Open Talk @DSIM
An Interview with Kanika Subbiah, CEO & Founder at Wedding Wishlist
Wedding Wishlist is the cool new way for prospective couples to receive the gifts they want, and minimize redundancy, waste and recycle so prevalent in wedding gifts.
It is a unique service that is focused on helping prospective couples start their married life equipped with the things they need. The couple can make a list of exactly the things they need/desire, and share it with their guests. The couple’s Wishlist serves as a guide for the guests who can choose a gift that appeals to them as well as fits into their budget.
Ans. The idea was born when a friend shared her experience of receiving inappropriate and identical gifts at her wedding. This is an experience most newlyweds’ couple in India will relate to. During my stay in the US, I saw the concept of wedding registries firsthand; the returns were convincing – gifting was enormously easy and appropriate.
Exploring the huge gap that exists between gifts received and gifts desired at weddings by the couple, I thought of creating a one-stop destination for prospective couples and their guests to create a single platform where couples can decide:
- What they want
- How they want it
- Where to send it
And thus was born the unique model of weddingwishlist.com. Wedding Wishlist was born to offer potential couples a way to start their life with gifts and experiences that are memorable.
Ans. Wedding Wishlist is an innovative concept of a wedding gift registry in India. The specialty about Wedding Wishlist is the couple makes a Wishlist of gifts they would like and share it with guests they feel comfortable sharing.
Wedding guests can buy any gift from the couple’s Wishlist that fits into their budget. Guests can even give a gift as a group. This way, the couple receives relevant gifts and guests can be confident their gift is meaningful and appreciated by the couple.
Overall, it reduces waste, discourages recycling of gifts, and confirms that the significant money spent on gifts is spent well.
Ans. Our overall marketing strategy is focused on a healthy mix of online and offline marketing initiatives – robust digital communication and ground events. A message that is expressive, fun and interactive, and delivers its point to our target audience is what we aim for Digital video, compelling content & images across social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
Additionally viral social experiments provide our target market food for thought and questions the traditional norms and gifting ideas. The essence of our communication is – ‘Bad gifts are a reality of Indian Weddings and the only way to get the right gifts one wishes for, is to create a Wishlist’!
Please ref to the link– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-TXIXw22qY
Ans. Digital marketing delivers our message and the concept of Wedding Wishlist in a creative, fun, expressive and interactive manner to our target audience. The overall aim is to use an engaging platform to convey the essence of a concept such as Wedding Wishlist that is new to the Indian wedding market.
Ans. Our team has been handpicked by making the right hire and fostering a work atmosphere that empowers individuals to think, innovate and be ambassadors of change. There is a deep connect between our talent pool and the service we offer, each individual at Wedding Wishlist resonates the brand and is committed towards making the difference. The right attitude together with cheerful and positive disposition is what defines our team of 20 young, talent and inspired professionals.
Ans. Like every startup, the critical areas that need attention are execution and operation. Finding the right talent pool of individuals and marketing the setup which works in a new area is what we are currently working on since our inception in February 2016. It’s not like jewelry, which people understand. We’re working on a concept which we need to explain to people and it has to be done in a manner that makes sense.
Ans. The future is exciting and promising. Apart from our intuitive website we are also launching a Wedding Wishlist mobile app. Innovation and creativity in the online space have recently witnessed a huge response and engagement towards our scanner film which was the result of a social experiment. Expanding our product and experience portfolio across a range that continues to be handpicked from a wide variety of offerings that appeal to this target market. Additionally, an introduction to a new portfolio of services is on the cards. This is supported by ground events, collaborative associations & partnerships as well as exclusive off ground events owned and executed by Wedding Wishlist.
I firmly believe the skills that define an aspiring youth entrepreneur in no particular order are sincerity of purpose, positive attitude and passion. Prioritizing is a crucial skill to achieve somewhat of a balance, which is generally elusive for an entrepreneur.
