iWorld
Shah Rukh Khan enjoins users to play responsibly in new A23 campaign
Mumbai: With IPL 2022 around the corner, online multi-gaming platform A23 India has launched its latest marketing campaign with brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan. The A23 ad spot will air across the broadcast channel Star Sports and streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar, starting 26 March.
The campaign includes two TVCs in which the Bollywood actor persuades users to play responsibly while respecting their immediate surroundings i.e. – spending time with their families instead of being on their phones and focusing on dinner while at the dinner table.
Head Digital Works founder and CEO Deepak Gullapalli said that as one of India’s leading multi-gaming platforms, it is imperative for them to spread the importance of responsible gaming. “Self-exclusion from time to time is instrumental when it comes to striking the right balance. We are confident that our brand ambassador driving this message for us will help us maximise the idea of responsible gaming even further, thus encouraging a healthy environment for all,” added Gullapalli.
The upcoming third advertisement in the series will highlight the importance of selecting the right playing XI for fantasy cricket on A23.
The A23 gaming platform that has a wide reach across India perfectly complements the IPL which is a household name in India, across audiences in different languages, said the brand in a statement. “Keeping this in mind, the advertisements have been curated to reach every household and will run in seven languages – Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati, and Kannada,” it added.
A23 has recently built a multi-gaming platform and combined its existing online rummy platform of over 30 million users using state-of-the-art software created on a custom-built architecture, according to the brand.
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
