It’s no secret that the world has become increasingly digital over the last decade. Leveraging technology has not only made life convenient, but also created new forms of expression. The pandemic has further accelerated the explosion of digital in our lives, making digital solutions all-pervasive. Consequently, it has reiterated the need to build brands with a digital-first approach, led by content marketing, which is projected to grow by $417.85 billion from 2021 to 2025, increasing at 16 per cent CAGR, as per a recent Technavio report. In the ever-changing landscape of digital and social media, the nature of content has never remained still. “Currently, it’s dominated by bite-sized content,” says Zahara Kanchwalla, co-founder, Rite KnowledgeLabs, which was founded in 2016. “Be it memes, tweets, reels or micro-tales, it’s all about stories being told by the minute, in a minute. While the sugar rush of snackable content gives brands an attention high, it’s short-lived without promising retention and recall value. In addition, the temporary win rarely earns a brand any credibility”. The company has established itself as one of India’s only digital agencies focussing on thought leadership content. In the wake of Covid-19, brands have realised afresh the importance of and the need for leadership content and purpose-led communication. “Enterprise-led content is a strategic asset to a company’s corporate reputation and brand building programme. It sits as an equally important channel, alongside marketing, advertising and influencer programmes,” adds Kanchwalla. “This content not only attracts higher consumer engagement, but also more refined engagement,” she adds. “Besides, its credibility helps earn consumer trust. Put together, this converts into higher RoI, as compared to regular advertising-led content or media buying”. From coding to content Despite belonging to a business family, Kanchwalla did not aspire to be an entrepreneur. She graduated in plastic engineering and also learnt software programming and coding. After that, her career took a detour towards communications, setting the foundation for her future in content. “While I began my career with coding and e-learning, it eventually panned out in marketing and communications at Tech Mahindra and thereafter as VP, content & publishing, Riteverses,” says Kanchwalla. “In these roles, I realised that writing and creating content were an innate part of my life,” she recalls. Kanchwalla spent over a decade in marketing, communication and content leadership roles, before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship. She credits two moments for strengthening her belief in storytelling. First, she started writing content for various clients during the course of welcoming her first child. It drew her attention to the gap in specialised thought leadership content. Secondly, around the same time, her work caught the eye of a batch-mate from the Indian School of Business, translating into a strategic digital assignment for the Bengaluru-based Embassy group.
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Kanchwalla: writing and creating content were an innate part of my life
