Event Coverage
Ads low in print with greater customer feedback in digital mediums
NEW DELHI: There was a growth of forty per cent in advertising in the United Kingdom in fifiteen years from the turn of the millennium, but the the print medium saw a fall of 65 per cent in advertising in the same period.
Online advertising is the dominant source in the UK cornering 74 per cent, according to Financial Times Chief Data Officer Tom Betts.
In a presentation on Data Insights: Disrupting News at the just concluded ZEEMelt, Betts said however, that sixty per cent do not remember what they read on the social media and agreed with a comment that the digital medium had sight and sound but the touch was missing and that was why the primt medium continued to grow in many countries.
However, it was equally true that there is very little feedback in the print medium unlike the data driven growth in digital technologies. “Customer data is at the centre” and was the customer DNA in digital platforms, he said.
“It is really exciting times for news just as it is for advertising”, he said, with mobiles and i-pads providing competition to the print medium.
Digital technology has also helped to bring personal finance to the top and the advertising wold has to cater to that.
But customer engagement comes from ‘Recency, Frquency, and Volume’ and advertising is analytically power driven through personalised products and data-supported discovery often depending on what he termed as ‘digital serendipity.’
Echoing these same sentiments in another session on ‘The future oif storytelling’, Conde Nast Digital Director Gaurav Mishra said today’s consumer wanted on-the-go content.
As a result, interest graphs were narrowing as the consumer only wanted to see what interested him.There was also ‘digital serendipity’ resulting in a lot of sharing on the social platforms. This led to a shared purpose and passion.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
