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From UNIQLO’s celebrity-led fleece campaign to Taneira’s take on festive dressing, brands are using humour, product storytelling and familiar cultural cues to connect with consumers
Mattel is repositioning Barbie as a multi-generational cultural IP, combining nostalgia-driven collectibles with role models who champion diversity and empowerment
From Bengali traditions and family bonds to local Kumartuli artisans, brands look beyond conventional festive advertising to connect with Pujo audiences
Google’s new tools offer advertisers more flexibility in budget allocation, but non-binding limits, bundled channels and automated decisions raise questions about how much control they really gain
Guest Column: Ganapathy Viswanathan, Independent Communication Consultant & Author, examines why festive advertising alone cannot drive purchases without the right design, quality and value
As Starlink, Jio & Airtel services await clearance for commercial operations, the connectivity tussle raises an unfamiliar question for advertisers: what changes when the internet comes from space?
Guest Column: Ganapathy Viswanathan, Independent Communication Consultant & Author, on why PR must move beyond media coverage & demonstrate business impact to earn a bigger role in marketing strategy
Narasimhan has been with Adfactors PR for over five years and his previous roles were as Account Director, Group Head and Senior Group Head
Razorpay’s entry into ChatGPT Ads raises questions about the growing overlap between advertising, payments and commerce, and its implications for agencies and ad budgets
With recommendations and checkout nudges, Q-commerce players are turning the shopping journey into a growing pool of media inventory, say experts
As shoppers use AI to compare products and build shortlists, brands must win consideration earlier. This festive season, AI may not replace the funnel, but it is increasingly shaping who enters it
As digital-first brands hit scale, the next growth challenge may lie beyond the screen, pushing stores from optional to strategic
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde has written to the BMC Commissioner, seeking immediate and strict action against unauthorised advertisements, with ‘zero tolerance’
At the e4m Real Time Programmatic Conference, marketers said the edge is shifting from acquisition and storage to connecting signals, acting on them and giving consumers a reason to share more
Tata Play’s Smart connected TV proposition excludes Sony channels, extending the distribution battle beyond DTH as both sides enter the festive season without resolving commercial and legal dispute
Goyal is the quintessential advertising maverick and understands advertising, entrepreneurship, technology and AI
With CTV and premium content moving to larger screens, brands are rethinking the hero film. Marketers and agency heads on why length is back in play
Temporary bamboo structures, pandal branding and local sponsorships are swelling the festive ad market, but much of this spend sits outside conventional OOH measurement
According to the Prasar Bharati CEO, the transformation was not limited to the public broadcaster or WAVES, but reflected a broader restructuring of the media industry
Among the other key winners are Mindshare, Havas Play, UltraTech Cement, The Muthoot Group, ZEEL, JioStar & Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles
With Red Bull in the Delhi High Court over FSSAI's descriptor order, lawyers and a creative head weigh in on what changes for labels, ads and brand codes
Industry executives seek clarity on commercial models, investment commitments and deployment timelines, as repeated delays in the RFP have prolonged uncertainty around D2M broadcasting’s rollout
Dr. Annurag Batra writes on the road ahead for MRUCI as it seeks to revive IRS and establish a trusted readership currency for today’s media landscape
Two more publisher partnerships are understood to be in the pipeline, signalling a potentially wider media strategy in India even as OpenAI remains tight-lipped on its plans
A broadcaster advocating regulation of FAST and ALTD said piracy and territorial restrictions would require particular attention under any proposed framework
TV channels face uncertainty as BARC suspension overshadows festive season, but the solution is not far if all stakeholders prioritise industry interest
As Indian cultural codes find their way into global products, experts weigh in on what brands are really trying to unlock beyond the Indian consumer
As brands chase visibility across more platforms and formats, agency leaders debate whether content volume is diluting distinctive creative work
Liyaquat had joined the Hindi news channel in June 2026 as Senior Executive Editor – TNNB and Vice President – Special Projects
From legacy TV libraries and digital storytelling platforms to studios and OTT players, a new wave of partnerships is turning microdrama IP into a strategic content asset
Several major broadcasters, however, have opposed TRAI bringing FAST and ALTD under telecom-style authorisation
Industry players say YouTube expanding brand partnerships in terms of product tagging to help high-value or high-margin categories to scale; brands can also track ROI from creator campaigns
IBDF also disclosed that certain employees had received summons to appear before the DG of CCI
From CRED's un-ad legacy to AI-sharpened workflows: agencies are working out whether stripped-down creative is craft, or a costume for compromise
Explore how astrology influences consumer behavior in India, creating a unique 'Muhurat Tax' that shapes buying decisions across various sectors.
At the upcoming edition of the summit, Kailash Kulkarni, CEO, HSBC Mutual Fund will engage in a fireside chat on the topic ‘India’s Next Decade: From Financialisation to Wealth Creation’
The case has also expanded beyond the scope of competition investigations to include provisions of the CCI (General) Regulations, 2024, which govern the conduct of advocates during investigations
For the ad industry, the question goes beyond the courtroom to how far can brands push a creative; legal experts say the aim should be to highlight one’s product, not take a dig at a competitor
From an RSS organiser & Gujarat CM to a three-term PM, Narendra Modi’s birthday marks a political journey that has reshaped how Indian leaders communicate, campaign, and build their public identities
By barring rivals from advertising competing image and voice tools as it launches similar products, OpenAI has drawn a competitive line that could raise questions for the wider AI industry
The development comes as Dentsu works to restore normalcy following the searches
With ChatGPT Ads live in India and Google testing conversational AI Search formats, advertisers face a new medium where assistance and promotion increasingly overlap
As Apple entered the foldable smartphone category, Samsung used the moment to put seven years of category experience, humour and global coordination into one campaign
Its decision to seek a licence now indicates that TAM is looking to play a more direct role in the ratings ecosystem under the new framework
Dr. Annurag Batra writes that advertising’s shift to Mumbai and Bengaluru risks weakening India’s regional creative diversity
One investigation does not make an industry-wide case. But it raises a larger question: as advertising becomes more complex, will the business behind the business face greater scrutiny?
As television distribution shifts from satellite, cable and DTH to IP-based CTV and FAST, TRAI’s carriage-centric regulation could gradually lose relevance while content regulation gains prominence
The collaboration will bring together their respective strengths and networks to foster industry dialogue across media, sponsorship, technology, investment and the wider commercial cricket ecosystem
Non-print revenue at newspaper groups has grown rapidly post-Covid and now accounts for around 25–30% of overall revenue, with events, digital subscriptions and OOH emerging as key growth levers
e4m was the first to report that the ‘royalty pivot’ was emerging as a key angle in the Dentsu IT probe
The earlier revenue department methodology had resulted in potential demands of nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore across the sector
Legal voices say, in brand or agency workflows authorship may depend on prompting, iteration, selection and editing but the prompter cannot automatically be treated as the person who caused the work
Nvidia's acquisition of one of world's largest AI development platforms raises a question the advertising industry may soon have to confront: how much of AI infra will ultimately depend on one firm?
Guest Column: Senior business leader Taranjeet Singh writes that as AI makes sales execution faster, human judgment and the ability to build trust are becoming real differentiators
News genre alone has cost the ratings body over ₹15 crore since March; a full-genre freeze from July could wipe out several times its annual revenue
Advertisers remain cautious about paying a premium until ChatGPT Ads proves its ROI
Brands are raising festive creator spends, but with influencer discovery getting crowded, focus is shifting from reach to relevance, regional influence & trusted voices that drive purchase decisions
From JK Super Cement to Meesho and RuPay to Tinder and P&G, brands are moving beyond product placement, betting on serialised storytelling to build deeper engagement with mobile-first audiences
The investment question is becoming more difficult because the television market itself faces structural pressure
Populations of countries where previous roll outs happened pale in comparison to India’s; so advertising built around interpreting conversation matters more than it would for a conventional banner ad
Brands are gearing up for the festive rush with sharper offers, hyper-local campaigns and regional activations, as mass media and digital spends are expected to rise
In 13 months, nearly every marquee FMCG name has changed its chief executive; experts attribute this to a slowing consumption engine, impatient shareholder base & a disrupted distribution model
e4m was the first to report about the ministry's decision to remove the cap
The new system will take effect globally from August 24 and apply across all YouTube formats, including long-form videos, Shorts, podcasts and livestreams
As brands chase shock value for cut-through, Flipkart's obituary-style sale ad reopens the debate on where provocation ends and poor judgement begins
While procurement is changing the commercial side of pitches, holding-company consolidation is complicating the conflict-of-interest equation
Win comes after a multi-agency review; mandate covers both Policybazaar and Paisabazaar
Guest Column: Carol Goyal, CEO of Aesthetic Intelligence Lab, shares how new India is being epitomised by Gen Z
Soni was earlier Director-Google Play, APAC Scaled Business & Partner Ecosystem.
Exclusive TAM data accessed by e4m shows July 2026 recorded News TV's weakest advertising volumes in four years, with the genre's share of total TV advertising slipping to 9%
The clearest point of agreement among industry executives is that commerce media is broader than retail media
More than 1,000 media jobs are estimated to have been lost in 2026 as weak economics, AI and restructuring remake Indian newsrooms
Jain was earlier Chief Marketing and Sales Officer with The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts
Quick commerce has emerged as a key catalyst for growth of the condiment category with new-age food brands broadening their offerings
Dr. Annurag Batra writes that AAAI must evolve from celebrating its past to actively shaping the future of India's advertising industry
As AI rewrites what execution means, Indian creative agencies are looking past the book for talent that is fluent in data, technology and business
Brands are allocating 40-70% of festive budgets to digital, while OOH and creator partnerships gain prominence this Onam
Marico, HUL, Britannia, Dabur and Colgate increased brand investments in FY26 as they sought to defend market share, strengthen premiumisation and stay visible in a fragmented marketplace
From jeera soda to mahua spirits, flavours once dismissed as too local to scale are becoming the most compelling growth strategy as brands chase differentiation in an increasingly crowded market
Speaking at Meta's Q2 earnings call, Mark Zuckerberg detailed how AI is reshaping Meta's products and business, calling the opportunity ahead massive
Advertising revenue surged nearly 27% as ad pricing and impressions climbed, but heavy AI investments, legal charges and higher capital expenditure weighed on profitability during the quarter
SEO agencies are building capabilities around AI citation tracking, structured content, digital PR, reputation management and monitoring how brands are described across different answer engines
INS President Vivek Gupta says publishers should not be treated differently from other industries passing on inflationary costs
INS call for 15% ad surcharge from Aug 1 has triggered discussion over whether an industry body should step into what has traditionally been a bilateral negotiation between publishers & advertisers
The move is part of the advertising giant's post-IPG integration strategy as it streamlines agency brands and sharpens media capabilities
Multiple industry sources told e4m that the company has invited several of the country's top advertising and media agencies to compete for the consolidated business
Parliament has also turned its attention to the government's proposed Telecommunications (Television, Radio and Associated Services) Rules, 2026
The broadcaster has secured exclusive media rights to FIFA competitions in the country until 2034
The panellists will share insights on the topic ‘Do Brands Still Own the Consumer? Navigating Data, Platforms & Privacy in India’
Guest Column: Ganapathy Viswanathan, Communication Consultant & Author writes that Yastika Bhatia’s landmark Lord’s hundred has opened the door to a new chapter in Indian women’s cricket
The Kerala High Court disclosure is also feeding into a separate, and arguably bigger, storm brewing around BARC's leadership
For marketers, the luxury housing category is moving beyond lead generation with developers increasingly focusing on creating distinct brand identities
As viewers move seamlessly across TV, OTT and digital platforms, advertisers are shifting from screen-based planning to unified audience strategies
Nearly a year after the pilot survey was announced, fieldwork is yet to begin. As publishers question the survey framework, the future of India's print media currency remains uncertain
From Heinz's Penalty Packets to Coca-Cola's collectible cans, brands are using packaging to win fans' attention
Meta’s push to replace phone numbers with usernames for its Indian user base has run into a wall in Delhi. But the real story is what one identity, shared across 3 apps, does for a single advertiser
Across categories, brands are shifting towards creators with distinctive content styles, whose audiences engage with them for a unique storytelling approach rather than follower count or mass appeal
Guest Column: Haresh Nayak, CEO of Connect Network Inc., on why the next decade of marketing belongs to organisations that plan with intelligence, not assumptions
From disappearing faces to a boardroom run by pink wigs, this week's ads bet big on the absurd
Despite rapid advances in Generative AI, experts believe agencies cannot treat AI as a legal shield
At Cannes Lions 2026, AI was no longer the headline act. The focus shifted to how technology can solve real problems, elevate craft and deliver meaningful creative outcomes
Physical experiences are turning into user-created content, influencer collabs, consumer data and social media conversations, note market players
As reported earlier, e4m has also learnt that Gaurav Dewani is now preparing to pursue entrepreneurship
Experts say company websites need to evolve from a transaction platform to a brand's most authentic destination with emphasis on structured product information, rich content and accurate data
A new WARC report finds marketers believe creativity drives growth, but most cannot prove its business impact. As CFO scrutiny rises and AI reshapes measurement, creative ROI is under fresh debate
MSOs are proposing the creation of a unified Platform Services advertising network that will allow brands to execute campaigns across multiple cable operators
Guest Column: Dr. Sandeep Goyal deep dives into what Brand Osaka is telling the world
Guest Column: Ganapathy Viswanathan, Communication Consultant & Author, examines how HDFC Bank’s leadership transition underscores trust, transparency and communication in times of uncertainty
Industry executives argue that while licence renewals are a regulatory process, stopping ongoing operations before the process is completed creates uncertainty for the entire sector
With TRPs suspended at the start of the crucial festive planning cycle, advertisers may divert budgets to digital platforms where campaign performance can be measured in real time
Marketers and brand leaders are unanimous that TV measurement needs to go beyond traditional reach, frequency metrics by combining cross-media audience measurement with richer content intelligence
A weak monsoon could squeeze rural incomes, raise food inflation and slow consumption in price-sensitive markets. But marketers say the impact may not be uniform
In a LinkedIn post, Ajit Varghese, Partner and CEO, Madison World, has shared his views on Zee's acquisition of the FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcast rights
As Connected TV scales beyond premium reach, advertisers are asking harder questions on frequency, transparency and business outcomes
Can bigger really mean better? George Manas of Omnicom on the Omnicom-IPG integration, his hopes for India and why Cannes Lions 2026 became one of his favourites
Liz Taylor, Global Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy, and Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy India, reflect on Ogilvy’s Cannes year and how innovation, craft and culture shape winning ideas globally
Among the final day winners at Cannes Lions were Rethink (Independent Network of the Year), LePub, Milan, Italy (Agency of the Year) and Heineken (Creative Brand of the Year)
Prabhjeet Singh will join OpenAI in September and report to Kiran Mani, Managing Director for Asia Pacific
For decades, Indian agencies have operated under a default setting: If it doesn’t impact millions, it isn’t Cannes worthy. Can we try commercial brand solutions and not bank on social macro-problems?
Mobile has converged with digital marketing itself due its evolution from being a marketing channel to the operating system of modern consumer engagement, share industry heads
As Zee bets big on football and brands like Mahindra, Diageo and Apple line up FIFA campaigns, industry heads say Indian marketers are chasing fans, cultural relevance and a global audience
Palki Sharma, Founder and Director of India Global Review, speaks to e4m on why she chose entrepreneurship after two decades in journalism, changing media landscape, AI's role in newsrooms and more
At e4m CTV Conference 2026, marketers argued that CTV's true value lies not in reach numbers, but in its ability to command attention, build trust, and translate into measurable business outcomes
At the e4m CTV Conference 2026 in Mumbai, Ashwin Padmanabhan, COO, WPP Media, delved into the evolution of connected television, how we need to approach CTV differently and more
At e4m Connected TV Conference, Publicis Media’s South Asia CEO Lalatendu Das said CTV’s real opportunity lies in combining data, commerce and AI
With the company acquiring exclusive broadcast rights for India’s tour of Zimbabwe, Z looks set to widen its sports ambitions
Pernod Ricard India’s creative responsibilities are currently shared between Ogilvy and FCB India (now part of Omnicom Advertising India)
Lalatendu Das, CEO, South Asia, Publicis Media, will engage in a fireside chat with Nawal Ahuja, Co-Founder, e4m, on the topic, 'AI, Data & CTV: Building the Next Generation of Media Growth’
The objective is not merely to generate visibility, but to create campaigns that stand out, spark conversation and connect with entirely new consumer groups
The petition contends the blanket exclusion of landing page viewership ignores technological realities & existing safeguards, and said it was neither technically justified nor operationally feasible
From backyard pitches to mothers' smiles, this week’s best ads found meaning in the moments that last
From LinkedIn boardrooms to Reddit rabbit holes, the film industry has rewritten the rules of audience engagement — and there is no going back
Prior to this elevation, Tayar served as Regional Finance Director at Edelman
A report by CNBC-TV18 claimed the government was weighing a new surcharge or tax on foreign travel
Sunita Rajan, MD – APAC Media Sales, Bloomberg Media, talks about the shift towards premium influence-led advertising and more
Advertising executives say while India’s domestic economy remains resilient, brands are becoming more selective and strategic with media spending
The EU is tightening scrutiny on TikTok and Meta over addictive design features such as endless scrolling, autoplay & push notifications that regulators believe fuel compulsive usage among young users
Marketing veteran Shubhranshu Singh reacts on the criticisms around Goafest, but asks - What is the alternative institutional infrastructure?
Met Gala has evolved into an unsponsored advertising arena — a cultural moment where luxury labels, tech billionaires, meme admins, and fast-food chains compete for attention
This is a notable increase from former CEO Mark Read’s $10.8 million compensation
Telecom operators, once seen as mere carriers of connectivity, are now emerging as one of the most consequential holders of consumer intelligence in the country
The Federal Trade Commission in US has accused major global agency networks of coordinating advertising boycotts against certain media platforms under the umbrella of ‘brand safety’
As per the policy, Streaming Minutes refer to the actual duration of content viewed by users. This excludes buffering time, auto-play, idle playback, background play, or any system-generated activity
Digital has emerged as the primary growth engine, with brands prioritising performance-led campaigns to capture high-intent consumers actively seeking healthier alternatives
Meanwhile, advertising for gambling and betting platforms continues to flood digital media, celebrity endorsements persist, and user acquisition campaigns show little sign of slowing down