Week at a glance: TitTok, Instagram as biz platforms; Gayatri Yadav quits Star;ZEE5 growth

All about TikTok as a business platform for brands
TikTok, the short video sharing app from Bytedance, has been on a roll in India. The app has been growing in popularity among not just the users but brands as well. Of the 700 million users that TikTok has globally, 200 million are from India.

After Adgully's report, BARC India breaks silence on splitting Free & Pay viewership data
Putting all industry speculations to rest, BARC India today announced that it would start reporting viewership from free and pay platforms separately starting Week 27 (29th June – 5th July). It may be recalled that Adgully had raised concerns in its report dated July 5, 2019 over BARC’s silence amid conflicting rumours floating in the industry post BARC India’s Board meeting last week.

Growing competition in OTT music space triggers a price war
The competition in music streaming industry is becoming fierce with the entry of global players and there is a price war emerging in this space. Adgully speaks to leading players – Gaana, Hungama and Sony Music – on the growth escalation.

Amit Goenka charts out ZEE5 growth & content strategy; 70 Originals on the anvil
ZEE5, the video-on-demand entertainment platform from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has been on a steady growth path since its launch. The OTT platform today boasts of 61.5 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs) and offers 60+ Original shows and movies in 6 languages. To cater to India’s multi-lingual audience, ZEE5 offers content in 12 Indian languages.

Gayatri Yadav bids adieu to Star India
Gayatri Yadav, President - Consumer Strategy & Innovation, Star India, has put in her papers. When contacted, a Star India spokesperson confirmed the news to Adgully. It is learnt from industry sources that Yadav will be setting up her own entrepreneurial venture.

LinkedIn appoints Ashutosh Gupta as Country Manager for India
LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with 630+ million members globally and more than 57 million members in India, today announced the appointment of Ashutosh Gupta as  Country Manager for India, effective September 2, 2019.

BARC decision on Pay & FTA viewership: Broadcasters see more clarity
The past few weeks have seen some rapid developments taking place at BARC India as well as its decisions on landing page, outliers and now its decision to start reporting viewership from free and pay platforms separately starting Week 27 (29th June – 5th July).

Read More: ICC CWC 2019: World Cup campaigns we won’t forget in a hurry

From social media to B2C marketplace and B2B analytics – how Instagram is evolving
Adam Mosseri, the newly appointed head of Instagram has made significant announcements that could change the future course of the platform. Users who previously identified the platform as a social media for visual storytelling could look forward to doing some ‘window shopping’ with the new Instagram Shopping feature and the Checkout with Instagram feature that has been released in select countries (currently not available in India).

Bain Capital to acquire 60% stake in Kantar from WPP for $3.1 bn
WPP has proposed the sale of 60 per cent stake of its market research business Kantar to Bain Capital. Proceeds to WPP on completion after tax and continuing investment in Kantar expected to be $3.1 billion.

Comedy is a very difficult and complex art to manage every day: Neeraj Vyas
Sony SAB has been struggling with being perceived only as a comedy channel, that too one that focuses on sitcoms. NeerajVyas and Vaishali Sharma speak to Adgully on how Sony SAB plans to break through the set perceptions and see growth.

Nielsen enables robust sales ROI measurement for digital spends
Nielsen India has launched Custom Mix Modeling (CMM) in India, which is a traditional trade heavy market. This solution will help FMCG advertisers measure sales ROIs of individual digital publishers using the same method as for TV and Print.

A lot of metrics used to measure digital are not output metrics: Dolly Jha
Nielsen India last week launched Custom Mix Modeling (CMM) in India. The ROI measurement solution enables FMCG advertisers to evaluate the impact of all media platforms on traditional trade retail sales.

How digital is changing the customer experience game
In today’s experience era, the majority of CEOs believe customer centricity is essential for driving business growth. However, there is still a big gap between ambition and reality, reveals a new CX+ study released by Kantar.

At $1bn, India to be 3rd biggest contributor to global ad spend growth: Zenith
As per Zenith’s Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, Internet advertising will account for 52 per cent of global advertising expenditure in 2021, exceeding the 50 per cent mark for the first time. However, even as the Internet ad market matures, growth is projected to slow down from 17 per cent in 2018 to 9 per cent a year.

Wavemaker ropes in MediCom’s Toby Jenner as new Global CEO
GroupM agency Wavemaker has named Toby Jenner as Global CEO.Reporting to Kelly Clark, GroupM’s Global CEO, Jenner will transition from his current MediaCom role over the summer and begin his new Wavemaker role in September.

DDB Mudra Group Wins McDonald’s
Hardcastle Restaurants Pvt. Ltd. (HRPL), the master franchisees for McDonald’s West and South, have chosen the DDB Mudra Group to work with them. The Group has created a bespoke model, leveraging its brand management, advertising, digital and data capabilities, for McDonald’s - one of the largest chains of quick-service restaurants in India.

iProspect India ropes in Anil Kotian as AVP – Client Servicing
iProspect India, the digital performance agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network, has roped in Anil Kotian as AVP – Client Servicing. He will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India. As AVP – Client Servicing, his chief mandate will be to help drive strategy for iProspect clients.

Carat India wins media duties of ACCA
Carat India, the media agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis network, has bagged the media duties of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). The account was won following a multi-agency pitch and will be serviced from the agency’s Mumbai office.

The Yuvraj Singh brand juggernaut rolls on
Brand Yuvi is seeing an ever stronger resurgence, and how, especially after announcing his retirement. Brand experts decode Yuvraj Singh’s appeal as a brand endorser and youth icon and also how brands can make the most of moment marketing.

Zomato’s anti-marketing campaign creates buzz on twitter
On 3rd July, a classic moment of anti-marketing emerged on Twitter when Zomato tweeted “Guys, kabhi kabhi ghar ka khana bhi kha lena chahiye.” Zomato, the online food search and delivery platform is advising its customers to sometimes eat at home. Within a few minutes, the tweet exploded with numerous re-tweets and responses which had the Tweeple entertained.

BARC Wk 27: Star Plus tops Pay; Dangal TV, DD channels reign in FTA in U+R
The TV viewership ratings landscape has changed from Week 27 (Saturday, June 22 to Friday, June 28) of 2019, with BARC India reporting the viewership data for Pay channels and FTA channels separately. The Pay and Free platform viewership for Hindi GECs in Rural+Urban [HSM (U+R) : NCCS All : 2+ Individuals] throw up some very disparate data.

Pepsi pips Coke to the post as it trumps the trends war
The traditional rivalry between beverage giants – Pepsi and Coca Cola – entered a new chapter as Pepsi proved to be more nimble-footed compared to Coca Cola’s tried and tested strategy.

ICC CWC 2019: World Cup campaigns we won’t forget in a hurry
India has dropped out of the World Cup; however, some of the iconic campaigns will remain in the mindspace of consumers for years to come. Here are some of the most viewed, most talked about and most engaging World Cup campaigns.

How Havmor’s Coolest Summer Job became a successful activation platform
Havmor Ice Cream culminated the third edition of its Coolest Summer Job consumer engagement program in May this year. As part of the program, winners get the opportunity to work alongside a celeb chef and create their own unique flavours at Havmor’s Naroda facility in Ahmedabad.

How Raw Pressery turned plastic waste into a savvy business plan
Raw Pressery has found a business savvy way to kill two birds with one stone – taking on the menace of plastic waste and converting it into an extension of the current business.