MAM
Ad spend rises 20 % in China
MUMBAI: Advertising spend in China rose 20 per cent in the first half of the year to $17.7 billion. Companies like Procter & Gamble Co were responsible for the rise.
A report from Nielsen Media Research found that advertising targeting men was the fastest growing category, with spending on ads for men’s cosmetics increasing by 64 per cent, and spending on men’s fashions and accessories rising by 75 per cent.
About 80 per cent of ad spending in the first half of the year went to TV, while newspapers accounted for most of the rest
Media reports state that by comparison, spending on women’s cosmetics ads rose just 14 per cent, while spending on women’s fashion and accessory ads fell by 51 per cent.
The pharmaceutical industry was the biggest ad buyer in the first half of the year with 30 billion yuan in spending, followed by cosmetics and personal care products at 27.5 billion yuan.
P&G was one of the biggest advertisers in the Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou markets, with its Olay brand of skin care products, Rejoice shampoo and Crest toothpaste among the top 10 brands in all three markets.
Colgate-Palmolive’s Colgate toothpaste, an arch rival of Crest, was among the top 10 advertisers in two of the three markets, as were P&G’s Pantene shampoo and fast food giant McDonald’s.
Brands
Uidai partners with Google to help users locate Aadhaar centres
Verified Aadhaar centres to appear on Maps with services and access info
MUMBAI: Finding an Aadhaar centre may soon be as easy as finding your favourite café. In a move aimed at making public services more accessible, the Unique Identification Authority of India has partnered with Google to display authorised Aadhaar centres on Google Maps. The feature, expected to roll out in the coming months, will allow residents to locate verified centres quickly and confidently.
More than 60,000 Aadhaar centres, including state of the art Aadhaar Seva Kendras, will be mapped. When users search on Google Maps, they will be directed to authorised facilities rather than unverified listings, helping curb misinformation and confusion.
The listings will do more than drop a pin. Users will be able to see the nature of services offered at each centre, whether it is adult enrolment, child enrolment, or limited to address and mobile number updates. Details such as operating hours, parking availability and divyang friendly infrastructure will also be shown wherever applicable.
Uidai CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, said the collaboration is part of the authority’s continued effort to improve ease of living for Aadhaar holders by making authorised centres simpler and faster to navigate.
The partnership will deepen in its next phase, with Uidai using Google Business Profile to manage information and respond directly to public feedback. Looking ahead, the two organisations are also exploring the option of enabling appointment bookings through the Google Maps interface, potentially allowing residents to plan their visits with greater efficiency.
Google India country head, strategic partnerships Roli Agarwal, said integrating verified Aadhaar centres would help millions access trusted services with confidence, bringing essential government infrastructure closer to the people who need it most.
If all goes to plan, a routine Aadhaar update may soon begin not with a queue, but with a search bar.
