Kirthi Shridhar Rai Co-founds Routed Media To Focus On Creator-led Marketing

Kirthi Shridhar Rai has co-founded Routed Media, a new venture focused on creator-led marketing, regional storytelling and building sustainable creator businesses.

The venture aims to bring together influencer marketing, music, meme marketing, content production and intellectual property (IP) development to create brand solutions driven by cultural insights and audience understanding.

Routed Media will focus on helping brands connect with audiences across languages and regions, particularly as creators from smaller cities and regional markets gain prominence in India's digital ecosystem.

The company will also work towards developing creators beyond conventional brand endorsements through talent management, original content properties, brand partnerships and cross-platform growth opportunities.

Rai brings experience from the music and entertainment industry, having played a role in building Zee Music Company from the ground up. He has also worked across acquisition and marketing for over 1,000 film and music campaigns.

Commenting on the venture, Rai said the focus would be on starting with a brand's business objectives and cultural context rather than simply selecting creators for campaigns. He added that the right solution could involve creators, music, memes, entertainment or original content properties.

Anandini Goenka is also a co-founder of Routed Media. The company's client portfolio includes ZEE5, JioStar, Godrej, Mother Dairy, Malabar, Lenskart, Bajaj, Zomato, INOX Air Products and Titan.