ABHINAV SHUKLA
MUMBAI,Maharashtra
Summary
Senior marketing leader with 13+ years of experience growing consumer brands in digital-first environments. Proven success in driving adoption, engagement, and trust through integrated marketing, brand positioning, and storytelling. Expert in crafting consumer journeys that balance creativity and measurable ROI. Skilled in influencer, celebrity, vernacular campaigns, with deep knowledge of India’s diverse demographics and Tier-2+ markets. Collaborative in working with product, analytics, and growth teams to deliver impactful brand campaigns that boost long-term retention and adoption.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
AVP
Sporta Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (DREAM11)
10.2019 - Current
- Leading the Brand Marketing mandate to drive brand preference. Responsible for Brand and Communication Strategy across platforms & media touchpoints
- Ownership of INR 800Cr marketing budget across TV/OTT, digital, sponsorships/partnerships, social and research.
- Anchored the brand journey from 30 Mn users to 250 Mn users within 6 years.
- Transformed Dream11 into a household name with IPL 2020 title sponsorship, delivering unmatched brand visibility at India’s biggest sporting events.
- Expanded reach into Tier-2/3 markets with hyper-local and vernacular campaigns, scaling Dream11’s user base beyond metros and capturing India’s mass cricketing audience.
- Integrated use of AI in campaign versioning, reducing overall cost for versioning by 44% while reducing turnaround time.
- Drove Dream11’s TOM to 65% and SPONT RECALL 96% in the sports category – Becoming the most recalled brand in Cricket
Manager
JioStar India Pvt. Ltd. (Star India)
05.2015 - 09.2019
- Championed & formulated marketing strategies for promotions of all Cricket of Star Sports.
- 2X growth in tournament reach for ICC CWC 2019 & 1.5X reach growth key India matches (Highest ever for LIVE India Cricket)
- Anchored the launch of the Regional Sports Portfolio for Star Sports. Spearheaded end-to-end GTM strategy for Star Sports Tamil, became the No. 2 channel in the state (across genres) within the first 4 weeks of launch.
- Spearheaded the launch of India’s first FTA sports channel, targeting underserved FTA households; scaled to 40M weekly viewers and contributed 30% of Star Sports’ viewership within the first year.
- Lead marketing for Pro Kabaddi League 2017 on FTA TV, driving 100M new rural viewers through targeted Hindi-speaking market campaigns; FTA contributed 25% of total league viewership, with nearly half from rural audiences.
Assistant Manager
Sony Sports Network
01.2013 - 01.2015
- Responsible strategy, creation and execution of Marketing / Brand Strategy for the Sports channels.
- Championed marketing and brand strategy for IPL Broadcast marketing on SET MAX and SONY SIX 2013-2015 registering viewership growth of over 15% Y-O-Y (Highest ever opening day reach IPL 2024)
- Strategized and executed the first edition of IPL Fan Parks across 17 cities (Tier 2 and 3), registering a total footfall of over ~5 Lakh participants across 6 different states.
Corporate Resource
ABP Group, Kolkata
01.2012 - 01.2013
- Underwent a 12-month rigorous development program in Kolkata and Mumbai to gain a holistic business understanding across functions, including content, revenue, production, and marketing.
Assistant System Engineer
Tata Consultancy Services
10.2008 - 05.2010
- Project management under a fully managed service mode for the biggest US retail bank - Application owner for retirement accounts, leading project analysis and maintenance.
Education
PGDM - Marketing, Brand Management & Media Marketing
Mudra Institute of Communication (MICA)
Ahmedabad04-2012
BE - I.T Hons.
Lakshmi Narain College of Technology
Bhopal05-2008
HSC -
Madhya Pradesh State Board
IndoreSkills
- Consumer-focused brand strategy
- Advertising & Media Strategy
- Campaign strategy development
- Digital Marketing
- Social media strategy
- Consumer Behavior & Insights
- Celebrity - Influencer Marketing
- Data-driven decision making
- Leadership
- Consumer Growth
- Partnerships & Sponsorship
OTHER DETAILS
English
Hindi
German (A1)
Timeline
AVP
Sporta Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (DREAM11)
10.2019 - Current
Manager
JioStar India Pvt. Ltd. (Star India)
05.2015 - 09.2019
Assistant Manager
Sony Sports Network
01.2013 - 01.2015
Corporate Resource
ABP Group, Kolkata
01.2012 - 01.2013
Assistant System Engineer
Tata Consultancy Services
10.2008 - 05.2010
PGDM - Marketing, Brand Management & Media Marketing
Mudra Institute of Communication (MICA)
BE - I.T Hons.
Lakshmi Narain College of Technology
HSC -
Madhya Pradesh State Board
Awards
- Member of the Madhya Pradesh National Sub-Junior basketball team
- Blue Elephant and Baby Blue Elephant Kyoorious award 2024 Brand campaign
- ABBY’s Grand Prix 2024: Innovative use of Audio Visual | Smarties 2024: Best product and service launch
- Promax Gold award “Most Outstanding marketing Initiative” ICC CWC 2019 campaign
- Bronze Winning Campaign in Indian Marketing Awards 2018 – Star Sports Tamil
- CHANGE Award - Star Sports 2018 for creating a change in the sports consumption habits of FTA viewers
Hobbies and Interests
Sports, Puzzle solving, Cooking
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