Adverstising

The court ruled that using a registered brand name as a Google Ads keyword can amount to infringement even if the mark does not appear in the advertisement, in a case involving Hindware and Google.

The latest ASCI report reveals how ‘manufactured’ science and fast-vanishing social media campaigns are exploiting digital gaps to stay one step ahead of Indian regulators.

Brands are moving beyond marketplace-led growth, focusing on retention and efficiency as declining ad returns and rising costs push a shift towards more sustainable business models.

From impulse buys to “guilt-free” pitches, healthcare-led messaging is gaining ground on India’s biggest advertising stage.

As India’s advertising spends outperform global ad markets, agency networks like WPP are focusing on the role of AI in shaping ad spends, and their own offerings for advertisers.

Brands spanning food, wellness, and personal care say they are now allocating up to half of their digital ad spends to quick-commerce apps such as Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto, as sales velocity and return on ad spends improve sharply.

Between an antitrust investigation, new personal data rules, a mega merger leading to thousands of layoffs, and the unchallenged march of AI into advertising, 2025 was among the roughest years for the business of ad agencies. Will 2026 look any better for the legacy agency business?

By leveraging a staggered release strategy, Netflix achieved high social media engagement throughout late 2025, enabling brands like Swiggy Instamart to integrate immersive technology into their apps.

Brand marketing campaigns are expensive and hard to judge on conversion. But getting big Bollywood names to star in a splashy big-budget movie dedicated to your brand can deliver something intangible.

While customers react faster when any brand breaks their trust, the blowback can be worse after a negative experience with a healthcare brand, such as a hospital. That is why it’s important to stay focused on customer experience and act with empathy at all times, says Misra.