Smarties

We're bringing home two wins at the MMA India SMARTIES India 2026 awards! A big shoutout to our incredible teams and clients, Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios and ITC Limited Candyman, for making it happen.

Here's to more ideas that make a difference.

Omnicom Media | Omnicom Media Asia Pacific | #SMARTIES2026 #SMARTIESIndia

Moneka and MMA India team are bringing important conversations around AI and marketing to the forefront. So much to learn from the work happening across the industry! 

Can a regular commute become a media moment for brands? Uber Advertising surely thinks so.

The newly launched mobility platform in India believes that where consumers are going can matter as much as who they are. However, when does contextual relevance step into the realm of intrusive targeting?

During a fireside chat at MMA India SMARTIES Unplugged 2026, Uber Advertising’s head, Arpit Tyagi, discussed the promise of reaching consumers at the right moment, and the responsibility to ensure advertising doesn’t compromise the ride. Read more on Campaign India.

https://lnkd.in/dQnQvQwV

#Uber #Marketing #Advertising #MediaPlanning #AdTech #ConsumerBehaviour #MMAIndia

Our team spent the day at the #SMARTIES™ Unplugged 2026 Conference!
Across sessions on retail media, creative effectiveness and AI, one shift kept coming up: consumers now discover brands through AI agents, alongside creators and commerce platforms.

That’s the space we work in every day at OptimizeGEO. Here’s how the big ideas from the day connect to AI-led discovery:

 Touchpoints driving the top 20% of consumer attention in India grew from 12 in 2018 to 21 in 2024 (WPP Media Touch Points India Study).
AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity are now part of that mix. When someone asks an AI which brand to buy, the answer shapes their shortlist before they visit a single website.

 67% of marketers find it hard to connect the consumer journey through measurement (MMA India x WPP research).
AI search adds a new layer here. Brands need to know how often they appear in AI answers, which sources AI relies on, and how that visibility links to shopping and sales.

 Around 6% of 15,000 branded creator assets analysed by Kantar went on to build the brand.
Consistency matters to people and to AI models alike. A brand that tells one clear story across its website, reviews, media coverage and creators is easier for AI to understand and recommend.

 Intent carries more weight than reach. AI conversations are high-intent moments: the person is actively asking for a recommendation. Showing up there is one of the strongest signals a brand can earn.

 AI is a growth lever. MMA India’s 101 AI in Marketing Use Cases library, launched by Moneka Khurana, Rohit Dadwal and Ranjana K., brings together real use cases from 30+ companies and 50+ brands, with measurement and customer journeys sitting right alongside content.

As discovery, media and commerce come together in the AI era, OptimizeGEO helps brands see and improve how they show up across AI search, from AI visibility (Generative Engine Optimization) to shopping and commerce data and LLM ad intelligence.

How is your brand tracking its presence in AI answers today?

#SMARTIESUnplugged #AIinMarketing #GenerativeEngineOptimization #AISearch #MarketingEffectiveness #RetailMedia #OptimizeGEO

MMA India, Moneka Khurana, Rohit Dadwal, Ranjana K., Kantar

Kirthiga Reddy Saurabh Doshi Shagufta D. Sonal Agarwal Archi Jain Manish Singh Atif Lodi Nidhi Sood Laya Menon Priya Singh Gauri Pendsay Hiral Bhatt ANSHUL BALI

Is reach enough, or should marketers be measuring attention too?
The Beyond Reach report by Publicis Media India and MMA India reveals that 81% of marketers prioritise reach, while 92% cite standardised attention measurement as a key challenge.

Lalatendu Das, CEO, Publicis Media South Asia: “Reach will remain fundamental to any media strategy, but scale alone does not tell us whether an exposure has the quality or opportunity to drive an outcome.”

Moneka Khurana, MD & BOD, MMA India: “It doesn't replace reach. It qualifies it.”

#AdTechToday #MediaPlanning #Advertising #AttentionMeasurement

81% of Indian marketers prioritise reach, but only 17% prioritise attention quality, finds the Beyond Reach report

Reach remains central to media planning, but Publicis Media India and MMA India’s ‘Beyond Reach’ report reveals a gap between intent and practice: 86% of marketers would likely reallocate budgets if robust attention evidence showed stronger brand-memory outcomes, while 92% cite a lack of reliable or standardised attention measurement as a major barrier.

Read more: https://lnkd.in/dTZt6xne

Lalatendu Das | Moneka Khurana

For more updates, follow our WhatsApp channel: https://lnkd.in/dQCWAQMR

#BeyondReach #PublicisMedia #MMAIndia #AttentionMeasurement #MediaEffectiveness #BrandMemory #MarketingAnalytics #AdvertisingIndustry #MediaStrategy #MarketingInnovation

AI's real test isn't efficiency. It's growth.

That was the thread running through today's Leadership Dialogue at #SMARTIESIndia, "Beyond Efficiency: Where AI creates real growth, not just efficiencies," moderated by our President, Asia Pacific, Raman Kalra with Pavanjit S Bedi (CMO Foods, Hindustan Unilever) and Sunita Bangard (MMA India Board Member; CEO – Emerging Opportunities Novel Jewels, Aditya Birla Group).

Practical takeaways:

 **Speed is a growth lever.** Bewakoof, from Aditya Birla's fashion portfolio, can deliver a custom t-shirt in 3 days. That's AI turning efficiency into a product people pay for.

 **AI can help you find the next market.** HUL Foods used it to pivot from hot drinks to cold beverages to reach Gen Z.

 **The bottleneck isn't the tech.** AI literacy is still low. Talent, culture and behaviour change decide how much ROI you actually get.

 **Efficiency and growth aren't opposites.** Done right, efficiency lifts both the topline and the bottom line.

 **The biggest boardroom myth is "AI will take away jobs."** The panel's view was that AI handles execution and humans own the rest, including great storytelling.

 **For the next 12 months, treat AI like gymnastics.** Make small bets, fail fast, learn fast, and build the muscle.

The organisations that win won't be the ones with the most AI tools. They'll be the ones whose people know how to use them.

Thank you to Pavanjit, Sunita and Raman for a grounded, no-hype conversation.

Material MMA India

#DiscoverMaterial #SMARTIESUnplugged #SMARTIESIndia2026

Some wins mean a little more! 

Proud to share that Gillette Fusion5 and Pampers Premium Care have both won Gold at the SMARTIES MMA India MMA Global

Having put so much thought and effort into these campaigns, this recognition feels truly special. Grateful for the opportunity, the trust, and everyone who has been part of this journey.
Rathi Gangappa Peeyush Sharma Chirag Chandiramani Starcom Publicis Media

The A Team : ABHISHEK ROY Neha Raut Paritosh Shende Anoushka Rai

A milestone in my career that I’ll always look back on with pride. 

#Smarties #MediaStrategy #Teamwork

Connecting brand building to actual business results has always been tough—until now. Proud to contribute to our new report with MMA India, WPP Media and Amazon Ads

“From Fragmentation to One View: A Marketer’s Playbook for Full-Funnel Growth”
Based on a survey of 126 advertising leaders, here is what you'll find:
Clear Results: How to link top-of-mind brand awareness and directly influence sales.
Connected Journeys: How to track ad performance across every buyer touch point.
Smarter Growth: How to break down data walls and spend budgets more efficiently.

#Marketing #Advertising #DigitalMarketing #ecommerce #FullFunnelMarketing #RetailMedia #MarketingEffectiveness #AdTech #CMO

Beyond Reach: Rethinking the Quality of Media Exposure.

Reach remains a cornerstone of media planning. But in a world where audiences encounter more content than ever, how much of that reach actually earns attention?

Launched by Publicis Media India and MMA India at #SMARTIESUnplugged 2026, Beyond Reach explores why the industry needs to look beyond impressions and bring attention quality into media planning and investment decisions.

The findings make a compelling case for change:

• 81% of Indian marketers prioritise reach, while only 17% prioritise attention quality. 
• 86% would consider reallocating media budgets if robust attention evidence pointed to stronger brand outcomes.
• 100% believe an agreed industry standard would accelerate the adoption of attention measurement.

The takeaway?

It’s not about replacing reach, but understanding the quality of the opportunities it creates and their potential to build memory and influence brand choice.

A step towards making attention more measurable, actionable and meaningful for marketers.

Here are some glimpses from the launch.

Read the full report:
https://lnkd.in/dpTwc7PQ

Attention Partner: Mike Follett | Lumen Research

If you want to understand how Attention Qualified Reach (AQR) based planning can drive better outcome for your brand, reach out to us at : [email protected]

Anupriya Acharya | Lalatendu Das| Gautam Surath | Jai Lala | Rathi Gangappa | Atique Kazi| Niti Kumar | Ravi Bhaya | Paritosh Srivastava | Rajdeepak Das | Amitesh Rao | Amaresh Godbole | Amit Misra | Kedar Teny | Santanu Sengupta| Surbhi Gupta | Supraja Srinivasan | Varun Shah | Sonal Verma | Diwaker Chandani | Rajiv Gopinath | MMA India | Pavanjit S Bedi |
Sunita Bangard | Somesh Surana |Rajiv Dubey | Joywin Fernandes | Prasanna Rai | Rahul Pansare | Deepali Agarwal | Ayesha Huda | Saakshi Verma Menon | Amitabh Pande | Vineet Sharma | Supriya Srinivasa |
Taranjeet Kaur

#BeyondReach #PublicisMedia #MediaEffectiveness #Attention
#MediaQuality #SMARTIESIndia2026