Week at a glance: Gaming universe; Reliance’s FMCG foray; NBDA changes; Festive fervour

Indepth: Unleashing the true potential for Indian gamers

India ranks as one of the largest mobile gaming markets in the world in terms of app downloads. There are presently over 400 gaming companies in India with around 420 million online gamers and India is second only to China in terms of number of gamers.

Amid high growth, gaming Cos seek govt support & official recognition of esports

Till a few years back, gaming was mostly considered to be a pastime for children and the youth. Video game consoles and video game arcades ruled the roost. Today, gaming has turned into a $2.2 billion (in 2021) behemoth, with its market size expected to reach $7 billion in 2026 – a CAGR of 30%, as per industry reports.

Reliance’s FMCG foray: Market no pushover, no mean feat uprooting well entrenched players

The largest retailer in India in revenue terms, Reliance Retail recently announced its foray into the FMCG business. This announcement was made by Isha Ambani, Chairperson of Reliance Retail, at RIL’s 45th Annual General Meeting.

Contextual targeting is key in this changing environment: Dan Richardson, Yahoo

Delivering his keynote address at Adgully’s DATAMATIXX 2022 Summit & Awards on ‘A manifesto for a better Internet in 10 slides or less’, Dan Richardson, Head of Data, APAC, Yahoo, highlighted the many learnings that Yahoo has experienced along the way. “Three simple words are important if we go back and have a look at history, which are Instantaneity, Connection and Joy. Earlier, we would hear a song on the radio on a Sunday afternoon, but now we can hear the same song by typing it on Spotify and other platforms. That is instantaneity.”

ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey takes charge as new NBDA President

Avinash Pandey, CEO, ABP Network has been elected as the President of the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) today. Prior to this, Pandey served as NBDA’s Vice President. With this move, Rajat Sharma, Chairman - Independent News Services, has relinquished the Presidentship of NBDA.

Rajat Sharma steps down as NBDA President after a six-year stint

Well-known broadcaster and Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of India TV, Rajat Sharma, has decided to relinquish the Presidentship of News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA), according to sources.

Pratap Pawar of Sakal Media elected as ABC chairman

Sakal Media chairman Pratap Pawar has been elected as the chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for 2022-2023. Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman and Managing Director of R K Swamy, Advertising Agency Member of the Council, has been elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Bureau for the 2022-2023 term.

Tricky road to VPN regulation: Cyber security or privacy invasion?

Major Virtual Private Network (VPN) apps shut down their servers in India after the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) came up with new cyber security rules on April 28, 2022. The new rules require VPN providers, cloud service providers, and data centres to store user data for five years and hand the same over to the CERT when demanded.

Manjari Singhal on mounting Flipkart’s Big Billion Day on a much grander scale this year

In conversation with Adgully, Manjari Singhal, Senior Director – Customer, Growth, and Events, Flipkart, speaks about the strategy drawn up for the festive season this year, how the annual Big Billion Day sale has been planned on a much bigger scale in 2022 and how Big Billion Day has turned into a cultural event from just a sale event over the years.

TOI has actively contributed towards making India a better place: Kaustuv Chatterjee

In conversation with Adgully, Kaustuv Chatterjee, Director - TOI, Language Brands & NPI, at Bennett, Coleman and Co Ltd, speaks at length about their ‘The Times of Better India’ campaign, the stories that they plan to share with this initiative, how print continues to be a strong medium in India, and more.

Hyperlocal, integrated newsroom help Network18 to stay relevant: Adil Zainulbhai

Network18 has pivoted to integrated news reporting which is platform-agnostic, said Chairman Adil Zainulbhai in his speech to shareholders during the company's FY22 annual report.

Damyant Singh Khanoria on opting for a digital-only campaign for F21s Pro series

Just ahead of the Dussehra/ Durga Puja/ Diwali festive period, smartphone maker OPPO has rolled out its latest campaign – #BeautyInEverything. Featuring brand ambassador Varun Dhawan, the #BeautyInEverything is aimed at supporting the launch of OPPO’s new launch, the F21s Pro series.

Star Sports Network breaks yet another viewership record within a week!

It truly was one of the most competitive continental tournaments that kept cricket fans across the country engaged as 243 million* viewers tuned in to watch the DP World Asia Cup 2022 (excluding the finals). The high-octane tournament clocked a total of 58.8 billion* minutes (excluding the finals).

Consumers who postponed purchases will buy during festive season: Girish Upadhyay

In an interview with Adgully, Girish Upadhyay speaks about the festive ad spends this year, the changing behavioural patterns of brands and consumers, categories that are expected to see higher traction during this festive season, and more.

How Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing is empowering 'authorpreneurs' in India

In conversation with Adgully, Vaishali Aggarwal, Head, Amazon KDP - India, speaks at length about the Amazon Pen to Publish contest and its vision, as well as how Amazon KDP has been helping budding authors in recent times in their journey to being established writers.

From Smart to STARS to Super App - Angel One’s deep investment in technology

In an exclusive interview with Adgully for their column Talking insights, Prabhakar Tiwari, Chief Growth Officer, Angel One Ltd, speaks at length about the Smart Republic campaign, crossing the 1 crore+ clients milestone, targeting the younger generation, and more.

Every OTT platform will offer personalisation: ViewLift’s Manik Bambha

In conversation with Adgully, Manik Bambha, Co-founder & President, ViewLift, talks about the company’s plans in India a well as global expansion, industry trends, and other aspects. Excerpts:

Empathy has become a driver for significant business results: Devapriya Khanna

In conversation with Adgully, Devapriya Khanna, Founder, 212° Brand Lab, speaks about how women leadership is fuelling economic growth, how the pandemic was a rethinking opportunity, work-life integration, and more.

Chaupal OTT expects to touch 20 million users by end of 2023: Sandeep Bansal

In an interview with Adgully, Bansal dwells at length on the phenomenal growth of the OTT platform, the content strategy, growth of regional OTT, aspects of production, etc.

From utility to fashion accessory - How Zippo’s legacy has kept up with the times

In conversation with Adgully, Lucas Johnson, Associate Vice President, Zippo Global Marketing, Zippo Manufacturing Company, speaks about the iconic brand’s legacy, cracking down on counterfeits, strengthening the distribution network, the move to being a personal fashion accessory, and more.

India’s top 75 brands are worth a combined $393 bn: Kantar BrandZ report

India’s strongest brands have bounced back from the pandemic to increase their brand value by a massive 35% CAGR since 2020, when COVID-19 hit the country. India’s top 75 brands are worth a combined $393 billion, equivalent to 11% of India’s national GDP.

Digital ad insertions surged by 109% in Jan-Jun’22: TAM AdEx

Digital medium witnessed more than threefold growth in the Jan-Jun’22 period, as compared to Jan-Jun’20, as per TAM AdEx’s report on Digital Advertising in the first half of 2022. Compared to Jan-Jun’21, digital ad insertions surged by 109% in Jan-Jun’22.