MAM
Interactive Television’s Buzz Index to help advertisers make smart investment in movies
MUMBAI: Interactive Television, a unit of WPP, has launched ‘Buzz index’- a revolutionary buzz measuring tool for helping advertisers to make informed decisions for cinema advertising.
Buzz Index is a measuring tool that identifies, captures and quantifies the ‘buzz’ around a particular film across all social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs, boards, forums, news websites, aggregation, YouTube etc. which are true enablers for an unbiased evaluation of Bollywood and arrives at a unique buzz score. The Buzz Index of a specific film is based on four identifiers – positive conversation index, star cast buzz, positive views and unique authors.
Methodology:
After combining information from all the data points mentioned above, Buzz Index arrives at a benchmark score once the model for the index is run through Interactive’s Movie Buzz Database (2015 and updated yearly).
All new releases will automatically be compared to the indexed number of 100 which is the average score or the Gold Standard for all films, primarily films that have done more than 100 crore at the box office. A film’s Buzz Index will be calculated regularly – (Week 1) 31 days before the film release, (Week-2) 24 days before the film release, (Week-3) 17 days before the Movie release and (Week-4) 10 days prior to the release.
Interactive Television CEO Ajay Mehta said “Cinema advertising peaks around 10-12 blockbuster movies and in the absence of any measure of a film’s buzz, advertisers miss out on movies which are being talked about by their consumers. Buzz Index aims to change that so that even a small movie which is creating buzz and has a possibility of opening well should come up on the radar of the advertiser. With the launch of the Buzz Index , we want to make cinema advertising data driven rather than based on subjectivities. We aim to broad base the number of movies which can attract advertisers.
The two biggest impediments to the growth of cinema advertising is monitoring and measurement. Buzz Index is our second initiative in this direction after CAM and we will be launching a lot more such initiatives in the near future to ensure that cinema advertising is transparent and accountable by being data driven and tech enabled.”
It is common knowledge that audience preferences, pre-release affinity towards certain actors and films and consumption of digital data under the guise of “fandom” are very perceptive and honest indicators of a film’s future. If campaigns can be tailor made to align perfectly with a film, it is a much stronger advertising message; one that does not fall victim to over exposure or force fit. Capturing cinema advertising by harnessing the two most important factors shaping our generation today – social media conversation and an exuberant sentiment attached to films – was essentially the need of the hour to ensure that cinema advertising gets its due.
Digital
India leads global adoption of ChatGPT Images 2.0 in first week
From anime avatars to fantasy covers, users turn AI visuals into culture
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0, just a week after its launch by OpenAI, underlining the country’s growing influence on global internet trends.
While the tool was introduced as an advanced image-generation upgrade within ChatGPT, Indian users are quickly reshaping its purpose. Instead of sticking to productivity-led use cases, many are embracing it as a creative playground for self-expression, storytelling and online identity.
From anime-style portraits and cinematic headshots to tarot-inspired visuals and fictional newspaper front pages, the model is being used to create highly stylised, shareable content. Features such as accurate text rendering, multilingual prompts and the ability to generate detailed visuals with minimal input have helped drive rapid adoption.
What sets the latest model apart is its ability to “think” through prompts, generating multiple outputs and adapting to context, including real-time web inputs. But the bigger story lies in how users are engaging with it.
In India, trends are already taking shape. Popular formats include dramatic studio-style lighting edits, LinkedIn-ready headshots, manga-inspired avatars, soft pastel “spring” aesthetics, AI-led fashion moodboards, paparazzi-style visuals and fantasy newspaper covers. Users are also restoring old photographs, creating tarot-style imagery and experimenting with futuristic design concepts.
Local flavour is adding another layer. Prompts such as cinematic portrait collages and Y2K-inspired romantic edits are gaining traction, blending global aesthetics with distinctly Indian internet culture.
The surge reflects a broader shift in how AI tools are being used in the country, moving beyond utility to creativity. As younger users, creators and social media enthusiasts experiment with new visual formats, AI-generated imagery is increasingly becoming part of everyday digital expression.
If early trends hold, ChatGPT Images 2.0 may not just be a tech upgrade but a cultural moment, giving millions a new visual language to play with online.
