Landmark sessions at WAVES 2025 | Cola wars heat up | BluSmart communication breakdown
Storyboard18 brings you top five news updates from the world of advertising, marketing and business of brands.
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Storyboard18 presents FAST FIVE ⬇
We bring you top five news updates from the world of advertising, marketing and business of brands.
Landmark sessions at WAVES 2025: A call for universal access to media and entertainment
At WAVES 2025, a diverse and accomplished panel will send a powerful message: the future of media and entertainment must be one where no voice is left unheard, and every story finds its audience.
Retail rules, Q-comm bubbles: Cola Wars heat up as brands tap digital playbooks
This year, the soft drinks sector finds itself at the intersection of climate urgency, evolving consumption habits, and digital innovation. According to Shailja Joshi, Category Lead for Cola and Flavours at PepsiCo India, brands are leaning into “real-time digital engagement, bold storytelling and purpose-led narratives” to appeal to socially aware, mobile-first consumers. While television continues to play a role in broad outreach, she notes, the industry is pivoting toward immersive, personalized campaigns designed for the digital age.
From promising EV brand to PR pariah? The BluSmart communication breakdown
Despite a raging crisis around the brand, consumers took to social media to profess their admiration for BluSmart and its fleet of green rides. But, when EV startup BluSmart found itself in trouble recently, observers noted an uncanny silence from its branding and communications team. There were no public statements, no investor updates, no founder apologies, only a void quickly filled by investigations, speculation and criticism.
WAVES 2025 Summit: Mukesh Ambani to lead keynote on building India’s global entertainment future
Among the distinguished global and Indian leaders at the WAVES Summit, Mukesh Ambani will outline a bold vision for positioning India at the forefront of the global entertainment industry, on May 1.
Paytm's First Games receives ₹5,712 crore GST show cause notice
One97 Communications Limited, the parent company of First Games Technology Private Limited has received a show cause notice (SCN) from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Delhi Zonal Unit. The notice pertains to an ongoing tax matter in the online gaming industry and proposes a demand of ₹5,712 crore in unpaid Goods and Services Tax (GST), along with applicable interest and penalties.
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