Vitasta Kaul Unveils Her Vision For Hoopr.ai And Future Marketing Trends

Vitasta Kaul is the Chief Marketing Officer at Hoopr.ai, an accomplished marketing leader and brand storyteller with over 17 years of experience. She has a distinguished track record of building early-stage and emerging brands across B2C, D2C, eCommerce, and retail channels.

Kaul’s expertise lies at the intersection of brand strategy, creativity, and leadership, all while championing purpose, digital transformation, and innovation. Her approach is creativity-driven, data-inspired, and customer-led, making her a visionary in the marketing world.

In a freewheeling chat with Loudest.in, Vitasta Kaul shares insights on her new role as CMO at Hoopr.ai and discusses the marketing trends shaping the future.Here are edited excerpts:

Q1.Since you've recently joined Hoopr.ai, I was wondering how many days it has been? How are you feeling in your new role? Could you walk us through your journey so far as the CMO over the past month?

I’ve been with Hoopr.ai for about a month now, and I must say, I was very excited to join from the beginning. I've always been passionate about , marketing, and early-stage startups, so this role checked a lot of boxes for me. My expectations have been validated in this first month as I've immersed myself in the work they're doing and explored their extensive .

To give you some context, Hoopr currently has close to 12,500 tracks in their online , with new tracks being added daily. These tracks range from original soundtracks to background and sound effects. It's exciting to see a product being built that serves as a valuable tool for creators, brands, young filmmakers, and OTT platforms.

In my opinion, there's nothing quite like this in India. While there are similar platforms globally, they aren't of Indian origin, making Hoopr the first of its kind in India. We have a vast network of over 6,000 artists and over 200,000 creators using Hoopr's platform to source .

We’ve democratized creation and usage, offering royalty-free and copyright-free on a large scale. This has enabled creators to monetize their content more effectively because they can source high-quality, copyright-cleared easily. It's been a thrilling journey so far, and I'm excited to see what the future holds.

Q2.Can you share an example of a brand that has successfully used to enhance its brand identity and connect with its audience?

Sure. You see, has always been an integral part of advertising, marketing, and communication. If you look back to the eighties and nineties, some of the catchiest jingles, which we still remember, bring a lot of nostalgia. For example, the Cadbury commercial where the girl dances on the field, or the Maggi jingle.

Even today, many brands incorporate effectively. Coca-Cola has the popular IP called Coke Studio, and Nescafé has Nescafé Basement. Similarly, Myntra has done beautiful integrations on their app and platform using . Many brands, like Paytm, have memorable mnemonics, such as the "Paytmar" sound, which helps people identify with the brand.

It has always been used in marketing, but now there is a greater recognition of the value of creating original and incorporating it into brand strategy. The statistics for consumption in India are astonishing. Annually, there are close to 250 billion streams across different platforms. About 170 million unique subscribers in India, which is 12% of the population, and this number is growing by 20 to 30% year on year.

Every day, around 430 million streams happen in India. Just three years ago, this number was around 230 to 260 million, so it has nearly doubled. With the rise of social media and various platforms like Pocket FM, streaming platforms, and Instagram, consumption has become incredibly easy. People listen to all the time, whether they are traveling, working, partying, or driving.

Given the increasing market for creators and listeners, and the growing consumption, it's only natural that brands would want to tap into this potential.

Q3.How does Hoopr.ai navigate the complexities of licensing to ensure brands have access to high-quality, legally compliant for their campaigns?

To put it simply, there are no complexities from Hoopr's side because all the on our platform is proprietary. It is created by our artists, commissioned by us, and specifically designed for our platform.

We do not source from any third-party vendors or use AI tools to create it. All of the is proprietary, created by artists commissioned and paid by Hooper. Therefore, the ownership, licensing, and distribution of the lie with us. Any brand that wishes to engage with Hooper just needs to sign up, and they are free to use these tracks as needed.

Of course, there are different intricacies and nuances when it comes to using for digital promotions or broadcasts for live events, but these details are discussed with brands as needed. Essentially, there are no issues from the brand's side, and the process is very streamlined. Hoopr makes it very easy, as all the we provide to our brands and users is proprietary and managed by us.

Q4.What emerging trends do you see currently shaping the marketing landscape, and how is Hoopr.ai positioned to leverage these trends?

There are two or three significant trends currently. One is the sudden surge of regional on social media. Social media has become the universal platform for marketing, brand discovery, and everything related to it. We've seen a huge uptick in Bochuli and Kalandi . Additionally, Southern genres like Telugu are also gaining prominence, with a lot of content being created.

We're witnessing a significant increase in creator engagement and content on vernacular social media platforms like Moj and Roposo. Many talented creators are producing highly engaging content on these platforms, which brands are starting to leverage. This is a very interesting trend.We are also excited because we are commissioning a lot of regional for upcoming releases.

Q5.So, in the current business landscape, how is Hoopr generating its revenue streams?

Revenue generation and artist collaborations are actually separate aspects, so I'll address each separately.For artist collaborations, we primarily work on a commissioning basis. We mine a lot of data on our platform, such as the types of downloads and the our users are streaming. This gives us insights into what kind of content is performing well. Additionally, we consider universal trends happening outside the Hoopr universe, such as trends on social media. For instance, Karyndi , Telugu, and other regional content are heavily trending and becoming more in demand.

When we collaborate or commission with artists, we look at both the micro trends within the Hoopr platform and the macro trends we observe on social media. Combining these insights helps us decide the kind of we want to commission for upcoming releases. We then assess the artists in our network and determine if we need to scout for more talent.

In terms of monetization, it's all platform-led. Various people come to the platform to sign up or subscribe to Hoopr. We have a significant number of nano and micro creators—approximately two lakh creators signed up, with about 12,000 to 13,000 actively working with us each month. These creators have social media followings under 25,000. We also have macro and mega creators with much higher followings, including well-known influencers like Zarandib Bra, Flying Beast, and Hunan Vijayka, among others, who use Hoopr to create their content.

Apart from individual content creators, brands and agencies also subscribe to the Hoopr platform. They manage multiple channels and create a lot of content for social media and other digital spaces. For example, many cosmetic brands regularly produce content for their social media or digital apps and are tied up with Hoopr. We also work with broadcasters and content creators like Pocket FM and HT Smart, as well as major brands like Mariko and Myntra.

Additionally, we offer bespoke and customized work with brands through Hoopr Brand Solutions, where we provide consultative services to address specific brand challenges using strategies.