Vineet Shah, General Manager – Digital (West) at Madison World, brings extensive experience in digital marketing and brand strategy, having closely worked with leading advertisers like Amazon Prime Video, Disney Studios, Marico, Asian Paints, Tata Housing, Reliance Retails and many more. With deep expertise in brand positioning, content marketing, and digital solutions, Vineet has shaped campaigns across diverse Brand & Media objectives covering optimizations across the full funnel. In this interview, he shares insights into his career, digital marketing evolution, and strategies for leveraging mobile ads, Connected TV, and gaming to drive impactful brand engagement.

 

Could you share the key milestones in your career that led you to consider digital marketing and brand strategy as your profession? 

I entered the digital landscape during its formative years, when it was still seen as a “good-to-have” channel. Today, digital has become indispensable, even surpassing traditional mediums in some target groups, thanks to its precision and scale.

The 2016 Jio revolution democratized affordable internet access, sparking rapid digital growth and transforming consumer behaviour. This shift accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, as lockdowns increased reliance on digital platforms for work, education, utility and entertainment, cementing India’s transition into a digitally-driven economy.

Three pivotal milestones marked my digital journey. The first came in the early 2010s when I shifted from digital operations to media strategy, earning the opportunity to work on state election campaigns. Spending close to 45 days in the war room of India’s largest political party, I learned the power of precision targeting, particularly in rural areas, and how to influence audiences through sequential communication. This experience taught me the importance of agility, adapting plans quickly to align with ground realities. We relied on social media, SMS, and OBD as key channels to achieve large-scale precision targeting effectively.

In the mid-2010s, while leading media planning for a real estate client, I witnessed digital’s transformative power by launching campaigns to sell homes online, solidifying digital’s potential across the funnel.

By the late 2010s, I helped elevate a superhero franchise to make it household fame within a year. By crafting a strong market forward strategy layered with cultural nuances and leveraging precise media choices, we expanded the franchise’s fanbase beyond metros to tier-2 cities, boosting its reach and appeal. This experience demonstrated digital’s scalability and its potential to become one of the most influential mediums for the future.

 

Given the current trend of omnichannel personalization, how do you ensure that mobile ads contribute to seamless experience across various user touchpoints?

“ Given the vast scale of mobile users in India and its growing reach in media-dark regions, mobile ads play a critical role in delivering a seamless omnichannel experience.”

This requires a strategic approach built on user-centricity, data integration, and contextual relevance as key pillars of personalization.

Unlike other mediums that customize communication broadly based on factors like city, time of day, or weather, mobile offers unparalleled granularity by tailoring messages to individual’s consumption patterns, purchase behaviour, affinities, or even location. A robust Customer Data Platform (CDP) is essential for scaling such personalization effectively. Brands should invest in CDPs to unify user data from multiple touchpoints, create a single customer view, and pair it with Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) to deliver consistent, real-time personalized visuals and messaging.

The more digital the user journey, the greater the scope for personalization. For instance, if a user browses a product on a desktop site, a mobile ad can intelligently nudge them to complete the journey with a discount, stock update or related product suggestions, enhancing engagement and driving conversions.

 

The festive season sees a surge in ad spends and mobile engagement. How do you tailor mobile advertising strategies to maximise their impact?

The festive season in India represents a critical period for advertisers, with heightened consumer intent and engagement, particularly on mobile devices. To maximize impact during this period, we recommend a checklist encompassing four proven strategies for advertisers and agencies to adopt as best practices:

1. Focus on Key Festive Moments
   Capitalize on the days leading up to major festivals like Diwali, Dussehra, and regional celebrations when purchase intent is at its peak. Analyze historical trends to identify high-performing shopping categories and strategically allocate budgets, bidding higher on audiences with a greater likelihood of conversion.
2. Leverage Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO)
   Use DCO technology to personalize creatives in real time based on user demographics, purchase history, and location. For example, deliver region-specific festive offers or greetings in vernacular languages to enhance relevance and engagement.
3. Retarget Festive-Ready Shoppers
   Festive seasons see users returning to their carts with a heightened shopping mindset. Tailor ads to highlight value-driven deals, discounts, and bundles, and employ robust remarketing strategies to re-engage users with their previously shortlisted products.
4. Refresh Creatives with Festive Themes
   During the festive season, ads showcasing themes of family bonding and festive celebrations tend to resonate more. Refresh creatives to amplify your messaging and establish a deeper emotional connection with the audience.

 

As programmatic advertising grows, how can mobile ads complement Connected TV campaigns to create a unified strategy?

“Connected TV (CTV) in India has grown significantly over the past 2-3 years, but its overlap with the digital audience remains limited to around 20%, mostly in metros and Tier 1 cities. While CTV can drive campaigns with adequate reach and frequency among premium target groups, its reach in Tier 2 and rural areas is niche, limiting its scalability for large-scale advertising.”

Programmatic advertising has simplified the integration of mobile and CTV campaigns, allowing brands to create cohesive strategies that enhance reach, personalization, and user engagement. In metros and Tier 1 markets, where CTV and mobile audience overlap is sizeable, brands can use sequential storytelling—CTV introduces a brand or product, while mobile ads reinforce the message with actionable prompts like discounts or links. We have observed that CTV delivers greater effectiveness compared to mobile, showing a stronger positive impact on brand metrics. Therefore, we recommend prioritizing CTV at sufficient levels of reach and frequency to build awareness, followed by mobile ads to drive actions and complete the user journey.

“To bridge the gap, QR codes on CTV ads can direct users to mobile, creating a seamless full-funnel experience.” 

However, QR code scans on CTV could be comparable to CTRs on mobile. Marketers can also explore new-age interactive ad formats on CTV, such as contextual carousels, catalogue carousels, and map locators, to enhance engagement. This integrated approach leverages the strengths of both platforms for storytelling and action. Campaigns can also be tailored based on user location, time of day, and weather, delivering region-specific promotions to maximize relevance.

 

With mobile gaming emerging as a key advertising space, what innovative approaches can brands adopt to maximize ROI in this dynamic market?

“ Gaming saw a significant surge during the lockdown, with time spent on mobile games reaching an all-time high. While post-pandemic usage has normalized, mobile gaming remains one of the most engaging activities in India, after video consumption and social media. ”

As gamers are deeply immersed in their experiences, traditional video ads or rewarded inventories have become less impactful. To leverage gaming for brand campaigns, we adopt a tactical approach, activating specific elements based on their strengths. Here are key recommendations for integrating brands into gaming:

In-Game Advertising
Incorporate ads directly into the gaming environment, such as billboards in racing games or branded items in adventure games, ensuring seamless integration with gameplay. Gamers frequently revisit their favourite games, so choosing the right games and setting up fixed-time deals can maximize visibility and create a natural connection.

Custom Mini-Games or Challenges
Develop bespoke mini-games or challenges aligned with your brand identity to create memorable, immersive experiences. For instance, a fitness brand might sponsor a level emphasizing agility or endurance. Alternatively, collaborate with game developers to embed your brand into the game’s storyline, such as featuring a mascot or integrating products.

Online Game Streaming
Game streaming is a growing phenomenon globally and in India. Advertisers can collaborate with streamers to integrate brands into live streams, with the gamer showcasing or using the product in a natural context, boosting engagement and trust.

When executed strategically, brands can tap into gaming innovatively, creating deep connections with a highly engaged audience.

Signing Off, In conclusion, this is a thrilling era for digital, with AI revolutionizing the landscape and unlocking endless possibilities. From generating real-time tailor-made creatives to leveraging AI-driven smart targeting signals for greater efficiency and effectiveness, the opportunities are vast. AI also enables highly personalized user journeys right down to the last mile, ultimately delivering significantly enhanced outcomes.