New Delhi, India
The CEO of the Indian startup Astrotalk, Puneet Gupta, recently caused a buzz on social media by announcing a ₹100 crore ($12 million) reward for users if India emerges victorious in the World Cup final against Australia.
Gupta assured that the substantial sum would be evenly distributed among users and credited to their app wallets. While the announcement raised some queries, a few applauded it as a clever marketing tactic.
Some users even light-heartedly pondered whether Astrotalk, an astrological app, could accurately predict the match outcome.
Taking to LinkedIn, Gupta not only detailed the reward but also shared nostalgic moments from India's last World Cup triumph in 2011. Expressing his excitement for the upcoming match, Gupta conveyed his desire to celebrate the joy of watching it with Astrotalk users, whom he sees as more akin to friends.
“The last time India won the World Cup in 2011, I was studying in college, and it was one of the happiest days of my life. I watched the match with all my friends in the auditorium of a nearby college in Chandigarh. Oh God, we were all very tense the entire day. We didn't sleep well before the day of the match as we kept discussing the match strategy the whole night,” he shared.
“But once we won the match, I had goosebumps for the longest duration. I hugged all my friends. We went on a bike ride in Chandigarh and did Bhangra at every roundabout with unknown people. We hugged everyone we met,” he added.
In addition to his LinkedIn post, Gupta posted a video on Instagram outlining the ₹100 crore giveaway to Astrotalk users. Responding to an inquiry about the calculation, he clarified that the exact amount each user receives would be determined by dividing 100 crore by the total number of users registered before the last ball of the match.
“So, this morning I spoke to my finance team and pledged to distribute. ₹100 crores to our users in their wallets if India wins the World Cup,” he announced. He also asked people to cheer for Team India.
Catch all the LIVE updates of ODI WC 2023 Final here.
This is how netizens reacted
“Astro guys, what's this agar [if], you are dealing in Astro, simply tell us India is winning,” joked an individual. “It seems many people will sign up to get a pie of 100 cr. A nice way to attract customers and the post may go viral. A lot to learn from you,” added another.
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“So let's say you have 10 lakh users, then 100 crores divided by 10 lakh is 100 Rs. So for 100 rupees, you want me to open the Play Store, search for Astrotalk, install it, and then sign up. Good marketing strategy but I will pass,” joined a third. “It's not important that it will be great PR, the amazing part is how absolutely clear you are that the Customer is King. What a great thought,” wrote another.
(With inputs from agencies)