Saurabh Gupta

Media SaaS company Amagi’s IPO saw a sharp surge in interest on the final day of bidding (Jan 16) , ending with a 30.2X subscription. The IPO received bids for 82.4 Cr shares against 2.7 Cr shares on offer, marking a strong finish after relatively muted participation in the first two days.👇 Non-institutional investors (NIIs) led the demand, with their portion subscribed 37.4X. Within this, bids above INR 10 Lakh stood out, with the large HNI segment subscribed 43.2X. The INR 2-10 Lakh category was subscribed 25.7X. Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) also piled in on the last day, with their quota subscribed 33.8X. Foreign institutional investors accounted for the largest chunk of institutional demand, bidding for over 23.8 Cr shares, followed by domestic financial institutions and mutual funds. Mutual funds alone bid for 4.5 Cr shares, underscoring strong institutional confidence. Read the full article here- https://4-2.co/3NoRbkK #news #Inc42 #Media #SaaS #IPO #subscription #growth #Indianstartups #startupnews #expansion

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This is a major shift for the lending ecosystem. With Zavo launching its Settlement Marketplace, lenders and borrowers can finally negotiate settlements in real time, without the long operational chain that traditionally slows everything down. What makes this even more powerful is the AI layer behind it. Our models, trained on a user base of over 10 lakh profiles with 200+ behavioural and financial datapoints, help assess the most reasonable settlement amount a borrower can realistically pay. This brings unprecedented transparency to both sides and prevents arbitrary, one-sided settlement conversations. Faster recoveries, lower operational cost, and a more structured, data-driven approach to settlement - this is the direction the industry needed.

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Consumers are increasingly relying on relatable, localised creator content to guide tech purchases and understand products firsthand, highlighting the growing impact of authentic voices in India’s electronics market. The article also features perspectives from industry experts, including Aditya Babbar, Vice President, Product Marketing, MX Business, Samsung India; Saurabh S., Vice President, Amazon India; and Rajiv Makhani, Tech content creator and YouTuber, offering valuable insights into this evolving landscape

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In agencies across India, the focus on digital media feels off. The real power of digital lies in reaching large audiences where they spend most of their time, telling compelling stories with high-quality, engaging content and encouraging immediate actions like website visits or sharing with friends. This builds not just quick responses but strong brands that connect deeply with people. Instead, there’s an overwhelming focus on running 10 different ad variations, tracking data, cost-cutting, and quick tweaks. This mindset overlooks the crucial role of storytelling and brand building... two things that truly make advertising memorable and effective in the long run. Digital should be about meaningful connections, not just chasing numbers.

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‘India's digital advertising market is poised for significant growth, projecting an annual rate of 15% through 2029, reaching $17–$19 billion. This surge is fueled by increased digital consumption, mobile device usage, and the rise of OTT platforms. SMEs and D2C brands are contributing substantially, with AI playing a crucial role in targeting and campaign personalization.’

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Most D2C brands want the final purchase to happen on their website. Fair. But the real question is: Where did the customer decide to buy? Today, discovery and influence happen across multiple places — marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart, publisher content, reviews, and social platforms. By the time a customer reaches a brand’s website, the decision is often already made. The real battleground for D2C brands isn’t just checkout. It’s influence before the checkout. Are brands spending enough time understanding who influences the purchase before the customer lands on their website? #D2C #Ecommerce #DigitalCommerce #AffiliateMarketing #ContentCommerce #RetailMedia #CustomerJourney #DigitalMarketing #BrandStrategy

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3 Overhyped Digital Marketing Trends (And What Actually Matters for SMEs in India) Not every trending tactic deserves your time or budget. Here are 3 popular digital marketing “trends” that look exciting—but rarely deliver real business growth for small and medium businesses: ⿡ “Going Viral Will Fix Everything” Posting daily trending reels without a strategy. The truth: Virality without relevance brings views, not customers. What actually works is content that answers buyer questions clearly: - What problem do you solve? - Who is it for? - Why should someone choose you? Consistency + clarity beats random virality every time. ⿢ Big Influencer Collaborations for Small Brands Spending large budgets on one celebrity post. The truth: For SMEs, micro & niche creators perform better: - Higher trust - Better engagement - Lower cost - Strong local relevance 10 small creators in your niche > 1 big influencer with a generic audience. ⿣ Fancy AI & Automation Without Strong Basics Using chatbots, CRMs, and automation tools without having: 1. A proper website 2. A strong Google Business profile 3. A clear sales process The truth: Before automation, focus on fundamentals: - Google visibility - Clear WhatsApp CTA - Simple lead capture - Manual follow-ups done consistently Technology only scales what already works—it doesn’t fix confusion. ✅ What Actually Drives Growth for Indian SMEs 1. Clear niche & positioning 2. Strong local presence (Google reviews, Maps, WhatsApp) 3. Simple, consistent educational content 4. A tracked funnel: Enquiry → Follow-up → Conversion → Repeat Customer 💬 Let’s Talk: Which marketing “trend” did you try that gave almost zero ROI? Drop your experience in the comments—your story might save someone’s budget 👇 #digitalmarketing #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #leadgeneration #performancemarketing #marketingstrategy #Digicley

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Omnicom Advertising India has appointed Jitender Dabas ( Jeetu ) as CEO of BBDO Group India, marking a significant leadership addition amid organizational restructuring following the global Omnicom-IPG merger. Also Read: https://lnkd.in/gBcNJiZg #OmnicomAdvertisingIndia #BBDOGroupIndia #CEOAppointment #LeadershipUpdate

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Some brands chase trends. Others build movements. Had a blast speaking with Abhinav Sharma from Ultraviolette Automotive — a marketer who’s not just selling electric vehicles, but reimagining what belief in a new category looks like. We spoke about risk, design, and the kind of storytelling that doesn’t shout — it endures. 🎥 Watch here: https://lnkd.in/g6CmPBHe #HTBrandLeadershipSeries #EVRevolution #BrandBelief #MarketingWithPurpose

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Reels trained audiences to consume vertically. VMDs ( Vertical Micro Dramas) are now monetising that behavior at scale. India’s #VMD boom is being misunderstood. Most people think this is a “short content” trend. It’s not. It’s the industrialization of attention. The companies that win in Vertical #Microdramas won’t necessarily have the best stories. They’ll have the best systems: -fastest production -strongest retention loops -data-backed storytelling -scalable content pipelines The real shift isn’t creative. It’s behavioural + operational. https://lnkd.in/gPPvkCVN

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The most meaningful partnerships are the ones built on shared thinking. I’m pleased to announce that Brand Aura has entered into a strategic alliance with Nvirse | Marketing Execution Intelligence Platform, becoming its official marketing partner in India. What stood out to me about Nvirse from the beginning is the clarity of its mission. Marketing today is complex, fragmented, and often disconnected from real outcomes. Nvirse is addressing this challenge by helping organizations bring strategy, execution, and performance insights together within one intelligent system - enabling marketing teams to make decisions that are structured, measurable, and aligned with business impact. This partnership is not just about collaboration between two organizations. It reflects a shared belief that marketing should operate as a system, not a set of disconnected activities. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with Neel Bhide (CEO, Nvirse) and Vivek Bhide (Strategic Advisor) across several initiatives. Their approach to building with both discipline and long-term purpose strongly resonates with how we think at Brand Aura. This alliance also carries a special significance for us. Sudanti Sapru, who is leading the Brand Aura team working on Nvirse, has played an important role in shaping and supporting the journey of the platform. Her strategic thinking and commitment have been central to how we’ve approached this collaboration. Through this partnership, Brand Aura will support organizations in India in implementing and operationalizing the Nvirse platform, helping marketing teams align strategy with execution and build performance-driven marketing frameworks. Because the future of marketing belongs to teams that can combine clarity, systems, and measurable outcomes. Looking forward to the journey ahead. #BrandAura #Nvirse #StrategicAlliance #MarketingIntelligence

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💡 Is India Skipping the SVOD Maturity Curve? IAB’s 2025 Video Ad Spend Report confirms what we see daily in India: digital video is eating the TV/video budget — and AVOD-first markets like ours are rewriting the playbook. In India: AVOD still dominates — YouTube + free OTT + regional platforms win on reach. Hybrid models risk alienating subscribers if ad loads & targeting don’t improve. CTV growth is accelerating, but mass adoption depends on smart, affordable, data-driven buying. GenAI in creative will soon be standard, lowering production barriers for smaller brands. Advertisers are shifting from impressions to business outcomes — store visits, sales lift, ROAS. My question to the industry: 👉 Will India leapfrog into CTV + data-led retail media as the dominant video monetization model? Or will subscription-driven premium content finally find its scale here? Download IAB report here: https://lnkd.in/d-zYnzzm

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This POV has been covered by Shantanu David for exchange4media on a topic much discussed between agencies and respective brands they manage !! YouTube and #CTV in India: Complementary or Competitive? https://lnkd.in/gaCaU5gU In the past few weeks, Shantanu has closely observed and discussed about two of Indian advertising’s most prominent screen-based battlegrounds with some digital leaders. One, the rise of Connected TV as a brand-safe, precision-targetable haven blending digital’s control with television’s attention. The other, YouTube dominance and its surging revenues and growing dominance even on the biggest screen in the house. What emerges from both stories is a sharp tension in Indian video advertising strategy: as more consumers stream content across devices and more brands unlock budgets across screens, is this becoming a zero-sum game between YouTube and CTV platforms? Or are Indian advertisers learning to make both work in tandem? It's an interesting read for the digital planners and practitioners. It was a pleasure to contribute for this article alongside some of the leading digital practitioners in the industry. Karan Kumar | Hero Realty Private Limited Dev Batra | Lyxel&Flamingo (L&F) Kartik Mehta | Channel Factory Nisha Khatri | Libas Russhabh R Thakkar | Frodoh In my view "The CTV utilisation by the brands is largely driven by which level they are on digital maturity spectrum, audiences and objective theywant to cater to and budgets at hand alongside content they want to have presence, plays a very important role in deciding between 2 platforms" What is your view on the topic? Sajal Gupta | Santosh Ghosh | Sankalp Kaushik | Bhavya Khurana | Anandan Pillai | Shibu Shivanandan | Anil K Pandit | Anubhav Malhotra | Isha Sachdeva Utsav Juneja | Akshay Chaturvedi | Tarun Ummat | Tejinder Gill | Anil Shankar | Vikas Chawla | Prabhvir S. | Nikhil Kumar INNOCEAN India | VDO.AI | The Trade Desk | Teads | Samsung Ads | mediasmart #e4m #CTV #ConnectedTV #AdSpends #Adex #DigitalAdvertising #MediaStrategy #BrandSafety #AdvertisingTrends #DigitalMarketing #OTT #streaming #Videoadvertising #YoutubeAdvertising

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IPL 2026 is a turning point for mobile advertising — not because mobile needs validation, but because expectations from mobile have fundamentally changed. Full article: https://lnkd.in/giWggFzE As Nitin Sabharwal rightly says: “Volume alone can’t unlock budgets anymore. Brands want predictable scale and proof that mobile exposure during live matches can drive action.” For years, mobile promised scale — but scale without predictability, measurement, and actionability is just shooting arrows in the dark. Why this matters now - Mobile is the action screen — shoppable ads, WhatsApp CTAs, moment‑triggered formats are finally maturing. - Minimal overlap with TV/CTV — mobile isn’t an extension of TV; it stands on its own. - Post‑fantasy gaming era lessons remain — high‑engagement, moment‑based demand now fuels categories like Q‑commerce, FMCG, and e‑commerce. - Measurement will decide the winner and is the real unlock Nitin Sabharwal Kartik Seth Abhishek Sahni indixital Datability

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YES TO DOOH WITH The Brand Sigma (OOH Media Agency) Yes, Digital OOH (DOOH) is poised for significant growth in India, driven by factors like increased infrastructure development, technological advancements, and the adoption of programmatic buying. The DOOH market is shifting from a market with limited penetration to a more dominant force, with projections indicating it will capture a larger share of the total OOH revenue by 2028 and grow at a substantial CAGR. This growth is fueled by the demand for dynamic, targeted, and measurable campaigns that can integrate with online strategies and engage tech-savvy audiences, particularly in urban centers DOOH is not a future possibility but a current reality transforming the outdoor medium. A landmark study, ‘The Attention Dividend’, reveals premium large format Digital Out of Home (DOOH) attracts five times more attention than online digital formats. Overlaying this data with Lumen and Ebiquity’s ‘Maximising Profit Through Attention’ model reveals a strong correlation between attention gains and long-term profit when you combine premium large format DOOH with standard OOH for reach and frequency. To Sum Up, Everything brands need to be unmissable, in one place with The Brand Sigma (OOH Media Agency). The Brand Sigma (OOH Media Agency) connects marketers, media owners, and audiences like never before. Podhigai Ads - India The Brand Sigma (OOH Media Agency) Shoutout OOH (A unit of Podhigai Media Group) #TheBrandSigma #DOOH #OOH #PMG #Podhigaimediagroup #Podhigaiads #ShoutoutOOH

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