Digital

India’s shopping journey is moving to WhatsApp: Study

According to a new Meta-RAI whitepaper, 72% of product discovery now happens on the messaging app.

ASCI launches influencer campaign on greenwashing and dark patterns

The industry self-regulator is using digital creators to educate consumers about misleading sustainability claims and manipulative design practices.

Aakash Educational Services appoints Kanika Kumar Nijhawan as SVP–marketing

Restructuring its senior leadership, the test prep platform also appointed Alka Garg as chief financial officer

Invideo acquires GoBo Labs to deepen AI creator stack

The AI video platform adds an Indian creative studio to strengthen its creator-led product development and storytelling capabilities.

Snap’s $1 billion annualised revenue run rate signals ads aren’t enough

With 25 million subscribers, the social media platform tests paid personalisation and creative tools, reducing ad dependence as marketers confront tighter performance budgets.

Perplexity pulls the plug on ads, citing trust concerns for AI

Executives told the Financial Times that ads risk making users 'suspicious of everything'.

Amitabh Kant urges multilingual, mass-market AI framework

At India AI Impact Summit 2026, the former NITI Aayog CEO warns exclusionary AI design could widen divides, reshape markets and redraw growth trajectories.

Anthropic opens Bengaluru office as Indian opportunity rises

India becomes Claude.ai’s second-largest market, driven by coding-heavy enterprise adoption and multilingual AI investments reshaping production workflows.

Singles, self-love and practical gifts trump romance this season

Self-love narratives and singledom celebrations dominate Valentine’s Day messaging, making up 37% of all posts.

Eros Innovation launches ‘Eros Universe’ at the India AI Impact Summit

The AI-powered creator economy app is built on large cultural models.

We are looking to build some sort of consensus on AI and copyright: Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

At the AI Impact Summit’s opening, Vaishnaw and Motion Picture Association’s chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin addressed a media and entertainment industry in structural realignment.

Meta drives scam awareness through creator campaign

It collaborates with regulators, creators and actor Neena Gupta to deliver a humorous yet cautionary digital campaign addressing evolving online fraud threats.

Consumer loyalty is shifting, as ‘experience debt’ grows

A new report, surveying 59,000 consumers globally, maps the widening gap between brand promise and lived customer experience.

Google criticised after blocking measurement comparing YouTube and TV

YouTube owner sent a 'cease and desist' letter to Barb and Kantar Media.

61% of consumers say influencer content has become more credible

The iCubesWire report shows that influencer marketing is no longer just a visibility channel, but a core enabler of credibility, consideration, and conversion.

Entry-level digital marketing hiring matures as agencies dominate volumes: Kraftshala

Its latest hiring report signals steady demand for early-career marketers, with skills and accountability shaping recruitment decisions.

YouTube moves from scale to structured commerce

CEO Neal Mohan’s 2026 roadmap reframes the platform’s focus on creator infrastructure, tightening links between content, advertising, commerce and measurable outcomes.

AI’s real test: Diffusion, not demos

Davos Diaries: At World Economic Forum, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reframed the AI debate, arguing that adoption, energy economics and outcomes, not hype, will decide its economic credibility.

Publicis Groupe brings PDX to India

Amaresh Godbole will lead PDX India as CEO and also take on the role of chief – AI experiences and solutions at Publicis Groupe India.

X removes Grok undressing feature following backlash

Platform says it has a zero-tolerance approach to child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity.

Kaizzen’s AI push reframes PR from productivity to reputation

With the launch of Kaizzen AI Collective, the communications agency expects at least two dozen Indian clients to engage in AI-led communications intelligence by FY2026.

KFC taps Tamannaah Bhatia for creator-style ‘getting ready’ campaign

It integrates pop culture and creator-style content to promote its Dunked range through a fashion-led social video.

Three Fourth Solutions wins digital and creative mandate for NSHM

The appointment expands Three Fourth Solutions’ education portfolio, with a focus on social media, content and integrated digital campaigns.

ASCI Academy launches ethical UI UX course amid dark pattern scrutiny

The new e-learning programme addresses ethical design as a compliance and trust-building priority for digital marketing teams.

Why Southeast Asia is rethinking how influencers are governed

How the governments choose to regulate now will determine what the creator economy looks like next.

Digital ShoutOuts launches Chat-Prompt.ai for conversational brand campaigns

With this launch, it expands its AI portfolio with a conversational platform aimed at structured, performance-led brand engagement.

Balaji Wafers appoints Creativefuel as social and digital partner

The agency’s experience in building scalable, always-on digital ecosystems for large consumer brands played a key role in it securing the mandate.

Cinépolis India expands cinema advertising with It's Spotlight partnership

Cinépolis India has entered cinema advertising through a nationwide digital screen rollout, appointing 'It’s Spotlight' to manage and commercialise the inventory.

Dentsu Introduces dentsu.Connect to strengthen data and technology integration in India

With this launch, the agency is advancing its shift towards a connected, intelligence-led operating model across data, creativity and media.

OpenAI introduces ChatGPT Health to support informed health decisions

The AI-led offering is designed to help users navigate health information with greater clarity and confidence.

Havas introduces LLM tool Ava, the ‘heart of Havas,’ at CES

Set to roll out this spring, the global LLM unifies the world’s most advanced AI models into one secure portal.

Omnicom introduces next-gen Omni at CES, bringing connected capabilities under one digital powerhouse roof

Following Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG, Omni is now also powered by assets originally under the latter.

Stagwell launches agentic operating system, The Machine

The Machine, powered by AI agents, brings disconnected workflows together into one unified system. Stagwell will be offering demos at CES.

From spectacle to systems: Why 2026 may force AI to grow up

In a recent blog post, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella flags an AI inflection point, warning of a “model overhang” where capability outpaces deployment readiness.

HiveMinds wins integrated digital mandate for Stahl Kitchens

The appointment is intended to strengthen Stahl’s digital footprint, support customer acquisition and improve performance across digital platforms.

Madison Turnt executes end-to-end experiential delivery for IPL auction 2026

The agency delivered a fully integrated experiential and broadcast-ready execution for the IPL Auction 2026 in Abu Dhabi.

Maars Communicates named strategic communications partner for Rose Audio Visuals

The appointment brings together a strategic communications agency and a creative studio led by filmmaker Goldie Behl.

India’s food creators are quietly redefining how we eat with our eyes

Regional food creators are India’s new culinary tastemakers, shaping what people crave and choose to eat.

How Yas Island and Pickyourtrail Crafted a Breakthrough Travel Campaign with Smash the Ordinary

In a world inundated with travel imagery, where every scroll reveals another sunset, skyline, or stamp-worthy escape, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi and Pickyourtrail manage to carve out a distinct space with Smash the Ordinary.

Wondrlab’s Hector accelerates global expansion in commerce media

It has expanded its AI-led commerce-media platform to the US and Japan as adoption rises among digital-first and enterprise brands.

Why brands are betting big on YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts has stopped being an experiment and started becoming essential.

Truecaller launches ‘The State of Trust and Attention’ report at AOY 2025

New study maps how India’s urban users engage in high-intent, trust-driven attention moments.

The quiet rise of story-driven short video in India

Shorter attention spans have transformed the way content is being consumed and the brands are paying attention.

Cross-screen analysis reveals major incremental reach for sports advertisers

Here's something that might surprise media planners: when someone watches live sports on their TV, and someone else watches on their phone, they're probably not the same person switching devices. They're actually different audiences.

Digital research habits are reshaping the path to purchase

As consumers grow wary of polished ads and sponsored content, many are seeking out platforms where real users share unfiltered opinions. Knowledge-based communities and Q&A forums have quietly become part of the purchase journey, places where people look for honest takes before committing to a buy. A survey of Indian Quora users from August 2025 shows the platform is becoming a go-to resource for product research and buying decisions.

YouTube's Big India Push: AI Tools Meet Education Partnerships

YouTube held its annual Impact Summit in New Delhi last week, and the announcements weren't just about views or subscribers. The company rolled out AI tools, forged partnerships with educational institutions, and dropped some numbers that paint a picture of just how embedded the platform has become in India's economy.

OpenAI launches ChatGPT 5.1; here is how it is set to benefit brands

OpenAI launched today its latest upgrade to its language model GPT-5 with GPT 5.1 Instant and GPT 5.1 Thinking. These upgrades are focussed on increased intelligence, improved instruction following, and a more conversational style. The update is rolling out gradually, starting with paid users.

New eyewear ‘B by Lenskart’ brand launch - Everything you need to know about IPO-bound eyewear company's smart glasses' foray

IPO-bound Lenskart has launched a new brand christened ‘B by Lenskart Smartglasses’

Why is Nazara Technologies rebranding itself and what is new?

Gaming company Nazara Technologies has launched a refreshed new brand identity.