BEYOND THE BRIEF

Vandana Ramkrishna
COO, Madison Media Ace

Profile:
With over 24 years of experience, Ramkrishna leads media strategy for some of the leading blue-chip brands in the country. She enjoys photography, singing, running, exploring off-beat destinations, and mentoring women and children on self-sufficiency.

Approach to Media Buying:
She is a media advisor to her clients, focusing on the dissemination of messages to the right consumers through the most relevant media platforms. She follows a three-step approach - leveraging and optimisation: 90% of spends allocated to the best practices after considering variable elements; testing and learning: 10% of budgets allocated on a new platform, creative format, or tech intervention; fitment: a clear connect between brand communication and a media property.

Memorable Campaign:
Includes cases such as 'Offline to Online Attribution' - capturing a higher share of online searchduring a high decibel offline campaign for Raymond Lifestyle; 'Needle in a Haystack,' locating and targeting new home builders for Dr Fixit waterproofing solution for Pidilite Industries; 'Driving Conversational Media,' connecting with youth by creating branded stickers and a metaverse, to help them explore, and buy condoms in the privacy of their phones for Kamasutra Condoms.

Emerging Medium/ Channel that will revolutionize the industry:
According to her, the revolutionization of the industry is multi-dimensional. She cites examples of Meta & Google's continual evolution, OTT experimentation with content lineups, AI/ML interventions becoming critical adoption, and Digital OOH and Cinema becoming critical in driving imagery and brand stature for long-term players. She also believes in the anamorphic format and use of CGI to deliver an AHA moment.

Rajit Desai
Sr. Vice President – Client Leadership, Mindshare India

Profile:
With over 25 years of experience, Desai leads Client Leadership. He likes watching and playing sports during his free time.

Approach to Media Buying:
He does not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach, and therefore, his functions are aligned with the client's objectives. He believes that a traditional media approach only works on well-established businesses. For newer technologies, he takes newer approaches and guidance that are formed on the go, depending on the case.

Memorable Campaign:
The work done for UltraTech Cement is special for him, because 90% of Indians only build their home once in a lifetime, and consumers have minimal understanding of the product, but it's a high-involvement category. Another one is 'Super Mechanic' for Castrol India, where the mechanics who heavily influence purchases in the category are under the spotlight.

Emerging Medium/ Channel that will revolutionize the industry:
He's a big believer in Connected TV because the number of households switching to this device is on an upward graph. It gives planners the addressability and impact of television with the measurement of Digital metrics.

Sumitabh Banerjee
Media Director, Carat

Profile:
Banerjee directs media planning and buying with over twelve years of experience. He is a father of twins and is occupied with them when he's not handling client briefs.

Approach to Media Buying:
His approach to media buying focuses on a blend of the client's objective and target audience. This is followed by several permutationsand combinations that tap into the TG’s consumer inclinations.For instance, social media is for a consumer more inclined towards new-age platforms, audio is a key media for the Gen-Z who are into audio listening, and TV is for sports enthusiasts.

Memorable Campaign:
The 'Britannia Khao World Cup Jao' campaign launched in 2019 is his most memorable campaign. The 360-degree campaign had an offline lead medium, followed by Digital and offline, with OOH as a key mechanism to drive efficiency.

Emerging Medium/Channel that will revolutionize the industry:
He firmly believes that OTT and Digital Billboards that are controllable would revolutionize the industry.

Trupti Dave
VP, Starcom India

Profile:
Dave boasts over a decade of industry experience and has worked on various large-scale campaigns, serving diverse metrics and client objectives.

Approach to Media Buying:
Her approach to planning is being ‘business-forward.’ This approach stems from the thought process that all campaigns should drive definitive KPIs that directly affect client business across varying metrics to the endpoint of sale. She also stresses client flexibility to share data and allow the agency to work out relevant customised solutions. For her, buying has to be a value-driven proposition that helps make the designed campaign visible and effective in consumers’ minds.

Memorable Campaign:
A memorable campaign that stood out for her in recent times is Ghar BaitheJeeto Jackpot by PharmEasy x KBC because traditional media was used to drive Digital KPIs. The campaign aimed to increase app downloads in Tier II and III markets. ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ being a popular series in these markets, was chosen as the key driver for the next leg of growth for the brand. Users could participate exclusively via the PharmEasy app, and answer a health-related question Amitabh Bachchan would ask every Friday. Organic installs in week one of the campaign were 5x vs the week preceding the launch, growth in organic registrations was steeper at 3x vs the previous period.

Emerging Medium/ Channel that will revolutionize the industry:
She reckons Data and AI are two areas that have already started revolutionising the industry, as reductive analytics fuelled by data, enables media companies to forecast trends, audience behaviour, and content performance.

Sripriya Swaminathan
Associate Media Director (Media Planning), OMD India

Profile:
Swaminathan has over 14 years of experience in media planning and buying. Outside of her professional commitments, she passionately explores her love for dance and embraces the thrill of running. Sripriya is also an unapologetic foodie exploring culinary delights.

Approach to Media Buying:
Her approach to media planning and buying is a multifaceted process that entails decoding the complexities of consumer behaviour and determining the perfect mix of media channels to reach audiences and deliver to a brand's growth ambitions. She believes that meeting audiences on their home turf today is vital to driving impactful business outcomes, and this is where smart media buying comes into play. Her simple yet effective formula for this is to have a keen understanding of developments in the marketplace and build strong relationships with partners, which helps one gain inroads to exclusive and forward-leaning opportunities, priority placements, and, better rates.

Memorable Campaign:
Levi’s 'I Shape My World' campaign, an ode to female changemakers from India's diverse landscape amplified the message of determined women driving impact without gender qualifiers coming into play. Through strategic communication across diverse mediums, including Print, Broadcast, and Digital, the campaign strengthened the brand's position in the market as a brand that celebrates and empowers women using their voices for positive change.

Emerging Medium/ Channel that will revolutionize the industry:
She believes there's an array of new, tech-driven mediums and channels that hold strong potential to turn the industry into a playground of innovation. Content, in particular, has leapt with AI-generated content. Then there are short-form videos, interactive videos, and podcasts.

Ruth Noranho
General Manager-Investments, Initiative India

Profile:
Noranho has over 12 years of experience in media planning & buying, she likes to travel and practice Yoga in her leisurely time.

Approach to Media Buying:
She believes that media planning and buying are essentially two sides of the same coin, and it is crucial to have a good understanding of both disciplines across all media touchpoints, but a great plan without buying efficiencies will not be effective. According to her, as Digital is becoming the new lead medium, it is essential to work towards an ecosystem where seamless collaboration and integrated media are efficient. OOH/DOOH and social can also be leveraged to scale key innovations.

Memorable Campaign:
She loved the Sunfest Dark Fantasy’s Har Dil Ki Fantasy campaign. The use of technology to fulfil the dreams of SRK fans while generating buzz for the brand is what makes it memorable for her. Through GenAI technology, fans had the chance to co-star withhim in the new Dark Fantasy creative.

Emerging Medium/ Channel that will revolutionize the industry:
She shares that currently, the newflavour of the season is CTV, gaining significant momentum and making waves. CTV is seen as a bridgebetween TV and Digital, providing a similar viewing experience for the end user. It has revolutionized how people consume Television and Digital content, offering a more personalized and flexible viewing experience compared to traditional linear TV. In the last year, CTV has grown from a 12million household base to 30 million.

Khushbu Shah
General Manager, Lodestar UM

Profile:
Shah has over 16 years of experience in media planning and buying. She likes to travel andlisten to music during her recreational time.

Approach to Media Buying:
She embraces a data-driven approach to media planning, that goes beyond addressing immediate business goals, collaborating with clients to navigate complex consumer journeys over the long term, and ensuring effective and efficient achievement of business objectives.

Memorable Campaign:
The recent campaign for Johnson’s Baby that featured each bottle of Johnson’s product as a vehicle that engages moms is a memorable one for her. The scannable pack allowing moms to see the ingredients that go into the product showcased the correct use of technology.

Another example is the recent Taj Mahal Tea out-of-home (OOH) campaign created by Rapport India, an IPG Mediabrands company. It involved the creation of a live Santoor on a grand OOH site.

Emerging Medium/ Channel that will revolutionize the industry:
Quick commerce and DOOH are the mediums that, in her opinion, will revolutionize the industry. Quick commerce stands out as the last-mile platform, delivering within a 10-minute timeframe. DOOH on the other hand is already revolutionizing the industry, especially for auto, luxury, beauty, and durables. She believes this is just the beginning, and we are on the verge of witnessing how this channel scales up, providing a speedy and personalized experiencefor consumers.

Harsh Vora
Vice President - Planning, PHD Media India

Profile:
Vora has over 16 years of experience in media planning across various sectors such that as Auto, FMCG, Retail, and more. In his leisure time, Harsh enjoys travel, movies, and the quiet pursuit of writing poetry.

Approach to Media Buying:
His approach to media planning is a fine tuned blend of creativity and precision, grounded in how best can advancements be integrated to deliver the larger objective of the brand and its audiences. The strategic sequence of this approach is identifying the most pertinent audience segments, gaining an immersive understanding of the audience’s interests, discerning peak activity hours, crafting and delivering compelling creatives, and consistently measuring the performance. This outlook is continually evolving with the fast-changing landscape.

Memorable Campaign:
A campaign that stands out for him is Škoda Auto’s ‘Make Every KM Count,’ which he worked on with his team. Its media activations stood on the heels of the brand’s philosophy. Also, the campaign ‘Let's Explore,’ redefines the numbers on the odometer as not a measure of distance but the clocking of cherished journeys and experiences.

Emerging Medium/ Channel that will revolutionize the industry:
Connected TV, the penetration of 5G in the country, combined with technological advancements would revolutionize the industry, according to him. He says that for media buyers and brands alike, the question is no longer whether we can jump on the CTV bandwagon, but about how can we stay at the forefront, as this new frontier continues to evolve. He also believes that the influencer marketing space is poised to grow further. With greater structure and improved measurement capabilities, influencer-led campaigns will experience a notable upswing.