds contextually, facilitating seamless, engaging conversations. These interactions not only extend engagement but also enhance the quality of next-day human follow-ups, resulting in higher conversions.' Kota said, 'If your data is well-organised, AI capabilities can truly scale. For DBS Bank, this journey began with the basics. In 2017, we built ADA (Analytics Data Architecture), our central data lake, which now powers all AI-led initiatives.' DBS handles extensive behavioural and transactional data. 'In Singapore alone, we track over 10,000 signals per customer, from spending patterns to salary flows.' To use this data ethically and effectively, DBS developed NBN (Next Best Nudge), an AI-driven framework that delivers timely, personalised suggestions influencing customer decisions. 'We have also created NBC, or Next Best Conversation, enabling our relationship managers to engage customers with data-driven insights. Whether through nudges or conversations, intelligent engagement represents the future of banking, and AI sits at its core.'
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla picks Liberty General Insurance and Acko as insurance partners in India
-- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has selected Liberty General Insurance and Acko as its preferred insurance partners for its entry into the Indian market, according to the Press Trust of India. Mumbai-based Liberty General Insurance has created customized protection plans specifically designed for Tesla vehicles, tailored to meet the needs of electric vehicle users in India. Acko will offer Tesla owners a fully digital process that covers everything from policy purchase to claims handling. "Tesla has revolutionized the automotive industry. Our ambition is to redefine how that innovation is protected," said Animesh Das, managing director and CEO of Acko Related articles Tesla picks Liberty General Insurance and Acko as insurance partners in India These Under-the-Radar Stocks Offer Better Risk-Reward Ratio Than Nvidia After soaring 149%, this stock is back in our AI's favor - & already +25% in July Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
