MAM
YouTube helps 83.3% Indians to discover new brands: Criteo Research
MUMBAI: The online shopping market in India holds tremendous potential as it has some of the largest consumer segments across each e-commerce category, and it is focused on innovation, research and development, making it one of the leading e-commerce markets in the world. Advertising and technological advancements have led to better personalised experiences as it allows the communication of hyper-personalised messages that resonate with the target customer. In light of this, Criteo, the advertising platform for the open Internet, unveiled the survey report titled ‘Why We Buy’. The survey was conducted across 10 countries, with over 10,000 respondents split almost evenly over all countries. The report in respect of India highlights that 90 per cent of Indian consumers are willing to consider a new brand across all the shopping/product categories, which is the highest compared with consumers from the other countries surveyed.
The report for India also throws light on various aspects such as brand values; more than one in four shoppers said they stopped shopping with a brand whose values weren’t aligned with their personal beliefs. Loyalty depends on more than just low prices- while respondents in the study did appreciate value for money, customer service was the most important consideration, followed by product selection and what the brand stands for. The report also gave us insights into how consumers discover brands, with omnichannel discovery on YouTube, Facebook and websites as the top channels – but they were far from being the only source. Relevance makes a difference: 66 per cent of Indians like that online ads can help them in discovering new products, while 57 per cent like online ads for reminding them of products they’re interested in, and 51 per cent like that online ads offer discounts for products.
Sharing his thoughts on the outcomes from the report, Criteo India managing director Siddharth Dabhade said, “It has been phenomenal to witness the Indian consumer behaviour and we are glad to share this on a larger platform for the benefit of the Indian advertising industry which has evolved from being a small-scaled business to a full-fledged industry. It has been phenomenal to witness the advancements of technological innovation in advertising over the years. The shift of ad spending from traditional to digital media is happening at a rapid pace. The advertising and marketing sector in India is expected to enjoy a good run. Growth is expected in retail advertisement, on the back of factors such as several players entering the food and beverages segment, e-commerce gaining more popularity in the country, and domestic companies testing out the waters.”
Other key insights revealed that 49.4 per cent of Indian survey participants stopped shopping from a brand that they were loyal to before because of poor customer service; 83.3 per cent said YouTube helps them most to discover new brands; 60.9 per cent would try a new brand for the first time because it provides a discount that is personalized and relevant, and this also appears to be the best way to gain customer loyalty; 44.4 per cent strongly agree that their purchasing decision is affected by a company’s mission/values; customer service is still key as it is the main reason for remaining with a brand (62.3 per cent), or for leaving if customer service is poor (49.4 per cent); consumers are least loyal to Groceries brands, and are most loyal to Jewelry & Luxury Goods.
MAM
Xiaomi India launches Redmi Note 15 Special Edition campaign
OML film puts phone through chaos to showcase durability and camera
MUMBAI: If phones could sweat, this one would still keep its cool. In a market flooded with spec sheets and sameness, Xiaomi India has decided to turn up the heat quite literally. The brand’s latest campaign for the Redmi Note 15 Special Edition swaps predictable product demos for a full-blown kitchen meltdown, with celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor trading calm composure for controlled chaos.
Conceptualised and produced by OML, the campaign takes a sharply unconventional route. Instead of listing features, it throws the smartphone into a high-pressure dinner service, where Kapoor subjects it to a series of exaggerated, almost absurd stress tests chopping chillies on it, splashing water across its screen, and pushing it through a tense culinary gauntlet.
The message lands without spelling itself out. While the kitchen brigade falters under pressure, the phone does not. By the time a junior chef declares it “cooked”, the device emerges unscathed quietly reinforcing its durability, ultra-slim design, and 50 Master Pixel camera.
The approach reflects a broader shift in how brands are speaking to digital-first audiences. With Gen Z increasingly immune to traditional advertising formats, the campaign leans into storytelling, humour, and cultural familiarity to hold attention mid-scroll. The casting itself does part of the heavy lifting Kapoor, known for his composed persona, appears in an unexpectedly stern avatar, adding an element of surprise that fuels shareability.
For Xiaomi India, the idea was to move away from feature-led communication towards something more experiential. By embedding the product in chaotic, real-world scenarios, the campaign attempts to make performance feel demonstrated rather than declared.
The result is less of an advertisement and more of a content piece, one that understands the algorithm as much as the audience. Because in today’s attention economy, surviving the scroll might just be tougher than surviving a kitchen rush.
