Week at a glance: Elon Musk buys Twitter; ABBYs 2022; Adani’s media foray; Adieu CNN+

Mission accomplished: Elon Musk seals deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion

After days of speculations over Tesla boss Elon Musk’s move to acquire Twitter, Twitter Inc. yesterday (April 25, 2022) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company.

“ABBYs has surpassed the 2019 number of entries by a significant margin”

Speaking to Adgully on what is new for ABBYs this year, Partha Sinha, President, The Ad Club, remarked, “The biggest news is that ABBYs and One Show have tied up and ABBYs is on the One Show, this is a long term tie-up. One Show is possibly the most credible of all awards platforms.

Adani Enterprises makes its first foray into media, sets up AMG Media Network

Adani Enterprises has announced the formation of AMG Media Networks, a wholly-owned subsidiary. The entity’s initial authorised and paid-up share capital will be Rs 1,000,000 per share. The corporation was formed on April 26, 2022.

In-depth: What the abrupt demise of CNN+ tells us

It is an awfully premature demise! CNN’s news streaming platform, CNN+, will be shut down on April 30, within a month of its much-touted launch. Warner Media-Discovery merger has been cited as the apparent trigger for the quiet burial of CNN+. Discovery executives were opposed to the idea of CNN+ from the very start.

Amazon Prime announces its biggest content slate

Unveiling its biggest slate to date in India, at its maiden Prime Video Presents India showcase event in Mumbai, Amazon Prime Video today announced over 40 new titles, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, across original series, original movies and co-productions that it plans to launch over the next 24 months.

Print media still weak from the pandemic blow, though fighting back

The print media segment is on a strong rebound as the two mainstay revenue streams – subscription and advertisements (ads) – recover, but could take beyond this fiscal to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Netflix, MIB to jointly develop creative ecosystem in India for VFX, music, animation

Netflix has entered into a long-term partnership with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to produce 25 two-minute videos on various themes.

IPL 2022: How ESPNcricinfo is winning the game with multiple brand associations

With a list of brand partnerships like Apple, OnePlus, Toyota, Simplilearn, Maruti Suzuki, iQOO, Swiggy Instamart, and more, ESPNcricinfo is widening its horizons of sponsorships to offer more as they record growth.

Lenskart is today re-imagining eyewear as a lifestyle choice: Aanchal Jain

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully as part of the Marketing Minds column, Aanchal Jain, Head of Brand & Consumer Experience, Lenskart Solutions, speaks at length about the setting up of the Lenskart Global Design Studio, evolution of eyewear as a fashion statement, converting Lenskart into an omni-experience brand, and more.

How brand Happilo has achieved 4x growth in the Covid era

In conversation with Adgully, Vikas D Nahar, Founder, Happilo International, speaks about how the healthy snacking industry has seen great traction during the pandemic period, the brand’s association with IPL franchise team Rajasthan Royals and much more.

The food ordering business in India is very undervalued right now: Raymond Andrews

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully at NRAI’s Cloud Kitchen Convention Raymond Andrews, Founder, Biryani Blues, speaks about how the food industry in India will transform in the next five years and more.

Soaring temperatures, innovations, premiumisation driving fan industry growth

The fan market consists of both organised and unorganised players. The organised fan sector is dominated by national and multi-national brands such as Crompton Greaves, Usha, Orient, Almonard, Havells, Bajaj, Surya Roshni, Luminous, and Polycab

EORTV celebrates the emotions & stories of the LGBTQ community: Deepak Pandey

In conversation with Adgully, Deepak Pandey talks about his objective behind EORTV and his future expectations around the same.

Upstox aims to promote financial inclusion by targeting millennials: Kavitha Subramanian

Talking to Adgully for their column Talking insights, Kavitha Subramanian, Co-Founder, Upstox, speaks about their latest campaign, “Own Your Future”, which is aimed at driving a culture of equity investment in India and also to encourage and motivate more Indian investors to take control of their financial future.

Sonic Branding can be a strategic & enduring brand asset: Rajeev Raja

In an interaction with Adgully, Rajeev Raja, Founder & Soundsmith, BrandMusiq, provides a broader insight on Sonic Branding and its success over the years and how BrandMusiq has helped several renowned companies both global and nationally in creating consumer stickiness and stay ahead of their competition.

Streaming platform Aha sharpens South focus, to launch Aha Malayalam in 2023

In an interview with Adgully, Aha CEO Ajit Thakur said: “100 per cent local positioning is our core strategy, and we want to build on the vision.” Excerpts from the interview

Communications ecosystem has seen a paradigm shift in storytelling: Manisha Chaudhary

In conversation with Adgully, Manisha Chaudhary, Founder & Director, Value360 Communication, speaks at length about the role of PR for start-ups, the changing communications landscape, creating differentiation, and more.

Syska Group eyes Rs 250 crore revenue in the fans segment in 2022

Syska Group, a leading FMEG (Fast Moving Electrical Goods) brand in India, envisions witnessing more robust growth momentum this year for its fan’s vertical. Syska has set a target of Rs 250 crore revenue gain, banking on pent-up demand from consumers as India will experience a hotter summer.

Bajaj Allianz Life sustained a holistic biz growth during the pandemic: Chandramohan Mehra

In an exclusive interview with Adgully, Chandramohan Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer, Bajaj Allianz Life, speaks about their various initiatives and how the company is confident of sustaining a robust performance during the new financial year, enhance customer experience with rapid digital adoption, which will strengthen the equity of the brand further, and more.

The food business is going to be a 15-20 bn opportunity: Anurag Mehrotra

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Anurag Mehrotra, Co-Founder & CEO of Charcoal Eats, speaks at length about the trends he has observed in the food & beverage industry, new launches for Charcoal Eats, and more.

Google leads Digital Rankings in India for March 2022, but reach dips: Comscore

Comscore’s Digital Rankings for India for March 2022 see Google, Facebook and Times Internet Ltd continue in the top 3 ranks. Google led among the digital players, but saw a slight dip in the number of total unique visitors at 476,134(000), while it recorded a reach of 97.9%, compared to 98% reach in February 2022.

Aaj Tak records growth of 188% on Jahangirpuri encroachment coverage

Aaj Tak, India’s most trusted news channel for 21 years has clearly clawed back to its number one position in reach as per the Viewership rating released for week 16.

MIB blocks 16 YouTube news channels for spreading disinformation

Utilising the emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), vide two separate orders on 22.04.2022, issued directions for blocking of 16 YouTube based news channels and one Facebook account.

WPP expands into end-to-end ecommerce with the launch of ‘Everymile’

WPP today launches ‘Everymile’ – expanding its offer with a new fully managed service that will provide brands with an outsourced direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce solution.