Mumbai, 16th September, 2024: AdTech Today has successfully wrapped the first edition of EMERGE 2024 – The Rise of Independent Agencies, a one-of-a-kind event designed to recognize and celebrate the innovative spirit of independent agencies within the advertising and marketing landscape. Adtech Today is a leading digital platform that delves into the dynamic worlds of media, advertising, marketing, and technology. It offers a global perspective through exclusive interviews, insightful guest contributions, and its own magazine, which highlights the most impactful trends and innovations shaping the industry today.
The event served as a platform for independent agencies to celebrate their creative and advertising excellence, forming an ecosystem to meet, and network with venture capitalists and brands, and establishing long-term partnerships.
Emerge 2024 was supported by Blis as the Session Partner, Explurger as the Support Partner MRSI as the Knowledge Partner and Treize Communications as the PR Partner. Setting the tone of the event was Mr. Srikanth Rayaprolu, CEO, Adtech Today. His keen eye for the future of the industry, and his long-term values for the company truly showcased his visionary to disrupt the saturated media market.
Taking the sessions forward was Mr. Nabajit Nath, Head of Sales – India, Blis. He shared his expert insights and lesser-known facts and statistics about Using Location Insights for Marketing Campaigns.
The panel on “India’s Media Boom: Independent Agencies, Economy, and Growth” featured Amit Singal (FluidVentures), Karun Arya (Get Vantage), Tamanna Gupta (Umanshi Marketing and Branding), Tufayl Merchant (HOWL Digital), and Avik Ashar (Artha Ventures), and was moderated by Amiya Swarup from EY. The discussion highlighted key insights from VCs and independent agency leaders, emphasizing the role independent agencies play in driving the media boom and supporting the SME ecosystem, with a focus on agility and brand adaptation. It also stressed the importance of shifting from vanity metrics to real growth metrics, balancing debt and equity, and the need for agencies to evolve as strategic partners, not just implementation partners, to meet the expectations of brands and investors.
After the panel, Ebu Issac, MRSI Representative and Lead – Media Effectiveness, Kantar, delivered a keynote on “Understanding the Indian Phygital Consumer: Confluence of Consumer Research, AI, and Analytics.” This was followed by Jwala Kumar, Head of Monetization and Business Partnerships at Explurger, who spoke on “EMERGE with Impact: Redefining Social Engagement Through Explurger’s Innovation.”
The panel on “The Future of Ads: Independent Agencies and Phygital Trends” featured experts from technology platforms, clients, and agencies, including Dev Batra (Lyxel&Flamingo), Tejas Chaudhari (Unilever), Kunal Joshi (Enormous), Amaresh Godbole (Publicis Groupe), Rahul Dutta (Microsoft), and Kaustubh Pawar (DSP Mutual). Key takeaways included the rising importance of integrating digital and physical experiences, with phygital here to stay, the full-funnel phygital and omnichannel strategies, and the advent of AR and MR in enhancing these experiences, emphasizing the need for businesses to plan for the phygital future.
The final panel on “Thriving Independently: Adapting to tech, media shifts and competing with Giants” was closely aligned with the event’s theme, and featured leaders from top independent agencies in India. Panelists included Ranjeet Kumar (Team Pumpkin), Ravikant Banka (Eggfirst Advertising), Nisha Singhania (Infectious Advertising), Harikrishnan Pillai (TheSmallBigIdea), Sowmya Iyer (DViO Digital), and Ahmed Aftab Naqvi (Gozoop), with Chirag Bhatia (Channel Factory) moderating the session. The discussion highlighted how being independent provides agencies with greater agility, flexibility, and speed, allowing them to leverage their strengths to foster a culture of innovation and gain a competitive edge both domestically and internationally.
The evening session unfolded into a grand celebration, spotlighting the remarkable achievements of independent agencies at the prestigious Emerge Awards 2024. The winners of the evening across various categories consisted of major independent agency names, including the likes of Buffalo Soldiers, DigiChefs, DViO Digital, and White Rivers Media. Emerge Awards not only celebrated the spirit of Independent Agencies, but also featured a special tribute to two legendary figures in advertising: Mr. Bipin Pandit, COO, The Advertising Club, and Mr. Josy Paul, CCO and Chairman, BBDO India.
In his signature style, Mr. Bipin Pandit shared a heartfelt shayari during his acceptance speech, leaving the audience inspired with his words of wisdom:
“Suraj se aankhein milao, sailabon par vaar karo,
Phoolon ka vyapaar karo, Khushboo ka vyaapar karo,
Nallaon ka chakkar chodho, Tair kar dariya paar karo”
Mr. Josy Paul, left a lasting impact on the audience with his remarks. He said, “When you think you have a weakness, actually it can be your strength. Mr. Katra, former Chief of Lintas gave me something that money can’t buy, something that very rarely anyone gives you – the freedom to fail.”
Treize Communications swept the Best Independent Agency – PR, while the Best Independent Agency was a tiebreaker between DViO Digital and White Rivers Media. The event ended on a high note with endless connections, inspiring conversations, and a shared vision for the future of advertising.
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