I walked into SMARTIES Unplugged India 2026 with a notebook, a lot of curiosity, and the excitement of getting to learn from people whose work we often study in classrooms.
I walked out with new perspectives, questions, and a lot to think about. As a PGDM student in PR & Corporate Communications at XIC, Mumbai, the opportunity to attend this global industry platform and unofficially represent my institute meant a lot to me. A few moments and conversations stayed with me:
Rohit Dadwal spoke about marketing excellence through creativity, media, and impact. It reminded me that a campaign's visibility means little if it doesn't create meaningful business outcomes.
Hephzibah Pathak showed how brands can become part of culture rather than simply advertise to it. Campaigns like Vaseline’s #VerifiedTrends and Dove’s #TurnYourBack made this idea tangible.
Ankan Sarkar and Shreya Roychowdhury from Toluna offered a glimpse into how juries evaluate campaigns. One takeaway stuck with me: Proof beats promise.
Prashant Gutch from Google explored changing festive consumer journeys, while Deepit Purkayastha of Inshorts and Gaurav Jain challenged how we think about affluence, influence and premium audiences.
Moneka Khurana, helped bring the day’s conversations on marketing effectiveness and excellence together and launched the marketing full funnel playbook, adding to the event’s focus on actionable industry insights.
Across sessions on consumer behaviour, retail media, contextual advertising and AI, one idea kept returning to me: reach isn't always impact, a click doesn't always mean intent, and technology is only useful when it solves a real problem.
What made the experience special wasn't just the presentations. It was getting a glimpse into how people in the industry think, question, and make decisions.
I'm grateful to MMA India, the speakers, and everyone I had the opportunity to learn from.
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