iWorld
How FB is helping brands to grow their biz in India
GURUGRAM: Between dealing and refining its ad-targeting technology, coming clean about overestimating its video metrics to clients, failing to successfully launch Free Basics in India following ban by TRAI, its most recent tussle with Fake News, and, still doubling its revenues to USD 7.01 billion in its last quarter earnings (Q3) – Facebook has had an eventful year so far – be it globally or in India. How do these ups and down score with its partners and clients in India, Facebook’’s second largest market?
Acknowledging India’s strategic importance to Facebook’ s overall business, Facebook India and South Asia managing director Umang Bedi reassured that advertisers’ faith in Facebook is going strong, and not without reason.
Since joining the social media giant’s India team from Adobe Systems in July, the last 100 days have kept Bedi busy, hopping between cities catching up with partners across India.
In line with its motto of ‘moving businesses’, Bedi cited several examples where Indian brands engaging with consumers on Facebook have seen a measurable difference to its brand outcome as well as sales.
For example, Mondelez International gained over five points in brand consideration through Facebook’s Reach and Frequency tool, Durex saw a 29 per cent increase in sales during a running campaign on Mark Zuckerberg-led Facebook (along with TV), and Garnier saw a 19 per cent increase in sales in a weak market cluster using Facebook Carousel Ads.
Snapdeal, Tanishq, Adidas, Ola, Yatra.com, were a few other brands of which Facebook helped move business, Bedi cited.
As to how sales made by these brands could be attributed to ads placed on Facebook, Bedi clarified, “When there is a lift in sales done for a client online, we can easily track whether a consumer who saw its ad on our platform made a purchase or downloaded a certain app. It is a straightforward way keep track of a user across platforms through Software Development Kit (SDK) or pixels. For example, an Ola App will have a FB SDK embedded in its code. When you go offline, or cross media, we depend on our partners like Millward Brown who are known for meta cross-media studies, albeit through a sample-sized user base and campaigns.”
Based on cross-media meta content measured and studied by Millward Brown in 26 of its campaigns across categories, Facebook managed to add five points to television in audience outcome at one-seventh the cost if same numbers were chased through television. Other measurement services that Facebook uses to procure data and measurement studies for its clients include Nielsen and BARC.
The company’s impressive Q3 earnings, with a Y-O-Y increase of 16 per cent in revenue speaks volumes of its enormous reach that currently stands at 1.79 billion, off 1.18 billion are daily active users.
Speaking strictly of the Indian market, Facebook has 166 million monthly active users as of its last quarter reports, of which 159 million access the site through mobile. Similarly, 85 million Indian users access Facebook daily, of which 81 million do it through mobile.
Do these figures translate into revenues as well for the market? “Facebook India leads the charter among emerging markets when it comes to revenues. We are at par with Asia Pacific earnings, and Asia Pacific is the fastest growing markets for us, and India is a significant contributor to that,” Bedi shared, without putting a figure to its India earnings.
According to its filings with the Registrar of Companies that was reported earlier this year, Facebook reported a 27 per cent increase in its revenues in India.
On the flipside, Bedi also made a strong case of Facebook’s contribution to the Indian market to reinforce its positioning as a loved and trusted brand. Citing a Deloitte 2015 report, Bedi shared that Facebook contributes USD 4 billion to the Indan economy and supports 335,000 jobs through its marketing platforms and connectivity efforts.
“We have generated 2.4 billion interactions between businesses and people in India through two billion small and medium business pages in India. Not to mention, 59 per cent people in India are connected to SMEs through FB.”
While Facebook is focused on growing the base to reach the next billion new users in India and driving engagement, “everything we do around Facebook in the next five years is all about moving the real world business for our advertisers and partners,” Bedi makes it clear.
Bedi’s strategy for that is quite simple – grow numbers by driving deep engagement that is augmented by partnerships valued by measured returns.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
