Twitter, Meta among the most ‘hated’ brands in the US
Twitter, Meta and TikTok are three of the world’s biggest social media giants. They’re also three of the brands with the worst reputations in the U.S., according to the recently released 2023 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation rankings. Millions of monthly active users across the country couldn’t keep the social media companies off the list, which Axios and The Harris Poll compiled by asking more than 16,000 Americans to score the 100 companies they considered “most visible” across nine categories of reputation. Meta and Twitter both scored poorly in the “culture” and “ethics” categories. Each business recently faced public backlash after laying off thousands of workers over email — just one in a series of escalating dramas at Twitter, which Fidelity estimates is now worth one-third of the $44 billion Elon Musk paid for it in October 2022. TikTok underperformed in “citizenship” and “character,” amid growing concerns from American lawmakers over potential Chinese federal government influence on the platform.
53% Indians, 69% APAC consumers shop in physical stores today
Indian brands will lead the next wave of global customer experience innovation as consumers become aware of new technologies, and more deeply explore virtual and immersive environments, according to Adobe’s Future of Digital Experiences report. To help fuel this experience transformation, marketers and consumers alike are eager to embrace artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI, the report stated. The global survey of 13,000 consumers and 4,250 marketing and customer experience professionals outlines the broad impact of breakthrough technologies on consumers and businesses. According to Adobe’s Future of Digital Experiences Report, 53% of Indian consumers and 69% APAC consumers shop in physical stores today – but that percentage will drop to 44% and 40% respectively, in two years. This shift will be more prominent in APAC than in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as consumers expect brands to expand their digital experiences into new formats. Majority of Indian (96%) and APAC (91%) consumers expect to view videos of products before purchase and nearly 91% Indian consumers and 74% in APAC want brands to provide new ways to engage in immersive and virtual worlds. Today, Indian brands are planning to respond with new and innovative digital experiences such as the ability to build virtual products and convert them into physical items (88%), offering digital tokens to trade for virtual and physical products (85%), virtual/immersive events (87%) and VIP access to virtual influencers and celebrities (86%). While the future is exciting, the current economic environment is putting pressure on brands to up-level their customer experiences. 82% of Indian consumers say their expectations are heightened by a worsening economic climate. This is particularly true for younger consumers, where 70% of APAC Gen Zs say their expectations are higher in a down economy, compared to 65% globally. APAC consumers also place an outsized premium on trust in a challenging economy, ranking it ahead of price and selection with younger consumers feeling even more strongly. The report further highlighted that Indian marketing and customer experience professionals are already relying on artificial intelligence (AI). Nearly 60% say AI is helpful in their work.
Indian cos adopt cyber insurance as attacks surge
The rise of cyber security threats like ransomware, phishing, crypto-jacking, and others, is forcing companies to opt for a cyber-insurance cover — either as part of an overall insurance policy or a standalone policy, according to a new research report. India, which is one of the top countries hit by cyber-attacks, as per various reports, is also emerging as a leading buyer of cyber covers, said the survey conducted by cybersecurity solutions company Sophos, covering 3,000 respondents across 14 countries, including 300 from India. The survey showed that India is ranked sixth among the top ten countries taking adequate cover for cyber breaches. South Africa leads the list with 98% of organizations taking cyber-insurance cover, followed by Singapore with 97%, and Austria and the US with 94% each. According to the survey, organizations with cyber insurance are more likely to be able to recover data following a ransomware incident than those without coverage. Conversely, only 84% of organizations without cyber coverage reported that they could recover data. The study also showed that about 58% of organizations with a standalone cyber insurance policy, and which had data encrypted in a ransomware attack last year, paid the ransom to get their data back. In comparison, only 36% of those with cyber insurance as part of a broader insurance policy paid the ransom and this was 15% for those without cyber insurance. The study also found that cyber insurance adoption increases with revenue, with organizations with high revenues reporting the highest propensity to have cyber coverage.
ChatGPT to Fuel $1.3 Trillion AI Market by 2032
The release of consumer-focused artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard is set to fuel a decade-long boom that grows the market for generative AI to an estimated $1.3 Trillion in revenue by 2032 from $40 billion last year. The sector could expand at a rate of 42% over ten years — driven first by the demand for infrastructure necessary to train AI systems and then the ensuing devices that use AI models, advertising and other services, according to a new report by Bloomberg Intelligence analysts. Demand for generative AI has boomed worldwide since ChatGPT’s release late last year, with the technology poised to disrupt everything from customer service to banking. It uses large samples of data, often harvested from the internet, to learn how to respond to prompts, allowing it to create realistic-looking images and answers to queries that appear to be from a real person. Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud division, Google parent Alphabet Inc., Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp., which has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI, are likely to be among the biggest winners from the AI boom, according to the report. The largest driver of revenue growth from generative AI will come from demand for the infrastructure needed to train AI models, according to Bloomberg Intelligence’s forecasts, amounting to an estimated $247 billion by 2032. The AI-assisted digital ads business is expected to reach $192 billion in annual revenue by 2032, and revenue from AI servers could hit $134 billion, the report said. Investors, meanwhile, took a pause from their obsession with all things AI on Thursday. The software firm C3.ai fell as much as 24% in New York, extending Wednesday’s 9% decline following a disappointing sales outlook. Chipmaker Nvidia, which has emerged as Wall Street’s biggest AI bet, resumed its rally, rising 3.3%. Its shares have soared by 28% since May 24 and the Silicon Valley firm briefly reached a $1 trillion valuation this week.
Food and beverage industry bites into NFTs
On June 1, 2023, Nestle formally announced its entry into the world of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens. Through its brand Maggi, it launched three of its products – Maggi noodles, Maggi masala-ae-magic, and hot and sour sauce – on the metaverse for a gamified version wherein people in their virtual avatars can compete to win the “Golden Maggi NFT”. The FMCG giant tied up with OneRare, a Delhi-based blockchain start-up that specializes in creating NFTs for the food and beverage (F&B) industry through collaborations with restaurants, celebrity chefs and food brands. Through its NFTs, Nestlé expects to bite into Web 3.0 to build loyalty, traction and a strong community of younger consumers. As a pre-launch campaign in March, the company ran a contest on the metaverse, which drew over 100,000 impressions on the OneRare website. “Web 3.0 will increasingly become a natural extension of F&B brands’ marketing and outreach strategies,” says Supreet Raju, co-founder, OneRare. “In the next 8-10 years, F&B brands will announce their respective NFTs to reach out to their target consumer.” Raju’s company is now firming up the launch of chef-entrepreneur Zorawar Kalra’s Farzi Café to release an NFT via a gamified version. People will be able to trade this NFT for a digital dish or in the offline world, for discounts on meals, exclusive access to the restaurant’s kitchen, or exclusive diner experience that would include sampling dishes that are in the testing phase. Besides helping to build a loyalty base among consumers and target a younger audience, NFTs can also help the F&B industry to create online events that can be leveraged in the offline world. Plus, NFTs can be monetised. According to a report by Polaris Market Research published in April 2023, the global F&B NFT market, currently valued at $538.58 million, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.5 per cent and generate revenue of $2,134.04 million by 2032. In the last two years, brands such as Starbucks, McDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell and Coca-Cola have launched their NFTs.
In challenge to Meta, Apple expected to unveil mixed-reality headset
Apple is expected to show off its costly mixed-reality headgear at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, challenging Facebook-owner Meta in a market that has yet to sizzle. The iPhone maker has remained mum on reports that it is poised to unveil a headset for augmented or virtual reality experiences at its annual jamboree for developers and app designers. The release would be the most significant product launch by the iconic iPhone maker since it unveiled the Apple Watch in 2015. It could also invite more tensions between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg who have feuded over the handling of their sprawling tech empires, especially over data issues and China ties. Expectations are high that Apple will use the WWDC stage to spotlight a “Reality Pro” headset priced around $3,000, along with custom-made software for the gear. The headset has been in development at Cupertino-based Apple for years, and will focus on gaming, streaming video and conferencing, as well as health and fitness, according to Ives. It is also expected to sync closely with other Apple devices, following the company’s strategy of using premium hardware to lock customers into other products and services.
Aaj Tak ranks highest in reach in mobile video news category: Nielsen
Aaj Tak has once again secured the top spot in reach in the video news category, as per Nielsen’s Confluence solution covering 15-44 year olds from NCCS ABC households, from India’s one lac+ towns, and are users of Android smartphones. The analysis encompassed 32 Hindi TV news brands available on respective mobile applications, YouTube channels, and websites, providing a holistic view of audience engagement across multiple digital platforms. Viewers accessing news only on Aggregators or 3rd party apps such as social media feed are not covered unless the click opens the browser window outside the app to the news website. The Nielsen’s Confluence solution provides reach, behavior and engagement from its Android smartphone panel (covering content watched on YouTube and top VOD brands) including news watching behavior. By maintaining its leadership position, Aaj Tak has again demonstrated its dedication to providing its viewers with the highest quality news content.
Web3, Metaverse could be $200 bn opportunity for India
The Web3 and Metaverse market opportunity in India is expected to grow at an annual growth rate of nearly 40 %, with the potential to become a US $200 billion industry by 2035, a new report by Arthur D Little has said. The report defines the Metaverse as ‘the future version of the Internet, blending the frontiers between reality and virtuality, at the convergence of immersive spaces, social and collaborative experiences, and the creator economy’. It is projected to become a US $13 trillion opportunity globally by 2030. It is estimated that about 8% of the $160 trillion global GDP by 2030 will come from Web3 and Metaverse. The report also highlighted how India’s e-commerce penetration is set to grow, presenting an opportunity for Web3 and Metaverse technologies to enhance the retail and finance sectors. “For India to realize its potential for a US $ 200 billion Web3 and Metaverse industry by 2035, concerted action is needed by startups, investors, corporates, and the government,” said Barnik Chitran Maitra, Managing Partner, Arthur D Little India & South Asia.
Meesho becomes world’s fastest shopping app to cross 500 mn downloads
Social commerce firm Meesho has emerged as the world’s fastest shopping app to cross 500 million cumulative downloads across Google Play and iOS App Store combined, reaching this milestone in six years, according to data.ai, the leading mobile data analytics provider. More than half of these downloads (274 million) came in 2022, with value-seeking consumers across India flocking to the SoftBank-backed e-commerce platform. Meesho competes with players such as Walmart-owned Flipkart, Amazon and Reliance’s JioMart. The entry into the 500 million club comes on the back of strong value propositions and unique tech innovations. At just 13.6 MB, Meesho’s Android app is the lightest e-commerce app in India on Play Store. This makes it compatible with low-end smartphones and ensures a seamless shopping experience even in areas with low internet bandwidth. User engagement on the Meesho app is high – it was the top breakout shopping app by monthly active users globally in 2022, gaining an additional 97 million average MAU during the year. At 2 minutes and 27 seconds, the app recorded the highest average session duration among India’s top 10 e-commerce apps by monthly active users last year.
Over 80% of Indian professionals want to delegate work to AI
Instead of fearing the replacement of jobs by artificial intelligence (AI), business leaders are increasingly being optimistic about it. According to a new research report, about 83% of Indian employees would delegate as much work as possible to AI in order to lessen their workloads. The findings from Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index surveyed 31,000 people across industries in 31 countries including 1,000 in India, also said that over 3 in 4 Indian workers would be comfortable using AI not just for administrative tasks (86%) but also for analytical work (88%), and even creative aspects of their role (87%). Moreover, Indian managers as polled by Microsoft said that they are 1.6x more likely to say that AI would provide value in the workplace by boosting productivity rather than cutting headcount. “The volume of data, emails and chats has outpaced our ability to process it all. There is an opportunity to make our existing communications more productive,” said Bhaskar Basu, Country head, Microsoft India. For example, 76% of Indian workers in the survey said, they don’t have enough time and energy to get their work done, and those people are 3.1x more likely to say they struggled with being innovative,” he said. The study showed that eight out of 10 leaders say they’re concerned about lack of innovation. Bhaskar Basu noted, inefficient meetings, as reported by 46% of Indian workers who feel that their absence in half or more of their meetings would go unnoticed by colleagues is increasingly disrupting productivity. 90% of Indian leaders say employees they hire will need new skills to be prepared for the AI-era. However, 78% of Indian workers say they don’t currently have the right capabilities to get their work done indicating that both job seekers and employers are facing challenges due to a mismatch between the skills that are in demand and those that are available.
Google to restrict personal loan apps from Play Store
Google is all set to impose restrictions for personal loan apps that make the customer’s data vulnerable. Starting May 31, the tech giant will restrict apps that expose users to deceptive or harmful financial products and services, it said in a statement adding that for the purposes of the new policy, the company will consider financial products and services to be those related to the management or investment of money and cryptocurrencies, including personalized advice. “This policy applies to apps that offer loans directly, lead generators, and those who connect consumers with third-party lenders,” the company added. The company also said that any app that contains or promotes financial products and services, must comply with state and local regulations for any region or country that the app targets. For example, include specific disclosures required by local law, it further explained. Personal loan apps or apps with the primary purpose of facilitating access to personal loans (for example, lead generators or facilitators) are prohibited from accessing sensitive data, such as photos and contacts.
Hedge Funds Deploy ChatGPT to Handle All the Grunt Work
While the hype surrounding the launch in November last year of ChatGPT has sparked a surge in hedge fund stock market bets on the AI sector, money managers are also backing the tech to free up staff from a host of previously mundane tasks. The vision is that so-called generative AI will allow humans to engage in more rewarding work, and already hedge funds are reportedly deploying the tech to automate and speed up reviewing market research, writing basic code and summarizing fund performance. Quants at systematic hedge fund Campbell & Co have spent months experimenting with ChatGPT to summarize internal research and write boilerplate code with the tech serving as an “assistant to humans” to make them more efficient, according to CEO Kevin Cole. Man Group, meanwhile, is exploring the use of ChatGPT to speed up the preliminary parts of research by detecting basic patterns in data sets, as well as automating the grunt work of investor relations. And ChatGPT may have the potential to play a role in trading decisions too, according to academics, who have suggested it can come up with research ideas, design studies and possibly even decide what to invest in. “A big part of the research process is cleaning the data, mapping it and then doing a preliminary analysis,” said the chief investment officer for responsible investment. “ChatGPT could say ‘that’s an interesting hypothesis, but here are other hypotheses you may want to investigate as well.”The firm is also looking into automating the grunt work of investor relations, he said, since ChatGPT can easily explain performance by synthesizing market data and fund returns. Campbell has also experimented with an open-source and less powerful GPT model that it can run entirely within its own systems, said CEO Cole. “We have to be very careful about risks of IP leakage with those types of tools because with ChatGPT, you’re sending queries to OpenAI servers,” he said. Greg Bond, chief executive officer of Man Numeric, Man Group’s Boston-based unit, reckons the tech could be an opportunity for creative employees who lack technical expertise but can ask the right questions.
Now that WhatsApp Means Business, SMEs Hurting
WhatsApp’s new pricing policy for business messaging is likely to trigger a sharp increase in marketing costs for millions of small and medium enterprises that rely on the popular communication platform, according to a number of business owners. Several are now scouting for alternative avenues to connect with customers directly, as the Meta-owned company presses ahead with furthering “monetisation” of WhatsApp for Business. New rates will require businesses to pay different prices based on the nature of communication. They will now be charged ₹0.3082 for every utility message, while marketing messages will cost ₹0.7265. Previously, WhatsApp charged a flat ₹0.48 per conversation. “The price increase certainly impacts us. We are internally seeing how we can minimize conversations and make them more effective,” said Pallavi Utagi, founder and chief executive of SuperBottoms that sells eco friendly and reusable cloth diapers. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has previously pointed to business messaging as being a “major monetisation opportunity.” India is the biggest market for WhatsApp, with nearly 500 million users. At the end of 2022, WhatsApp for Business downloads had crossed 300 million in India. More than 40 million users view the business catalogue in the app. For small entrepreneurs like Utagi, the ubiquitous nature of the messaging app allows them to foster strong ties with customers. “With this price hike, we will have to see how we deal with a lot of these conversations that are not related to sales but are more around relationship-building. I see them becoming more transactional,” she said. WhatsApp Business API, launched by Facebook in 2018, allows businesses to broadcast as well as receive unlimited messages from a global audience. In February this year, WhatsApp announced a new business pricing.
