Month: December 2023

Elon Musk’s X facing an exodus of employees

A report from Business Insider indicated that the resignations include senior as well as junior employees. The staff began leaving as shortly after X handed bonus checks earlier in November said the report. (Image sourced via Forbes)

The micro-blogging platform is currently operating with a skeleton staff at its office as its advertising division continues to lose money.

VC funding in Indian startups sinks to a 6-year low in November

A47’s current product portfolio includes t-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, posters, mugs, diecast scale models, caps & badges among others. (Representative Image: Markus Winkler via Unsplash)

Startups in India recorded about $7.05 billion in funding till November, down 71 percent from $24.36 billion in 2022.

Does a better title make a better executive? The how’s and why’s of job title generosity

"It’s true that career tracks today are unlike what they were 20 years ago or even 8-10 years ago. Today, young folks in the workforce are impatient to climb the older, more conventional career tracks and neither are they willing to commit to a career timeframe. In fact, one sees total career switches being made, with growth coming from doing different things rather than from doing the same things (and growing while doing them)," writes Ashok Lalla. (Representative Image: Jon Tyson via Unsplash)

There seems to be a trend in recent years of liberally handing out impressive job titles in the advertising world and elsewhere too.

HUL restructures its leadership team: Harman Dhillon, Kartik Chandrasekhar, Arun Neelakantan get new roles

To unlock new growth opportunities by leveraging the digital ecosystem in India, Arun Neelakantan will join the HUL MC as chief digital officer (CDO). (From left to right: Harman Dhillon, Madhusudhan Rao, Arun Neelakantan and Kartik Chandrasekhar)

Madhusudhan Rao to retire; Harman Dhillon becomes executive director, Beauty & Wellbeing; Kartik Chandrasekhar is executive director, Personal Care; and Arun Neelakantan is the chief digital officer.

Nivea has always been a challenger brand in India: Sunil Gadgil, Nivea India

Sunil Gadgil, marketing director, Nivea India stated, "Skincare is a high involvement category. Consumers do not just jump from one brand to another. They have a basket of brands which are acceptable to them, and they're very careful about adding any brand to that basket."

Storyboard18 got in touch with Sunil Gadgil, Marketing Director, Nivea India, who spoke about their recently launched campaign, the 100+ year old brand’s advertising and marketing strategies, and a lot more.

Can a change in IT rules bridge the gap for fair revenue sharing between big tech and publishers?

Blocking is not a new element in this situation. In markets like Australia, Facebook threatened to block news content and also went ahead with the implementation of the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code. (Representative Image: Luca Bravo via Unsplash) (Representational image by Conny Schneider via Unsplash)

The amendment proposed amendment would prohibit platforms from banning sites of providers that participate in collective negotiations or arbitration.

Bookstrapping: The Science of being Lucky by Nick Trenton

The author, Nick Trenton connects superstition to how it balances uncertainty and absence of understanding of real causes of events in our lives. (Image source: Amazon)

In The Science of being Lucky, the author Nick Trenton touches upon late Warren Buffet understanding the real meaning of luck, on lucky thought patterns, how people with self-doubt should not drown themselves in others’ opinion and a lot more.

Don’t get into any sort of competition, says Rahul Karthikeyan, Scaler

Rahul Karthikeyan, CMO, Scaler Academy said, "I like to be empathetic. It kind of opens a lot of doors. Always keep it simple. Let's not complicate our lives. If you are not able to achieve certain things, it's okay."

Storyboard18 caught up with Rahul Karthikeyan, chief marketing officer, Scaler India, who spoke on ways to keep workplace toxicity at bay, gave us a peek into his weekends, and ended by highlighting his share of wisdom.

I thought I’ll quit in a year’s time: Shashi Sinha, AAAI’s 2023 Lifetime Achievement Awardee

Shashi Sinha, CEO of IPG Mediabrands India, said, "We have leaders who have been with us for years. The culture fosters it. Given half a chance I will promote a person from inside rather than get someone from outside."

In a special TV interview with Storyboard18, Shashi Sinha, CEO of IPG Mediabrands India, who is being awarded the 2023 AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to the advertising industry, takes us through his journey in the ad business and key defining moments.