iWorld
YouTube dethrones Google, tops YouGov’s Best Brand Rankings 2022 in India
Mumbai: Global tech giant YouTube has dethroned Google to top YouGov’s 2022 Best Brand Rankings in India, recording an increase of +2.5 to its year-on-year brand health score.
YouGov’s latest rankings reveal the top ten brands in terms of overall brand health, according to urban Indians. The rankings are based on the index score from YouGov BrandIndex, which is a measure of overall brand health that indicates how well a brand is delivering on its brand promise on key attributes and is calculated by taking the average of the impression, quality, value, satisfaction, recommend and reputation scores collected in BrandIndex.
Google moves down one spot to second (with a score of 54.9), and WhatsApp moves up to third (53.9) with a considerable increase in its year-on-year score.
E-commerce giant Amazon moved down one spot to fourth, but its video-on-demand platform, Amazon Prime, moved off the list this year. Flipkart enhanced its brand perception over the past year but moved down three places in the 2022 rankings, to ninth (40.8).
This year, many new brands make up the top ten list. Amul is fifth on the list with a score of 49.5. Tanishq follows in the sixth (42.2), Cadbury Dairy Milk in the seventh (41.3), and Dettol Disinfectant in the eighth (40.9). Zomato rounds up the top ten in tenth (40.0).
The rankings also show the brands that have improved the most over the past 12 months. Air India is the most improved brand of the year, with a change in score of +7.1.
Telegram is the second-best mover with a change in score of +5.2, along with other social media platforms such as Instagram (change in score +3.9) and WhatsApp (+3.5).
Smartphone brands like Realme (+4.0) and global electronics company Apple (+3.4) appear in the list of improvers.
Myntra (+3.3), Booking.com (3.0), Tata Motors (+2.8), and Flipkart (+2.7) are other brands to appear in India’s 2022 top ten improvers list.
iWorld
JioHotstar enters micro-drama space with 100 shows under Tadka banner
Short-form push targets 300M users as content meets commerce in new format
MUMBAI: JioStar has made a bold play in India’s fast-growing micro-drama space, rolling out over 100 short-form shows under its new Tadka banner on JioHotstar, timed with the massive viewership surge of the Indian Premier League 2026.
The scale of the launch signals clear intent. Rather than testing the waters, the company has dived in headfirst, releasing a wide slate of content on day one. Each show is designed for quick consumption, with episodes running 60 to 90 seconds in a vertical format tailored for mobile-first audiences.
The move comes as India’s micro-drama market, currently valued at around $300 million, is projected to grow tenfold to over $3 billion by 2030. Globally, the format has already proven its mettle, with China’s micro-drama sector recording explosive growth in recent years.
What sets this rollout apart is its built-in monetisation strategy. The shows are free to watch and ad-supported, with brand integrations woven directly into storylines from the outset. It reflects a broader shift where content and commerce are increasingly intertwined, rather than operating in silos.
The timing is equally strategic. With more than 300 million users already tuning in for IPL action, JioHotstar is effectively turning cricket’s biggest stage into a discovery engine for its new format.
The company is not entering an empty arena. Early movers like Kuku TV, MX Player and platforms backed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises have already laid the groundwork, building audiences and validating demand for snackable storytelling.
Now, with scale, distribution and advertiser interest aligning, the big players are stepping in. For JioStar, Tadka may well serve as a proving ground for the next evolution of digital entertainment, where every minute counts and every second sells.
If the bet pays off, India’s next big content wave might just arrive in under 90 seconds.
