Week at a glance:Gauging India’s festive mood; Games Bharat plays; SPNI leadership rejig

Dear friends,

We are reaching the crescendo of the big fat Indian festive season, with Diwali less than two weeks away. Adgully has been reaching out to a cross-section of industry leaders to explore the trends, innovations and strategies that are dominating the marketing plans of advertisers this festive season.

Festive Mood

This year, Dell’s festive marketing revolves around possibilities of AI: Mayuri Saikia

In this exclusive AG Talk interaction with Adgully, Mayuri Saikia, Director of Marketing, Consumer and Small Business at Dell Technologies India, speaks at length about how Dell is tapping into the festive spirit with its latest AI-powered product offerings. She delves into the creative inspiration behind Dell's 2024 festive campaign, the strategic role of AI in enhancing consumer experiences.

Festive Overdrive: Bullish mobile phone brands leave no stone unturned to win big

Mobile phones is one of the categories that sees great traction during the festive period, especially with the slew of deals and discounts across e-commerce sales occasions. Speaking to brand experts, Adgully explores their strategies and campaigns for this festive season.

Major contribution from non-metros for e-comm festive season growth: Gopal Asthana

In a year marked by a resurgence of consumer enthusiasm, Gopal Asthana, CEO, Tata CLiQ, shares his insights into the evolving dynamics of the festive season shopping landscape. As consumers increasingly embrace e-commerce for their holiday purchases, Asthana highlights the significant impact of non-metro markets and the younger demographic, particularly Gen Z and women shoppers, in driving this growth.

Increased consumer confidence is translating into greater festive spending: Nikita Desai

In conversation with Adgully, Nikita Desai, VP of Strategy, Brand, and Business Excellence at D'Décor Home Fabrics, shares her observations on the overall consumer and market sentiment during the festive season this year, what forms the core of the festive marketing strategy of FabriCare, and much more.

Growth in rural sector driving significant demand during festive season: Rajeev Jain

In this interaction with Adgully, Rajeev Jain, Senior Vice President - Corporate Marketing, DS Group, shares insights into the FMCG industry’s landscape during the festive season. With 2024 poised for strong growth driven by a healthy monsoon and an expanding rural market, Jain discusses how these factors are expected to influence consumer demand.

Perplexity AI

Exclusive: Will Perplexity’s new Ad model shake up digital advertising?

By allowing brands to sponsor AI-generated answers to specific questions, Perplexity is offering a fresh approach to targeted advertising that could disrupt the $300 billion digital advertising industry.

Will Perplexity’s new AI-driven ad model disrupt Google’s dominance?

Rishi Darda on Ratan Tata

A life lived so well doesn’t end, it transforms into Legends: Rishi Darda on Ratan Tata

Ratan Tata, global icon and India’s pride, passed away on October 9, 2024. Rishi Darda, Editorial Director, Lokmat Media, pays tribute to the veteran industrialist and remembers the many lessons learnt from him and why Ratan Tata will always be an inspiration for the ages.

Marketing Mantras

How personalization, sustainability, innovation are shaping the beauty industry in India

Adgully spoke to a cross section of experts in the beauty industry in India who shared some valuable insights on how the beauty brands are geared up for festive season this year, the performance in  H1, growth targets for H2, the trends dominating this industry, the challenges and opportunities in the beauty industry in India, and much more.

My key focus area is to ensure that Godrej Enterprises is future-ready: Sumeet Bhojani

In this exclusive PR Conversation with Adgully, Sumeet Bhojani, Head - Brand & Strategic Insights, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd, discusses his journey – from being the Head of Marketing Communications to leading Brand & Strategic Insights at Godrej Enterprises Group.

Bisleri is taking a very integrated approach to its festive season budget: Tushar Malhotra

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Tushar Malhotra, Director of Sales and Marketing, Bisleri International, speaks at length about what sets Bisleri Pop apart from its soft drink portfolio. He also shares insights into the decision to associate with Ishaan Khatter and Palak Tiwari as brand ambassadors for Bisleri Pop, along with the creative process behind the campaign.

Bikaji to acquire 53.02% stake in The Hazelnut Factory for Rs 131.01 cr

Bikaji Foods Retail Limited (BFRL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Bikaji Foods International, will make a strategic investment of Rs 131.01 crore for an acquisition of 53.02% stake in Hazelnut Factory Food Products, a café cum artisanal sweets brand based in Lucknow.

Executive movements

Leela Lene Dutta departs SPNI; Ambesh Tiwari steps in

Leena Lele Dutta, who has spearheaded SPNI’s portfolio – including the kids' linear channel Sony YAY! – since its launch in 2017, will step down as Business Head towards the end of this fiscal year. Succeeding Leena in this role is Ambesh Tiwari, who recently joined Sony YAY! as Business Operations Head.

Advertising

Exclusive: Umair Mohammad on partnering with Disney+ Hotstar to launch Nitro Ads

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Umair Mohammad, Co-founder and CEO of Nitro Commerce, sheds light on the company’s groundbreaking partnership with Disney+ Hotstar for the launch of Nitro Ads. This collaboration aims to revolutionise the digital advertising landscape by introducing AI-driven, high-intent, and performance-focused strategies.

Parle-G spotlights Diwali traditions reminding us of simpler times

“At every point of the spectrum, Parle-G films hope to evoke a certain amount of emotion. This has been a cornerstone of our past work. This Diwali, we decided to highlight our Diwali traditions in a unique way that has so far been unexplored,” says Mayank Shah, Vice-President, Parle Products.

Gaming

Games Bharat plays: Decoding the explosive growth of gaming in Tier 2-3 markets

As the gaming industry continues to evolve, Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are not only shaping the future of gaming in India but also setting new benchmarks for user engagement, cultural relevance, and market expansion.

Film News

Bollywood re-release success: Can nostalgia sustain Box Office buzz?

The recent spate of Bollywood re-releases hitting the big screens, and doing well at the Box Office has created a buzz. While re-releasing an old hit movie is not a new phenomenon, what is intriguing this time is that even movies that had not done very good business when they were first launched, have done well at the Box Office.

Until next week...

Shanta Saikia

Editor

Adgully

Also Read: A Weekly Ad Compilation of Storytelling Magic: From Roads to Rituals