#TBH: Can advertising take the lead in bringing social change?

While sticking their necks out on issues may imperil the brands, they do take calculated risks to be able stand out in the clutter. To be sure, the representation of the LGBTQIA+ community in advertising is a more recent phenomenon. This may be a result of the successful challenge to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that effectively decriminalised consensual adult same-sex relationships, providing a huge fillip to the LGBTQIA+ movement. (Stills from ads)

Gone are the days when brand advertising just meant highlighting the features or attributes of a product. Today, brands are strongly aligning their communication strategies with a cause. With the proliferation and the growing popularity of social media, the medium has played its part in brands strongly associating with a cause.

Jitender Dabas on making Goafest great again

Every industry needs its marquee events to showcase its best. Every industry must have forums where it can present views. Every industry needs festivals to celebrate itself and make its people feel happy and proud to be a part of it.

Senior advertising executive and McCann WorldGroup India’s COO Jitender Dabas opines on key steps that could steer Goafest to glory again.

Online retail in Indian garners $60B GMV in FY23; Flipkart Group maintains market share: Redseer

In contrast to the pre-covid levels e-tailing market has grown deeper across categories, with more users making purchases online. Although mobile phones dominated the category divide in FY19, fashion is now the single largest category with 27 percent share whereas BPC, grocery and home categories are the fastest growing. (Representative Image via Unsplash)

Ads monetisation contributed $1.2 billion in revenue for Indian e-tailers in FY23, according to Redseer’s new report.

Weekly Shorts: Granfluencers’ experimentations with social media

According to affable.ai, there are over 106 granfluencers in India, making it the second top country with a high number of granfluencers, after the USA. Compared to India and USA, brands in Southeast Asia and UAE countries have yet to tap into the potential of these older content creators. (Representative Image: Tiago Muraro via Unsplash)

What’s buzzing in influencer marketing and the creator ecosystem? What’s the next big thing coming down the line? Catch the big trends and hot topics in our weekly shorts.

Goafest 2023: GOZOOP’s Ahmed Aftab Naqvi calls ABBYs the Indian Premier Advertising Fest. Here’s why

"The high quality of entries made the task of selecting the winners extremely challenging for the jury. It is a testament to the remarkable talent and competitiveness within the advertising community," says Ahmed Aftab Naqvi. He was a Jury Chair at ABBY One Show Awards.

GOZOOP’s Ahmed Aftab Naqvi was the jury chair of the Mobile category of the ABBY One Show Awards.

Goafest 2023: What made the cut at ABBY One Show Awards this year?

Goafest 2024 will be a three-day extravaganza, showcasing the pinnacle of creativity, knowledge, and networking in the advertising, marketing, and media industry.
 (Representative Image: My Life Through A Lens via Unsplash)

Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Ashwini Deshpande, Pallavi Chakravarti, PG Aditiya and Sabyasachi Mitter on judging ABBY One Show Awards.

JioCinema to grab two-thirds of total IPL AdEx this season

According to BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) sponsorship guidelines, highest bid submitted by the parties are subject to Tata Sons Private Limited exercising its ‘Right to Match’, wherein BCCI is required to notify Tata of the highest bid amount (highest bid) received for the Title Sponsorship Rights. (Image source: Twitter - @IPL)

This season, the number of sponsors during IPL’s digital streaming has reached 26, which is the highest ever for any sporting tournament.

Brands in the news for their trade secrets

Whenever a big company’s trade secret is exposed, the company’s brand image is on the line. So are the profits. Conspiracy theorists claim that it could be a profit-making marketing scheme for the companies as well. (Left image by @TrungTPhan via Twitter, right image by Abenteuer Albanien via Unsplash)

Whenever a big company’s trade secret is exposed, the company’s brand image is on the line. Critics feel trade secrets and conspiracies are nothing but marketing schemes by brands.

Why is there a sudden rise in scam messages in agency business

78% of Indians are more concerned about online shopping scams this festive season than they were a year ago, particularly due to the rise in deepfake scams

Scamsters posing as advertising or digital marketing agency representatives have seen a constant rise. They often pose as representatives from agency’s HR teams making job offers and extracting information. Storyboard18 decodes the scam and measures to prevent it.