Brands
Social Samosa ‘Gold’ for Zee Yuva
MUMBAI: Zee Yuva creates huge buzz in the industry by winning ‘Gold’ award in Media and Entertainment category by one of India’s top media publishing Site-Social Samosa. Zee Yuva not only surpassed regional channels but also defeated the industry honchos to win the coveted gold. This was only possible due to clear defined strategy of giving importance to digital medium as much as traditional mediums during channel launch. The pre-launch buzz was created by ‘#YuvaMhanje campaign’ which became talk of the state by engaging 8 Lakh+ audiences and boasting 7000+ entries. Release of shows title tracks on social media created interest amongst the audiences to watch the show. Bun Maska, Love Lagna Locha and Freshers title tracks got 2.5L,2L, and 3L views respectively in a matter of just two days.
On the day of launch, i.e. 22nd Aug’16 various digital platforms were targeted which were identified as having the highest number of Marathi Youth audiences. #ZeeYuvaOnAir became No. 1 trending hashtag not only in Maharashtra but in India. The campaign received excellent response on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook; with Twitter itself registering a total of 22 million impressions.
The Awards hosted by ‘Social Samosa’ featured 100+ Nominations in 25+ Categories and were evaluated based on Engagement of the brand on Social media, Jury evaluation and online voting. Carlton D’Silva-CEO & CCO, Hungama Digital Service, Roshan Abbas – Managing Director at Geometry Global Encompass Network and Ashish Bhasin – Jury Chair & Chairman and CEO, South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network were some of the renowned names who were part of the jury.
Zee Yuva has been excelling in the social media space since its inception. Compared to its peers in the media and entertainment space, the numbers for the channel have been beyond impressive when it comes to the rate of fan base growth. In a short span of 8 months, it has created its mark and reached 3 Lac fans on Facebook, 1 Lac fans on Instagram and 5,000 fans on Twitter. Despite the high growth rate in fan base Zee Yuva has constantly maintained highest engagement rate on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This has been only possible because, audience engagement has been one of the pillars that the Zee Yuva focuses on. To achieve this level, the content strategy is adapted by mapping digital audience behavior and creating content customized as per the needs specific target group. Digital Marketing in Zee Yuva is treated as a critical medium to reach to revelent audience and not only as a support system for on-air content.
The channel is set to come up with new initiatives and content with a purpose to serve Maharashtra’s digital audiences and maintain its dominance in Digital space.
Brands
E-commerce growth rises, but profits come under pressure
Shop Culture flags rising costs, weak systems and a $5.38 billion quick-commerce boom reshaping global retail
MUMBAI: E-commerce is booming, but profits are thinning. A new report by Shop Culture warns that brands clinging to outdated, growth-at-all-costs strategies are being outpaced in a costlier, more complex 2025 landscape.
Global online retail is expected to cross $6.86 trillion this year, with 2.77 billion shoppers making at least one purchase. Yet returns are under strain: average return on ad spend has slipped to 2.87:1, exposing cracks in how brands chase scale without building sustainable margins.
Three shifts are rewriting the rules. First, retail media is getting pricier, with Amazon’s average cost per click rising 15.5 per cent year-on-year to $1.12. Second, while 77 per cent of e-commerce professionals now use AI daily, many see limited gains as weak systems blunt its impact. Third, geography is no longer expansion, it is strategy. The share of Shop Culture clients operating across multiple markets has more than doubled, from 30 per cent in 2024 to 65 per cent in 2025.
Subarna Mukherjee, founder and ceo, Shop Culture, is blunt: “The e-commerce industry has a nostalgia problem. In 2022, the playbook was simple: list aggressively, spend on ads, and ride the wave of post-pandemic digital adoption. It worked. Revenue grew rapidly. But by 2025, the industry is seeing the consequences of those structural shortcuts. E-commerce itself is not slowing down, the challenge lies in how brands are operating within it.”
Nowhere is the shift sharper than in India’s quick-commerce boom. The segment is set to hit $5.38 billion in 2025, growing 17 per cent and emerging as the fastest-growing globally. What began as a convenience play is fast becoming a margin buffer. In one case, quick commerce drove 70 per cent of a packaged food brand’s online revenue, delivering 130 per cent year-on-year growth. A beauty brand, meanwhile, saw selling prices rise 25 per cent higher than on traditional marketplaces.
Expansion, too, is being rethought. The report argues that brands chasing the largest markets first often stumble. Better outcomes come from sequencing entries based on efficiency, regulatory readiness and competition, with markets such as the UK and Germany offering smarter entry points than the United States.
Compliance has turned from a checkbox into a revenue lever, especially in Europe. Brands with ready frameworks can go live in 8 to 12 weeks, while others risk delays of six months or more due to listing and documentation hurdles.
AI, for all the hype, is no silver bullet. Across more than 1,500 listings, it improved conversion rates by 10 to 15 per cent, cut TACOS by 7 to 10 per cent and reduced stockouts by 20 per cent, but only when layered on strong foundations. As Mukherjee puts it: “AI is not a growth strategy, it is an amplifier. It enhances strong systems and exposes weak ones.”
The message for 2026 is stark. Growth alone will not save brands. Margins, discipline and smarter strategy will. In a market still expanding at breakneck speed, the real race is no longer for scale, it is for survival.
