AdTech Today successfully hosted the third panel discussion of its premier event, “Future Forward: Digital 2025”, at the Taj Santacruz, focusing on the transformative topic, “Performance Marketing: Future Forward.” The panel brought together some of the most influential voices in media, marketing, and advertising, who collectively discussed how annual brand planning, retail media, and ROI models are reshaping the landscape of performance-driven campaigns.
Moderated by Nihal Nambiar, SVP – Strategic Solutions & Growth, iProspect, the panel featured distinguished voices from across the performance marketing spectrum. The discussion revolved around annual brand planning, retail media, user funnel journeys, cost-per-lead metrics, and the new expectations brands are placing on performance-led marketing.
Akansha Tiwari, Associate Director of Sales, Trackier, opened the conversation by reflecting on the changing dynamics of attribution and how marketers must respond to shorter decision windows.
“Things have changed rapidly in the last few years, especially when we talk of attribution windows—they have become shorter.”
Vishal Sharma, Deputy Vice President – Media Buying, LS Digital, provided a buying-side lens on client expectations.
“Clients look for an integrated approach, which makes life easier for everyone—from the client’s point of view and the agency’s too.”
Kriti Bhuie, Head – Performance Marketing & Growth, Traya, elaborated on how budgeting in performance marketing is an ongoing process.
“Annual budget planning is a dynamic plan—we do it for the year, but you have to revisit and see in a couple of months if you’re doing it right or wrong.”
Ankur Rathi, Head – DSP, Amazon Ads India, spoke about the rise of Retail Media 2.0 in today’s changing landscape.
“The focus has shifted from a narrow emphasis on search-driven e-commerce to a more holistic, full-funnel approach that leverages the wealth of first-party shopping and streaming signals to power impactful advertising solutions across advertiser goals.”
Keval Kothari, Vice President – Performance Media, Omnicom Media Group India, underlined the growing accountability of performance budgets.
“If the CFO is not looking at what’s the final incremental conversion coming from your budget, performance is not working.”
Bringing the session to a close, Nihal Nambiar captured the essence of modern digital marketing with a powerful reflection.
“The way the world is moving, especially in digital media—all performance is branding and all branding is performance.”
AdTech Today’s Future Forward: Digital 2025 continues to offer a front-row seat to the trends, tools, and talents shaping the future of advertising. The performance marketing panel stood out as a compelling look at how accountability, agility, and alignment are redefining what performance means in today’s digital-first landscape.
