MAM
Isobar India to nurture future strategists with ‘KickStrat’
MUMBAI: Isobar India, the digital agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), has announced the launch of ‘KickStrat’, an internship opportunity to foster future strategists.KickStrat is the most comprehensive and exclusive 24-week training programme that allows young and budding talents to explore account planning and strategy as a significant career choice. The advertising industry demands new talent that can think fast, smart, and different. Keeping this in mind, the ‘KickStrat’ programme promises to transform new talent into proficient and effective strategists for the future.
Isobar south Asia group MD Shamsuddin Jasani said, “We are excited to launch this program and train our future strategic leaders. We intend to enable 'strategic planning' for interested candidates who can think fast and think hard. This program will help transform new talent into capable strategists for the future. At Isobar, we believe in nurturing culture and a value system that is unique and will help the industry at large.”
“We are excited to launch this program for all the budding brand strategy planners. As we see a shift in the entire communication landscape where everyone is looking at driving transformation, planners will play an important part in driving strategic relationships with clients and help in long-term development and retention. There is a huge dearth of talent, and this program aims to enable and nurture new talent,” added Isobar India COO Gopa Kumar.
“The industry has steadily moved away from the traditional model of account planning. Today, strategy is at the core of collaboration. It is present at every intersection of different functions. We, at Isobar, believe in nurturing talent, and with KickStrat, we want to build capable new-age strategists who can lead not just from the front but from the center,” opined Isobar India lead – north, account planning Mamtah Sabherwal.
The beginning is always challenging to shape a successful career. Thus, Isobar India has decided to establish that pillar for those young minds who are ready to dive into the world of new learning and discoveries. This 6-month program involves a unique blend of intensive classroom learning, live projects, research, and a variety of assignments. After the first three months of rigorous classroom training and research projects, the chosen few will advance to the next three months of on-the-job training, which may eventually lead to a full-time position, if lucky. In these times of fewer opportunities, the agency believes that the launch of this program will help train and build future strategic leaders.
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Apple rarely announces minor updates with much fanfare, and iOS 26.4 is no exception. No dramatic redesigns, no flashy keynote moments. What it delivers instead is a focused set of improvements that sharpen the experience you already have. If that sounds underwhelming, spend a week with it. You will change your mind.
Apple Music Learns to Listen Better
The biggest shift in this update lives inside Apple Music. Apple has brought AI-powered playlist generation to the app, and it works on mood rather than genre. Type something like “rainy evening at home” or “running late on a Monday,” and it builds a playlist that actually fits. This is not algorithmic guesswork dressed up in new clothing. It genuinely reads the intent behind vague descriptions and responds well.
Alongside this, a new concerts feature scans your listening history and surfaces live events happening near you. It is a smart bridge between your digital music habits and real-world experiences. Apple is quietly making the case that a music app should do more than just play songs.
Shazam also gets a meaningful upgrade. It can now identify songs without an internet connection. This might sound like a minor convenience, but anyone who has tried to Shazam something at a crowded venue with patchy signal will tell you it is anything but minor. The feature works locally on-device, which also means it is faster.
CarPlay Gets Smarter Controls
CarPlay has been updated with deeper integration for intelligent voice assistants. The goal is to reduce how often drivers need to look at a screen or tap anything at all. You speak, things happen. It is a clear step toward making the driving experience safer without stripping away functionality. The integration feels natural rather than bolted on, which is a harder thing to achieve than it sounds.
The Fixes You Feel Every Day
This is where iOS 26.4 earns its keep. Keyboard responsiveness has been improved, and the difference is noticeable immediately. Typing feels more accurate and less combative. Accessibility features have been refined across the board, with better contrast options and adjusted spacing that makes the interface easier to read without forcing you into larger text sizes.
The Health app has also been updated. It now surfaces more actionable insights from your daily data rather than just displaying numbers. If your sleep patterns have shifted or your activity levels have changed, the app now contextualises that clearly instead of leaving you to interpret raw figures on your own.
These are the kinds of changes that do not photograph well for a press release. They also happen to be the ones that make your phone feel genuinely better to use.
A Few Other Additions
New emojis have been added in this update. They will find their way into your conversations faster than you expect. Family Sharing has also been updated, with more granular control over shared payments and subscriptions. If you share an Apple account with family members, this puts clearer limits on who can spend what, which has been a long-requested fix.
What This Update Actually Represents
iOS 26.4 is Apple doing what it does best when it is not trying to make headlines. Every addition here serves a clear purpose. The AI music features are genuinely useful. The CarPlay improvements address a real safety concern. The small UI fixes accumulate into a noticeably smoother daily experience.
There is no bloat. Nothing feels experimental or half-finished. That discipline is harder to maintain than it looks, especially as operating systems grow more complex with each passing year.
If you have been holding off on updating, this is the one worth installing.
