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Piyush Goyal on GST reforms | Madison Media acquires HiveMinds | Amazon acquires Axio
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.
GST reforms will be transformational for the business: Piyush Goyal
The nutraceuticals industry is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the transformational changes in GST announced yesterday, said Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal. The Minister added that the reduction in GST rates will provide a tremendous and unprecedented boost to consumption demand. He noted that the industry can now aspire for a much greater volume of sales, creating a win-win situation for all. Goyal further emphasized that businesses will gain from larger opportunities, while the entire GST benefit will be passed on to consumers.
Madison Media completes the 100% acquisition of HiveMinds
Madison Media has announced that it has completed the 100% acquisition of Hiveminds, the performance specialist agency it had acquired 51% stake in 2017.
Deepti Bhadauria who was the earlier Chief Strategy Officer and an integral part of the leadership team for the last 5 years, driving growth will take over as CEO. Jyothirmayee JT, Founder will continue in an advisory role within Hiveminds. Bhadauria will report to Ajit Varghese, newly appointed Partner & Group CEO, Madison Media. Under Jyothirmayee’s leadership, HiveMinds has seen a revenue growth of 12x since 2017 while serving over 100 clients. The agency has built strong expertise in e-commerce and digital marketing.
Amazon acquires fintech platform Axio in USD 200 mn deal
American tech giant Amazon has completed its acquisition of fintech platform Axio, with the deal valued at approximately USD 200 million, according to a report by The Economic Times.
With this acquisition, Amazon gains access to a non-banking finance company (NBFC) license in India — a key regulatory requirement for operating a full-stack financial services business in the country.
In January this year, Axio had announced that it had signed a definitive agreement for the transaction in December 2024.
ED summons cricketer Shikhar Dhawan in money laundering probe linked to betting app
Former India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning as part of a money laundering investigation. The probe is connected to an alleged illegal betting application called 1xBet, as per reports.
The ED will record Dhawan's statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The 39-year-old former cricketer is believed to have been associated with the app through various endorsements, and the agency wants to understand the nature of his links.
This is not the first time a former cricketer has been questioned in this case. Last month, Suresh Raina, aged 38, was also interrogated by the ED for over eight hours regarding his own alleged endorsements of the same betting app.
Google’s search dominance challenged as 55% turn to AI for answers
Is Google’s long-standing dominance in online search finally under threat? A new survey suggests that generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are fast becoming the go-to choice for millions of people who once relied on Google and Bing to find answers.
According to the Future AI Sentiment Wave 3 report, 55% of respondents in the United States said they now use AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini instead of traditional search engines for specific tasks. In the United Kingdom, the proportion was even higher at 62%. While Google remains an important resource for verifying facts, the findings point to a clear behavioural shift in how people search for and act on information online.
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SPOTLIGHT
The leaders highlighted how AI is emerging as a critical enabler in this shift from marketing’s traditional focus on new customers to a more sustainable model of driving growth from existing accounts.
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