BloombergQuint: Growing Users with WhatsApp

Abstract

BloombergQuint (BQ) was started as a collaboration between Quintillion Media (QM) and Bloomberg in April 2016. In the competitive landscape of business news broadcasters in India, it started by providing stock updates, financial sector news and opinion articles on financial issues on its website. BQ later expended by providing video content in September 2017. It had applied for a television broadcasting license and awaited approval from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. The lack of a suitable television channel obligated BQ to use alternate distribution channels for ensuring that its content reached a wider audience. One of the alternate channels used by Ankit Dikshit, Manager, Digital Marketing, at BQ, was WhatsApp, a mobile messaging app widely used in India. This case explains the process whereby BQ grew its user base through WhatsApp. Growth by WhatsApp has led to Anil Uniyal, the CEO of BQ, setting ambitious targets for Dikshit. Class participants have to guide Dikshit on the way forward for BQ.