Storyboard18 presents FAST FIVE ⬇

We bring you top five news updates from the world of advertising, marketing and business of brands.

Storyboard18 – Power Of Purpose: Mapping out the path to a sustainable future

As global leaders confront the challenges of the 21st century, sustainability is no longer a buzzword but an urgent business imperative. The responsibility to take bold, transformative action has never been more pressing. Recent reports from leading institutions highlight this need with stark clarity.

Insights from PwC’s latest Global CEO Survey, launched at Davos, reveal that while executives may be less focused on short-term issues like inflation and economic growth for 2024, there is a growing consensus on the longer-term threats posed by climate change and artificial intelligence (AI).

Offshore gambling firms bet big in India market for T20 Women World Cup

Offshore gambling firms have intensified their advertising and marketing strategies for India. Fun88, based in the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands, has launched its promotional and advertising strategy in the Indian market for the ongoing T20 Women’s World Cup. The company is now offering Rs 75 lakhs in free bets, leaving Real Money Gaming (RMG) players red faced.

Additionally, the company is partnering with multiple influencer agencies to run their campaigns during the festive season and the ongoing T20 World Cup. A leading social media agency catering to the gaming sector said, “The company is offering five times more than what a Real Money Gaming platform like Dream11 or WinZo offers. They want social media influencers to post reels, still images, and video integrations as a combined package, offering between Rs3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for influencers with 100k-200k followers on Instagram.”

Zomato’s independent director Gunjan Soni steps down

Gunjan Soni, who served as Zomato’s independent director, has stepped down from her position on account of increased work commitments.

It was stated in an exchange filing with the BSE that Soni would cease to be the member of the company’s risk management committee and corporate social responsibility committee.

Soni, who holds a MBA in finance from XLRI Jamshedpur, began her career at Infosys Technologies and went on to work across McKinsey & Company, Star India, Myntra and Zalora Group.

‘AVGC to foresee 10X growth, expected to become $30 billion industry in 5 years’, says MIB Secretary Sanjay Jaju

The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) industry is a rapidly growing sector in Media and Entertainment (M&E) space. One-fourth of the M&E sector in India comprises AVGC, which is further expected to foresee a 10X growth in coming 4-5 years, said Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, at the Indian Gaming Convention on Monday, October 14, 2024.

“Currently, the AVGC segment is $3 billion industry and we expect it to become $30 billion industry in coming 4-5 years. The segment currently has three lakh professionals. In future, we expect AVGC sector to create employment opportunities,” Jaju said. He further added that the technological advancement is one of the crucial reasons for the growth of this segment, affordable internet and smartphone penetration being the other reasons. Jaju highlighted that the country currently has 100 crore smartphone users and 63% of them are the between the age bracket of 15-64 years.

Elon Musk drops Unilever from X’s antitrust lawsuit, reaches agreement on brand safety

Billionaire Elon Musk has reportedly dropped the name of Unilever from his lawsuit that claimed that the consumer goods company conspired with an advertising industry group to boycott the X platform.

According to a report by the Reuters news agency, Musk-owned X platform (formerly Twitter), X has dismissed claims against Unilever in the antitrust lawsuit.

London-based Unilever, the owner of brands like Dove and Pepsodent, said that it reached an agreement with X, “which has committed to meeting our responsibility standards to ensure the safety and performance of our brands on the platform”.

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