People don’t remember ads. Not one: Mayur Hola of Swiggy on why brands outlive ads

New Delhi: “People don’t remember ads. Not one.”

That sharp line from Mayur Hola, Vice-President Brand at Swiggy, set the tone for Episode 3 of the BMI Podcast, where he argued that brands, not ads, earn lasting recall, and only when they behave like creators, not broadcasters.

Hola said attention today is won by work that feels real, travels on its own, and is built for how people consume. “You might think people are not talking about ads, but that doesn’t mean they are not talking about brands,” he said. “Brands get spoken of; ads don’t necessarily have to.”

Across the hour, Hola opened up on Swiggy’s content engine, in-house model, and where agencies fit in. “Okay is never okay,” he said, describing how his teams are set free within clear brand instincts rather than rigid guardrails. “Everyone should know who we are and vibe with it. If it’s significant, show me. I’m not a gatekeeper. If you get it wrong, we’ll get it right the next time.”

The task is to build memory around the brand through ideas, utilities and content that people want to share. “Some regional creators are absolutely killing it on most social platforms,” he noted, because they feel “real” and not over-produced.

On algorithms and discovery, Hola is blunt: “The house wins always.” That is why the bar for distinctiveness is higher. “Either you create something brilliant that cuts through, or the product and service must be so meaningful that people stop and consider it.”

Swiggy runs a largely in-house model for brand building. “We don’t have agency partners… all of our work is done in-house,” Hola said, while acknowledging select social partners on specific mandates.

The structure, he added, keeps craft close to the brief and compresses cycle time across strategy, creative, production and publishing. “We think like a creator,” he said, and treat measurement as part of the product, not an afterthought.

Brand and performance work are designed to reinforce each other. “Neither works in isolation,” Hola said. Brand builds awareness, liking and trust that lower acquisition costs over time, while performance converts interest with clear reasons to act.

On pricing and the value of creative partners, Hola is categorical: “A good agency, which values itself and values the work it does, prices itself right.”

He credits his 19 years in agencies for shaping his approach. “I don’t think there’s any better learning ground than the business,” he said, while adding that today’s brand teams must stay culturally close to consumers and set their creators free within clear standards.

His advice on bravery in marketing is simple: “If you’re scared of it, it’s a good thing. Please be scared of it. That’s what’s going to travel.”

Watch the full podcast here: