Mumbai: VavoDigital, a one-of-a-kind marketplace, which connects brands and influencers across the country has initiated a conversation on trans inclusion. The discussion is specifically about trans influencers, an exponentially growing industry and opportunity in the country and across the world. The company aims at making the entire influencer community very inclusive of influencers irrespective of geographies, visibility, and gender. VavoDigital celebrates the achievements, empowerment, security of trans womxn and their identity to be normalised. The vision is to bring out more voices, conversations, and acceptance from everyone about their fellow trans folx. VavoDigital feels that there are a huge number of trans folx across the country who could benefit from the influencer marketing domain.

The influencer marketing industry is set to hit $15 Billion by 2022. Brands are spending half of their marketing budgets on working with content creators. Creating a platform for brands to reach out to a diverse set of influencers including non-binary, trans & gender-neutral influencers across geographies for their influencer marketing campaigns is the end goal. We believe that brands have a long journey ahead – from featuring one and all belonging to different walks of life to displaying their idea of womanhood, campaigns can beautifully break through the stereotypes.

Trans women have been instrumental in many changes. As trans people and iconography are seen as ever more mainstream and accepted, the voices and lives of the people who lead these movements are sidelined. This event will provide a platform to elevate these strong perspectives to understand who we are, and who we can be as an all-inclusive community.

To reach out to the masses, VavoDigital is organising a panel discussion on the 8th of March 2021, on the topic “Transgender Inclusivity in the Realm of Influencer Marketing”. Joining the brand on the Panel are Rudrani Chhetri an Indian Transgender woman actor, model, activist, and entrepreneur, Aloka Majumdar, Head of Corporate Sustainability, HSBC India, and Sharif D Rangnekar, Author, Culture & Communications Consultant and Director Rainbow Lit Fest.

Sharing her views on the same, Neha Puri, Founder & CEO, VavoDigital, said, “One day each year, we celebrate women – their struggle, achievements in different arenas and their unity to fight against hardships over the years. In this patriarchal society, where sexually identifiable women still struggle for their dignity, it seems like an impossible dream to watch the transwomen living a life of pride. VavoDigital aims at voicing and celebrating the challenges and success of not just those ‘born as a woman’ but those who chose to be a woman’, not just on the occasion of women’s day but every day. Being an Influencer Marketing platform, we want to understand how the society and brands are becoming more accepting of the transgender community in their promotions and what changes would the community like to see in the future.”

Commenting about the initiative, Rudrani Chhetri, Indian Transgender woman actor, model, activist, entrepreneur, said, “I’m extremely delighted to be a part of the initiative by VavoDigital this Women’s Day. The thought behind endorsing or promoting any brand does not have to be by a specific gender.  I started the first-ever transgender modeling agency as I believe, every product is inclusive, it is just how we as humans have bifurcated it according to genders, and now we need to break this. I see this as an opportunity and, it is not tokenistic and not for the sake of saying it or doing something for the not-so-privileged. This will help people to be influenced by different communities endorsing and talking about products. It will also give the community, the confidence of growing up and a larger audience to speak to. The initiative will help us to break the gap between the general community and us. Initiatives like these give us hope to live, see life better, to live life with dignity.”