Algorithm-led discovery fuels rise of micro-drama in digital entertainment
At the FICCI-EY M&E Industry Report Launch, industry executives discussed the growing role of micro-drama in India’s digital entertainment space, focusing on how the format is being shaped by mobile-first consumption, changing audience behaviour and new monetisation opportunities.
Industry executives at the FICCI-EY M&E Industry Report Launch said micro-drama is emerging as a significant format in India’s digital entertainment space, as platforms and creators respond to mobile-first consumption, changing audience behaviour and new monetisation opportunities.
The panel, titled “Binge in a Minute: How Micro-Drama Is Rewriting Digital Storytelling,” was moderated by film critic Stutee Ghosh and featured Shweta Bajpai, Group Director – Finserv, Media, Travel and Services, Meta India; Karan Bedi, Director & Head, Amazon MX Player; Kunj Sanghvi, Senior Vice President – Content, Kuku TV; Neha Markanda, Chief Business Officer, ShareChat and Moj; and Saameer Mody, Founder & MD, Pocket Films & Pocket TV.
Amazon Ads unveils Creative Agent & Ads Agent to power ai-led campaign creation in India
Amazon Ads announced two agentic AI tools in India, Creative Agent and Ads Agent, to help businesses of all sizes create and manage campaigns. These tools help advertisers reach customers more effectively through creative optimisation, smart bidding and deeper audience insights.
Creative Agent empowers advertisers to easily create professional-quality ads for campaigns. Within Creative Studio, advertisers can click “chat” to access a conversational AI-powered creative partner that conducts product and audience research, brainstorms ideas, develops creative concepts in storyboard format, and produces compelling video and display ads. Creative Agent is powered by Amazon’s insights, which enable an in-depth understanding of the advertiser’s brand and products, including what features make a product stand out. By combining customer shopping signals with information from the advertiser’s product pages, brand store, and website, the tool generates ideas that bring a brand to life and designs ad creative that will resonate most with customers.
Amazon Ads also introduced Ads Agent—which is currently available in Amazon Marketing Cloud and will be available within Amazon Ads Campaign Manager later this year. The AI agent simplifies how advertisers plan, launch, and optimize campaigns. Advertisers can automate time-consuming tasks, like identifying audience segments, adjusting pacing across hundreds of campaigns, and generating SQL queries for advanced analytics.
Quick Commerce to Hit USD 5.38 Billion in India
Shop Culture, a global brand strategy and e-commerce services firm, has unveiled insights from its latest intelligence report, “The Commerce Reckoning: 2025 Global Intelligence Report,” highlighting critical challenges reshaping the global e-commerce ecosystem, including rising retail media costs, declining returns, compliance gaps, and the growing importance of quick commerce and geographic diversification.
Based on observations across more than 20 markets, the report reveals that while global e-commerce continues to expand, profitability is increasingly under pressure due to rising advertising costs, inefficient operating models, and outdated growth strategies.
The report projects global e-commerce to surpass $6.86 trillion in 2025, with 2.77 billion consumers expected to shop online. However, average return on ad spend (ROAS) has declined to 2.87:1, indicating growing pressure on brands to convert scale into sustainable margins.
A major factor behind this trend is the persistence of a “growth-at-all-costs” strategy that emerged during the post-pandemic boom but is no longer viable in today’s cost-intensive environment.
Highlighting key structural shifts, the report notes a significant rise in retail media costs, with Amazon reporting average cost-per-click increasing by 15.5% year-on-year to $1.12. Additionally, while 77% of e-commerce professionals use AI daily, many brands are yet to achieve meaningful outcomes, as AI often amplifies existing inefficiencies rather than resolving them.
YouTube tests sticky banner ads that remain visible after users skip videos
New Delhi: YouTube is testing a new advertising format that keeps a branded element visible even after a user skips an ad.
The test involves a sticky banner that appears once a viewer presses the “skip” option.
While the main video resumes as normal, a persistent branded card linked to the skipped ad remains within the player until the user chooses to dismiss it.
The update effectively extends advertiser visibility beyond the initial ad impression.
Traditionally, skippable ads end once a user opts out after a few seconds, resulting in limited exposure. With the new format, a secondary visual element continues to occupy part of the viewing experience.
TV and digital deliver distinct audiences with less than 10% cross-platform duplication
JioStar has released new insights from BARC | Nielsen One Ads, a cross-screen measurement solution deployed during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, underscoring the growing effectiveness of integrated television and digital advertising strategies in India.
The findings mark a significant milestone for the country’s advertising ecosystem, revealing that cross-platform audience duplication remained under 10% across all campaigns. This indicates that television and digital platforms are largely reaching distinct audience groups, enabling advertisers to achieve incremental reach without significant overlap.
According to the study, digital platforms are playing a crucial role in extending campaign reach beyond television, while also enabling more precise audience targeting across devices. The data further highlights that cross-screen duplication remains limited, reinforcing the complementary nature of television and digital media in delivering unified campaign outcomes.
Together, these insights demonstrate how advertisers can effectively build a deduplicated four-screen audience strategy—combining the scale of television with the precision and targeting capabilities of digital platforms.
LinkedIn expands BrandLink Programme & CTV advertising
LinkedIn has introduced new tools aimed at helping B2B marketers use creator-led content and video more effectively, as both formats gain importance in influencing purchase decisions.
According to LinkedIn’s Global B2B Marketing Outlook, 88% of Indian B2B marketers said campaigns using trusted voices are essential for measurable return on investment.
The report also found that 86% of Indian B2B CMOs believe video accelerates sales cycles, while 84% said it improves lead conversion. Additionally, 62% of buyers who engage with creators rely on them during the final stage of decision-making.
Google Tests AI-Edited Headlines in Search Results
Google is reportedly experimenting with a new way of displaying headlines in its Search results, a move that could subtly reshape how people consume information online. According to a report by a famous publication, the tech giant has begun testing AI-driven changes that replace or shorten original headlines written by publishers. In some cases, these modified titles are being reworded or condensed in ways that may shift the intended meaning.
For years, Google Search has largely followed the familiar format often described as “10 blue links,” where users see page titles exactly as publishers wrote them. This long-standing approach gave content creators direct control over how their stories appeared in search listings. The new experiment, however, suggests a gradual departure from that model.
Google has previously trialed AI-generated headlines within its Discover feed, where content is algorithmically recommended to users. The latest development appears to bring a similar approach to standard Search results, expanding the role of automation in how information is presented.
What’s happening
The report states that Google is testing systems that either generate alternative headlines or select different versions in place of original titles. Some of these replacements significantly shorten the wording, occasionally removing important context that publishers intended readers to see.
While Google has a history of tweaking page titles to improve clarity or readability, the current trial reportedly introduces more noticeable edits. This has raised concerns among publishers and media observers who rely on accurate, faithful headline representation to convey nuance and editorial intent.
And from BC Web Wise
We just turned 26 on the 21st of this month and are feeling every bit young and raring to go! More news from us next time. Till then, have a great week ahead!
