A Champion of Change

When the world was hit by the deadliest financial crisis in 2008, Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Co-founder and Global CEO of Gozoop, saw an opportunity to create something meaningful amid that black swan event. Thus, Gozoop was born from this seed of thought in a small garage in Mumbai with a single laptop and truckloads of self-belief to make things happen. 

Naqvi realised that businesses would need to market themselves better with an efficient approach to bounce back from the crisis. He also envisioned that digital in India, which was under five per cent that year, had immense potential to grow. Both these factors fuelled his drive to pioneer the art and science of digital marketing in India. 

“Sometimes it is not enough to think outside the box but to break it. This has been a guiding philosophy to me that has helped accelerate Gozoop into not just one of the leading independent advertising companies in India but also an organisation that is widely regarded as one of the best places in India to work,” says Naqvi. 

Breakthrough Ideas

In 2021, Oman marked its spot in the world of cricket as the country co-hosted one of the biggest events in the region – the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. Gozoop got a challenge to create an anthem that reflects the passion Omanis hold for cricket. By the end of the tournament, the agency created an impression with the local audience not only about Oman as a budding cricket nation but also highlighted the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Tourism. “We established this by introducing a twist in our communication with - ‘Cricket Has a New Address.’,” Naqvi recalls.

Overall, the campaign garnered an impression of 159 million views covering all the digital platforms. The campaign captured 126 million views and an engagement of 10.6 million. The average view rate on the video was 41 per cent which is above the average benchmark of 30-35 per cent. The campaign successfully ranked on top tweet trends despite the heavy traffic of IPL and movie trailer launches.

Going Global

Naqvi has created a rapidly growing business with his employee-friendly policies. For example, during Covid, he declared that the company would face no layoffs and Gozoop employees also received timely bonuses during the tough period. 

Naqvi has led Gozoop towards phenomenal growth since its inception and has now set up global operations for the company as well. He has built a strong management team with the appointment of new leaders to ensure that the organisation is not founder-dependent.