Week at a glance: In-app gamification; Goafest 2020; GroupM’s ‘Media Landscape’

In-app gamification – a marketing strategy that pays dividends
Google Pay’s Diwali contest has been the latest of well-designed rewards programme to generate buzz and goodwill of users. Competitive players like e-commerce, OTT, social and utility app developers are doing gamification to build user engagement. 

Goafest 2020 to be held from Apr 2-4; Nakul Chopra re-elected festival Chairman
Goafest 2020 is back for its 16th edition and will be helmed by Nakul Chopra as Chairman and Jaideep Gandhi as Co-Chair of Goafest 2020 organizing committee. Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Media Brands and Treasurer, The Advertising Club, has been elected as Chairman of the Awards Governing Council for ABBY Awards 2020. 

There is massive headroom for growth for TV in India: Prathyusha Agarwal
As CMO, ZEEL, Prathyusha Agarwal has been overseeing key strategic initiatives in the company with regards to the promotion of each channel under the ZEEL umbrella. In a freewheeling conversation with Adgully, Agarwal speaks about why TV continues to show impressive growth in India, scope for monetisation, multi-screen consumption and much more. 

Regulation is the biggest threat for Google and Facebook: GroupM
GroupM paper, titled ‘The Media Landscape’, observes that Google and Facebook are bringing about a disruption in the old economic model by advertising-led monetising of intent and social interaction in the absence of content, even as Netflix is monetising content in the absence of advertising. 

Facebook begins testing Facebook News – what it entails for publishers
On 25th October, Facebook started to test Facebook News as a dedicated place for news on Facebook. This will give people more control over the stories they see and the ability to explore a wider range of their news interests directly within the Facebook app. 

At 5 billion, India leads global app downloads in Q3 2019
India led the world in app downloads in Q3 (July 1 to September 30) of 2019, as per a report by Sensor Tower. Google Play downloads in India have a CAGR of 58 per cent since 2016, increasing from fewer than 1 billion in Q1 2016 to 5 billion in Q3 2019. However, downloads in India fell 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter. 

Hugh Fletcher decodes the new dynamics of commerce
At a recent event in Mumbai, Hugh Fletcher, Head of Thought Leadership (EMEA) and UK Marketing at Wunderman Thompson Commerce, presented a study on the commerce scenario in the West and why e-commerce companies need to start planning about the future. 

Digital Marketing: Betting big on Voice and Visual Search
Kenneth Pao, Executive Managing Director for Asia-Pacific (APAC), Criteo, writes about the fresh opportunities provided by Voice and visual control to digital marketers, creating new avenues to connect with audiences in useful and meaningful ways. 

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to be an all-women edition on Colors Tamil
Colors Tamil has announced that the upcoming Tamil version of popular game show, ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’, will be an all-women edition. Titled ‘Kodeeswari’, the show will be hosted by Tamil actor Radikaa Sarathkumar. In a first ever, the show will see only women on the Hot Seat. 

MX Player raises $110 million from Tencent and Times Internet
MX Player has received $110 million (Rs 775 crore) in fresh funding from Tencent and Times Internet. The deal marks Tencent’s second investment into a Times Internet asset, after it invested in Gaana, the music streaming platform, in 2018. 

Growing expenses pull down Dunzo’s earnings; reports loss of Rs 168.cr in FY19
Bengaluru-based hyperlocal delivery service Dunzo, which rose to social media stardom with its relatable campaigns, has reported loss of Rs 168.9 crore in FY2019, as against a loss of Rs 21.9 crore in FY2018. 

Offbeat: Azim Lalani - A penchant for the gentleman’s game & old classics
Azim Lalani, Business Head – English General News Cluster, Network18, is a man grounded in reality, who understands the many facets to running a digital-first company. A distinguished media professional, Lalani has worked with numerous news platforms, including the Indian Express, India Today, and Rediff, to name a few. 

How recently-acquired ShopClues built the brand through smart ad strategy
Singapore based e-commerce platform Qoo10 Pte Ltd has acquired Indian startup ShopClues in an all stock deal. As per media reports, ShopClues was sold at a throwaway price compared to even the low estimated $250 million, when rival Snapchat considered buying earlier this year. 

ABP News restructures newsroom to match global standards
ABP News will be the first Indian media organisation to match up to global standards by undertaking major resource restructuring in its Editorial Department. With this, aims to empower their editorial to drive more accountability, and to ensure greater clarity in roles. 

Twitter partners with UNESCO for media and information literacy
At the beginning of UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2019, Twitter launched a new handbook for educators, titled ‘Teaching and Learning Twitter’. The aim is to help educators equip younger generations with media literacy skills.