iWorld
Google’s new acquisition of branded content platform will bring marketers to YouTube
MUMBAI: Google, which has been concerned about the monetization for YouTube for a while, released a statement recently about the acquisition of FameBit. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The deal will enable YouTube to increase the number of branded content opportunities available. This will bring in more revenue into the online video community. Google’s vice president of product management Ariel Bardin, said the primary goal was to mainstream YouTube marketing. This would enable to make it a part of every brand’s monthly social media advertising strategy, he added.
FameBit is a tech startup which helps marketers to connect with digital influencers through a video platform. It presents a marketplace for the video creators to contact marketers that would be keen to sponsor their visual content. This deal will prove to be profitable for Google to help the creators on YouTube connect better with brands. It would also enable advancement of their technology for the same.
While Google helps big TV brands connect with its top channels and talent through its three-year-old Google Preferred program, the social media influencer ecosystem is vast, and not limited to YouTube. FameBit can connect brands to talent on Instagram, Vine and other platforms.
This deal is an important step to bring in sponsors not just for YouTube as a whole, but also for its individual creators. YouTube had been working to bring in financial support through its partner program. This succeeded in causing the growth of various multi-channel networks that creators had joined for business resources and ad sales.
FameBit aims to bring more automation and data science in the process of connecting brands with digital talent. This platform has been used to brand 25,000 videos. Digital innovators can use the software of FameBit to set up profiles. After doing so, brands can search for potential matches among thousands of creators which interest them. This is based on various criteria like the innovator’s audience demographics. The marketers can later hire the innovators to mention their brands in the videos or even create videos to advertise their brands.
e-commerce
Instamart report maps India’s summer shopping habits in 2026
Ice cream peaks at 9 pm, dahi tops orders as categories surge up to 300 per cent WoW.
MUMBAI: When the heat rises, India doesn’t just sweat, it shops with muscle memory. Instamart’s Summer Trends 2026 report paints a vivid picture of how the country navigates rising temperatures, revealing a pattern less about experimentation and more about ritual. From curd with every meal to a near-universal 9 pm ice cream habit, summer consumption appears deeply predictable and sharply responsive to heat.
As temperatures climbed through March and April, orders across key categories surged by as much as 300 per cent week-on-week. Mangoes, cold coffee, fizzy drinks and fruit popsicles led the charge, while cooling appliances such as fans and air coolers saw demand jump over 280 per cent. Summer accessories clocked the highest spike, with sunglasses soaring 650 per cent year-on-year.
At the centre of India’s summer basket sits a familiar hero, dahi. The dairy staple emerged as the most-ordered item overall, with six of the top ten products being curd-based. Fresh produce is also gaining ground, with watermelon and muskmelon seeing steady traction signalling a shift towards simple, cooling foods rooted in everyday habits.
Then comes the nightly ritual. Across cities, 9 pm stands out as the peak hour for ice cream orders, with demand between 6 pm and 9 pm more than doubling. Family-sized tubs dominate, suggesting planned indulgence rather than impulse buys. Chocolate remains the undisputed favourite, accounting for nearly one in four ice cream orders, ahead of vanilla, butterscotch and even seasonal mango.
Spending patterns reveal just how seriously India takes its summers. In Guntur, one user spent Rs 15,005 on energy drinks and mini fans, while carts in Goa, Bengaluru and Hyderabad crossed Rs 11,000, filled with everything from coconut water to cold coffee and ice cream. Kolkata followed closely with spends exceeding Rs 10,600.
While metros continue to drive volume, smaller cities are quietly outpacing them in intensity. Locations such as Central Goa, Thrissur, Thiruvalla, Nagercoil and Manipal recorded higher orders per user, suggesting that India’s summer cravings are as strong beyond big cities as within them.
Mango season, meanwhile, is off to an early start. Sindhu mango currently leads orders, followed by Banganapalli and raw mangoes, with Alphonso yet to peak. Bengaluru tops the charts in mango demand, outpacing Hyderabad and Chennai combined, while cities like Thanjavur, Pondicherry and Mangaluru are emerging as strong contributors.
Even beverages are getting an upgrade. Jeera masala soda surged 900 per cent in March, while cold coffee grew nearly 700 per cent, alongside rising demand for coconut water, buttermilk, lassi and milkshakes. Like ice cream, drink consumption peaks in the evening, reinforcing the rhythm of India’s summer routine.
Regionally, preferences vary but patterns align. Ahmedabad and Rajkot favour buttermilk and soft drinks, Chandigarh leans on lassi, while Bengaluru and Mumbai skew fruit-heavy. Chennai and Kochi opt for melons, and Delhi and Lucknow double down on buttermilk.
The takeaway is simple: India’s summer isn’t chaotic, it’s choreographed. And as the mercury climbs, so does a nation’s instinct to order exactly what it knows will cool it down.
