Think9, founded by Ashni Biyani and Avni Biyani along with brand strategist Santosh Desai, has acquired digital marketing firm Whoppl, marking its entry into high-velocity, culture-driven brand storytelling.
As part of the deal, Think9 has launched Nova9, a specialised unit aimed at building “culture-led brand engines” tailored for the attention economy. The new entity will combine Whoppl’s creator-led approach with Think9’s strategic brand-building capabilities to deliver real-time, platform-native storytelling solutions.
Nova9 will focus on integrating creative direction, data analytics, meme culture, and cinematic storytelling to help brands function more like media companies, responding dynamically to digital conversations and communities.
Santosh Desai, Co-Founder, Think9 Consumer Technologies and CEO, Futurebrands India, commented: "The launch of Nova9 marks a significant shift in how brands will approach digital marketing, moving beyond campaign-based communication toward culture-led narrative ecosystems that are native to platforms and communities."
"Nova9 will expand its capabilities by hiring across multiple disciplines, including cultural strategists, creative storytellers, meme and community specialists, platform-native content strategists, and AI data analysts focused on real-time cultural signals. The goal is to build a multidisciplinary team capable of decoding culture and translating it into high-impact brand narratives," Desai added.
Ramya Ramachandran, Founder & CEO, Whoppl, said: “Over the past few years, we’ve seen a fundamental shift in how brands earn attention—moving from broadcasting messages to building stories that people want to engage with and co-create. At Whoppl, we built a creator-powered ecosystem designed for this new reality. Partnering with Think9 allows us to scale that vision exponentially. With Nova9, we are building a culture-first storytelling engine that enables brands to move at the speed of the internet—creating narratives that are not just seen, but shared, remixed, and lived.”
Founded in 2019 by Ramya Ramachandran, Whoppl provides content, influencer marketing and social commerce solutions, with a strong focus on creator networks. Ramachandran is expected to play a key leadership role in shaping Nova9’s growth.
The move strengthens Think9’s broader ecosystem of consumer ventures, which includes brands such as Superyou, Foodstories, Broadway and Goodbug, and aligns with its push to build future-ready, culture-first businesses in an increasingly fragmented digital landscape.
