Author: Kashmeera Sambamurthy

Influencers and talent agencies’ strained relations | MIB’s WAVES postponed | Nestle’s Rajat Jain becomes MD of Singapore

Live music and concerts are becoming more popular, with a 43% increase in searches for events like Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Vijay Antony, and Diljit Dosanjh concerts. (Image Source: Zoozoothemes)

Storyboard18 brings you top five news updates from the world of advertising, marketing and business of brands.

Maha Kumbh 2025: Ashwini Vaishnaw launches Mahakumbh songs produced by AIR & Doordarshan

'Mahakumbh Hai' was sung by the music composer and singer Kailash Kher, the lyrics were penned by writer Aalok Shrivastav, and the music composed and arranged by Kshitij Tarey.

‘Mahakumbh Hai’ and Akashvani’s composition is a tribute to India’s rich cultural heritage, and the significance and grandeur of the Mahakumbh Mela.

IAS launches AI-driven Total Media Performance solution to maximize ROI for global advertisers

Leveraging responsible and trusted artificial intelligence (AI) models to align media quality with cost and outcomes, TMP empowers advertisers to drive ad effectiveness through quality path optimization with end-to-end transparency across the programmatic supply chain, highlighted the company in a statement.

Total Media Performance (TMP) enables advertisers to achieve better campaign outcomes by integrating IAS’s industry-leading media quality signals with in-flight optimization.

Havas India appoints Manas Lahiri as Chief Growth Officer

During his previous tenure as managing director at Havas Creative India, Manas Lahiri played a pivotal role in reshaping the agency, driving key business wins, and strengthening client relationships, further added the company in a statement.

In this newly created role, Manas Lahiri will be working closely with the executive leadership team of Havas India, driving strategic growth initiatives, enhancing client partnerships, and spearheading innovative business opportunities across Havas India’s ecosystem of 25 agencies across the country.

DPDP Act: Making sense of the rules for marketers

The Indian DPDP act is the first such privacy regulation which has clearly articulated the need and a role for Consent Manager. This solves very many problems that is plaguing the current ad tech ecosystem. (Image: claudio-schwarz via Unsplash)

From policy to practice, your quick guide to the DPDP Act and draft rules.

PV de-grew in Dec 2024 due to high post-festive inventory, aggressive discounting and limited new launches: FADA

The near-term outlook is that PV should get a boost from new launches, marriage-season demand and promotions—but possible price hikes could temper gains, highlighted FADA. (Image Source: Moneycontrol)

With many buyers deferring purchases of PVs to January, the near term outlook of PV dealers, as mentioned by FADA, is anticipating strong consumer pull from new SUV launches, feature-rich EVs and its maturing EV ecosystem, though price-sensitive buyers and interest rate fluctuations remain watchpoints.

DPDP Act: Tokenisation could ease parental consent implementation

The industry’s challenge lies in creating systems that verify a child’s age and secure parental authorisation without overburdening users or compromising innovation. (Image Source: SiteWALL)

The Indian government’s emphasis on a consent-based framework for Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act is evident with “consent” being one of the most frequently mentioned terms in the draft rules. While this marks a significant step in protecting user data, industry stakeholders are navigating the nuances of compliance and implementation.

Snap Inc. names Ankit Goyle as Head Of Marketing, India

Ankit Goyle started his career at Google as account manager, and then joined Reid & Taylor as assistant brand manager. Then, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail roped him in as retail marketing manager, and then he was promoted brand marketing manager, Van Heusen.

Previously, Ankit Goyle led Apple as head – category marketing and demand generation – iPhone and AirPods.

Akasa Air appoints Belson Coutinho as its Chief Operating Officer

Belson Coutinho has been a part of Akasa Air’s executive committee since the airline’s inception in 2022.

In his new role, Belson Coutinho will be responsible for inflight services, airport services, maintenance and engineering, flight operations, IOCC, operational excellence while also spearheading Akasa Air Learning Academy.