Skimlinks Around The World… Meet Bhaskar Kadian

Welcome to our Employee Spotlight series where we get to know Skimlinks employees from around the globe a bit better. 

This time we feature Bhaskar Kadian who looks after Publisher Account Management for the Indian market.

Let’s start with you telling us a bit about yourself…

Firstly, thanks so much for this opportunity. I am delighted to be here talking with you. My name is Bhaskar Kadian.

My background is that I have been in the branded content business here in India and I’ve worked with some of the biggest media houses in the country. 

I believe that the power of content is unique in many ways because it is both extremely powerful and engaging. Therefore, we do see a very strong and lasting impact on the users.

And then in my free time, I like to be involved in outdoor and fitness-based activities. I love to go on hikes and be involved with multiple sports activities, such as Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing and Crossfit. But above all, I love my morning runs. For me, the best way to start my day would be a nicely paced run and a good cup of coffee.

What has been the highlight of your week so far?

We have recently signed one of the largest enterprise Publishers in India, so this week I have been focussing on their onboarding process and it is going really well! And on a personal note, I am 9 weeks post-op from my ACL reconstruction surgery in my right knee and so I have been focusing on my recovery and getting back into sports, which has been great. 

When and why did you join Skimlinks?

It’s going to be close to a year of being part of the Skimlinks team and I love the entire team from the leadership, to my colleagues, and the culture.

I had been following Skimlinks for more than 3 years before my joining. I remember some years back when the news came in of Amazon slashing their affiliate commissions, there were a lot of discussions, and Skimlinks’ name came up on multiple occasions. That’s when I got extremely interested in the way Skimlinks work. There are also many fantastic case studies on Skimlinks domain. So you can really imagine the excitement I had sitting in India going through these case studies and looking at the major brands that Skimlinks partners with, that have really transformed their commerce content journey. Hence when I saw this opportunity for India, I was so quick to respond and go for it!

What is your role in the Indian market? 

Currently, my role is to increase and manage our Publisher partnerships here in India. Within this, I help the Publisher’s product and editorial teams to drive revenue through commerce content. 

What do you believe is the biggest opportunity in India now?

I think the biggest opportunity in India is definitely the overall scale at which the Skimlinks business can grow here simply because of the sheer size of the country. both geographically and in terms of population. When looking at India as a nation, we have multiple languages from a variety of regions. And then we also have English as the main business language that cuts across territories. When you take this into account alongside the rate at which India’s economy is growing, I think it is a great opportunity for upscaling. 

Definitely, and you mentioned the various languages in India, do you find that Indian Publishers are monetizing content across multiple languages?

Yes, definitely across multiple languages! And another unique factor to consider is the stickiness that these languages have both inside and outside of the country. India has a very strong non-residential community spread across the world. For example, our experience with Publishers has shown that a significant percentage of user IPs are based in the US and EMEA. When we consider languages, this stickiness becomes even more significant as it can provide preference to content in their native languages.

On the flip side, what do you think is the biggest challenge facing your market right now? 

I think there are 3 challenges, not just 1. But there are also opportunities within those challenges. So first, the journey from branded content to commerce content is something we need to help Publishers to understand. They have yet to delve into this side of the business the way Skimlinks do, therefore we need to educate them on how this works. 

The second challenge within India would be resource and talent challenges. We don’t currently have editors with commerce content backgrounds based here. So this is a transition many editors will have to go through and for some Publishers it is a case of hiring specific individuals to produce this content in-house. 

And the third challenge we are facing is from the Merchant side. India is a mobile-first market, so we need Merchants to help us to integrate technology. In-app tracking, strong cookie windows, and strong attribution format are all extremely important to allow Publishers to receive revenue. The Merchant needs to understand that this is the way the consumer journey is happening and that they have the opportunity to grow their app and mobile site traffic. 

Where do you want Skimlinks to be in India in a year’s time? 

In a year’s time, we should be partnered with some of the biggest Publisher names. That is my top priority. So in that area, the year has started really well and our pipeline is extremely strong. By the end of the year we want all Publishers to either A) be working with us, B) if you are not working with us, you should know about us and C) that should all compel you to work with us next year. 

What’s the best career lesson you’ve learned so far?

For me, being consistent is one of the best lessons I have had so far. There are days when your output will really work for you and days when it won’t. But showing up consistently and putting in your efforts will take you a step further every day. 

And let’s finish with your favourite idiom / joke…

‘It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon’. So very similar to my career lesson, taking consistent steps each day is the key to success.