Brands
Mirzapur Season 3 sparks ‘#NationalBingeWatchDay’ trend with major brands
Mumbai: The wait is finally over! Prime Video’s fan-favourite franchise, Mirzapur is all set to return with its third installment after a hiatus of four years and the excitement among fans is palpable! Not just Mirzapur loyalists, but even the corporate universe has eagerly anticipated the series’ premiere on Prime Video. Ahead of the show’s launch, individuals and corporates actively joined the chatter, leaving no stone unturned to catapult the premiere day into a historic and unforgettable event. Fans are flooding social media platforms with raging enthusiasm, using the hashtag ‘#NationalBingeWatchDay’.
Prime Video recently launched a petition to mark the release day of Mirzapur season 3 as National Binge Watch Day. This unique campaign aimed to show gratitude and boost anticipation among fans eagerly awaiting the new season on the streaming service. As the trend gained momentum, corporates too joined in the excitement, sharing their favourite matches. Renowned brands like Google India, Rapido app, Zepto, WOO heal, AJIO, Redmi India, Swiggy Instamart, Bombay Sweet Shop, WOW Skin Science, Cantabil and Cars24 among many others, are hopping on the trend and sharing their version of #NationalBingeWatchDay. The launch of Mirzapur Season 3 is set to be celebrated with interesting collaborations involving influencers, meme pages, and celebrities, all coming together to highlight their favourite #NationalBingeWatchDay and adding to the excitement surrounding the series’ release.
Created and produced by Excel Media and Entertainment, Mirzapur Season 3 is directed by Gurmeet Singh and Anand Iyer. This season boasts a stellar ensemble cast, including Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, Rasika Dugal, Vijay Varma, Isha Talwar, Anjumm Shharma, Priyanshu Painyuli, Harshita Shekhar Gaur, Rajesh Tailang, Sheeba Chadha, Meghna Malik, and Manu Rishi Chadha. The ten-episode series is streaming now exclusively on Prime Video in India and across 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
