On Reels, we believe you are on the journey to becoming a global icon: Ajit Mohan

Meta kicked off the 2022 edition of its ‘Creator Day’ to celebrate creators in India and recognise the way they push culture forward on Facebook and Instagram. ‘Creator Day’ is Meta’s annual flagship event to celebrate creators, as they best reflect the way its platforms are used by people to share, express themselves and be entertained. The 2022 version of the event will take place across 5 cities – Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, and Delhi – and will be unique because of their scale and on-ground presence after 2 years due to the pandemic. It is also the first time, at Creator Day, that Meta provided the fans an opportunity to meet and interact with their favourite creators – a unique engagement aimed to strengthen their relationship.

In his opening address, Ajit Mohan, VP and MD - India, Meta, said, “I do consider it special that one of our first in person events of this scale is taking place in Mumbai, the city of dreams. It is focused on the one community that is shaping culture around the country, and increasingly around the world.”

Continuing further, Mohan shared, “We are big fans of creators. Everything that we do, all our products and features are based on one thought, how can we empower the people who have a story to tell, an insight to share, a song to dance to, that’s why we have organised Creator Day. A lot of how we build products in the company, including the products that in many ways were incubated in India – Reels – is by testing and learning and seeing what works and seeing what creators like you love, what you don’t like, what you care about, what you want more.”

“Our efforts are all focused on finding ways for all of you to come together, celebrate, collaborate. That’s why we are hosting five creator days this year. We are reaching out to a lot more creators, in a lot more cities, in just the last one month. We have been to Kochi, Lucknow and Coimbatore, but this one right here is special. Special because we are meeting all of you in person, because since the last creator day in 2019, Reels have really become an important part of our daily lives and special because that’s what the world feels, what they think when they think about Reels.”

“As the CEO of our company, Mark Zuckerberg, himself has said often, ‘Reels is an important product for the company,’ it is of course a huge driver of growth on our platforms, but of even more importance, it helps people around the world understand each other, through the language of creativity.”

“This is a country that speaks more than 100 distinct languages. We may not always understand each other’s spoken languages, but we definitely do understand when we see sparks of creativity. When we see the energy and passion in a short video, we love it, we hit the heart button, we share it with our friends and family, we leave comments.”

“A few years ago, a ‘Pushpa’ or a ‘Kacha Badam’, would have been just regional trends. But now they break barriers, we from India or outside, people who did not understand these languages are making Reels of them, because fashion travels, and creators are spotting trends early and capitalizing on them. Without a doubt, a key pillar of India’s new economy is going to be built around people like you. You should be sure of that. You are going to fuel India’s new economy and we know that you will shape how brands are discovered, you will shape how people buy into products. There is no doubt in my mind that many of you will go on to become owners of big influential brands and companies.”

“That was the reason we created a program such as ‘One Minute Music’, with music playing a huge role, shaping popular culture. The program is created to help artists drop original songs, especially for reels. Artists like Aditya A who sang ‘Chand Baliya’, and Rashmeet Kaur who crafted ‘Bajre Da Sitta’. So, the music is being adapted to different fronts because the platform allows the music to be discovered. ‘Tu Kahan’ has one and a half lakh Reels created with it. GV Prakash’s track was played 50 lakh times in a record short period of time. There are now a hundred songs as part of this program and the numbers keep rising every day. But it's no longer about Indian ideas resonating with Indian convenience, we are now seeing that these ideas are resonating with the world.”

“As we innovate on the product front, we want to really lean in on investing in creator education as well. Our creator enablement program, born on Instagram, pivoted a little last year, when we announced the online learning module. Anyone, anywhere in India, can access our many learning modules for free and get certified in the process. Today, we are happy to share that over 2.2 lakh creators have registered for the course so far. A majority of them are from smaller cities, and the course is now available in seven languages. And that’s something we pride ourselves at Meta. We provide the platform for creators to tell their story, to pursue their passion, to find people who love what they have to share, and to build a community that is deeply meaningful to them.”

Concluding his address, Mohan noted, “We make playgrounds, and we love to see you play. You may be a creator or an influencer, but on Reels, we believe you are on the journey to becoming a global icon. And today, we are here to celebrate you and that exciting journey you are on.”