ITV

Tag: Facebook

  • 2020: The year of the government intervention

    2020: The year of the government intervention

    KOLKATA: 2020 was the year when the government – both the Centre and states – pushed back against the media. Strongly. Whether it was mainline television or print or digital or social media, authorities showed that they could deal a heavy hand against the fourth estate and digital platforms. Everyone would have to comply or get caned.

    The year ended with the government bringing digital media under the ministry of information and broadcasting and imposing foreign equity restrictions in such ventures. 26 per cent is the overseas investment limit, the department of promotion of industry & internal trade under the ministry of commerce & industry stated in a clarification in October 2020. Ventures involved in aggregating, writing, distribution, streaming of news or current affairs on websites, apps or other platforms will have to bring down the foreign investment to 26 per cent and get government approvals for the same by October 2021, have an Indian CEO, a majority of Indians on their boards, security clearances for foreign personnel employed or contracted for more than 60 days.

    The big news for the year was the ban on all things Chinese following the muscle flexing and murder of Indian armed forces by China on its border at Ladakh with India. More than 267 Chinese apps were shown the door over six months. The biggest of these was the user generated content platform TikTok which had more than 200 – million users in India. PUBG, La – a game which has more than a few million followers amongst India’s uh-uh gamers, was also blocked overnight.

    But the natives were not to be denied their favourite entertainment: under the government’s make in India initiative: a slew of local apps were spawned TakaTak, Roposo, Bolo Indya, Chingari. While not many could better the TikTok algorithm, they quickly signed on millions of subscribers hungry for a platform to show case their short form video talent. And at the time of writing FAU-G was slated to be released in India.

    The Central government and the industry regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI) intervened in the case of the industry monitoring agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) as well. At the beginning of the lockdown, TRAI issued a consultation paper suggesting an overhaul of the measurement body saying there were concerns over the neutrality and reliability of the existing system. It recommended various measures like equal representation from broadcasters, brands, agencies, increased sample size, independent members on board including technological experts.

    Later in the year, as the credibility of the rating agency had come under greater question with the TRP scam unfolding, the ministry of information and broadcasting notified a committee to be headed by Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati to assess  the existing rating system for TV channels. The government emphasised there is need to have a fresh look at the guidelines particularly keeping in view the latest TRAI recommendations.

    Along with linear TV, the new age streaming platforms also came under the government's watchful eagle eye. Throughout the year, a number of PILs have been filed against a number of online premium shows for allegedly hurting “Indian sensibilities”. Several conservative groups have carried out social media campaigns with #boycott or #censor trends. Amid increasing pressure, OTT platforms were already pushed to form self-regulation codes. But self-censorship did not save the day as the government rejected the code asking to restructure  Igniting the censorship fear further, the government notified to bring all online content under MIB.

     The latest notification stated that films and audio-visual programmes made available by online content providers, news and current affairs content on online platforms will come under MIB’s purview. Just a few days post announcement, media reports floated that is it preparing to file a petition seeking the transfer of all court cases in India against OTT platforms to the supreme court. The ministry notified the Punjab and Haryana High Court about its move to approach the apex court.

    At the same time, social media giant Facebook also faced regulatory pushback this year. After a report on the Wall Street Journal that claimed the platform did not comply with hate speech rules properly, it came under tremendous political scrutiny. While some officials were blamed for having a ruling party bias, union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that Facebook employees had abused top ministers on record and their certain ideologies led to an inherent bias.

    Facebook India vice president and managing director Ajit Mohan was summoned by a Delhi Assembly panel which was examining Facebook’s role to curb hate speech in connection with the Delhi riots of February 2020. Later, the platform moved to the court to challenge the summons issued by the Delhi government. The parliamentary standing committee on information technology, headed by senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also called Facebook officials multiple times to examine if there was any political bias.

    At the state level too, governments bared their fangs. While Delhi government got into a tussle with Facebook, the conflict between Maharashtra government and Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami also deepened. Goswami was arrested in the Anvay Naik suicide case by Mumbai Police which was widely seen as a politically motivated move. He also moved to Bombay High Court questioning the police’s decision to re-investigate the case. Finally, Goswami was granted bail by  the apex court.  Even, many other state governments were also criticised for arresting dissent journalists during the pandemic.

    Despite numerous protests by certain ecosystem players, the government stayed put on rolling back or making any changes to the NTO 2.0, to which many had complained.

  • The biggest buzz on Facebook in 2020

    The biggest buzz on Facebook in 2020

    KOLKATA: This year brought a wave of surprises which united people across countries and made them realise the power of doing ‘More Together’ while practicing social distancing. As we prepare ourselves to embrace what the coming year has in store for us, Facebook has given glimpses of some of the moments that united people across its family of apps.

    For instance, people came to Facebook to commemorate the figures who left a lasting legacy around the world. Kobe Bryant’s passing was this year's most discussed moment on Facebook, with the US, Mexico and Philippines sharing the most posts and photos celebrating his life. US Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was commemorated in more than six million posts in one day across Facebook and Instagram, with many using the hashtag #restinpower. The passing of prominent personalities including Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, S P Balasubrahmanyam, and Pranab Mukherjee echoed deeply in the conversations in India.

    The incident which reshaped the year, Covid2019, was also discussed highly.  Throughout March, more than 1.5 million Spaniards posted to express their gratitude for medical staff using #aplausosanitario. Instagram and Facebook Live views doubled in Italy when lockdowns hit, as residents sang on balconies and broadcasted under quarantine. Meanwhile, in the US, Facebook Live viewership jumped 50 per cent, with many tuning into fitness classes, connecting with artists and more. Live broadcasts in India tripled in June 2020 compared to the same time last year. With the launch of the fundraiser feature in India,  ‘I for India’ fundraiser concert witnessed over 85 artists raise funds for people affected by the pandemic.

     Facebook’s global community elevated important issues that mattered to them more than ever. In the three weeks following George Floyd's death, conversations around Black Lives Matter tripled, with an average of 7.5 million mentions on the platform every day.  With 1.8 million members, The Blackout Coalition — a FB group supporting Black businesses, is the No.1 largest group among US users.

    People used Facebook platforms to build and maintain community, even at a distance. Communities rallied to shop local, as more than 47 million stories using the ‘Support Small Business’ sticker were created on Instagram globally in the past three months. With in-person services on hold due to Covid2019lockdowns, the holiday week of April 6 (Easter and Passover) was the biggest for group video calls on Messenger and the most popular week of Facebook Live broadcasts from spiritual pages, ever.

    With Diwali being a big cultural moment in India and social interactions taking a virtual route, more than four million people across the country made over 7.5 million posts and comments about Diwali on Facebook from 20 October till 10 November. Uniting the whole nation as well as cricket enthusiasts from across the globe, Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 was a big conversation driver, registering as many as 10 million mentions on Facebook led by fervent fans around the world.

    With stakes high, people came to the platforms to make their voices heard. Kamala Harris’ vice presidential selection announcement was the most mentioned moment in August, drawing more than 10 million posts in one day. Further to that, her Indian lineage acted as a catalyst for conversations in India around her appointment.  Nearly all adults on Facebook and Instagram in the US saw access to our Voting Information Center, which offered authoritative information on how to register to vote, and well as key facts about voting deadlines.

     More than 1.3 million people globally contributed to the years’ largest Facebook fundraiser, its largest ever, raising more than $35 million to provide relief for those affected by the Australian wildfires. To date, more than 2.6 million people have raised more than $87 million through Facebook Fundraisers this year to combat climate change, promote ocean clean up, animal protection efforts, and much more.  In India, communities witnessed fundraiser concerts including ‘#BeForBENGAL’, held on World Music Day to raise funds for the victims of Amphan, along with many others.

  • Media needs ‘auto-correction’, guidelines to restore order: Venkaiah Naidu

    Media needs ‘auto-correction’, guidelines to restore order: Venkaiah Naidu

    NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over the future of journalism and the sanctity of news in the face of disruptive technological advances, vice president of India and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu urged all stakeholders to ensure credible journalism, since media is an effective tool of empowerment of people for informed public discourse.

    “While the democratisation and decentralisation that followed the rapid expansion of social media enabling freedom of expression are welcome, the world is witnessing the downside of it in the absence of self-regulation and protocols. In this era of saturated information and overabundance of news, the very news is getting devalued,” he pointed out. Naidu was speaking at the MV Kamat Memorial Endowment Lecture.  

    The vice president lamented the side effects of internet driven 'instant journalism' due to which the credibility of fact based journalism has taken a beating. He further noted that technology giants have emerged as algorithmic gatekeepers of information and the web has taken over as the main distributor of news. 

    In particular, he highlighted the financial implications for traditional media like the newspapers when their journalistic products are time and again leveraged by technology giants, who do not share the revenue back with them. 

    Some countries were taking measures to ensure revenue sharing by the social media behemoths like Google and Facebook to the print media. 

    "We also need to take a serious look at this problem and come out with effective guidelines and laws with a consensus to enable print media get their share from the huge revenues of the technology giants," Naidu emphasised. 

    Referring to the crisis situation being faced by the media and journalism for various reasons and uncertain future amidst disruptive changes, Naidu stressed that an ‘auto-correction’ is needed and in fact, inevitable for a better future. He suggested enabling guidelines and regulations for restoring order while maintaining he’s against any restrictive regulations.

    The media has always led the way in reporting and analysing the socio-political and economic transformation of the country. Naidu reminded mediapersons to be consistent in reporting such change instead of using different yardsticks for different periods. 

    He said, “I am not suggesting media to be like a chameleon. Media should use a standard set of reporting and analytical tools that capture the change without imposing respective positions. Media should not be seen by the public as discrediting the change that is happening since such a change is contrary to their long-held positions.” 

    Naidu further listed the concerns about media and journalism as issues relating to; freedom of press, censorship, flouting of norms of reporting, social responsibility of journalists, a decline in the values and ethics of journalism, yellow journalism, journalism of false crusades, reporting for profit, disinformation in the form of fake and paid news, disruptions caused by the internet and the future of media amidst these concerns and challenges.

    “Yellow journalism seeks to cloud the facts by resorting to eye-catching headlines and promotes distortion and misinformation. Journalism based on taking up false crusades as witnessed in the case of suicide of a film actor recently. Both are aimed at increasing readership and viewership and should be avoided,” he said.

    With the rapid rise and use of social media, wherein mobs can be gathered with a WhatsApp message and riots can be sparked off by a tweet, the former I&B minister stressed on the need to ensure sanity given the implications for social harmony, common good, peace, and national security. “Freedom of expression doesn’t mean unfettered outburst of anger and hate against each other that may lead to chaos,” Naidu remarked.

    He urged the media to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem since like every citizen, government and other stakeholders, media too, has a certain responsibility towards the nation.

  • Facebook continues its support to small businesses with Nayi Shuruaat

    Facebook continues its support to small businesses with Nayi Shuruaat

    New Delhi: A large part of the Indian economy depends on the small and medium enterprises that are present in every nook and corner of the country. They contribute a significant amount of money in direct and indirect taxes and help in rotating the wheel of the financial world. More often than not, these entrepreneurs rely on word-of-mouth branding, perform reasonably well in their domain, and have a modest base of loyal customers. However, they face a huge challenge when it comes to scaling their businesses outside a specific boundary or to multiple states. They do not have strong budgets and reliable teams to handle the advertising and demand it generates. However, digital medium has helped them in solving this problem to a large extent. During the initial days of Covid2019, many of these players lost a huge chunk of business as shops were closed and most customers turned to e-commerce. Amid such times, many of them turned to digital to find new buyers. They started advertising on mediums such as Facebook, Instagram and others to find like-minded customers and connect with them.

    In light of this, Facebook is working towards bringing these entrepreneurs and professionals to its platform and helping them amplify their business.

    To celebrate such entrepreneurs and small businesses, the social media giant recently launched the Nayi Shuruaat campaign. It aims to celebrate the resilience small and medium businesses have shown to pivot and make a nayi shuruaat (new start) amidst the biggest crisis the world has seen in recent times. The initiative lauds real stories of optimism, strength, and economic recovery from across the country.

    Facebook India director, small and medium businesses Archana Vohra said, “Facebook’s goal has always been to enable new opportunities for businesses, especially for the more than 60 million small businesses across India. In the face of so much uncertainty, we’ve remained inspired by how small businesses have reinvented themselves by moving online – many for the very first time. Every day we see amazing examples of SMBs using the Facebook family of apps to pivot, and make a new start, and grow through this particularly challenging time. This film is about celebrating their economic recovery and nayi shuruaats, and we hope that their resilience will inspire millions of other small businesses and entrepreneurs across the country.”

    The film focuses on three unique small businesses – The Moms Co that sells toxin-free mom and baby products, coffee brewing small business Sleepy Owl, and Doodlage, a sustainable fashion brand.

    While coming from distinct industries, all three businesses bounced back from the pandemic by leveraging the strength and reach of their Facebook and Instagram communities. 

    "We started The Moms Co three years ago with a Facebook post, and built a strong community of mothers across India that has helped us become a leading brand for natural, toxin-free, and safe personal care products for moms and babies. Covid brought our expansion plans to a sudden halt, forcing us to re-evaluate our strategy and figure a way to make a new start amidst the new normal. We turned to our Facebook and Instagram communities to grow in these times. Over the last few months, we've done regular engagements, interactions, and Lives to engage, learn, and even institute new product development processes. We've seen our business grow 200 per cent over pre-Covid levels, and Facebook has been central to this," said The Moms Co co-founder Malika Sadani.

    Doodlage co-founder Kriti Tula said, "Doodlage was born with the dream of bringing together fashion and sustainability. The drive behind Doodlage resonated with people on Instagram. Our products are made by upcycling factory waste, recycling second-hand clothing and industrial waste. When Covid struck, many brick and mortar stores we stock at struggled or went through a worse fate. Connecting with our digital consumers became more important than ever. Our business has grown three times of what we were before the pandemic, and our usage of Facebook and Instagram has more than doubled in this span. With the support of our community on Instagram and Facebook, we were able to bounce back in these tough times, and deliver not just across India but also expand to Australia, Dubai, Singapore and Europe.”

    "Sleepy Owl started with the vision of building an indigenous coffee brand in India. We're a digital-first brand and while starting out used the Facebook platform to build the brand and spread awareness. Our community on Facebook and Instagram helped us grow from a small kitchen in Dwarka, Delhi to retail shelves across India. But when the world shut down, our Facebook and Instagram community came to our help yet again, helping us make a new start. Since March, we've used Facebook and Instagram a lot more than we did before the pandemic; we've reached new customers and coffee-lovers, taken orders online, and served more 150,000 cups on the back of digital," said Sleepy Owl co-founder Arman Sood.  

    The Nayi Shuruaat film has been made by Wunderman Thompson and the campaign will run across print, digital, and television.

    In the last few months Facebook has also taken numerous steps to support the economic recovery of small businesses. As part of its $100 million global grant for small businesses, the company announced a $4.3 million grant for small businesses in India. The social networking platform has also taken its industry leading skilling programs online to provide continuous support to small businesses through the pandemic.

    Its flagship skilling program ‘Boost with Facebook’ is now being delivered through Facebook Lives in both English and Hindi to reach out to a larger audience. The company recently rolled out a local SMB Guide in Hindi and English to help small businesses move online seamlessly reaching out to 9 million small businesses across India.

    This year, a key focus for Facebook in the Indian market has been bringing small businesses onboard its platform in order to help them expand their businesses. These businesses do not have the resources and capacity to spend heavily on ATL, BTL advertising. Hence, Facebook aims to bring them online where they can leverage digital advertising and spend according to their appetite and reach the audiences they wish to connect with.

    Over the last couple of months, the brand has launched several ads in its More Together series where it showcases how people can use their connections to do more. It has focused on how people have helped small businesses sustain during this period.

    On Diwali, it launched a seven minute film where it showcased how a young entrepreneur helps sustain as many households as possible through the hardships of the pandemic via her dairy venture. The film beautifully showcases how the employees make use of Facebook to amplify their message and attract new customers.

    A lot of entrepreneurs are already advertising on Facebook to expand their business. If the brand can get more people to join the platform it will definitely have a huge impact on its revenue. Simultaneously, the platform will also have to continuously innovate to ensure that people connect more on the social media platform and its audience base continues to increase.

  • Instagram announces ‘Lite’ for Indian user

    Instagram announces ‘Lite’ for Indian user

    KOLKATA: At the first Facebook Fuel For India virtual event, Instagram said it is democratising expression for people in India. And to underscore its commitment, the photo and video sharing platform extended the testing of Instagram Lite to India, and announced the second edition of the ‘Born on Instagram’ creator program.

    ‘Facebook Fuel For India’ is being held to showcase the most impactful stories of change in India, and the way the Facebook family of apps are bringing together products, programs and plans to fuel India’s progress. Instagram showcased the slew of new features in the past few months that have either debuted or been beta-tested in the country, which includes Reels, the Reels tab and Live Rooms.

    Now Instagram has made Instagram Lite available to people in India. The app is less than 2MB in size and is built to deliver the core Instagram experience to those who are currently not familiar with the app. It also brought back ‘Born on Instagram’ to equip the next generation of content creators with best practices to use the platform, and enable them with collaboration and mentorship opportunities. 

    Instagram VP product Vishal Shah said, “India is such an important country for us and has been a testing ground for innovation, thanks to the natural creativity and entrepreneurial spirit we see here. With the test of Instagram Lite, and the next edition of ‘Born on Instagram’, we’re aiming to democratise expression and creativity for a greater number of people in India. We’re also hoping to gain valuable insights before a global rollout of Instagram Lite.”

    Early this year, there was research conducted in India to ascertain the attractiveness and comprehension of new products, and one barrier that was observed was the compromised internet experience, as a result of low memory phones and heavy-sized apps. This set the context for the test of Instagram Lite, and India is a primary test country for it.

    The app is made for Android and this new version has improved speed, performance, and responsiveness. The experience is similar to the core Instagram app experience, though there are some features that are not currently supported such as Reels, Shopping and IGTV. The app will be available in Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.

  • Facebook started FDI avalanche in India during pandemic: Mukesh Ambani

    Facebook started FDI avalanche in India during pandemic: Mukesh Ambani

    KOLKATA: At the beginning of the Covid2019 pandemic, Jio attracted its largest global investor – Facebook, which announced a $5.7 billion investment in the telco. At the inaugural Facebook Fuel for India 2020 event, Reliance Industries chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said that the social media giant had set the ball rolling for overall foreign investment in India. Since then, record FDI has flown into the country.

    During a virtual session with Facebook founder, chairman & CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Ambani mentioned that Jio and Facebook have become value creation platforms for consumers as well as small businesses.

    He went on to explain that while Jio brings digital connectivity, WhatsApp now with WhatsApp Pay brings digital interactivity, and the ability to move to close transactions. On the other hand, Jio Mart offers unmatched online and offline retail opportunity, which gives the small shops dotting India’s villages and small towns a chance to digitise and be at par with everyone else in the world.

    “To my mind, more wealth creation means more employment and more business. And together with our platforms and the tools that we will provide to small businesses and to individual consumers, I believe will drive India to a $5 trillion economy and will make a much more equal India, with more equal wealth growth at the bottom of the pyramid,” Ambani added.

    Zuckerberg also agreed that the vision of helping small businesses lies at the core of the partnership. Facebook supports more than 50 million WhatsApp Business App users globally every month and more than 15 million of these are in India, he shared. With communities around the world now in lockdown, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who need digital tools that they can rely on to find and communicate with customers and grow their businesses. He added that this is something that the Facebook-Jio partnership can really help with.

    “We are looking forward to your (Facebook’s) involvement and innovation in India, creating benefits for hundreds of millions of people and then taking this innovation to the rest of the world. I hope that the rest of the world learns from Indian policy, and what Facebook is able to achieve in India. And we as Indians will be very proud, if Facebook says we did it first in India, and then took it to 100 countries. And I look forward to working with you on that,” Ambani reiterated.

  • Guest column: Why influencer marketing is a key communication strategy for brands

    Guest column: Why influencer marketing is a key communication strategy for brands

    NEW DELHI: In the times of social distancing and digital evolution, when millennials are spending a substantial amount of their time on the internet, brands are roping in influencer marketing strategies to communicate with their audience. With an evolved ROI, cost per view and demographic of an influencer, this space is maturing with the changing times. Brands have extended their influencer marketing work with chefs, designers, comedians and other content-creators besides Bollywood A-listers.

    A range of new social media influencers including nano-influencers have also been appointed to scale up engagement. The impact of these influencers has been witnessed during recent festive season – where digital marketing experts estimate a 20 per cent jump in influencer marketing campaigns. Though the influencer marketing is on rise currently, it isn’t a new concept. Since the beginning of the early 20th century, we have been seeing Bollywood celebrities and other well-known individuals endorsing products and services. Brands are also tapping into these people as part of their marketing campaigns. 

    Why influencer marketing is driving communication strategy for brands

    When content is shared by someone, who is a friend or colleague or somebody who is not from the world of glamour, on social media, it creates an impact on the audience's mind. The trust level for that message is said to be a whopping 83 percent. This percentage is quite high as compared to other forms of marketing. This is also one of the prime reasons behind companies making their resources move toward marketing programs that focus on influential people with social media followings – instead of simply just traditional media. These influencers, too, work really hard to create content, which is authentic and relatable, and are focused on building their audience.

    Earlier, an influencer or blogger’s world was confined to industries like fashion and lifestyle but as the reach of digital penetration increased, influencer marketing took a leap and started influencing a wide variety of customer base. This is why a brand should look at influencer marketing more seriously as it offers more profound engagement and organic growth.

    People are spending more time digitally these days as compared to the real world. In the times of remote working, Indians have spent roughly 3 hours and 22 minutes on their smartphones per day, which increased to 3 hours 54 minutes in phase two of the lockdown, states the findings of a July report by television viewership monitoring agency BARC, and a Nielsen report that tracked TV viewership and smartphone usage during the various phases of India’s lockdown.

    Brands are making use of this window in the best possible way because an increased screen time has made them recruit content creators and influencers. Through their posts, they created audience’s engagement on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube in the space of recipes, gaming and do-it-yourself (DIY) arts and crafts. Even influencers have become opinion makers, who can slip a brand into a consumer’s consideration set.

    There are many situations where a brand can benefit from influencer marketing:

    • To get the maximum result for a new product launch 
    • Leveraging influencers to share already-created content or having them create their own content for marketing campaigns
    • Influencers also do a great job of reporting and extending the life and impact of brand events
    • In a crisis, they can also be invaluable by providing another channel to reach audiences 

    However, one should not completely depend upon influencer marketing as it’s not a guaranteed success. Successful influencer marketing requires time, dedication and research. A well-thought-out influencer program should be incorporated as part of a much broader marketing strategy.

    (The writer is the director of Bonn Group of Industries. Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to his views.)
     

  • Pure-play digital media owners to enjoy 61% of overall ad revenues in 2021: GroupM

    Pure-play digital media owners to enjoy 61% of overall ad revenues in 2021: GroupM

    NEW DELHI: Digital advertising will have a 66 per cent share globally by 2024, indicated the recently released global end-of-year forecast by Group M in the report – This Year Next Year. According to the report, digital advertising is expected to grow by 8.2 per cent during 2020, excluding US political activity. This follows nearly a decade of double-digit growth, including the last six years, when it was better than 20 per cent globally.

    “Digital advertising for pure-play media owners like Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc, should be 61 per cent of advertising in 2021. This share has doubled since 2015 when it was only 30.6 per cent,” the report read. 

    Digital extensions and related media, including advertising associated with traditional media owners’ streaming activities (primarily on connected environments), will grow 7.8 per cent this year and 23.2 per cent in 2021.

    Revising its June predictions for the global advertising industry, the GroupM report has also highlighted that the industry will end up declining by “only” 5.8 per cent on an underlying basis (excluding US political advertising), in 2020. The earlier predictions had marked the decline at 11.9 per cent. However, the overall outcome still remains grim as compared to 8.7 per cent growth it had witnessed in 2019. 

    Television advertising will decline by 15.1 per cent, before rebounding to grow 7.8 per cent in 2021. Outdoor advertising is estimated to decline by 31 per cent during 2020, including digital out-of-home media. Next year should see a partial rebound, with 18 per cent growth.

    “Beyond 2021, we expect outdoor advertising to grow by low- or mid-single digits and generally lose share of total advertising; however, we do expect larger brands generally to allocate more of their budgets to the medium,” it stated. 

    Cinema generated less than $3 billion during 2019 and likely fell more than 75 per cent during 2020 given the absence of major studio releases in most markets around the world.

    Print advertising, including newspapers and magazines, is expected to decline 5 per cent for the year, a significant acceleration over the high-single-digit declines of recent years. However, those single-digital declines should resume following an economic recovery.

    Audio advertising is likely to decline by 24 per cent during 2020 as advertisers disinvest, in part, because of the medium’s dependence on away-from-home activities, such as driving. Digital extensions, including streaming services from terrestrial stations and their digitally-oriented competitors and podcasts, still attract relatively small audiences of a few billion, but help make the broader medium more appealing to marketers.

  • Ind-Aus tour: Facebook strikes digital content partnership with SPNI

    Ind-Aus tour: Facebook strikes digital content partnership with SPNI

    KOLKATA: Facebook announced a digital content partnership with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) for the Indian cricket team’s tour of Australia. Kickstarting on 27 November, the partnership will involve exclusive video-on-demand match content being showcased on Facebook Watch, the only social media platform, across three ODIs, three T20Is, and four Tests.

    The wide range of content will include match highlights, in-play moments with best catches, best wickets, and man of the match amongst others, and will feature on Sony Sports India’s Facebook page, enabling fans to catch up on action they missed and talk about or share the top moments with their friends.

    Facebook India director and head of partnerships Manish Chopra said, “At Facebook, we are committed to deepen and enhance engagement with cricket fans across the globe by bringing best in class, premium action to them in ways that ignite conversations, build connections and enhance affinity towards the sport. We are delighted to work with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) to bring some of the most exciting moments from one of India’s most awaited overseas tours to cricket fans on Facebook Watch.”

    Sony Pictures Networks India digital business growth and monetisation head Manish Aggarwal said, “We are excited to partner with Facebook as the exclusive social media platform for the India tour of Australia. This association will enable us to offer interesting match content to a host of cricket enthusiasts and drive further engagement for the much-hyped tournament, across the Indian subcontinent. This collaboration will surely get the fans closer to the game.”

    Facebook Watch is built with the belief that watching video can help people to connect with each other more deeply. Facebook is constantly working towards building and enabling video experiences that connect people and sports is an integral part of building the social viewing experience on the platform.

  • Httpool APAC names Aatsi Desai Jasani as creative agency partner for Facebook

    Httpool APAC names Aatsi Desai Jasani as creative agency partner for Facebook

    NEW DELHI: Httpool, the largest international partner of major media platforms representing Facebook, Twitter, Spotify, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and others, has announced the appointment of Aatsi Desai Jasani as Httpool APAC creative agency partner for Facebook. She will report to Httpool APAC co-founder and regional managing director Sunny Nagpal.

    Httpool is Facebook's authorised sales partner in eleven selected markets across Asia and Europe committed to providing a first-rate service to Facebook's existing and new clients in these markets.

    "As Facebook authorized sales partner in 11 European and Asia markets, we are committed to providing extensive cross-functional support to all agencies and their brands, as well as the SMB clients. With a proven track record of driving creative solutions for brands across the APAC region, Aatsi is perfectly suited to deliver growth locally and regionally for those clients navigating the new opportunities with Facebook. Aatsi's expertise within the creative advertising space will help us provide that additional brand marketing service and leverage Facebook in a much extensive way" commented Sunny Nagpal.

    On the appointment, Desai said, "Creative is one of the key drivers for good performance of Facebook campaigns, especially with larger audiences consuming content on mobile devices. At a time when content is growing and people’s attention span shortens, the right creatives for the right target audience can be a decisive factor in the success of a campaign. I am excited to be a part of this amazing and highly energized team at Httpool, and I am looking forward to doing some amazing work for the Facebook family of apps across the APAC region."

    Desai has more than 15 years of experience in branding, advertising, and digital marketing. Before joining Httpool, she headed the Brand Solutions team at Affle – India, MENA & APAC region, leading their creative and technology business.