We Didn’t Just Market the Summit. We Named It.
How Four Pillars built 21by72 from a blank page into one of Bharat’s leading startup summits across five seasons.
Engagement Snapshot
Company: 21by72 (by IVY Growth Associates)
Industry: Startup Summit / Events
Location: Surat — with pan-India reach
Engagement: Full event marketing brand, digital, ATL/BTL, PR, content
Partnership: 5 seasons and counting
The Brief
The ask was as big as it was simple: put Surat on the world map for startups. No event yet, no name, no brand just an ambition. Four Pillars Media Agency was brought on not to promote something that already existed, but to help build it from the ground up and then take it to the country.
It Started With the Name
Before a single ticket could be sold, the event needed an identity. We ran through fifty to seventy names nothing landed. Then the brief itself gave us the answer. “Surat on the world map” wasn’t just a goal; it was a clue. So we did something literal and ownable: we used Surat’s own map coordinates its latitude and longitude as the name.
21by72 was born. It was specific, it was rooted in the city, and it was impossible to confuse with anything else. The name became the foundation everything else was built on and five seasons later, it’s a brand the startup ecosystem knows.
The Challenge
A summit lives or dies on the room. We weren’t filling seats we were assembling an ecosystem: founders worth pitching, investors worth pitching to, and a wider audience that made the energy real. Two very different audiences, one regional base, and a national ambition marketed every season against the clock of a fixed event date.
What We Delivered
A full-spectrum event marketing mandate brand, digital, on-ground, PR and content run season after season by one team.
BRAND & DIGITAL
ON-GROUND & OUT-OF-HOME (ATL / BTL)
PR & CONTENT
Across five seasons, 21by72 has grown into a summit with a footfall of 10,000–20,000 each year founders, investors and public with 80+ startups exhibiting and 25+ pitching live to venture funds, angel networks and investors, alongside keynotes and panels with leading founders, investors, and sports and entertainment personalities. (Full speaker line-up on the 21by72 website.)
The Results
Five seasons of compounding reach and revenue built on owned channels, paid media and on-ground presence. Highlights across the journey: 2M+ YouTube views, 25M+ impressions every season, 500+ exhibitor leads and 2,500+ pass leads per season, and over ₹1M in passes sold online in 2025 all on a lean total ad spend of roughly ₹2.5M across five seasons.
Key Metrics
conceived, named & marketed
impressions every season
pass leads per season
passes sold online, 2025
Achievements
5 Seasons
25M+
2,500+
₹1M+
Got an event that needs to own its category?
From naming it to filling the room, we build and market events end to end brand, digital, on-ground and PR, one team for the long game. Let’s talk.
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