Applications
TV viewing experience being enriched by social media: Study
MUMBAI: Contrary to predictions that the digital age would drag people away from television, people are watching more TV than ever and people‘s viewing experience is being enriched rather than eroded by social networks and dedicated social TV apps like Zeebox. Increasingly, the assumption that a laptop, and a tablet or mobile are the "second" and "third" screens will be eroded.
It will not be enough to simply broadcast a hashtag and flag a few tweets on the television screen. Telling stories through multiple screens (and elsewhere) will begin to supplant the notion of broadcasting something on the first screen and people reacting and responding to it on disconnected supplementary screens. What does this mean for brand owners?
Millward Brown, a global research agency, has released its annual top 10 digital and media predictions, highlighting growing trends in the media sector.
Among other trends, Millward Brown‘s Futures Group believes that the emergence of "mobile as remote" will make it a central pillar of smart communication plans; that omnichannel marketing will help brands build on meaningful moments of engagement; and that social TV will grow up and become part of the narrative rather than a conversation about the narrative.
Duncan Southgate, Global Brand Director for Digital at Millward Brown, commented, "We expect 2013 to be another dynamic year for online display, mobile and social media.
onsumers have ever higher expectations of intelligent digital advertising approaches, and marketers will need to deliver more sophisticated campaigns to keep pace with what works."
The emergence of ‘mobile remote‘: With increased power and capabilities, mobile devices become the remote controls of our lives allowing not only active control of electronics, but seamless integration of the world around us. The new functionality of our mobile "remotes" utilizes advanced technology to simplify lives. Anything that needs a processor to operate can use a smartphone as the "brains."
Brands need to start developing communication plans that adapt to this world. With mobile as the hub, information gathering becomes more centralised as consumers trade personal information for convenience and access to events, offers and premium content.
Omnichannel marketing and brand building : Omnichannel marketing is about being present or available across the consumer‘s behavioral path: each potential contact point integrated with all others. The digital arena will represent the first stage of more brands adopting an omnichannel mindset as social and mobile data sources are blended with offline brand experiences.
In 2013 the green shoots of omnichannel strategies will involve companies turning existing datasets into active targeting engines. As mobile ad-serving platforms mature, this will transition from social apps into ads running across any mobile content. As well as receiving location data, mobiles have the potential to inform nearby digital screens – Minority Report-style tailored out of home ad content may not be so far away.
So what is the implication for marketers? Start building the infrastructure to deliver an integrated experience in the omnichannel world or face being left behind.
Other predictions include:
- Real-time planning will become an essential feature of digital campaign delivery and evaluation
- Better alignment of online display formats with objectives
- Wider availability of high impact Facebook advertising will provide richer opportunities for brands
- More paywalls on premium sites will lead to a scarcity of ‘premium eyeballs‘
- In-app advertising spend will be driven by greater use of rich media
- In Africa, brands will take advantage of huge mobile marketing opportunities
- Social media listening will evolve from monitoring to insight generation as brands give more weight to social data in business decisions
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
