Advertising
From Pink Slips to Silent Sidelining: Inside adland’s layoff and anxiety crisis
Gig economy fault lines widen | Broadcasting in flux | Warner Bros. Discovery sceptical of Paramount Skydance bid
Storyboard18 brings you top five news updates from the world of advertising, marketing, and business of brands.
Storyboard18 presents FAST FIVE ⬇
We bring you top five news updates from the world of advertising, marketing, and business of brands.
From heroes to expendable: Gig economy fault lines widen as Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto face worker backlash
According to TGPWU and IFAT, workers who were once paid Rs 80 per order across platforms now earn as little as Rs 5–10 per order, triggering widespread distress and repeated strikes, including the nationwide protest on December 25.
Broadcasting in flux: Regulatory overhang, licence disputes and investor caution mark 2025
India’s information and broadcasting sector went through a prolonged phase of turbulence in 2025 as investors turned cautious amid frequent regulatory interventions, unresolved policy disputes and structural shifts across television, OTT and distribution platforms. From a sharp drop in foreign direct investment to contentious tariff, licensing and compliance issues, the year underscored the sector’s struggle for regulatory predictability.
2025 in rebrands: Logos changed, names returned, identities rewritten
Across industries in 2025, companies increasingly revisited their visual and strategic identities amid changes in technology, consumer behaviour and platform dynamics.
Rather than incremental logo updates, many organisations undertook broader brand repositioning exercises linked to artificial intelligence, digital-first consumption, portfolio expansion and evolving expectations around trust and relevance. These changes spanned technology, FMCG, aviation, media, retail and even personal brands.
Warner Bros. Discovery sceptical of Paramount Skydance bid as board weighs repeat rejection
Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. is reportedly preparing to once again reject a takeover proposal from Paramount Skydance Corp., even after the rival media company tweaked the terms of its offer.
While the Warner Bros. Discovery board has not yet taken a final call, it is expected to meet next week to continue internal deliberations. One of the key sticking points remains the valuation: Paramount has reportedly not sweetened its bid, which Warner Bros. had earlier dismissed as inferior to a competing proposal from Netflix Inc.
Elon Musk signals higher creator payouts on X, may surpass YouTube
Elon Musk has indicated that X may raise payouts for content creators, potentially to levels higher than YouTube, as part of a broader effort to retain original and authoritative content on the platform.
The signal followed public feedback from users who stated that platforms failing to compensate creators fairly risk losing relevance. Musk agreed with the view and stated that platforms paying creators are more likely to retain authoritative content, particularly as large language models increasingly absorb and reproduce online material.
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Read More“Confusion creates opportunity for agile players,” Sir Martin Sorrell on industry consolidation
Looking ahead to the close of 2025 and into 2026, Sorrell sees technology platforms as the clear winners. He described them as “nation states in their own right”, with market capitalisations that exceed the GDPs of many countries.