Digital
Targeted ads on Disney Star Network’s TV Entertainment channels deliver a remarkable windfall for brands
Mumbai: The introduction of a targeted advertising solution on Linear TV through a collaboration between Disney Star Network and Tata Play, is transforming the landscape for brands that have previously hesitated to engage with linear advertising. The concerns of spillover and large campaign outlays got allayed with the creation of this extremely premium & exclusive audience cohort lowering the barriers to entry significantly.
Brands are seizing the opportunity to execute a high visibility campaign among Linear TV’s premium audiences, complementing their digital exclusive audience across mobile & CTV. This breakthrough innovation offering targeted ads on Disney Star Network’s HD entertainment channels and top-rated shows attracted one of India’s largest advertisers, Amazon which has executed three campaigns for Amazon Fresh and Prime Speed delivery. Flipkart launched their most important “Big Billion Day” campaign recently to access this affluent metro cohort. Brands from D2C, BFSI, Pharma, Media & Entertainment and FMCG have attained a significant push to their growth with these targeted campaigns on Linear TV.
“We are thrilled with the response received for our new Addressable Ads solution on our linear network of HD channels. Through this one-of-a-kind ad-solution launched in collaboration with Tata Play, we have introduced an array of possibilities for brands who have specific business objectives and want to target affluent metro audiences only. We look forward to many more successful campaigns during the festive season,” said Disney Star, Head of Entertainment, Ad Sales & Strategy, Dev Shenoy.
Tata Play tested this differentiated ad product to enhance Linear HD audiences and drive app downloads for its OTT aggregation platform, Tata Play Binge. A high frequency 10-day Binge campaign delivered instantaneous impact. Tata Play chief commercial & content Officer Pallavi Puri remarked on the campaign’s success “To promote our Tata Play Binge campaign, we leveraged the addressable ads platform to effectively target the metro viewers of Disney Star Network’s HD channels, and it resulted in a 17% jump in app downloads. We believe this is a remarkable standard for efficacy and ROI.”
Riversoft, a water softener start-up was one of the first brand campaigns on this new ad product and experienced a substantial double-digit growth in its E-commerce sales. Riversoft founder Ashutosh Kedawat commented on the enthusiastic consumer response to this campaign “We wanted to try out Linear TV for our ad campaign and we were looking for a plan with less spill over that helps us reach our target audience. Disney Star Network presented a plan targeting the top 8 metros which also coincided with our target audience. We were really delighted to see how well the campaign performed.”
Other D2C brands and start-ups ventured into Linear TV advertising successfully using this pioneering ad product. Perfora, a GenZ first oral care brand that is reimagining teeth whitening with safe & effective solutions, in its inaugural TV campaign expanded its audience by tapping into millennials. The campaign saw a significant surge in website traffic and resulted in increased brand search volume during its run. Gourmet snack brand 4700BC, witnessed a sizable increase in quick commerce orders. Third Wave Coffee saw its store footfalls rise across Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore resulting in high double-digit revenue growth.
While this one-of-a-kind ad product on Linear TV attracted many new brands, existing FMCG advertiser such as Freedom Oil leveraged this ad product to reach out to a niche audience cohort of Hindi content viewers in the Southern metros.
Digital
OpenAI’s Stargate lead Peter Hoeschele exits with two senior leaders
Trio behind compute push set to join new startup amid leadership reshuffle
SAN FRANCISCO: Peter Hoeschele, a key figure behind OpenAI’s early Stargate data centre initiative, has exited the company, according to a report by The Information.
The departure is part of a broader leadership shift, with two other senior executives, Shamez Hemani and Anuj Saharan, also set to leave in the coming days. All three are expected to join the same new startup, although details about the venture remain under wraps.
The trio played a central role in OpenAI’s Stargate effort, an initiative aimed at building large-scale data centre capacity in-house to reduce reliance on external infrastructure providers. Their exits mark a notable moment for the company’s compute strategy as it continues to scale rapidly.
OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to The Information, “We’re grateful for the contributions Peter, Shamez, and Anuj have made to OpenAI and wish them the very best in what comes next.” The company also pointed to the recent appointment of Sachin Katti to lead its industrial compute organisation, signalling continuity in its infrastructure roadmap.
OpenAI has indicated that it does not plan to directly replace Hoeschele’s role, suggesting a possible restructuring of responsibilities within the team.
As competition intensifies in the race to build next-generation AI systems, leadership changes in core infrastructure teams are likely to draw close attention. For now, the spotlight shifts to what this departing trio builds next, and how OpenAI adapts as it scales its ambitions.
