Week at a glance: Cookieles future; ZEE-Sony merger woes; VML & Havas rejigs

Navigating the cookieless future: Examining the ground realities of the seismic shift

“Cookieless future” has emerged as a seismic shift that promises to reshape the way brands connect with their audiences. As the sun sets on the era of third-party cookies, marketers find themselves at crossroads, navigating uncharted territory where traditional tracking mechanisms are giving way to privacy-centric approaches.

Google begins slow phase-out of third-party cookies

Google finally took the first bite out of the third-party cookie on January 4, 2024. Around 1% of Chrome users globally, constituting roughly 30 million people, are now cookie-less, paving the way for a fully cookieless Chrome by the end of this year. This comes after multiple delays and false starts.

ZEE-Sony merger on the brink of collapse

After two years, $10 billion, and countless headaches, Sony’s dream of creating India’s media behemoth with ZEE is teetering on the brink of collapse. The much-touted merger deal is riddled with broken promises, legal snags, and a simmering trust deficit.

Babita Baruah’s return to India to fortify VML’s operations in country

Babita Baruah has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer for VML in India. She has been Executive Director, VMLY&R Thailand, and Regional Client Lead, WPP Ford, International Markets Group.

Havas announces new leadership appointments

Rana Barua, based in Mumbai, will extend his remit to include South East & North Asia. The expansion of Barua’s scope adds nine additional markets under his leadership in his new role as Group CEO India, South East & North Asia. In parallel, Alberto Canteli, based in Dubai, will continue as Chairman and CEO Havas Nordics, Benelux, Central & Eastern Europe, and Middle East, while taking on new responsibilities driving special projects in coordination with Donna Murphy, Global CEO, Havas Creative Network and Havas Health & You.

Patanjali Ayurved’s Anita Nayyar moves on

Anita Nayyar, COO-Media,Branding & Communication of Patanjali Ayurved has moved on from the organisation after close to three years, sources close to the development informed Adgully. Nayyar has played leadership roles in advertising & media agencies – Ogilvy, Lintas-Initiative Media, Mediacom, Mudra, Starcom, Havas Media Group and grown them by giving shape to business, revenue streams, launching diversified disciplines (OOH, Digital, Events, Sports, Entertainment).

Wunderman Thompson South Asia CEO, Shamsuddin Jasani, Steps Down

Shamsuddin Jasani has stepped down from the role of CEO at Wunderman Thompson South Asia. Over the past two years, Jasani has accelerated the transformation of the agency to a modern-day growth partner - delivering impactful solutions for clients across the entire customer journey.

Navigating the future: Martech poised for a transformative shift in 2024

The ever-evolving realm of marketing technology (Martech) landscape is gearing up for a transformative journey in 2024. From hyper-personalisation to the rise of human-like chatbots and the growing significance of podcast tech, businesses are on the brink of a paradigm shift in how they engage with their audience.

How Quaker is strategising to resonate with a younger demographic

Quaker, one of the leading players in the oats segment, has launched a new TV campaign featuring Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani to introduce its latest innovation – Quaker Instant Oats. The launch is an extension of Quaker’s 146 years of nutrition expertise and emerges as an effortless and tasty snack solution.

Growth momentum seen in global PR industry has been stronger in India: Archana Jain

In PR conversation this week, Archana Jain, CEO, PR Pundit Havas Red, speaks in length about the emerging trends expected to shape the PR industry in 2024, shedding light on the firm's focal points for the year.

InMobi’s Devika Sharma decodes the transformative potential of mobile for brands

In conversation with Adgully, Devika Sharma, VP & GM – India, InMobi, speaks about the transformative potential of mobile technology, as well as how the vast reach of mobile platforms allows brands to experiment with new ideas on a large scale.

Tier 2, female viewership give further boost to Shark Tank India: Aman Srivastava

In conversation with Adgully, Aman Srivastava, Head - Marketing, Sony LIV, shares insights into the thought process behind the ‘Shark Tank India 3’ campaign and the evolution of the show over the previous seasons.

At 16% growth, 2023 was fantastic for Chakki Fresh Atta: Vineeth Viswambharan

In conversation with Adgully, Vineeth Viswambharan, Associate Vice President, Marketing & Sales, Adani Wilmar, delves into the creative thought behind the ‘Roti Ki Mehnat’ campaign, media mix, other marketing strategies for Fortune Chakki Fresh Atta, as well as the brand’s performance in 2023.

Women leaders don’t have to compromise likeability: Deepali Shetty, Narrative

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Deepali Shetty, Co-founder, Narrative, a branding & communications agency, speaks about her journey as an entrepreneur, growing diversity in leadership positions, how organisations can effectively encourage and groom women leaders, and more.

How Bonito Designs is democratising high-end interior design for a wider audience

Bonito Designs is one of the largest full-home-only interior design brands in India. It recently came up with the campaign ‘World Designs’, which blends international design aesthetics with localised ones, amalgamating global design with the Indian one, in collaboration with celebrity designers Gauri Khan and Manish Malhotra.

Start-up Stars: Anurag Saboo, Co-founder, DaMENSCH

In an interaction with Adgully, Anurag Saboo, Co-founder, DaMENSCH, speaks about the growth and entrepreneurial journey of DaMENSCH, the evolution of men’s essential wear, brands differentiation, social media engagement, what budding entrepreneurs should do to set up a successful venture, and more.

Sports genre advertising up 5% in Jul-Sept’22 over last year: TAM AdEx

Advertising on Television for Sports Genre witnessed 53% growth in ad volumes during Apr-Jun’23 over Jan-Mar’23, as per TAM AdEx’s quarterly report (Jul-Sept’23) on Advertising on Sports Channel Genre. The report further reveals that Jul-Sept’23 observed de-growth of 10% in ad volumes for the Sports Genre over Jan-Mar’23. Compared to Jul-Sept’22, ad volumes in Sports Genre witnessed growth of 5% in Jul-Sept’23.

Colors ends 2023 with a bang

COLORS, India’s fastest growing Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC), crossed the vaunted 200 GRP mark as it clocked 207 GRPs in the latest BARC ratings. This feat comes as a culmination of an upsurge that the channel has been seeing all through the second half of 2023, growing from 117 GRPs in wk22 to 207 at the close of the year.

Trends & projections for Indian Esports in 2024

Indian Esports is witnessing a meteoric rise, and 2024 promises to be even more spectacular. With a rapidly growing player base and surging revenue, the industry is set to become a major force both at home and on the global stage.