Week at a glance: Whatsapp privacy row; Sebamed ad misfires; Print flexes its muscles

Privacy Row: Is WhatsApp’s print ad drive effective in restoring consumer confidence?

Whatsapp has been in the dock ever since it announced updation of their privacy policy earlier this month that allows the messaging app to share commercial user data with parent company Facebook. The revised privacy norms allow the sharing of business interactions across the group. Those who do not accept the updated privacy policy, which come into force in February 2021, will not be able to access their chats on the messaging platform.

47% Indians find Whatsapp’s updated privacy policy unacceptable: Inshorts poll

With the debate raging over WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy in India, a whopping 47% respondents of an Inshorts poll said that they would not accept the policy and would look for alternatives of the messaging app. 

WhatsApp, Facebook top two apps based on usage in India: App Annie

On Wednesday, App Annie released its annual ‘State of Mobile 2021’ report. The report indicated that app downloads in India grew by almost 30% year-on-year up to 24.27 billion downloads in 2020. Games were the most downloaded app category and represented 2 out of every 5 download. Indians time spent on mobile surged from an average 3.3 hours a day in 2019 to 4.6 hours a day in 2020.

Long copy sheds its cocoon to engage an attention deficit audience

Do long copy ads still find favour with clients and agencies? No matter how well-written, do long copy ads manage to engage today’s attention deficit audience? Adgully’s premier TwitterChat endeavour, the first of 2012, dwelled on the topic – ‘Longer narratives are back, why not long copy?’ 

Brand War: Sebamed Vs Dove, Lux, Pears – smart move or missed opportunity?

Sebamed, a German personal care brand, has launched a new campaign, wherein it names well-known soap brands such as Lux, Pears, Dove and even Rin. Industry experts say that while the campaign has helped the brand create awareness and break through the clutter, the execution is out of place and it is a missed opportunity for Sebamed.

Bombay High Court restrains Sebamed commercial from all mediums

The Bombay High Court has granted an ad-interim ex-parte injunction to Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in a suit filed by HUL against the advertisements of Sebamed that had claimed that its cleansing bar had the perfect PH for sensitive skin. In their advertisement, Sebamed had claimed that Dove, Lux and Pears, well-known soap brands that HUL has been marketing for decades, had higher pH, which harmed sensitive skin.

INS reinforces Print’s relevance for advertisers through a series of ads

The print media suffered severe disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent nationwide lockdowns. Now, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has come out with a series of print campaigns to reinforce that Print still delivers and is relevant for advertisers and readers alike, even amid the strong march of digital media. Referring to the ASCI-ISA report findings, INS said, “Advertising seen on traditional media continues to enjoy high trust amongst the consumers. Advertising in newspapers (86%) emerged as the most trusted, followed by TV (83%) and Radio (83%).

Back in the black, tyre brands are banking on innovation & convenience to woo consumers

After 8-9 months of severe COVID-19 and lockdown impact across industries in 2020, the last couple of months saw India Inc gearing up to embrace the new normal. Analysts expect the tyre industry to maintain the growth momentum owing to an improved outlook for the auto sector, strong rural demand and increasing personal mobility trend. Demand is improving gradually in the tyre sector on the back of healthy growth in the replacement market and gradual recovery in the OEM segment month on month.

After a turbulent year, the positive winds of change in the real estate sector in 2021

As in the case of most other sectors, the real estate sector also had a tumultuous time in 2020 due to the pandemic and nationwide lockdown. However, some positive changes are being seen in the real estate sector as the economy is gradually limping back to normalcy. Some leading names in the real estate sector speak to Adgully about the signs of revival in this sector.

How ZEISS Vision Care India continued to develop its business beating COVID-19 disruptions

Like many other industries, the COVID-19 pandemic had a strong impact on the eyecare services industry across the globe. However, ZEISS Vision Care India has worked around the challenges that the pandemic threw and kept the wheels of the company moving. In conversation with Adgully, Sunil Gopinath, Head - Marketing, ZEISS Vision Care India, speaks about how Zeiss Vision Care India navigated through the pandemic challenges and how they engaged with their business partners and the customers across the country.

2021 is the year of rebuilding fundamentals: Kishan Kumar MS, Wavemaker India

“2020 was that speed-breaker on a busy expressway no one saw. No wonder everyone had to force-stop and then restart!” exclaimed Kishan Kumar MS, Chief Growth Officer & South – Head, Wavemaker India.

2021 will be a year of higher order gratification of consumers: Deba Ghoshal

Deba Ghoshal, Vice President and Head of Marketing, Voltas Ltd, looks to capitalising on the momentum garnered by the festive season of 2020. In 2021, he expects the demand for need-based products to be high. He also anticipates a lot of business coming in from the Tier 2 and 3 markets over the next 2-3 years.

Building an app for Bharat is actually a very challenging task: Anuj Bhansali, PhonePe

Continuing with the Video Knowledge Series by Adgully in partnership with mFilter, the latest episode features Anuj Bhansali, Head, Trust and Safety, PhonePe. In this interaction, Bhansali talks about building an app for Bharat and the challenges, role of safety and trust, initiatives by PhonePe and their vision for 2021.

India is on the cusp of becoming one of the biggest online gaming markets: Manav Sethi

Octro Inc has become the largest and fastest growing mobile gaming company in India. Octro recently stated that its game, TeenPatti, witnessed 800% growth in paying users in 2020. Manav Sethi, who joined Octro Inc as Global Chief Marketing Officer in July 2020, is very upbeat about the online gaming industry in 2021.

"Planning’s importance is linked to its ability to help clients navigate the VUCA world"

In conversation with Adgully, Gulshan Singh, National Planning Director, FCB Interface, speaks about the increasing complexity of business which is also creating unprecedented opportunities for planners and for advertising. Singh also shares insights on how planners are helping clients and creative partners navigate the VUCA world. 

Fantasy Sports industry is moving in the right direction at a very fast pace: Vinit Godara

Vinit Godara, Co-founder and CEO, MyTeam11, looks back at 2020 and major learnings gained from the year, as well as shares his vision for 2021 and the factor that will further contribute to its growth in the year ahead. 

In the post-pandemic world, Cinema and OTT will co-exist: Vinit Mehta, Brightcove

The movie theatre business has faced unprecedented disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After staying shut for several months, even as cinema halls have re-opened, the crowds are just not there. In conversation with Adgully, Vinit Mehta, Head of Sales, Indian Sub-Continent, Brightcove, offers several useful suggestions that the cinema hall business can adopt in the new normal.

Zing wants to instil strong moral grounds via its content offering: Pankaj Balhara

Pankaj Balhara, Deputy Business Head - Music Cluster, ZEEL, shares the key focus areas for 2021, content strategy, ways to strengthen the consumer connect and more.

WPP appoints Rob Reilly as Global Chief Creative Officer

Rob Reilly, who is currently Global Creative Chairman of McCann Worldgroup, will join WPP in May, reporting to CEO Mark Read. In partnership with Read, and the CEOs and Chief Creative Officers of WPP’s agencies, Reilly will champion creativity within and beyond the company, fostering a culture that delivers extraordinary work to WPP’s clients.

Misleading Ads: Demystifying ‘Trans Fat Free’ claims made by brands

The Indian Food regulator notified changes to the regulation on Trans Fats in the last week of 2020. What are Trans Fats? Part 21 of the series of articles on Misleading Ads by Advocate Aazmeen Kasad, serves to demystify the term, use of the ‘Trans Fat Free’ claim by certain products and provide an in-depth understanding of what the law on the same is.

#Twitterchat: How Dating and Matrimony Apps are changing the way we meet people

Dating and matchmaking as a concept has evolved tremendously in India. The growing digitisation in India and growth of technology has only facilitated people’s need for companionship. Addressing the various facets of the dating ecosystem, Adgully’s much appreciated property, #TwitterChat, has put the spotlight on ‘Are Dating and Matrimony Apps Changing The Way We Meet People?’ in its latest episode.

Ad volumes of H2 2020 grew 34% over H1; HUL remains biggest advertiser: BARC

In a challenging year for India and the world, it was reassuring to see an increase in ad volumes on TV in the second half of 2020. Hindustan Unilever was the biggest advertiser in 2020 with a 30% growth in ad volumes over 2019, followed by the Reckitt Benckiser Group, with their ad volumes growing by 37% in 2020 over 2019.

Hybrid OTT TV subscription services users to reach 273 mn in 2025: Juniper Research

Juniper Research has unveiled its whitepaper, ‘Tuning into the Future of Video Streaming’, which discusses how the business models of OTT TV and on-demand video will change, including a forecast for the number of users of ad-supported subscription VoD services in 2025.

“There’s a very thin line between using data for user experience & invading user’s privacy”

Every entrepreneur of a start-up should have a fair understanding of marketing. It is important to assess demand and have the right marketing strategy. It is important to know the maturity of the category. In this podcast, Radha Radhakrishnan discusses the importance of communication for start-ups with Sanjay OS, Lead – Digital Marketing, BYJU’s, the importance of communication for start-ups.