Latest news with #Chandy
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
MarTech Day: Integrating AI in the MarTech Stack
HighlightsShawn Chandy, Chief Marketing Officer of Paragon Footwear, emphasized the use of Artificial Intelligence in creating diverse content for social media, significantly reducing the time and costs associated with traditional photoshoots. Preetam Jena, Chief Marketing Officer of Fixderma, explained how Artificial Intelligence is enabling personalized engagement with customers by building cohorts based on unique skin characteristics. Fixderma utilizes machine learning to adapt marketing campaigns in real-time, allowing for the swift launch and adjustment of campaigns without needing external agencies. Jena highlighted the importance of creating specific customer cohorts for targeted marketing, which leads to more personalized skincare solutions and cost-effective customer retention strategies. AI is transforming every facet of marketing today, from personalisation and customer cohorting to content creation. On MarTech Day , an esteemed panel of speakers, including Preetam Jena, CMO, Fixderma, and Shawn Chandy, CMO, Paragon Footwear, shared their thoughts on how marketers are leveraging AI in their operations. Chandy opened the session by discussing how Paragon Footwear is using AI for content creation. He said, 'We use AI to produce diverse content for social media and other digital platforms. Each month, we launch 20 to 30 new footwear designs. Previously, physical photoshoots for these designs were both time-consuming and costly. Now, AI enables us to create compelling content, showcasing our products in imaginative settings with creativity, in a cost-effective and efficient manner.' While Paragon Footwear is harnessing AI for content generation, Fixderma is using it to build meaningful cohorts based on different skin types, allowing marketers to target these more effectively. Elaborating on this approach, Jena said, 'AI is crucial for us, as it enables personalised, one-on-one engagement with customers. While everyone's skin is unique, shared characteristics allow us to create cohorts using AI. Our facial analysis software, for instance, uses a camera to capture detailed facial structures, identifying current skin concerns and predicting future needs. This allows us to build cohorts for different skin types and target them effectively in campaigns.' Another use case for AI at Fixderma lies in campaign management. It enables the brand to launch and adapt campaigns swiftly without relying on agencies for real-time adjustments. By leveraging machine learning, Fixderma can refine existing campaigns on the fly. Over time, AI has also become an integral part of the MarTech stacks of brands. Consider the case of Fixderma, which aimed to promote its Nigrifix cream, a product that already had a vocal user base and turn it into a revenue generator. Expanding on this example, Jena said, 'With our database of customer purchases over the past two to four years, we successfully mined data on customers who were using our products. This enabled us to create distinct cohorts based on user behaviour, such as Nigrifix consumers with acne-prone skin or male Nigrifix users. These cohorts were then integrated into automated campaigns on Facebook and Google, with bid management also automated for efficiency. This streamlined customer journeys and significantly reduced costs at every stage. Retaining existing customers — who are acquired at a fraction of the cost of new users — proved highly cost-effective, approaching near-zero additional expense.' Jena concluded the session with his thoughts on the future of MarTech and the growing role of AI within the skincare category. 'Every individual's skin is unique, yet shared traits create identifiable cohorts. Larger cohorts yield more generalised data, reducing precision. To counter this, we need to use AI to build numerous, highly specific cohorts. This enables deeper, intent-driven conversations and more personalised skincare solutions,' Jena concluded. Watch the video here:
The Hindu
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
On Vizhinjam opening day, Congress recalls Chandy's key role
The Congress seemed to seek refuge in political symbolism and rhetoric to deny the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government 'credit' for the Vizhinjam International Port. Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Vizhinjam on Friday to officially commission the port, Congress leaders congregated at district centres across the State to lionise late Chief Minister Oommen Chandy as the driving force behind the mega infrastructure project that advantageously positioned Kerala on the global maritime trade map. Congress legislator M. Vincent paid floral tributes at Chandy's tomb at Puthupally, Kottayam, before returning to Vizhinjam to attend the commissioning. In Kozhikode, United Democratic Front (UDF) convener M M Hassan alleged that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had conspired to eclipse the Oommen Chandy government's seminal contributions to make the Vizhinjam port a reality. Mr. Hassan stated that the Centre and State governments deliberately sidelined Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan from the commissioning venue. At the same time, he said both administrations showed no hesitation in violating protocol to seat BJP State president Rajiv Chandrasekhar, who does not hold any Constitutional or elected office, on the stage. In a Facebook post, Mr. Satheesan flagged a nefarious bid to erase Chandy's contributions from the public mind. However, he said such machinations would come to nought. 'Such forces feared even the memory of Oommen Chandy,' he said. He said the CPI(M) had tried to kill the Vizhinjam project when it was in its embryonic stage. Chandy endured street protests and accusations of corruption. The late Chief Minister cleared a significant hurdle for the project by prevailing on the then Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Mahesh, to sanction it. In New Delhi, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (Organisation), K.C. Venugopal, said the CPI(M)-BJP bonhomie was evident at the port's commissioning. 'On seeing his closest friend, Pinarayi Vijayan, the Prime Minister broke protocol to target Rahul Gandhi politically for exposing the Modi-Adani nexus,' he said. CPI(M) State secretary M V Govindan stated that Chandy had merely signed away Kerala's substantial investment, including land, to a private entity to profit at the public exchequer's expense. He said the LDF government revised the original agreement, tipping the scales in the State's favour. It expedited the Vizhinjam port work, operationalised the international transhipment anchorage, and set 2028 as the deadline for completing the expansion. 'Vizhinjam is a testimony to LDF's political will and unshakable commitment to Kerala's development and welfare,' he added.
