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Unpaid promotion: Zomato watermarked image pops up inside Swiggy app
The catch? These weren’t random photos. Zomato offers professional photography services to its partner restaurants, clicking and watermarking images before they go live on its app.
In an unusual brand crossover, Zomato's watermark has made a surprise appearance on rival food delivery platform Swiggy - without any planned campaign or media spend.
A LinkedIn user flagged that a restaurant listed on Swiggy Bolt was showcasing food photos still watermarked by Zomato. The twist? These weren't user-uploaded images.
Zomato offers professional photography services to its restaurant partners, capturing and watermarking high-quality visuals before they go live on its platform.
When the same restaurant reused those photos on Swiggy, the watermark remained intact - essentially turning into free visibility for Zomato on a competitor's marketplace.
The incident sparked buzz online, with users calling it "a brilliant marketing move, even if unintentional," while another joked, "What about the times I order from Zomato and the delivery guy comes in Swiggy outfit?" While others saw it as a fascinating lesson in branding, noting how watermarking can drive recall and visibility across unexpected spaces.
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