MAM
Introducing PLAY – Making Advanced Technology Accessible to New Age India
MUMBAI: PLAY, a Delhi based startup is entering the wearable and audio technology market in India. PLAY aims to make advanced technology accessible to new-age consumers and passionate enthusiasts who use tech to achieve their desired experiences.
PLAY is on a mission to make technology a ‘delight’, with simplified offerings that enrich a consumer’s daily experiences – making them better and fantastic. A delightful device experience will be central to the brand offering.
To begin with, PLAY will introduce two new product lines in the market – PLAYFIT and PLAYGO. PLAYFIT will offer a range of best-in-class smartwatch(es) and smart band(s), while PLAYGO will introduce next-gen wireless neckband(s) and headphone(s). PLAY is all set to debut at the two biggest online festivals in India – The Amazon Great Indian Festival (28/29th September – 4th October 2019) and Flipkart Big Billion Day (29th September – 4th October 2019).
Commenting on the launch, Sandeep Banga, Founder and CEO, PLAY, said, “As the world evolves, technology is no longer the domain of technical experts but, enthusiasts and everyday consumers. At PLAY, our aim is to bring down those walls and let the consumer experience technology albeit, in the simplistic realms of their own comfort. This is an exciting moment for us as we venture into the connected wearable and audio technology segment in India. As India gradually awakens to a new dawn of a modern digital economy, it offers immense growth potential. We plan to be a part of this digital revolution with singular and unified customer experiences.”
PLAY would strive to establish a consumer community with a sense of ownership and belongingness through shared experiences. An omnichannel brand, PLAY will begin with an online marketplace(s), to be combined later with a robust offline infrastructure and distribution model. The immediate target is to be available in approximately 100K Pin codes in India by this calendar year. Brand experience zones will be created Pan India, including – Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad as value integration with key retail partners.
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.
