Week at a glance: Influencer guidelines; Festive spends; Campa’s comeback; AI & music

GAMEXX 2022: Come, be a part of India’s gaming juggernaut

Adgully’s premier property, GAMEXX, has been putting the spotlight on this high growth industry. Stage is now set for the second edition of GAMEXX 2022. Launched in the virtual space in 2021, GAMEXX 2022 will be a full-fledged off-line event, to be held on Wednesday, September 21 in Delhi.

Govt guidelines on influencers - A step towards an evolved influencer ecosystem: Experts

The Consumer Affairs Ministry will come out with guidelines for Social Media Influencers, making it mandatory for disclosures about paid promotions. Commenting on the proposed guidelines, Nidhi Khare, Chairperson of Consumer Protection Authority, has said that the penalties for violations could range from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for influencers.

Industry weighs in Campa’s comeback backed by Reliance’s clout

Ever since news of Reliance acquiring home-grown aerated beverage brand Campa Cola from Delhi-based company Pure Drinks appeared in the last week of August this year, the market has been abuzz with excitement.

Brands & festive season Part 1: The headwinds fuelling bumper spends this year

This festival season is important on so many counts. Brands and advertisers are enthusiastic and hopeful as they are eager to make the best out of the season, which is coming after two years of pandemic-induced lockdown and the resultant economic slowdown. Now that the effects of the pandemic have ebbed, there is sufficient ground to rejoice. In fact, brands and analysts are expecting increased consumer spending during this festive season. Many believe that consumer sentiments have returned to pre-COVID levels.

Brands & Festive Season Part 2: Decoding the market dynamics & shifts in behaviour

After over two years of Covid-led disruptions and lockdowns and subdued market sentiments, brands as well as consumers are looking forward to a bumper festive season this year. In Adgully’s numerous interactions with industry experts, what has emerged strongly is that it is expected to be business beyond the usual this festive season as there is a strong propensity to spend amongst the consumers, and brands and advertisers are well prepared to meet the growing consumer demands.

Indepth: The world of virtual pop stars - Will AI & algorithms change the music biz?

In 2018, a Japanese man by name Akihiko Kondo made news by ‘marrying’ Hatsune Miku, a virtual pop star. He was one among the many who married fictional characters in a country known for its uncanny fascination for anime and cartoons. Kondo identified himself as fictosexual, a catch-all term for those who are sexually attracted to fictional characters. Such cases no longer raise any eyebrows as they have become commonplace in the zeitgeist of the times that we live in, with virtual influencers and virtual pop stars assuming real-life personas.

Cricket returns with the greatest rivalry breaking viewership records

Cricket has returned with a big bang ahead of the festive season as 176 million* viewers tuned in to watch the first six games of DP World Asia Cup 2022. The high-octane blockbuster between India and Pakistan on August 28th, 2022, recorded a cumulative reach of 133 million* and registered 13.6 billion minutes, registering a growth of almost 30% compared to the Ind-Pak encounter in Asia Cup 2016.

PR industry must be positioned well to attract top notch talent, say experts

The public relations industry has evolved tremendously and grown by leaps and bounds over the years. There is hardly any industry or corporate today that does not use PR today. This is in addition to having an internal corporate communications team. The demands and challenges for PR agencies have also increased manifold, especially in an always-on digital world.

We’ve an amazing opportunity for programmatically enabled retail media: Brian Gleason

In an exclusive interview with Adgully, Brian Gleason, Chief Revenue Officer, Criteo, speaks at length about their new Video Advertising Solution in India, trends in e-commerce, and much more.

At Colors, we are creating platform-agnostic content: Manisha Sharma

“As far as Colors goes, we offer a wide variety of entertainment, and our content has always mirrored society. We consciously choose to bring out stories across genres that are unique, appealing, and fresh,” says Manisha Sharma, Chief Content Officer, Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18. She is excited about the Colors’ flagship property, ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’, which is making a comeback after five years. “Over the period of nine years, the show has not just done exceptionally well, but has also built its loyal viewers/ fan base, making it one of the most anticipated comebacks,” she emphasises.

Indian films and series can cater to a global audience: Sunder Aaron

In conversation with Adgully, Sunder Aaron, Co-founder, and Principal – Locomotive Global Inc, speaks about the trends dominating the film and OTT sector in India, the content consumption trends, collaboration with Applause Entertainment and Bend It Films, and more.

How McDowell’s plans to tap into the celebration experience this festive season

In conversation with Adgully, Ruchira Jaitly, Executive Vice-President and Prestige Portfolio Head, Diageo India, said, “As a brand, we have always been an enabler of deeper connections and of meaningful friendship. The brand’s narrative has revolved around yaars and yaari that enable us to be better people and grow in life. KK’s voice provided hope, joy, and several delightful emotions to many. A huge generation had found refuge and comfort through his music.”

Acer aims to be a leading voice in keeping sustainability at the core: Sooraj Balakrishnan

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Sooraj Balakrishnan, Head - Marketing, Acer India, speaks at length about their campaign to push for sustainability, Acer’s performance during H1 2022, ambitious plans for gaming, and much more.

Our client assets grew from $2.5 bn in 2015 to $26 bn in March 2022: Sujay K Rachh

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Sujay K Rachh, Head of Marketing, Edelweiss Wealth Management, speaks about their various product offerings, how they have adapted to a digitally transformed world, how the company is delivering value to their customers through a hybrid model, and more.

Emami’s Mantra Masala is eyeing Rs 1,000 cr turnover in 5 years: Krishna Mohan Nyayapati

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Krishna Mohan Nyayapati, Director, Emami Agrotech Ltd, speaks about the brand story of the company’s Mantra Masala spices and how they are differentiating themselves in the market with their innovative manufacturing technology to deliver quality products.

AVOD is the next big move for us: aha’s Nitin Burman and Vaasudev Koppineni

In conversation with Adgully, Nitin Burman, Head of non-Subscription, aha, and Vaasudev Koppineni, Vice President of Content & Strategy, aha, speak at length about aha’s growth journey ever since its inception, its new content lineup for aha Gold, plans to adopt an AVOD model as well, strategy for the festive season this year, and much more.

How Otipy is leveraging nostalgia to power its agri-tech business

Speaking to Adgully for their column Talking Insights, Varun Khurana, Founder & CEO, Otipy, gives a rundown on the ‘Chawanni’ campaign and how they are focused on the mission of bringing back the olden days of the "chawanni Era" by adding nostalgic elements, along with creating a strong market push for their chemical-free fresh fruits & vegetables at the minimum price.

Accenture to buy Inspirage

Accenture is one of the major tech companies globally has agreed to acquire Inspirage, is it an integrated supply chain specialist firm focused on Oracle technology.