MAM
The Times of India Group Launches ‘Femina Believe’
MUMBAI: Borrowing a leaf from the legacy of Femina and its connect with the modern Indian women, The Times of India Group today launched ‘Femina Believe Learning Academy’, a first of its kind learning academy in India. Targeted towards women from all walks of life, the practical and contemporary courses being offered by this academy will be in subjects pertaining to self enhancement skills that matter to today’s modern Indian women in their professional and social life.
Extending the group’s presence in the field of education and training, Femina Believe will be a part of the ‘Times Center for Learning’, which was launched last year.
The academy aims at empowering women through the power of training and will conduct short intensive workshops in a variety of subjects ranging from personality enhancement to culinary skills.
As a part of the brand launch campaign, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut will be the face of the brand.
Speaking at the launch, Ms. Kangana Ranaut said, “I am delighted and honoured to be a part of Femina Believe. This empowering initiative will help women to transform and manage everyday pressures of life with the help of practical workshops and discover a brand new self.”
Women can choose from an array of courses mentioned on the academy’s website. Definitive learning, practical curriculum and a high level of interaction will be the core focus of these courses and will be conducted by best in class professionals, who will combine their unrivalled experience in subjects with training skills par excellence.
The courses offered by the academy are:
Makeup and skin care: Participants will be empowered with techniques to overcome their self-consciousness and skillfully apply makeup for every occasion.
Styling: Will help participants understand the nuances of styling to make the right choice of clothes & accessories every time.
Dining etiquette: Participants will learn the characteristics of fine dining, correct use of cutlery, table manners etc.
Communication skills and body language: This not being a language course, the participants will learn communication techniques that will help them nurture personal and professional relationships & equip them with skills to that will help them project the right personality.
Culinary: Participants can choose to learn to cook specific dishes or cuisines ranging from health food to word cuisines to desserts. Practical learning being the focus, participants will cook alongside our chefs and not just watch.
Photography: Participants will get to learn the basics of using a DSLR camera. After acquiring theoretical knowledge in a classroom, they will also go outdoors to put this to practical use.
Commenting on the launch of Femina Believe, Mr. Deepak Lamba, President, The Times Centre of Learning said, “We are very proud of this initiative. In today’s day and age, a woman is challenged at every walk of her life. Multitasking through office and house a woman has to also take care of her family. Our courses will work to create a channel for women to support, connect and inspire each other.”
These courses are priced between 2,500 to 10,000 INR and will aim at polishing the existing skills of 15-20 students per batch. Femina Believe workshops will be currently launched in the city of Mumbai and Delhi NCR and will expand into the other 6 metros by early next year.
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
