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<ul><li>Jio <keyword id="9850980" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="airfiber" source="Orion">AirFiber</keyword>, a fixed wireless broadband offering will launch on September 19.</li><li>Ambani identified five growth segments for Jio – consumer segment, home segment, business segment, global opportunities and AI.</li><li>Ambani promises ‘AI to everyone, everywhere’ as he expects Jio Platforms to lead development of India-specific AI models and solutions. </li></ul>Reliance Jio will launch its much awaited service Jio AirFiber on September 19, coinciding with the festival of Ganesh Chathurthi, said <keyword id="3820" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mukesh-ambani" source="Orion">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>, the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries (RIL) as a part of his speech at the company’s 46th annual general meeting (AGM) on Monday. Jio AirFiber is a fixed wireless broadband offering that Ambani claimed can supercharge the number of customers that can be added into the network. “Home segment turbocharged by AirFibre and will target the untapped Indian home segment,” he added. This service using the 5G network and wireless technologies can bypass the need for last mile fibre, which continues to be a pain point for consumers. With <keyword id="3690255" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jiofiber" source="Orion">JioFiber</keyword> the company can add 15,000 connections per day, Jio AirFiber can grow over 10 times with AirFiber to add 150,000 connections per day. This can also expand its addressable market over the next three years to over 200 million high-paying homes and premises. Its JioFiber which was launched in 2019 has 10 million subscribers. On an average, they consume 280 GB per month which is 10 times more than per capita mobile consumption. Its fiber is spread across 1.5 million kilometers across the country. “We are in a league of our own and far ahead of competitors,” said Ambani. Jio Platforms have around 450 million mobile subscribers. Each of these subscribers, on an average, consume around 28 GB per day. The company has also rolled out 5G services across 96% of census towns and will finish rolling out the service across the entire country by December. Five dimensions of growth Ambani identified five segments ahead for Jio. The consumer segment will be powered by Jio 5G and Jio Bharat, an affordable 4G phone. Apart from the home segment that will be turbocharged by Jio AirFiber. It also identified the business segment, wherein it will offer enterprise services that will go beyond connectivity to offer a full spectrum of digital services to businesses with managed services and more. Jio Platforms’ opportunity for global expansion with its Made in India tech stack which give wings to more innovation. “Collectively, these frontiers provide Jio an opportunity for multi-fold revenue and EBITDA growth in the coming years,” said Ambani. The fifth and most exciting ‘frontier of growth for Jio’ is the global AI revolution. “It’s reshaping the world around us, and sooner than we think, intelligent applications will redefine and revolutionise industries, economies, and even our daily life,” he said. The RIL group is rapidly augmenting its talent pool and capabilities to assimilate the latest innovations in AI, especially Generative AI. Looking ahead, Jio Platforms intends to lead the effort in developing India-specific AI models and AI-powered solutions across domains, he added. “Seven years ago, Jio promised broadband connectivity to everyone, everywhere. We have delivered. Today Jio promises AI to everyone, everywhere. And we shall deliver,” Ambani said.

Jio AirFiber to launch on Ganesh Chaturthi, turbocharge home segment: Mukesh Ambani

From Holi to Christmas  – Important festival dates in 2024

<ul><li>More than a million big, medium and small idols of Lord Ganesha shall adorn millions of homes in India for 10 long days. </li><li>Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1893 started <keyword id="6361913" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ganesh-chaturthi">Ganesh Chaturthi</keyword> to bring people together and fight against Britishers who were ruling India from over 200 years. </li></ul>Millions of people in Mumbai and across India will mark the beginning of Ganesh Chaturthi — a 10 day festival where people bring home of Ganesha in hope that He can bring in prosperity. After nine days of celebrations, the idols are immersed in a water body. A few Indians are keeping up with this tradition while trying to save the fragile ecosystem of the country. Many prefer to use eco-friendly Ganesh idols instead of the popular and cheaper varieties that use plaster of paris. 
	
	<div type="Slideshow" msid="70944704" hostid="261" title="Millions of Indians opt for a Lord Ganesha who is green, clean and eco-friendly" firstImageMsid="70944794" slideCount="6"></div>

Millions of Indians are celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi — many of them have added a cause

As the richest family in Asia, the glamorous Ambani clan is steadily collecting fans and captivating admirers across the world. We’ve already made it clear <a href="https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3023905/why-heiress-isha-ambani-daughter-asias-richest-man">we’re big believers in Isha Ambani</a> – daughter of Asia’s richest man, <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> – but what about her twin brother, Akash?In true Ambani fashion, this 28-year-old is already making waves and achieving big things. Here are six things you should know about Akash, an impressive heir to Asia’s largest fortune: 1. He just had a lavish wedding In March 2019, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2189367/akash-ambani-son-asias-richest-man-mukesh-ambani-marrying">Akash had an opulent, three-day wedding in Mumbai</a> as he took Shloka Mehta’s hand in marriage. The two met years ago at school and had been engaged since March 2018. Their wedding was joyous and traditional, featuring lots of dancing, gorgeous dresses and elaborate musical performances. The guest list also featured A-listers like actress Priyanka Chopra and influential world leaders like former British prime minister Tony Blair. 2. Like his sister, he’s Ivy League-educated While his sister Isha earned an undergraduate degree from Yale, Akash studied economics at the similarly prestigious Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. And his new wife, Shloka, is also well-educated. She studied anthropology at Princeton University, New Jersey, then received her masters in law and anthropology at the London School of Economics (LSE). Quite a smart pair! 3. He's on the board at his father's company, <keyword id="10926" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance">Reliance</keyword> Is Mukesh grooming his son Akash to take over the family empire? Reliance Industries Limited is one of the biggest businesses in Asia, and Akash is already being given more responsibility. He and Isha were put on the board of directors soon after graduating college, and Akash has already worked for the telecom arm of Reliance in Mumbai. His current title is chief of strategy. The twin siblings also introduced the Jio 2 mobile phone, one of the company’s biggest product launches in recent memory. The twins are also brother to younger sibling Anant Ambani, aged 24. 4. He’s a big sports fan Earlier this summer, Akash and his friends were in a luxury box at the much-anticipated cricket face-off between India and Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup. In attendance with him were his wife Shloka, mum Nita Ambani, and family friends. But that’s not the only time Akash has shown a love of sports. He also proved to be quite skilled at the popular soccer video game Fifa 2019 when demonstrating the Jio set-top box’s gaming capabilities at a recent product launch. 5. He boasts an impressive car collection If Isha and Akash’s fancy weddings tell us anything, it’s that this family definitely has a flair for elegance. That’s why it’s no big surprise that Akash possesses a stunning fleet of cars. The crown jewel of this collection is the Bentley Bentayga, India’s most expensive SUV. A Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, Range Rover Vogue, Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé and more round out this impressive collection of cars. 6. He has massive respect for his father Akash isn’t intimidated by his billionaire father. He’s claimed his father is his “hero” and has praised his father’s unwavering work ethic even as he reaches his sixties. But most importantly, he admires his father’s humility. Because even if he’s the richest guy in the room and a titan of the business world, he’s still open to new ideas and treats everyone with respect. So it’s clear Akash is hoping to follow in his father's impressive footsteps!

6 things to know about Akash Ambani, son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani

<ul><li>Ganesh <keyword id="79029" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="balakrishnan" source="Orion">Balakrishnan</keyword>, the co-founder of <keyword id="16008024" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flatheads-shoes" source="Orion">Flatheads Shoes</keyword> received an offer that valued his company at ₹2.25 crore from two sharks on <keyword id="11924074" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="shark-tank-india" source="Orion">Shark Tank India</keyword> S2. </li><li>Balakrishnan, who had earlier invested personal money to keep the venture afloat, rejected the offer. </li><li>The shoe business that started right before the pandemic ran into trouble as lockdowns forced people to stay indoors. </li><li>After the episode aired last Friday, the startup managed to sell off its entire inventory over the weekend, Balakrishnan said on social media. </li></ul>Last Friday, Shark Tank India S2 aired the season’s most emotional episode when Ganesh Balakrishnan made a pitch for his venture, Flatheads Shoes. The startup <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ganeshbalakrishnan/">creates </a>‘all-day casual shoes for the urban workforce’ priced between ₹1,000-₹5,000 a pair. It also <a href="https://www.flatheads.in/">offers </a>India’s first linen sneakers, and the world’s first banana fibre sneakers. At the time Balakrishnan’s episode was shot, his company was on the verge of a shutdown. He said <a href="https://www.sonyliv.com/shows/shark-tank-india-1700000741/investing-in-the-future-of-india-1000203475?watch=true">on the show </a>that he personally invested ₹35 lakh to keep the business afloat, in the last two months. His co-founder Utkarsh Biradar, who helped design the shoes, too invested the same amount. Biradar exited the startup in 2022 but still holds 30% equity. In spite of his mounting troubles, Balakrishnan rejected the only deal he received on the show. Sharks Peyush Bansal (co-founder, Lenskart) and <keyword id="246967" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vineeta-singh" source="Orion">Vineeta Singh</keyword> (co-founder, Sugar Cosmetics), offered ₹75 lakh for 33.3% equity in the company. The offer values the company at ₹2.25 crore. Balakrishnan had asked for a valuation of ₹25 crore as its company generated sales to the tune of ₹3.4 crore in FY22. The company had raised ₹5.2 crore in April 2021, at a pre-money valuation of ₹28 crore, from angel investors. Pre-money valuation refers to the value of a startup that does not include external funding – basically a startup’s value before it raises funds. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Once in a generation troubles" comment="subhead2" text="Once in a generation troubles">Once in a generation troubles</cmsannotation> Balakrishnan started Flatheads Shoes in 2019, right before the pandemic struck. In less than a year, the company had no customers - as India stayed indoors, people barely needed shoes, much less urban workwear. “It’s not that I can’t run a company. I am capable of it. Thing is, when you step into the market and for 4 months nobody is wearing shoes, because nobody is stepping out only - such situations arise once in generations. And it happened to us,” said Balakrishnan on the show. He also said that angel investors were not willing to invest further in the business. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="‘Need to evaluate my priorities in life’" comment="subhead2" text="‘Need to evaluate my priorities in life’">‘Need to evaluate my priorities in life’</cmsannotation> Even as he rejected the offer, Balakrishnan admitted that he needed to change his perspective, re-evaluate his priorities, and gain more experience before entering the D2C market. “I need to evaluate my priorities in life right now. I will go out there and work with a D2C brand and understand how to do this before I come back and try again. I need a couple of years. But that perspective needs to be built. And the best way to build it is to work with somebody who’s done this before,” said Balakrishnan on the show. Balakrishnan’s emotional admission left all the judges teary-eyed, with Shaadi.com’s founder Anupam Mittal remarking, “Shark Tank is not just about getting funding, but also perspective.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Every tear has a silver lining" comment="subhead2" text="Every tear has a silver lining">Every tear has a silver lining</cmsannotation> When Balakrishnan pitched on the show, most of the Sharks asked him to shut down the business and instead, look to make a living through a regular job, leveraging his educational qualifications and work experience. While boAt’s founder Gupta shared his personal experience of going down the same road, Mittal even offered him a job. Shortly after the episode aired though, Flatheads Shoes trended on social media and consequently received enough orders that it almost sold out its inventory in India. “We've almost sold out our inventory in India, so pardon us if you aren't able to find your size on www.flatheads.in,” shared <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7017678455685226496?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7017678455685226496%29">Balakrishnan on his LinkedIn account</a>. The product is featured on the Shark Tank India website. The brand also has international ambitions. It launched its products in the US in October 2021 and plans to expand its international market in the US and UAE. As Balakrishnan admitted on the show, Flatheads enjoys a ‘price advantage’ in the US because people are willing to pay a premium price for a sustainable product. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The serial entrepreneur" comment="subhead2" text="The serial entrepreneur">The serial entrepreneur</cmsannotation> After graduating as a mechanical engineer from IIT Bombay in 1999, Balakrishnan worked with an industrial technologies MNC Ingersoll-Rand International (India) for five years, before pursuing an MBA degree from IIM, Bangalore. He worked with Bain &amp; Company and Honeywell, before starting his entrepreneurial journey in 2013 with Windsleeve, a retail technology product company, and Momoe, a mobile payments product company. While Windsleeve shut down in a year, Momoe ran for three years, before being acquired by Shopclues in 2016, in a cash and stock deal. In 2019, Balakrishnan entered the startup space again with Flathead Shoes, inspired by his personal experience of dealing with reeking and ill-fitting shoes. Balakrishnan is married and has a 10-year-old daughter. Currently, his household income is managed by his wife, who’s working with a German company. His daughter is an artist who also wants to be an entrepreneur and is already taking orders for calendars created with her paintings. “Did I mention that my 10-year-old daughter wants to be an entrepreneur? She says she is a fan of Peyush's no-nonsense mindset, and I know that she admires Vineeta for her cheerfulness and positivity. She is super proud that I managed to get an offer from both of them,” stated Balakrishnan <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7017678455685226496?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7017678455685226496%29">on his LinkedIn post</a>. His perseverance and honesty on the show left the Shark Tank India panel and the audience so impressed, that the admiration translated into sales. <div type="twitter" handle="AbstractAkarsh" handlename="Akarsh hp" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1608027655529730050/ZdAybBsg_normal.jpg" favoritecount="75" retweetcount="4" status="The #Flatheads pitch in #SharkTankIndia was one of the best I've seen across two seasons. Emotional. Real. Uplifting." createdat="1673025864000" id="1611413387547938816"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="dssagar93" handlename="Sagar Khatri 🇮🇳" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1508142401172385794/MMugvnlw_normal.jpg" favoritecount="20" retweetcount="0" status="This #Flatheads guy is so genuine and transparent with his story and failures. Saying that you couldn't make it wit… https://t.co/rjcGdmhUCo" createdat="1673026813000" id="1611417367736877056"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="banerjee_bapi" handlename="Bapi Banerjee" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/975719104953962496/N_213Fro_normal.jpg" favoritecount="7" retweetcount="0" status="Nothing but respect for you. To be honest on the national television, it takes courage. And I am sure you will boun… https://t.co/3KSiXtM62Q" createdat="1673078555000" id="1611634388642729984"></div> SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/india-vs-sri-lanka-odis-2023-match-date-and-time-head-to-head-stats-and-more/slidelist/96849348.cms">India vs Sri Lanka ODIs 2023 – match date and time, head-to-head stats and more</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/health-edtech-platform-virohan-raises-7-million-in-funding-led-by-blume-ventures/articleshow/96849208.cms">Health edtech platform Virohan raises $7 million in funding led by Blume Ventures</a>

This IIT-IIM startup founder denies Shark Tank offer, sells his entire inventory over the weekend

<ul><li>The first half of 2020 was so unusual and unprecedented that the ad industry took a nosedive to as low as -60%.</li><li>Businesses of all kinds and sizes suffered and put their advertising activities on hold to give their consumers space to process the unprecedented times.</li><li>So, after a year and a half of lull, brands and advertisers went all out with their marketing activities during the festive season this year. Consumers were extra excited to step out, shop zealously and as most research studies reflected, Diwali exceeded expectations and broke previous records.</li><li>So, we speak to media experts and digital agencies to find out if the advertising industry has managed to bounce back this year, discuss the industry’s spending so far and their expectations from the last festival of the season, Christmas.</li></ul>After a year and a half of celebrating festivals virtually, Indian consumers were excited to have some sense of normalcy back this year during the festive season. Advertisers and brands also went all out to leverage on this uptick in consumer sentiment, starting from Raksha Bandhan to Diwali. Experts were also hopeful that the festive season will bring in cheer and serve as a respite from the pandemic-associated slumber. According to Redseer Consulting, 2021 saw India witness its biggest ever Festive Sales with brands clocking a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of $9.2 billion through online channels over this period. Online Festive Sales in India continued to grow at a blistering pace and saw a 23% YoY growth in GMV. On the other hand, the categories that witnessed subdued growth this year included the likes of home furnishings, home decor, furnishings and other electronics. Looking back at 2020, Eeshita Ghosh, General Manager and Office Head, Motivator Bangalore said, “The festival of 2021 is definitely better than 2020 and as high if not more than 2019. The ad volume started picking up from Q3 of 2021 and with more than 20% growth over 2019 Q3. The festival months saw multiple new advertisers getting active, approximately 2000+ new advertisers are active in media. The inventory was full, and the market sentiments were very positive. With festival and IPL, media was very active with multiple new categories.” A lot of hopes were banking on the festive season for the industry's overall revival, however, unlike Ghosh, Neena Dasgupta, CEO &amp; Director, Zirca Digital Solutions was a little disappointed; not with the numbers but with overall creativity. Explaining why, Dasgupta said, “Honestly, the performance fell short of expectations. Not only in terms of volume but also the kind of activities. I felt our methods possibly regressed a bit to remain cautious and conservative. Innovative ideas were few and yet each of them benefited. The consumer is now more aware and it’s time we took their psychometric into consideration. And at times where media dollars need to be more efficient and effective, we have to embrace tech that allows us to capture the consumer mindset and then deploy media buys across mediums.” Sharing how the festive season has panned out so far for the advertising industry, Dasgupta added, “It’s been an interesting festive season. There was exuberance in the consumer spirit and it reflected in some categories. And yet the exuberance didn’t necessarily translate into communication to the same scale. This was possibly a combination of inflation, economic imbalance at consumer levels and some category constraints that impacted sales. What was interesting g though was the growth in rural activities at the consumer end and advertising end too. Every medium had its share. And fintech growth made some aspirations real for this segment. We now have a fascinating growth story for Bharat.” With a steady monsoon and plump harvest so far, it was a cheerful year for rural India as well. They spent their harvest festivals with more enthusiasm and happiness to share with their loved ones. Brands also left no stone unturned to expand their marketing activities beyond metro and Tier I cities this year. In fact, this year, Tier II and III had the lion’s share in e-commerce spends. Will we return to 2019’s ad spends? After June, the advertising industry’s performance picked up by leaps and bounds. Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi and ace festival Diwali, improved consumer sentiment and helped the advertising industry to bounce back. But have we returned to 2019’s levels? “The ADEX numbers for October and November are yet to come, but as we observed from our billing, we are positive that it has bounced back to 2019 levels,” said Ghosh. Dasgupta told Advertising and Media Insider that regional and rural markets exceeded 2019’s performance but some markets are yet to reach there. Decoding media dispersion this festive season While there was buoyancy across the board, television got the most attention from advertisers yet again, followed by digital. Talking about medium dispersion, Monaz Todywalla, CEO at PHD Media India said, “In terms of mediums, television and digital continue to drive impact and lead from the front, with digital playing a vital role in ensuring last-mile connectivity and driving sales across multiple touchpoints. Raman Mittal, CMO and Co-Founder, TO THE NEW was delighted to see digital getting a bigger piece of pie than 2020. He said, "COVID revolutionized the way people shop. We saw businesses go all out on digital channels this Diwali season to communicate with potential clients. Companies have adjusted their attention on digital marketing to stay up with new shopping channels and get the biggest piece of the pie as a result of continual digital transformation." "Interaction and Influencers were the two themes that peaked this festive season," Raman continued. "Giveaways, contests, and online polls were used to promote interactive content. In addition, the top celebrities were enlisted to help brands stand out amid the crowd. These tendencies, we believe, will last well into Christmas and New Year." Within digital, video got the most attention and while traditional advertisers continued to spend heavily, they were matched and at times exceeded by online services/startups. Mihir Karkare, Cofounder and EVP of Mirum India said, "The videos ruled the roost this festive season. Online video platforms were in great demand – YouTube and OTT were the preferred choices for brands. Apart from Diwali, all the cricketing action also contributed heavily towards increased advertising spends. From a 'growth of share' standpoint, Influencer marketing as come of age." Hopes rest on Christmas Christmas is the last festival of the year. Will it give an additional impetus and help the advertising industry exceed 2019’s performance? “Christmas is a bit low, but we have seen many advertisers continuing with the momentum built during the Q3 period. I expect Q4 to be like Q2 and will be higher than Q4 of 2020 and close to 2019 Q4,” answered Ghosh. PHD Media’s Todywalla is optimistic that the momentum will continue and brands will keep up with their marketing blitzkrieg. “With consumers showing an increased propensity to spend, pent-up demand from brands translating into a bouquet of launches - complimented by high-decibel marketing campaigns, and an overall increase in consumption and sales from all corners of the media and entertainment ecosystem, the festivities have ushered in a season that's peppered with a healthy dose of optimism. We believe this wave of hope and optimism is expected to be carried forth into the coming year too," said Todywalla. With a huge push from key festivals such as Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi and Raksha Bandhan, cautious optimism continues to thrive in the advertising industry.

Has 2021’s festive season given India’s advertising industry a big enough push to recover from the 2020 after-effect?

<ul><li><keyword id="9064221" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="ad-volumes" source="Orion">Ad Volumes</keyword> on Television continue to post a healthy growth, with the July-Sept quarter registering 461 million seconds of advertising, according to <keyword id="2801660" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="barc-india" source="Orion">BARC India</keyword>’s July-Sept 2021 Ad Volumes - Special Festival Edition THINK Report.</li><li>Ad Volumes on TV in the Ganesh Chaturthi week grew 4% compared to the previous four-week average and posted a healthy 28% growth over 2019.</li><li>Ad Volumes on TV for September 2021 is the highest since 2019, registering a 15% growth over the same period in the previous year. </li><li>While <keyword id="34523" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fmcg" source="Orion">FMCG</keyword> continued to maintain its leadership position with a 29% growth in Ad Volumes against the same period in 2019, the E-commerce sector has also shown a healthy 26% jump over 2020.</li></ul>Ad Volumes on Television continue to post a healthy growth, with the July-Sept quarter registering 461 million seconds of advertising – which is the highest this year – as per BARC India’s July - Sept 2021 Ad Volumes - Special Festival Edition THINK Report. What is also significant is that the growth registered in the quarter is broad-based, with channels across all languages reporting higher ad volumes over the corresponding period in previous years. With the festive season well and truly underway, the September THINK Report also takes a closer look at advertising on TV during the Ganesh Chaturthi Week. Ad Volumes on TV in the week grew 4% compared to the previous four-week average and posted a healthy 28% growth over 2019. Speaking on the trend, <keyword id="7538858" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aaditya-pathak" source="Orion">Aaditya Pathak</keyword>, Head of Client Partnership &amp; Revenue, BARC India, said, “The momentum of more and more brands banking on television advertising continues to be visible with 3397 new brands entering the medium in the July-Sept quarter of 2021, and that too with a 51% share of total brands advertising. The number of advertisers on TV is also the highest for the quarter at 4226. As we have seen in earlier years, marketers are clearly leveraging the reach and power of TV to raise the visibility of their brands this festive season. The strong growth of Ad Volumes in Q3 – which is 40 million seconds higher than in Q2 – also points to the positive sentiment regarding the improving economic and business environment.” Ad Volumes on TV for September 2021 is the highest since 2019, registering a 15% growth over the same period in the previous year. While FMCG continued to maintain its leadership position with a 29% growth in Ad Volumes against the same period in 2019, the E-commerce sector has also shown a healthy 26% jump over 2020. While the strong upward trend in <keyword id="407416" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tv-advertising" source="Orion">TV advertising</keyword> is seen at the overall level as well as across all languages, the highest spurt was observed for Bhojpuri language channels, where ad volumes were more than double that of 2019, and 38% higher than in 2020. While Hindi language channels account for the largest share of TV advertising, Tamil &amp; Telugu language channels witnessed a robust growth over the previous year, 2020.

Festive season brings cheer as ad volumes on TV climb to highest levels in 2021

<ul><li>Amazon’s Great Indian Festival is the longest this year as the brand hasn't set an end date yet and the sale is likely to go on for a month. </li><li>This year’s sale has already broken some of the records set last year. </li><li>Manish Tiwary, Vice President, Amazon India shares with us some of the trends that the e-commerce giant has seen so far, how the platform is working towards improving overall consumer experience, marketing strategy and much more. </li></ul>Consumer sentiment seems to have picked up during Navratri after seeing a muted affair during Raksha Bandhan and Ganesh Chaturthi. E-commerce firms Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Snapdeal together sold goods worth $3.1 billion in the first 4.5 days of the first festival season sale, revealed management consultancy Redseer. This growth trajectory of e-commerce platforms in India testifies how customers are increasingly recognising the importance of comfort shopping within closed doors, and after seeing their businesses take a plunge in the first three months of the lockdown, more and more sellers are coming online with the increasing adoption of e-commerce platforms. Similarly, Amazon India has also been seeing a year of firsts in its ongoing Great Indian Festival and is breaking last year’s records already. So far, the platform has recorded the highest number of first time shoppers, saw a 50% increase in new sellers and witnessed the strongest-ever start for SMBs. 91% of its first-time shoppers were from smaller cities who browsed the app in local Indian languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. Total iPhones sold on Amazon in one day were more than the total iPhones sold in the entire festive sale period of last year. The sale has also helped Amazon accelerate growth across its portfolio. Over 1 lakh customers bought Amazon devices, Echo and Fire TV devices. Kindle sales were around 2.5X higher than the first day of the sale last year. Manish Tiwary, Vice President, Amazon India calls this year’s Great Indian Festival ‘Bharat’s biggest celebration on Amazon ever’ as Tier II and III towns take the forefront. He further told us some of the trends that the e-commerce giant has seen so far, how the platform is working towards improving overall consumer experience, challenges of breaking the clutter in the e-commerce landscape, marketing strategy, and most demanded products on the platform. Excerpts: Q. The role of engagement and communication has never been more important, especially in today’s digital-first world. How are you making sure your communication during this year's Great Indian Festival is relevant to consumers? These are unprecedented times and COVID-19 has impacted the sense of normalcy for everyone. This Great Indian Festival, our focus remains on providing reliability to customers, ensuring safety of employees and helping sellers as they get back on their feet. These include more than 6,50,000 sellers &amp; SMBs including artisans, women entrepreneurs, emerging Indian brands and local store owners from programs like Karigar, Saheli, Launchpad and Local Shops. At the same time, we want to help customers find everything they need – from the latest mobile phone to groceries and get them delivered safely to their homes. Our campaign with the ‘Khushiyon Ka Darwaza’ symbolizes the joy Amazon’s Great Indian Festival brings in the lives of this entire ecosystem of customers, sellers, delivery associates, brand partners and more. Q. What are some of the exclusive deals you have on the platform to woo consumers? This festive season, lakhs of Small &amp; Medium Businesses (SMBs) are offering unique selection to customers helping them rebuild and accelerate their business in tough times. Over 4 crore products from Small &amp; Medium Businesses (SMBs); products from over 20,000 local shops across 100 cities will be available during the Great Indian Festival. Customers across the country will have the opportunity to shop for unique products from thousands of Amazon sellers under various programs such as Local Shops, Amazon Launchpad, Amazon Saheli, and Amazon Karigar and enjoy deals/offers extended by lakhs of small businesses. This year witnessed the strongest ever start for SMBs with record sales; over 5,000 sellers clock sales worth INR 1MM (10 lakh) in SMB pre-festive lead up &amp; first 48 hours of the Great Indian Festival. With over 1.1 Lakh sellers receiving orders, we are humbled how sellers, brands and ecosystem partners nationwide have come together during these unprecedented times to spread joy across the country. Q. What are some of the other trends you are expecting to see this festive? At this moment in time, our focus is to ensure our customers get all that they need safely and that we are able to strongly help our small business partners with their business revival to manage through these challenging times. Customers recognize that ecommerce is the safest way for them to get what they need, and sellers know that e-commerce is the best way for them to serve their customers as their footfalls have been impacted. We are seeing a 50% increase in new seller registrations vs pre COVID19. The sellers on Amazon.in have been receiving orders for consumer electronics, study from home essentials, kitchen &amp; home appliances, smart devices, laptops, mobile phones, phone accessories, personal grooming products, apparel and more besides groceries and other essential products. Q. With the on-going festive season, many other platforms will have their Sales days too. How do you then cut the clutter and make sure you win consumers? How will you be different from the other players in the segment? As a customer-obsessed company, we remain focused on ways to serve the customers in the country everywhere and fulfil all their needs. Our focus remains on what is best for our sellers &amp; customers. This Great Indian Festival is all about them. Q. How are you working towards improving the overall consumer experience? Tier II &amp; III towns see a significant number of customers shop on Amazon.in, with many being first time customers. To address customer needs and enable millions of customers from India to discover the joy, convenience and benefits of online shopping, ahead of the festive season, they can shop in one of the six languages of their choice including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. In fact, the largest number of new customers shopped for the first time on Amazon.in; 91% of new customers came from smaller cities as customers experienced the Great Indian Festival in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. Q. Do you anticipate people to buy more, considering a lot of people might have pushed buying things for the festive season? With over 1.1 Lakh sellers receiving orders, 66% sellers, 91% of new customers, and 66% of new Prime sign-ups from small towns; shopping in 5 Indian languages; and orders from over 98.4% of India’s pin-codes in just 48 hours, this Great Indian Festival is truly Bharat’s biggest celebration on Amazon ever. During the first 48 hours, top sold categories were Smartphones, Large Appliances and Consumer Electronics with leading brands OnePlus, Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi making record sales. New products received a rousing response; popular new products were OnePlus 8T, Samsung M31 Prime Edition, OnePlus Nord (Gray Ash), Xbox Series S, Maggi 2 minute Desi Cheesy Masala, Samsung 6.5 kg fully automatic washing machine, new collection from BIBA &amp; Max among over 1,100 new launches Customers shopped for everything big and small <ul><li>Smartphones remained popular among customers: iPhone 11, Redmi Note Series, Redmi 9A, OnePlus 8T, OnePlus Nord and Samsung M31 Prime Edition were among the popular smartphones on Amazon.in; Total iPhones sold on Amazon.in in one day were more than the total iPhones sold in entire festive sale period of last year</li><li>Popular appliances were fully automatic top &amp; front load washing machines, direct cool refrigerators, air conditioners, microwave ovens and dishwashers</li><li>Top-selling electronics were laptops, headphones, tablets, cameras and smartwatches. Customers also loved selection across security cameras and drones. Asus, Lenovo &amp; HP were leading laptop brands; Samsung &amp; Apple leading tablets, and TP Link &amp; Netgear were leading in networking products</li><li>TVs with Alexa OnePlus 43”, OnePlus 32” and Samsung 32” popular this season</li><li>Smart bulbs and bedsheets in Home, water purifiers and mixer grinders in Kitchen</li><li>Women’s kurtis, sarees, casual tops, t-shirts and athleisure popular in Apparel</li><li>Suitcases, luggage sets and gold jewellery popular this season</li><li>More customers are looking at gaming as a hobby – gaming consoles popular during GIF </li><li>In health &amp; hygiene categories, Savlon disinfectant Sprays, Whisper sanitary pads, Chyawanprash, Dettol &amp; Dove bathing soaps see a spike</li><li>Within grocery, products with dry fruits, spreads &amp; cooking supplies were popular</li><li>Vaseline &amp; Ponds Body lotions, Dove &amp; Wow shampoos, Lakme Kajal were popular beauty products</li><li>For pet parents, Pedigree Adult Dog Food and Whiskas dry cat food were among the popular products </li><li>Baby products such as diapers &amp; skincare products like Himalaya baby lotion &amp; Pampers anti rash diapers were widely sought after </li><li>The Nerf rival blasters - a new launch in India was among the most sought after newly launched toys</li><li>Treadmills in fitness essentials, grills, fertilizer and soil in Garden &amp; Outdoors, Car care in Tools &amp; Equipment also popular in the country</li></ul>Amazon Devices <ul><li>Customers loved Alexa – Prime Early Access during the Great Indian Festival was the single biggest day of sale for Echo devices on Amazon.in</li><li>Customers loved the new Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Stick Lite; streaming media player category sold nearly 2x units vs. the first day of GIF last year</li><li>Over 1 lakh customers bought Amazon devices, Echo and Fire TV devices</li><li>The Echo Dot (3rd Gen) and the All New Fire TV Stick were among the top 10 products sold on Amazon.in </li><li>Kindle sales were more than 2.5X vs. first day of the sale last year</li></ul>

Amazon's ongoing Great Indian Festival has already broken last year's records

Holiday list 2021 - checkout complete holiday calendar for 2021

<ul><li><keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> US has confirmed that the <keyword id="3492906" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prime-Day-sale">Prime Day sale</keyword> has been delayed until later this year, making India the first country to host the sale.</li><li>But this also means that Amazon is deviating from its usual strategy of holding the sale on the same days all over the world. </li><li>This can be the first step towards recovery of e-commerce sales after lockdown. </li></ul> Amazon India has announced that its Prime Day sale will take place on August 6 and 7 – a little later than usual. Last year, Amazon had held Prime Day on July 15 and 16. However, even with the slight delay in India, Amazon is actually pushing out its sale in India before it takes place globally. Amazon US has confirmed that the Prime Day sale has been delayed until later this year, making India the first country to host the sale – deviating from their usual strategy of holding the sale on the same days all over the world. “This year we’ll be holding Prime Day later than usual, while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and selling partners. We are excited Prime members in India will see savings on August 6-7, and that members all around the world will experience Prime Day later this year. We look forward to sharing more details soon,” an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider. While the global giant hasn’t confirmed why India gets different dates this year, Amazon is betting on the beginning of the festive season in August. The sale is now closer to Rakshabandhan, Independence Day and Ganesh Chaturthi. "Customers and sellers want to be able to shop around this period...we timed the event in such a way to ensure that our ecosystem and partners are also set up to scale," Akshay Sahi, head of Amazon Prime India, <a href="https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/amazon-indias-prime-day-sale-slated-for-next-month/77081283">told ET.</a> Last year, the e-commerce player had said that users from over 70% pin codes of India had shopped during the Prime Day Sale. This can be the first step towards recovery of e-commerce sales after lockdown. Retailers in India will be banking on Diwali sales this year to make up for the lost momentum during the first quarter. In a seminar organised by Shopping Centres Association of India in June, mall owners had said that while the next 90-120 days will be about ‘recovery, reimagine and re-energise the business model’, the broader idea is to focus on regrowth by Diwali - which is when the experts anticipate 80-100% consumers returning. Meanwhile, while this will be Amazon’s first annual sale post lockdown, Flipakart’s Myntra already held its End of Reason Sale earlier in June. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indiamart-dinesh-agarwal-shares-how-the-profit-doubled-during-the-lockdown/articleshow/77102706.cms">IndiaMart’s Dinesh Agarwal shares how the profit doubled during the lockdown</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/shop-on-wheels-finally-takes-off-in-india-as-brands-arrive-at-societies-with-retail-trucks/articleshow/77077265.cms">Shop on wheels finally takes off in India as brands arrive at societies with retail trucks</a>

Amazon Prime Day sale in India is a little late this year but just in time for the festive season

<ul><li>At <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword>, which had already held a big sale event after lockdown – End of Reason Sale in June, there were many learnings to note.</li><li><keyword id="3790335" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="amar-nagaram">Amar Nagaram</keyword>, the CEO of Myntra, tells Business Insider about how the change in Indian consumers’ preferences after the lockdown.</li><li>Myntra’s Big Fashion Festival will be a 7-day long event (October 16–22). </li></ul>The pandemic and lockdown period has brought many learnings for all businesses, and e-commerce has undoubtedly been one of the sectors with the biggest takeaways. And at Myntra, which joins the leagues of Amazon, Flipkart this time around to hold a <keyword id="3741625" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="festive-sale">festive sale</keyword> right before Diwali and Dussehra, the learnings have shaped the way they designed their next big sale event. Myntra, which had already held a big sale event after lockdown – End of Reason Sale in June, saw the consumers’ consumption patterns change in India. “In the last four-five months and us coming out of a complete lockdown, what we have learnt is that the core nature of fashion buying has changed in the country,” Amar Nagaram, CEO, Myntra told Business Insider. And Nagaram expects their sale volumes to be higher than the June sale. From Tier 2, 3 shopping habits to athleisure ranking high in demand – Here’s what changed Nagaram points out that more and more Tier 2,3 shoppers have come on board – and from there, it's those shoppers who always used to prefer shopping offline. These are the people whose spending capability could be the same as their counterparts in Tier 1 cities, but they depended only on travel, brands and offline retail for their shopping list. “What we have been doing in the last four months is ensuring that we don’t give them a reason to not come back,” he said. The categories working well are athleisure and casual wear, kidswear, beauty and wellness – across geographies. “In fact, during Rakshabandhan and Ganesh Chaturthi, for the first time in all these months we saw interest coming back for premium products. All of this put together is how we are shaping up for the festive sale,” said Nagaram. Myntra’s upcoming Big Fashion Festival will be a 7-day long event (October 16–22), Nagaram says they have put together 9 lakh styles, increased the total number of brands to 5,000, a big jump from 2,000 brands last year. “The categories we expect will do well during this sale are casual wear, winter wear, beauty and wellness and home furnishings and decor, because people finally got time to do their homes,” he said. Marketing for the masses Nagaram expects 50% of its orders to come from Tier 2 and 3 markets alone. And while Nagaram said that their marketing spend remains according to the plan pre-COVID-19, the way they spend their money has changed. There’s no more one national ad campaign but several regional ad campaigns targeted at the regional user. They brought on board brand ambassadors like Kiara Advani, Youtuber Bhuvan Bam and South actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu to reach out to the masses and have a wider brand appeal. Like every other company, Myntra too hopped on the IPL sponsorship bandwagon. Myntra’s logo is seen on the team jerseys of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. “IPL was the biggest event happening after lockdown and it was an opportunity we couldn’t miss as obviously the reach would be great,” he said. The competition will also be higher Almost every big sale event in the country – from Amazon, Flipkart to Myntra – has the same dates, and that means the consumer will get more choice, and the competition will be higher for all e-commerce platforms. It’s not just the online space; malls and offline retail stores that have taken a major hit during the lockdown will also look at attracting users back into their space. But Nagaram rests assured as “People are still scared of stepping out over concerns for safety and hygiene. What we are doing online is we have given consumers the selection at a sharp pricing and the experience that they might not find anywhere else. Consumers now have access to brands that they didn’t think was possible unless they travel to a different city,” he said. However, he also believes that it's no more about online vs offline anymore and the world today belongs to omnichannel retail. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/wipro-share-price-dips-after-earnings-report-analysts-believe-it-will-take-a-while-to-catch-up-to-tcs-and-hcl-technologies/articleshow/78654023.cms">Wipro’s share price dips by over 6% after earnings — analysts believe it will take a while to catch up to TCS and HCL Technologies</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/walmart-and-flipkart-invest-in-ninjacart-again-to-bump-up-its-grocery-offerings-ahead-of-the-festive-season/articleshow/78617012.cms">Walmart and Flipkart invest in Ninjacart again to bump up its grocery offerings ahead of the festive season</a>

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