Category: Digital

  • Content creator Manav Chhabra invited to Formula 1 Qatar Airways Hungarian Grand Prix 2023

    Content creator Manav Chhabra invited to Formula 1 Qatar Airways Hungarian Grand Prix 2023

    Mumbai: Exciting news unfolds for spiritual seekers and enthusiasts as OMTV, a niche OTT platform specialising in spirituality, forges a powerful collaboration with PlayBox TV, a leading OTT aggregator platform. This strategic partnership aims to bring profound content to the premium paid category, revolutionising the spiritual entertainment landscape.

    OMTV has been a trusted source of free spiritual content, captivating viewers with its enlightening programs. Now, through this collaboration with PlayBox TV, OMTV takes a significant leap into the premium paid market, offering an elevated spiritual experience to its dedicated audience. By joining forces with PlayBox TV, OMTV gains access to a robust distribution network and cutting-edge technology, enhancing its ability to deliver premium spiritual content to a wider audience. This expansion reflects OMTV’s commitment to providing high-quality, transformative programming that transcends boundaries.

    The partnership with PlayBox TV allows OMTV to cater to the discerning needs of spiritual seekers who value insightful teachings, wisdom, and guidance. With an extensive library of spiritually enriching content, OMTV ensures a comprehensive range of programs, spanning various spiritual traditions and practices.

    Speaking about the same, OMTV founder & MD Nitin Jai Shukla said, “We are very excited about our new collaboration with PlayBox TV. This partnership marks a significant milestone for our viewers, as it allows us to expand our premium spiritual content to a wider audience. Through this alliance, we aim to offer an elevated and transformative spiritual experience, inspiring and empowering viewers on their spiritual journey,”

    PlayBox TV, renowned for its diverse content offerings, gains an esteemed spiritual partner in OMTV. The collaboration enables PlayBox TV to strengthen its position as a comprehensive OTT aggregator platform by adding spiritually focused content to its portfolio. This mutually beneficial partnership opens new avenues for growth and innovation in the spiritual entertainment segment.

    Audiences can look forward to an enhanced spiritual journey as OMTV’s premium paid content becomes available on the PlayBox TV platform. From the teachings of renowned spiritual leaders to immersive meditation experiences, OMTV’s premium programs will provide subscribers with a transformative and enlightening viewing experience.

    PlayBox TV founder Aamir Mulani said, “This collaboration enriches our platform by adding a premium range of content that spans various genres and interests. With OMTV’s varied library of spiritual and edutainment programs, we are catering to the discerning needs of our viewers who seek high-quality and engaging content. Playbox TV CTO Shalindera Sawant added, “This alliance enhances our commitment to providing a comprehensive user experience for our valued subscribers, we are thrilled to collaborate with OMTV.”

    The collaboration between OMTV and PlayBox TV symbolises a collective commitment to expand spiritual awareness and foster personal growth. Both platforms aim to empower viewers by providing a curated collection of spiritually uplifting content, accessible with ease and convenience.

    As OMTV embarks on this exciting chapter, the partnership with PlayBox TV paves the way for a new era of spiritual entertainment. Stay tuned for updates as OMTV’s premium paid content is seamlessly integrated into the PlayBox TV platform, enriching the lives of spiritual seekers worldwide. Together, OMTV and PlayBox TV strive to create a platform that inspires, enlightens, and transforms lives, where spirituality meets innovation, convenience, and premium content.

  • Six best kept secrets about trading

    Six best kept secrets about trading

    Mumbai: Trading can be a challenging yet rewarding endeavour, and understanding the secrets of successful trading can make a significant difference in your results. In this listicle, we revealSix game-changing secrets that can help improve your trading game and achieve your financial goals. Whether you are a seasoned trader or just starting out, these secrets can empower you to trade with confidence and maximize your potential profits.

    1.      Use Effective Risk Management Strategies:

    One of the best-kept secrets in trading is effective risk management. Successful traders understand the importance of limiting losses and preserving capital. Tools that enable you to set stop-loss orders, diversify your portfolio and place GTT orders can significantly reduce your risk exposure. As a reference point, platforms like Shoonya by Finvasia, Zerodha, and Angel One provide these tools and additionalresources, to support you in safeguarding your trades and investments.

    2.      Cultivating an Emotional Discipline:

    Controlling your emotions is another secret to successful trading. Emotions like fear and greed can cloud judgment and lead to irrational trading decisions. Developing emotional discipline involves sticking to your trading plan, avoiding impulsive trades, and not letting emotions dictate your actions. For instance, if market fluctuations urge you to deviate from your strategy, remind yourself of your long-term goals. The premier trading platforms offer educational resources and support to help traders cultivate emotional discipline.

    3.      Focus onTechnical and Fundamental Analysis:

    Another secret is in understanding technical and fundamental analysis.This involves studying price charts, patterns, and indicators to identify trends, predict future price movements, time entry and exit points. It is based on the belief that historical price data can provide insights into future price movements. For instance, using moving averages to spot trend reversals or using support and resistance levels to determine probable entry and exit points.Digital brokerslike Shoonya by Finvasia, Zerodha, and Angel One offer customizable charting features, real-time data, and historical price information, empowering traders to spot patterns and trends and execute trades with precision.

    4.      Continuous Learning:

    Continuous learning is a fundamental principle for successful traders. They recognize that the financial markets are ever-changing and highly competitive, requiring them to constantly improve their knowledge and skills. Staying updated on market trends, trading strategies, and new technologies is essential to make well-informed decisions. Engaging in webinars, reading financial news, and participating in trading communities, will not only provide you valuable insights but will also foster a supportive network for sharing ideas and experiences. By embracing a culture of continuous learning, you can enhance your abilities to navigate the complexities of the financial world and increase your chances of achieving consistent success in your trading endeavours.

    5.      Leveraging Trade Automation:

    Automating your trades is a secret that many successful traders leverage. By using algorithms and trading bots, you can execute trades automatically based on predefined criteria, reducing emotional bias and improving efficiency. Special mention is to Shoonya’s trading platform which offers tools and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to allow traders to automate their trading strategies and take advantage of market opportunities. They also offer an AI-based predictive analytic feature that automates the vast research across 1500 scripts and helps investors make faster decisions.

    6.      Maintaining a Favourable Risk-Reward Ratio:

    Maintaining a favourable risk-reward ratio is another secret to successful trading. A positive risk-reward ratio means that your potential profit on a trade is greater than the potential loss. By aiming for trades with a higher reward compared to the risk taken, you can increase your overall profitability. For example, consider a trade with a 3:1 risk-reward ratio, where you stand to gain three times more than what you might lose. Shoonya by Finvasia, Zerodha, and Angel One provider risk-reward analysis tools that help you assess and optimise your trade setups.

    Unlocking these six best-kept secrets about trading can transform your trading journey. By implementing effective risk management, maintaining emotional discipline, mastering technical and fundamental analysis, continuous learning, leveraging trade automation, focusing on risk-reward ratios, and practicing patience and discipline, you can enhance your trading performance. Shoonya by Finvasia, Zerodha, and Angel One provide the tools, resources, and support to help you try out these secrets and excel in your trading endeavours. So, take action now and experience the positive impact of these secrets on your trading success!

  • Garage Group expands its offerings in cutting-edge e-content creation services

    Garage Group expands its offerings in cutting-edge e-content creation services

    Mumbai: Garage Group, a full-service digital creative agency, has recently established the e-learning content wing aimed at producing cutting-edge e-content for various universities and government initiatives. This new vertical focuses on developing content that enables its clients to build a portfolio of interactive, effective, and remarkably impactful content in different formats compatible with the world’s best learning management systems. With their expertise and commitment to innovation, Garage Group’s new wing is poised to deliver exceptional e-content for e-learning experiences that drive business growth as well as establish them as pioneers in the field.

    The newly established vertical is designed to cater to the growing demand for dynamic digital content across various industries. By leveraging the latest technologies and industry best practices, Garage Group aims to empower its clients with a portfolio of e-content in a variety of formats ranging from immersive videos, multimedia presentations to interactive e-learning modules and engaging webinars. Garage Group’s e-content services will enable businesses to captivate their target audience and deliver a truly immersive digital experience.

    Garage Group’s team of skilled professionals brings a wealth of expertise and creativity to the table, ensuring that every e-content project is executed with the utmost understanding of the project. From conceptualization to execution, Garage Group’s collaborative approach ensures that clients’ unique brand identity and messaging are seamlessly integrated into the content, resulting in a cohesive and impactful digital experience.

    With the proliferation of smartphones, tablets, and other digital devices, it is crucial for various educational institutes to ensure that their content is optimized for different screen sizes and resolutions. Garage Group’s expertise in responsive design and mobile optimization ensures that the e-content seamlessly adapts to different devices, providing a consistent and engaging experience for users, regardless of their preferred platform.

    “We are thrilled to be taking on this new challenge,” said Garage Group founder and managing director Saurabh Gupta. “Cultivating a strong digital presence is no longer a choice, but a necessity for companies. By entering in the e-content space, we aim to create a new set of clients in a completely new domain and help them embrace the future of digital media, unlocking the limitless possibilities to redefine the way business ideologies. Establishing this new vertical is a testament of our team’s expertise in developing high-quality e-content that aligns with modern organizational needs.”

    Garage Group’s commitment to delivering high-quality educational resources has quickly established them as a trusted partner in the industry. Recently, Garage has partnered with ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) to develop e-content properties for their undergraduate and postgraduate courses. This project will not only give an edge to ICAR among its peers but also help students and faculty to deliver anytime education, which is very essential post-covid era.

  • Ensuring sensitivity and honesty: ASCI introduces guidelines for advertisements for charitable causes

    Ensuring sensitivity and honesty: ASCI introduces guidelines for advertisements for charitable causes

    Mumbai: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has introduced guidelines for advertisements for charitable causes.

    In recent years, charities have been active advertisers, particularly on digital media, and especially for the purpose of seeking funds and crowdfunding on behalf of their beneficiaries who may not have an active social network to reach and tap donors. Charities, including crowdfunding platforms, provide this reach through sponsored ads and organic posts, which tap potential donors.

    However, there have been some concerns about ads that create donor distress through the use of images that may be too graphic. While the intent of such posts is undoubtedly to nudge donors to contribute, such posts may cause undue distress to ordinary consumers who may be surfing through their news feeds. In addition, with crowdsourcing platforms, consumers may not know what amount, from their donation, goes to the beneficiary and what may be kept by the platforms for their administrative fees or charges.

    The new guidelines reinforce the ASCI code; Chapter 1 requires ads to be honest and truthful and Chapter 2 requires them not to cause grave or widespread harm or offence. To be compliant, ads related to charitable causes must adhere to the following guidelines:

    An advertisement for a charitable organisation or crowdsourcing platform for charity shall not overtly or pointedly suggest that anyone who doesn’t support the charity fails in their responsibility or should feel ashamed.

    Advertisements must not disrespect the dignity of those on whose behalf an appeal is being made, by any means, including showing graphic images of victims in distress, particularly children and minors. An advertiser must be able to produce evidence of express consent for the use of images of beneficiaries if asked to do so.

    In digital advertising, any image that could cause unjustified distress to an ordinary consumer must be blurred and made visible only to those interested in knowing more.

    When an appeal is made for a specific case or beneficiary, the ad must disclose if the funds could potentially be used for other purposes or other beneficiaries. Ads must not mislead consumers about where or to whom their donations are going.

    If a crowdsourcing platform collects a percentage or fee for managing or raising donor funds, it must be made clear what such amounts are in the advertisement itself.

    Talking about the new guidelines, ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI recognises that charities can have a challenging job explaining the nature of the important, and often sensitive work they do, and raise funds for beneficiaries in need. However, they must take care not to overstep the mark by misleading consumers or causing unjustified distress to those who may be merely surfing online. The guidelines strike a balance between allowing charities to do their important work, and at the same time, be fair to consumers who are viewers of such advertisements.”

  • Persistent sustains growth momentum, revenue up by 17.1 per cent Y-o-Y, 3.0 per cent Q-o-Q

    Persistent sustains growth momentum, revenue up by 17.1 per cent Y-o-Y, 3.0 per cent Q-o-Q

    Mumbai: The 33rd Annual General Meeting of the Company was held on 18 July, 2023. All the resolutions, including a final dividend payment of Rs 12 per share and a special dividend of Rs 10 per share on achieving $1 Billion in annual revenue, were passed with the requisite majority. This makes the total dividend for FY23 to be Rs 50 per share as compared to Rs 31 per share for FY22. 

    Consolidated Financial Highlights for the Quarter ended June 30, 2023:

    * In Q1FY24, there was a one-time expense towards client events and employee gifts on account of achieving the $1B revenue milestone. Adjusted for this, PAT margin was 11.4% for Q1FY24, with Q-o-Q growth of 5.4% and Y-o-Y growth of 25.2%.

    Persistent CEO & executive director Sandeep Kalra said, “We commenced the year by celebrating a significant milestone of surpassing $1 billion in annual revenue with our clients, partners, and team members. As we enter our new fiscal year, I’m pleased to share that we have sustained our growth momentum despite the challenging macroeconomic conditions. Our Digital Engineering leadership, extensive experience across key industries, curated partner ecosystem, and the ability to stay ahead of disruptive technology trends has led to our ongoing success. 

    We also want to extend our warm welcome to Dr. Ajit Ranade, a renowned academician, corporate executive, economist, and thought leader, as an Independent Director to our Board. He will bring his impressive experience of 32+ years to help guide our strategy and accelerate our growth journey.” 

    First Quarter FY24 Client Wins and Outcomes

    The order booking for the quarter ended on 30 June, 2023, was at $380.3 million in Total Contract Value (TCV) and at $271.9 million in Annual Contract Value (ACV) terms.

    Some of the key wins for the quarter include:

    Software, Hi-Tech & Emerging Industries 

    • Establishing a software lab to engineer new products and enhance existing products for a leading SaaS provider related to customer support, sales, and other customer communications. 
    • Providing engineering services and support of Network Services Orchestration (NSO) platform for a multinational digital communications conglomerate.
    • Developing Generative AI proofs of concept and building database connectors for serverless data integration for a multinational technology company.

    Banking, Financial Services & Insurance

    • Driving digital transformation for customer acquisition and service, along with sales and marketing automation platforms for the financial services arm of a Fortune 500 automobile company. 
    • Supporting application migration and providing managed services to ensure seamless integration of an acquired automation platform for a leading US-based financial software company. 
    • Developing a Data Science platform for Risk Management, Identity Access Management and Regulatory/compliance applications for a leading corporate investment banking services provider. 

    Healthcare & Life Sciences

    • Engineering Data and Machine Learning platforms and accelerating product capabilities to drive an innovation roadmap for a multinational managed healthcare and insurance company.
    • Building and managing a Unified Data Platform encompassing analytics for sales inventory, sales order pipeline etc. for a European multinational medical equipment manufacturing firm.
    • Engineering platforms for data curation, analytics, and laboratory management and migrating data lake to the cloud for a leading molecular diagnostics company in the space of early-stage cancer detection.  

    News in the Quarter

    • Persistent Expands Relationship with AWS to Adopt Amazon CodeWhisperer
    • Persistent Unveils New Global Hub in Texas for Private Equity Value Creation
    • Persistent Inaugurates New Office in Poland to Expand Footprint in Europe
    • Forbes: Persistent Systems: Balancing Culture and Values with Rapid Growth, featuring Sandeep Kalra
    • The Times of India: Persistent Systems Positive on Generative AI-led Growth, featuring Sandeep Kalra
    • The Stack: Tech services firm Persistent is rolling out an AI coding companion to 16,000 engineers. Its CTO recognises the risk, featuring Pandurang Kamat

    Awards and Recognitions

    • Sandeep Kalra recognized as the Best CEO in the IT and ITeS category by Business Today
    • Persistent named the fastest-growing IT Services brand in India in the Brand Finance India 100 2023 report
    • Persistent recognized as a Leader in Everest Group’s Payments IT Services PEAK Matrix Assessment 2023
    • Persistent featured in Everest Group’s 2023 PEAK Matrix Service Provider of the Year awards under the Top 10 ITS Challengers list
    • Persistent named a Leader in ISG Provider Lens Digital Engineering Services Quadrants U.S. 2023
    • Persistent named a Leader in the Salesforce Ecosystem Partners 2023 ISG Provider Lens Study
  • Lowe Lintas launches Lowe Lintas DX

    Lowe Lintas launches Lowe Lintas DX

    Mumbai: With an aim to redefine the landscape of digital brand building, Lowe Lintas, one of India’s premier brand-building and advertising institutions has announced the launch of Lowe Lintas DX, a digital creative unit, offering advanced strategic and creative services specifically designed for long-term brand building in the digital spheres.

    The ever-evolving digital landscape where innovation and data-driven insights dictate marketing decisions, Lowe Lintas DX envisions a transformative journey for brands. The vision is to augment digital strategies and solutions by harnessing the power of ideas to craft distinctive and impactful campaigns. The aim is to lead the way in pivoting the digital realm, where the convergence of creativity and innovation redefines the future of brands.

    Working with brands, offering creative services, digital tech production, and valuable insights on digital consumers, Lowe Lintas DX team will leverage strategic support from Meta in India to create thought leadership resources for developing campaigns. The collaboration marks the first for MullenLowe Global internationally and will entail Lowe Lintas and Meta experts to support brand-building programs, Reels, and creative best practices. With Meta in India, the team will also be able to work with Instagram and Facebook creators and Meta’s AR and VR partners. 

    In today’s ever-expanding digital landscape, where consumers hold significant influence and digital spending takes precedence over other platforms, Meta will provide vital support to Lowe Lintas DX. This strategic support will empower Lowe Lintas DX to navigate the evolving marketing dynamics, harness the power of digital, social media, and commerce, and cultivate profound and unique brand experiences at every stage of customer engagement.

    Director and head of Ads business for Meta in India Arun Srinivas said, “With digital emerging as one the biggest advertising medium in the country, there is a strong need to create new standards of brand building and advertising on digital platforms. Lowe Lintas DX has the potential to become an industry-leading hub of excellence, delivering strong business outcomes for brands that work with both Lowe Lintas and Meta. I am excited to deepen our support with MullenLowe Lintas Group and look forward to some path-breaking work with the team.”  

    MullenLowe Lintas Group CEO & MullenLowe Global chief strategy officer – APAC Subbu expressed, “Lowe Lintas DX, a game-changing offering from Lowe Lintas, strategically supported by Meta, is a living system for building brands in a futuristic way. In a rapidly accelerating digital-led marketplace that is characterised by data-driven technologies, our collaboration will explore constantly deepening experiences and smart growth ideas for brands that go far beyond the traditional methods giving businesses unceasing velocity and a competitive leg up. With this collaborative advantage, we are very confident it will enhance learning and possibilities, creating value for everyone in the play – the consumers, our brands, clients, Meta, and us.”

  • I Prefer My Kids Interacting with Generative AI Than Scrolling through social media platforms Here’s Why

    I Prefer My Kids Interacting with Generative AI Than Scrolling through social media platforms Here’s Why

    Mumbai: For the past few months, practically everyone has been grappling with what Generative Artificial Intelligence means for the future of creativity and jobs — even the future of the human race. Is Generative AI going to make us more productive, save us time, and help us be healthier, smarter, and happier? Or will it eliminate most jobs, and build a Terminator-type Skynet that will control us?

    You can’t really stop innovation; and Generative AI is as real as it gets in terms of revolutionizing work, culture, and the nature of creativity. It’s transformative for many industries and it will certainly become as ubiquitous in our homes as Siri and Alexa. Star Wars director George Lucas saw it clearly and if you ask me – I’m predicting our kids will unwrap one heck of a Christmas gift later this year, as talking robots, whether their small R2D2 or sleek golden 3PO, powered by generative AI will be placed under the tree.

    As the world begins to ask it questions about important topics like science, healthcare, and politics, technology like ChatGPT can be a real threat. So, the question is not whether our kids are talking to R2D2 on Christmas; the question is: What was that robot trained on?

    If you want to get a bit more technical, the language engines that power AI are not that interesting. The only thing that matters is the “unique data” that AI is trained on. This is the difference between good and bad, safe and dangerous. With map navigation companies, it could mean the difference between getting a good route and driving off a cliff. This is why Waze was a cool startup, it used unique user-generated data of people driving. Same here, this technology will really shine when trained on a unique dataset and fine-tuned to learn specific verticals.

    Garbage In, Garbage Out

    Put simply, Large Language Models — which is what Generative AI is based on — learn to produce conversation via text by scraping the web’s infinite sources of data, and “predict what is the next word” that would make sense based on the data it saw, it’s like a perfect rear view mirror. That, and with techniques like RLHF (reinforcement learning with human feedback), it’s able to create a dialogue, predicting word after word until a whole sentence and a paragraph is created. It kind of reminds us of Google “auto-complete” when we search, or Google’s “did you mean” — only on steroids.

    If you spend some time with Generative AI, you’ll see it’s pretty good already. Is it perfect? No, but it can definitely talk to you about many different things: from hip-hop trends and what really happened between 2Pac and Biggie, all the way to drafting a Java Code for an idea that you have. It’s not perfect, but it’s very, very good.

    There is a fundamental question of the business model, how are sources being indexed by Generative AI getting credit and paid? There is this notion used to express the idea that in computing and other spheres, incorrect or poor-quality input will always produce faulty output. It’s called “Garbage In, Garbage Out”. This means that it’s critical for Generative AI to be trained on highly and widely valued sources of information in win/win, and such that we can trust what the AI is telling us.

    One of the risks we’ve seen with social media is the overwhelming spread of misinformation, social media has lately become the center of a lot of information that is just not true. And kids believe it, they believe it all.

    That is why the open web, publishers, professional editors, and reliable journalism sources are critical to our kids’ future. The future of humanity really is at stake, but the risk is not Generative AI becoming Skynet, but rather that our kids will be fed manipulated information across crucial topics such as health care, science, or politics on social networks.  

    News Publishers are the heroes Generative AI needs — and they will lend legitimacy to our new AI-powered assistants

    Generative AI does some really cool things. It can provide stimulating, even inspiring dialogue about practically any subject. It can write passable poems and screenplays. It can produce fantastic art and mimic the rap stylings of any popular artist. It can offer sound advice on occasion.

    But because generative AI has been trained using fallible human beings, it is also littering these channels with misinformation. Some of this bad information can be humorous, like asking Bard “Did Anakin Skywalker fight Darth Vader?” and getting a ‘Yes, they fought 3 times.’ (Humorous, when everyone knows they are the same person.) Or it can be harmful, like asking the AI “Is sunscreen good for you” and getting a “maybe” because it was trained on inputs that emerged after a popular social media misinformation campaign.

    That’s where publishers come in. By training these smart systems on credible information and high-quality media, Generative AI reflects the better nature of what the world has to offer.

    News publishers have checks and balances in place to report on news accurately. News editors dedicate their entire careers and lives to this. I would trust a journalist’s assessment of breaking news over a social media influencer’s hot take any day. Yes, I said it.

    I’m optimistic, and I’m long on the open web and publishers because of the role they are about to play in this LLM revolution. Our kids are about to spend so much more with robots that will be powered by Generative AI, and they will all be trained on awesome publishers all over the world. And the best part – they’ll spend less time on social media.

    The author of this article is Taboola CEO & founder Adam Singolda.

  • Unleashing global influence on social media, AI, and inclusive marketing magic!

    Unleashing global influence on social media, AI, and inclusive marketing magic!

    Mumbai: With its vision to be the HYPE Capital of the world and work with brands, content creators, and celebrities across the globe, The Hype Capital envisions a connected world where people and brands can effortlessly share ideas, build relationships, and collaborate on a global scale. The company believes that technology should enhance human connections, break down barriers, and promote inclusivity.

    The company has a wealth of experience working with some of the most renowned companies and individuals in this field and has a comprehensive understanding of sports, F&B, nightlife & entertainment industries. Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Robin Uthappa are a few of the reputed cricketers The Hype Capital is working with. The company has also collaborated with companies including Crickstore, sLick Entertainment, Nustart Sports, Tenvic Sports, Spektacom Technologies, St. Anthony’s Goa, O’Aido Goa, Bobby’s Fat Fish Goa, HappyGrub, Redroom, and others.

    Indiantelevision.com in an email interaction spoke to Sachin Shah founder  Of the Hype Capital to connect people and brands globally through technology for inclusive collaboration.

    On the role of the user, segmentation helps in creating targeted social media campaigns

    By dividing the target audience into distinct groups based on demographics, interests, behaviours, and preferences, businesses can tailor their content and messaging to resonate with each segment. This approach ensures that the right message reaches the right audience, increasing engagement and conversions. Segmentation allows for personalised communication, allowing brands to address specific pain points and provide relevant solutions. It also enables marketers to optimise their ad spend by focusing resources on the segments that are most likely to convert, resulting in higher ROI and campaign effectiveness.

    On the key advantages of using social media for business marketing compared to traditional methods

    In today’s ever-evolving digital landscape, social media has emerged as an indispensable component of marketing strategies. With an overwhelming number of active users on popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, the race to captivate audiences and foster meaningful engagement has reached new heights.

    Social media allows real-time, two-way communication between businesses and their audience, fostering engagement, and building relationships. It provides a platform for immediate feedback, enabling brands to adapt their strategies and offerings based on customer insights. Besides that, social media offers a higher level of targeting and segmentation options, ensuring that businesses can reach their ideal audience with precision. Also, social media is cost-effective, allowing businesses to reach a wide audience at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. Lastly, social media provides extensive data analytics and reporting, allowing businesses to measure their performance, track conversions, and optimise their marketing strategies in real-time.

    On the role, storytelling plays in building a strong social media presence

    Storytelling allows brands to connect with their audience on an emotional level and create a narrative that resonates with their values and aspirations. Storytelling humanises the brand, making it relatable and engaging. By sharing compelling stories, brands can capture attention, evoke emotions, and build a community of loyal followers. Storytelling can be leveraged through various content formats such as videos, blog posts, and social media posts. It is essential to craft narratives that align with the brand’s identity and values, keeping the audience at the centre. Authenticity, creativity, and consistency are key to successfully leveraging storytelling for a strong social media presence.

    On disruptive technologies, such as augmented reality or virtual reality, changing the landscape of social media marketing

    In the fast-paced world of social media marketing, disruptive technologies have revolutionised how brands and marketers engage with their target audience. And, the emergence of disruptive technologies has brought about significant transformations in various industries, including social media marketing. Modern technologies have fundamentally altered how businesses interact with their target audiences, opening up new marketing and advertising options. Virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality are just a few examples of disruptive technologies that have substantially changed how social media marketing is done.

    AR and VR offer immersive experiences that engage and captivate audiences in ways traditional media cannot. Brands can leverage AR filters, interactive 3D experiences, and virtual tours to showcase products, create memorable brand interactions, and enhance customer engagement. These technologies provide opportunities for virtual product try-ons, experiential marketing campaigns, and virtual events, bringing brands closer to their audience and driving deeper connections. AR and VR also facilitate social sharing, as users are more likely to share unique and immersive experiences, amplifying brand reach and virality.

    Additionally, social media marketers can benefit greatly from the data-driven insights provided by AI-powered analytics. AI algorithms are excellent at seeing patterns, trends, and correlations in vast amounts of data processed in real time, providing marketers with in-depth audience insights. These insights are essential for streamlining targeting tactics, improving content strategy, and identifying untapped growth potential. Brands and marketers may make well-informed decisions and succeed in the changing world of social media marketing by utilising data-driven insights.

    On businesses encouraging their audience to generate and share content related to their brand

    Brands can run user-generated content (UGC) campaigns, incentivising their audience to share their experiences with the brand. Contests, giveaways, and challenges that require participants to create and share content can generate a wave of user-generated content. Secondly, businesses can actively engage with their audience by responding to their comments, acknowledging their contributions, and featuring their content on official brand channels. This recognition motivates the audience to continue generating and sharing content. Lastly, businesses can collaborate with influencers or brand ambassadors who can inspire and encourage their followers to create and share content related to the brand. By fostering a sense of community and appreciation, businesses can effectively stimulate audience-generated content. It is a tough nut to crack, and requires a lot of patience, but when has phenomenal results in the long run.

    On best practices for maximising return on investment (ROI) through social media advertising

    Defining clear objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential to measure the effectiveness of campaigns accurately. Businesses should align their advertising goals with their overall marketing objectives. Secondly, thorough audience research and segmentation enable businesses to target the right audience with tailored messaging, optimising conversion rates. Thirdly, continuous monitoring and optimisation of campaigns based on real-time data are critical to maximise ROI. Regularly analysing campaign performance, testing different ad formats, and refining targeting parameters contribute to ongoing improvement. Lastly, leveraging remarketing techniques to re-engage with interested audiences and utilizing A/B testing to optimise ad creative and copy can significantly improve ROI in social media advertising. The key takeaway is that brands should have well-defined goals, experiment a lot, analyse the data of the experiments and improvise.

    On the ways of brands currently utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their social media advertising and marketing strategies

    AI-powered algorithms analyse vast amounts of data to generate actionable insights, enabling brands to optimise targeting, content creation, and ad placements. AI-powered chatbots provide personalised customer interactions, handle inquiries, and offer recommendations. AI also plays a role in content curation, analysing trends, and user preferences to suggest relevant content. Additionally, AI assists in sentiment analysis, monitoring brand mentions, and social listening, allowing brands to proactively respond to customer feedback and manage their online reputation effectively. As AI continues to advance, brands are exploring new possibilities such as predictive analytics, dynamic ad optimisation, and voice recognition technologies to further enhance their social media advertising and marketing strategies.

    On AI assisting social media marketers in generating and delivering more impactful content for brands and marketers

    By analysing vast amounts of data, AI algorithms can identify patterns, trends, and user preferences, allowing marketers to create highly relevant and personalised content. AI-powered tools provide insights into optimal posting times, and content formats, and even suggest content ideas based on audience interests. AI also aids in automating repetitive tasks, freeing up marketers’ time to focus on strategy and creative aspects of content creation. Additionally, AI-driven image recognition and natural language processing enable brands to create visually appealing content and craft compelling messaging that resonates with their audience. Overall, AI empowers social media marketers to deliver more relevant, engaging, and impactful content that drives audience engagement and achieves desired marketing outcomes.

    On the key steps which businesses need to be taken when faced with a social media crisis

    When faced with a social media crisis, businesses should act swiftly and strategically to mitigate potential damage. The following key steps can help navigate through a crisis effectively:

    a.    Monitor and Assess: Actively monitor social media platforms to identify the issue and gauge its severity. Understand the sentiment, reach, and impact of the crisis on the brand’s reputation.

    b.    Respond with Transparency: Respond promptly and transparently, addressing concerns and providing accurate information. Acknowledge any mistakes or issues and offer a genuine apology if necessary.

    c.    Centralise Communication: Designate a central spokesperson to handle communication and ensure a consistent message across all channels. Avoid conflicting statements and provide regular updates to keep stakeholders informed.

    d.    Engage with the Audience: Engage with affected individuals directly, offering support and assistance. Show empathy, address concerns, and provide reassurance where appropriate.

    e.    Monitor and Manage Sentiment: Continuously monitor social media platforms, addressing negative sentiment and responding to queries or comments promptly. Engage in constructive conversations and actively participate in the resolution process.

    f.    Learn and Improve: Once the crisis is resolved, conduct a thorough review to identify lessons learned. Update crisis management protocols, refine social media strategies, and implement measures to prevent similar situations in the future.

  • CREDUCE signs MoU with the Government of Gujarat

    CREDUCE signs MoU with the Government of Gujarat

    Mumbai: Achieving a significant milestone, CREDUCE, a leading Carbon Credits Origination and Offset solutions provider, has signed an MoU with the Gujarat Ecology Commission, established by the Government of India, for a project-based activity on monitoring mangrove habitat plantation. The strategic partnership is aimed at preserving mangroves and restoring 10,000 hectares of coastal areas in Gujarat. 

    With 50% of Indian mangroves expected to shift or vanish due to climate change by 2070, this initiative is directed to preserve and expand the mangrove cover. As part of the collaboration, CREDUCE will provide carbon credits development, monitoring, and trading advisory services for the project activities. The company will leverage its expertise and experience in nature-based solutions to ensure the successful execution of this game-changing project. It will positively impact the environment and provide carbon credits to the local communities.

    The signing ceremony of the MoU took place in the esteemed presence of distinguished guests, including Honorable Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MOEF), Shri Mulu Bhai Bera, Honorable Minister of State Gujarat, Shri Mukesh Patel, Gujarat Ecology Commission Member Secretary, Shri Mahesh Singh, and Principal Secretary of Environment & Forest Department, Gujarat, Shri Sanjeev Kumar IAS, among other dignitaries.

    CREDUCE, climateur & founder, Shailendra Singh Rao said, “Protecting our biodiversity is our priority, and we are proud to partner with the government towards its initiatives. With the central government adding to Bharat’s success in afforestation by introducing Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI) to its Budget, the resolve is clear. Forward looking states like Gujarat have taken the first step towards preservation and restoration, and we intend to help such positive initiatives by helping them accrue as many environmental benefits as possible.”

    GEC member secretary Mahesh Singh said, “Gujarat as a state is rich in mangroves cover, which has consistently increased by two and a half folds in the last two decades. We can confidently boast of having the second largest after Sundarbans in Bharat. Buoyed by the Central Government initiatives and a positive political outlook, we are beginning the process of restoration, preservation, and habitat plantation and hope to become the largest in the country.”

  • The One Club opens global call for entries for ONE Screen 2023 Short Film Festival

    The One Club opens global call for entries for ONE Screen 2023 Short Film Festival

    Mumbai: The One Club for Creativity opened the call for entries for the 2023 edition of ONE Screen, the original short film festival for the global creative community that unites and celebrates filmmakers from both commercial advertising and film industries.

    The fast-growing festival recognizes numerous forms and aspects of short films, including narrative fiction, comedy, passion projects, commercials, branded content, music videos, spec work, animation, sound design, movie poster design, title sequences, and more.  

    The mission of the program — which typically receives entries from upwards of 45 countries — is to celebrate filmmakers working in both the film and ad industries, with no limitation and total artistic freedom, all on one screen. 

    The global ONE Screen 2023 call for entries is now open for work released online or offline between 1 January 2022 and 17 July 2023.  A tiered pricing structure based on entry deadlines makes the competition affordable even for freelancers and small independents: $60 for entries received by the 14 August 14 2023 early deadline, $75 by the 18 September 2023 regular deadline, and $90 by the extended deadline of 16 October 2023.

    Entries are judged by a jury of leading film directors, producers, ad agency creatives, and heads of production companies, to be announced shortly.  Winners will be unveiled at the ONE Screen Short Film Festival ceremony and screening later this year.

    ONE Screen is part of The One Club for Creativity, the foremost global non-profit organization celebrating creative excellence in advertising and design, and has its pedigree in The One Show, the club’s leading global awards program for advertising and design.  

    The One Show was the first ad industry awards competition to recognize original branded content, creating the separate new category of Branded Entertainment in 2003 to accommodate the first work from BMW Films.  The ONE Screen Short Film Festival was launched in 2011 to further honor creative excellence in film.

    Past One Screen winners also include Oscar-winning director Laurent Witz, as well as Martín Rosete, director of award-winning feature film ‘Money’, whose producer first connected with him at the ONE Screen awards ceremony in 2014.

    “ONE Screen has grown in stature to the point of attracting Oscar winners from around the world as both entrants and judges,” said The One Club CEO Kevin Swanepoel.  “At the same time, we are dedicated to recognizing great work from all sorts of entrants, be they large or small ad agencies and production companies, independent directors, sound designers, movie poster graphic designers and others involved in film.  ONE Screen is a home for the projects of accomplished filmmakers, as well as a proving ground for promising young talent.”