iWorld
Netflix hires Indian origin TV exec Bela Bajaria as content VP
MUMBAI: Even as Netflix has been strengthening its Asia team by hiring locals with Asian and international experience, it has also been bolstering the talent at its HQ. Last week, the leading global video streaming site, announced that it had roped in former Universal Television (NBCUniversal’s TV unit) president Bela Bajaria as vice-president of content. She is slated to join Netflix from 1 November, replacing Sean Carey, who is leaving the company.
The London-born-but-raised-in-east-Africa-and-settled-in-Los-Angeles Bajaria is of Indian origin, At Universal Television, Bajaria supervised creative programming for the studio and producing such hit series as Master of None and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for Netflix; Brooklyn Nine-Nine for FOX; The Mindy Project for FOX and Hulu; Superstore for NBC and Bates Motel for A&E, among several others. She developed Gypsy, starring Naomi Watts, for Netflix which will premiere in 2017 as well as Pure Genius for CBS and The Good Place for NBC, which are on the network’s 2016 fall schedules.
Bajaria has in the past been ranked amongst the top TV executives in the US when she headed Universal Television. She left the production outfit when she had a run-in with executives at NBC Studios for not buying enough content from her company, even though Fox and CBS were.
At Netflix, Bajaria has been mandated with leading the team focused on TV and film licensing from major U. studios, as well co-production relationships with major US networks. She will also oversee a new team developing original unscripted programs for Netflix.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and chief content officer Ted Sarandos have said time and time again that the company wants to keep showcase the best in class engaging content for its subscribers and a budget of $5 billion has been kept aside for this year to acquire and create content.
“Bela is a great creative television executive with broad experience and deep industry relationships,” said Sarandos. “Having worked closely with her on Master of None and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we know we have found the perfect executive to lead this new effort.”
“I am looking forward to joining Netflix, an innovative company that supports creative vision and fosters risk-taking. Having worked closely with Ted, Cindy and the team, I know they are great creative partners and care deeply about the experience of talent, their partners and their members,” said Bela Bajaria. “They are a dynamic group and I’m looking forward to continue building new partnerships at Netflix with amazing talent and studio and network colleagues.”
iWorld
Meta introduces new AI tools to boost discovery-to-purchase journey
From shoppable Reels to generative video, platforms get smarter at turning attention into sales.
MUMBAI: Meta is turning “scroll and stop” into “scroll, stop, and shop” and it’s using AI to make the whole journey feel almost effortless. The company has announced several new tools and enhancements designed to help brands guide people from discovery to purchase more effectively, while delivering more relevant and personalised experiences across its platforms.
Creators can now add product links more broadly on Instagram Reels, turning their content into shoppable moments. Businesses in 22 countries, including India, will soon be able to share their product catalogues with creators, opening up a new sales channel for brands and fresh monetisation opportunities for creators.
The Creator Marketplace has also been upgraded with enhanced target audience filtering, integrated with Ads Manager. This helps businesses quickly find creators who are a strong match for their goals. Campaigns using Partnership Ads deliver, on average, 19 per cent lower CPAs, 13 per cent higher click-through rates, and 71 per cent higher median brand lift.
Meta is expanding Reels Trending Ads inventory with new content categories including TV & Movies, Travel, Business, Finance & Investments. According to Meta’s analysis of 59 studies, Reels Trending Ads delivered an incremental 6.6 percentage point Ad Recall lift compared to control groups.
AI-Powered Shopping Enhancements
- Product Set Optimisation is now in testing, allowing retail media networks to promote specific products with detailed reporting. Early results show 17 per cent lower median seller cost per purchase.
- Product Showcase is being expanded so marketers can upload one image or video and let Meta’s AI automatically add relevant products as a carousel when it improves performance.
Meta is expanding its generative AI capabilities with:
- UGC-style videos featuring avatars and voiceovers
- Easier voiceover translation and text overlay translation in a single streamlined flow
- New tools to automatically turn product catalogues into dynamic video ads for Reels
Early testing of the Advantage+ creative video generation tool showed a 10 per cent increase in CTR and 8 per cent increase in CVR on average. Campaigns using catalog product video saw 20 per cent more conversions per dollar, while Reels placements with catalog product video delivered 33 per cent higher incremental conversions.
Industry voices welcomed the updates. Vikas Chawla of Social Beat called Partnership Ads a “flywheel” for authentic content that converts. Niti Kumar of Spark Foundry and Sadhvi Dhawan of Blink Digital highlighted the power of Reels Trending Ads for cultural relevance and guaranteed share of voice. Ramasish Bhowmik of Adbuffs noted that Meta’s GenAI tools are giving teams a clear competitive edge.
In a world where attention is fleeting but shopping intent can spark in seconds, Meta is betting that smarter AI will help brands turn discovery into decisions faster than ever. The message is clear: the future of advertising isn’t just about reaching people, it’s about reaching them at exactly the right moment, with exactly the right product.
