iWorld
Twitter and IBM announce new partnership
MUMBAI: Twitter and IBM announced a landmark partnership to help shape business decisions using data collected from tweets worldwide. The alliance brings together Twitter data that distinctively represents the public pulse of the planet with IBM’s industry-leading cloud-based analytics, customer engagement platforms, and consulting services.
Announcing the collaboration, IBM chairman, president and CEO Ginni Rometty said, “Twitter provides a powerful new lens both as a platform for hundreds of millions of consumers and business professionals, and as a synthesizer of trends. This partnership, drawing on IBM’s leading cloud-based analytics platform, will help clients enrich business decisions with an entirely new class of data. This is the latest example of how IBM is reimagining work.”
With the development of new solutions to improve business decisions across industries and professions, IBM and Twitter will be able to enrich existing enterprise data streams to improve business decisions. For example, the integration of social data with enterprise data can help accelerate product development by predicting long-term trends or drive real-time demand forecasting based on real-time situations like weather patterns, said the press release.
Excited about the new partnership, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo commented, “This important partnership with IBM will change the way business decisions are made – from identifying emerging market opportunities to better engaging clients, partners and employees.”
The collaboration will focus on three areas:
Integration of Twitter data with IBM analytics services on the cloud: IBM plans to offer Twitter data as part of select cloud-based services, including IBM Watson Analytics, a new cognitive service in the palm of your hand that brings intuitive visualisation and predictive capabilities to business users; and a cloud-based data refinery service that enables application developers to embed data services in applications. Entrepreneurs and software developers will also be able to integrate Twitter data into new cloud services they are building with IBM’s Watson Developer Cloud or IBM Bluemix platform-as-a-service.
New data-intensive capabilities for the enterprise: IBM and Twitter will deliver a set of enterprise applications to help improve business decisions across industries and professions. The first joint solution will integrate Twitter data with IBM ExperienceOne customer engagement solutions, allowing sales, marketing, and customer service professionals to map sentiment and behaviour to better engage and support their customers.
Specialised enterprise consulting: IBM Global Business Services professionals will have access to Twitter data to enrich consulting services for clients across business. Additionally, IBM and Twitter will collaborate to develop unique solutions for specific industries such as banking, consumer products, retail, and travel and transportation. The partnership will draw upon the skills of tens of thousands of IBM Global Business Services consultants and application professionals including consultants from the industry’s only integrated Strategy and Analytics practice, and IBM Interactive Experience, the world’s largest digital agency.
“IBM brings a unique combination of cloud-based analytics solutions and a global services team that can help companies utilise this truly unique data. Companies have had successes to Twitter data – from manufacturers more effectively managing inventory to consumer electronic companies doing rapid product development. This partnership with IBM will allow faster innovation across a broader range of use cases at scale,” reckoned Twitter Data Strategy vice president Chris Moody.
iWorld
Uber spotlights Rs 25 bike rides with music led IPL campaign
Uber uses 15 second music films with Divine and Roll Rida to push Rs 25 rides
MUMBAI: In a season where ads usually swing for sixes with celebrity spectacle, Uber has chosen to play a clever single sharp, fast, and straight to the point. Uber has rolled out a distinctly stripped-down IPL campaign, putting its product Uber Bike rides starting at Rs 25 for up to 3 km front and centre, rather than leaning on big-budget storytelling. The campaign features hip-hop artist Divine in Mumbai and Roll Rida in southern markets, using music as the primary vehicle for recall.
IPL advertising has long been dominated by high-production narratives packed with cricketers and film stars. Uber’s approach flips that playbook. Instead of elaborate storytelling, the brand opts for 15-second music-led films quick, rhythmic bursts designed to mirror the pace of urban mobility itself.
The message is deliberately simple, affordable, fast rides that cut through city traffic. No layered plots, no extended build-up just a functional promise delivered with cultural flair.
In the Mumbai-led film, Divine zips through traffic on an Uber Bike, turning the Rs 25 price point into a hook with his signature wordplay around “pachisi”. The campaign cleverly reframes affordability as a moment of delight, the kind that leaves commuters with a “32-teeth smile” after beating traffic at minimal cost.
Meanwhile, Roll Rida’s version leans into southern sensibilities, blending Telugu and Tamil influences with high-energy visuals. Set to the beat of tape drums, the film celebrates how low-cost rides can unlock a more connected and vibrant city experience. Together, the films reflect a conscious push towards regional authenticity, rather than a one-size-fits-all national narrative.
The campaign also signals Uber’s sharper focus on India’s growing bike taxi segment. While the company offers multi-modal services spanning cars, autos, metro integrations and intercity travel, this push zeroes in on two-wheelers as a key growth lever in dense urban markets.
By anchoring the campaign around a Rs 25 entry price for short distances, Uber is targeting everyday commuters, particularly younger users navigating congested cities where speed and cost matter more than comfort.
With IPL advertising clutter at its peak, even the most straightforward message risks getting lost. Uber’s answer is to embed the proposition within culture using music, regional nuance and repeat-friendly short formats to drive recall. The creative team has also layered subtle visual cues including multiple references to “25” within frames encouraging repeat viewing and reinforcing the core message without over-explaining it.
The campaign reflects a broader shift in advertising priorities. As attention spans shrink and media environments get noisier, brands are increasingly favouring clarity over complexity and speed over scale.
Uber’s IPL play may not shout the loudest, but it lands where it matters in the everyday commute. Because sometimes, in a marketplace full of grand narratives, a Rs 25 ride is story enough.
