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Tag: Siddharth Dabhade

  • Siddharth Dabhade hangs up his boots at MIQ, joins Lemma

    Siddharth Dabhade hangs up his boots at MIQ, joins Lemma

    MUMBAI: After 24 years of navigating the competitive corridors of tech giants like IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Criteo, Siddharth Dabhade steps into the limelight with a new challenge.

    His journey from the boardrooms of global multinationals to the forefront of cutting-edge innovation now finds him driving Lemma’s vision of revolutionising the digital out-of-home (DOOH) landscape.

    As the newly appointed CBO, performance business at Lemma, Dabhade’s mission is clear: to take this omnichannel platform to unprecedented heights with its trailblazing, outcome-focused DOOH solutions.

    Can his wealth of expertise and transformative leadership redefine the boundaries of advertising?

    The stage is set for a new chapter in Lemma’s growth story.

    Dabhade brings over 24 years of leadership experience in the digital advertising and technology sectors. Before joining Lemma, Dabhade served as the MD at MIQ, where he successfully launched and scaled commercial operations across India and China. He has held key leadership roles at industry giants such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Criteo, amassing expertise in P&L management, strategic advisory, business development, and customer relationships.

    At Google, Dabhade led the travel business for India, and during his tenure at Criteo, he significantly contributed to the APAC leadership team, driving the company’s growth in the Indian market.

    Commenting on his new role, Dabhade said, “As Digital Out-Of-Home (DOOH) continues to grow, it is now at the heart of omnichannel journeys, offering brands unparalleled opportunities to connect with consumers across screens and digital spaces. I’m excited to be a part of Lemma’s vision to pioneer this shift and to lead the expansion of the new solution as a powerful tool for outcome-driven growth through outdoor media globally.”

    Lemma founder & CEO, Gulab Patil welcomed Dabhade’s appointment, stating, “Siddharth’s track record of driving growth in the digital adtech and programmatic space makes him an invaluable addition to our team. With this solution, we’re offering brands the next level of full-funnel performance driven by OOH, and Siddharth will be key in ensuring its success across markets. His leadership will be instrumental in capitalising on the massive opportunities that OOH now presents in not only shaping but also driving results through a full-funnel approach, from Outdoor to outcomes.”

    Under Dabhade’s leadership, Lemma aims to reinforce its mission to transform emerging media through programmatic adtech. The company is focused on offering brands a comprehensive outdoor-to-outcome solution, leveraging DOOH to drive measurable results. This strategic expansion signals a pivotal moment in Lemma’s journey, positioning it at the forefront of the $65 billion global OOH market.

  • IPL 2024 draws advertisers as CTV viewing trends soar

    IPL 2024 draws advertisers as CTV viewing trends soar

    Mumbai: Indian Premier League continues to assert its dominance not only on the field but also in the realm of advertising. As the 2024 season kicks off, IPL is once again proving to be a magnet for advertisers, especially as Connected TV (CTV) viewing trends soar to new heights.

    The tournament has consistently been a hotspot for advertisers looking to reach millions of passionate fans across the globe. However, the 2024 season brings a new dimension to advertising strategies with the surge in CTV viewership.

    Connected TV, which refers to the streaming of television content over the internet via smart TVs, streaming devices, or gaming consoles, has witnessed a remarkable uptick in recent years. This rise can be attributed to various factors, including the proliferation of high-speed internet, the emergence of streaming platforms, and the growing preference for on-demand and personalised content consumption.

    With more viewers opting for CTV platforms to watch their favorite sports events, advertisers are seizing the opportunity to connect with audiences in a more targeted and engaging manner. Unlike traditional television advertising, CTV allows for precise audience targeting based on demographics, interests, and viewing behavior, thereby maximizing the impact of ad campaigns.

    The shift towards CTV advertising is also reshaping the dynamics of ad spending in the sports industry. As advertisers allocate a larger portion of their budgets to digital channels, traditional media platforms are facing increased competition for ad dollars. This trend underscores the importance for sports leagues like the IPL to embrace digital innovation and adapt to changing consumer preferences to remain competitive in the advertising landscape.

    In response to the growing demand for CTV advertising opportunities, Indiantelevision reached out to industry experts where they explained how advertisers are adapting their strategies to target viewers on connected TV platforms during IPL 2024 and the factors that are driving the surge in connected TV viewership for IPL and capitalising on this trend.

    Edited excerpts

    mediasmart chief growth officer Nikhil Kumar

    Cricket enjoys a reverential status in India and advertising dollars are where users are. The surge in CTV viewership for IPL in both metros and satellite towns has been driven by factors like increasing internet penetration along with high speed data, availability of Smart TVs at a competitive price point, and the availability of streaming platforms. Additionally, with the broadcasting rights split between two epicenters – JioCinema on digital and Star Sports on offline mediums, there’s a wider audience available for advertisers. Advertisers are capitalizing on this trend by targeting ads specifically for the CTV audience, leveraging advanced targeting capabilities, and creating interactive and engaging ad formats to capture viewers’ attention effectively. Additionally, advertisers also can prioritize time-based and location-based user segmentation to target audiences beyond CTV. As organic searches for cricket matches go up, fans celebrate live viewing together in restaurants, or app-based activity for fantasy apps also increase, it’s a great opportunity to connect these users across screens to have a lasting brand impact in the high-adrenaline cricketing season!

    In addition to this, it’s important to shift the focus from where the ad is being shown to who the ad is being shown to. That means finding the right audience and right channels of measurement, combined with the power of compelling creatives. For IPL, advertisers have the opportunity to leverage several attractive formats on CTV to achieve higher levels of brand engagement and recognition. Interactive ads, for example, are highly attractive and can be either through creating an animated background where products and the main messages of the ad gain a dedicated spot, or through the progress bar sync format, where the product or service becomes a part of the video. Brands can also leverage Smart QR codes to create powerful redirections and boost action. By programmatically catering to viewers on CTV, advertisers can also prioritize unifying reach through technologies like Household Sync and drive action on app, DOOH, or in-stores. This can help to break from the clutter and target viewers to see incremental lift across various metrics such as message association, brand awareness, purchase intent, and sales.

    MiQ global commercial board member & managing director Siddharth Dabhade

    In the IPL season, advertisers must look beyond just one streaming platform to find their most relevant audiences and effectively engage with them. Advertising during IPL matches will get you a wide reach with a diverse range of engaged users that may or may not be your brand’s relevant audience.

    Some strategies we’ve seen brands deploy this IPL season are:

    Match moments-synced ads: the ads are activated in-sync with match moments or milestones, for example: after an bowler takes two wickets in an over or a batsman hits a half-century. These ads are served programmatically to create maximum impact & engagement.

    Retargeting viewers across devices: As the same Ads run in every inning during IPL matches, viewer attention shifts to other devices or platforms. In fact, MiQ’s Advanced TV research report from India found that 56% viewers often or almost always use a second screen while streaming or watching content on TV. By retargeting consumers who have already shown interest in your brand across any device and delivering tailored ads on CTV, you have the chance to make a lasting impression

    The biggest factor is the cost, as IPL is free to watch on TVs and mobile on the JioCinema app, which is driving up viewership numbers on Connected TVs and mobile devices.

    CTV advertising offers access to affluent audiences that are hard to reach on linear TV. During big-ticket events like IPL, advertisers want to boost brand awareness, reach, and recall among cricket fans and their target group of customers. CTV ads provide better media planning, targeting, activation, and measurability than linear TV ads.

    It’s no surprise that TV viewership is at its peak during tentpole sports events, and it’s attracting more and more advertisers. Programmatic CTV ad inventory for IPL is more cost efficient for advertisers.

  • MIS 2024: The power of personalisation: Strategies for creating a seamless customer experience

    MIS 2024: The power of personalisation: Strategies for creating a seamless customer experience

    Mumbai: The Media Investment Summit 2024 which is being held on 4 April at Novotel, Mumbai is a dynamic platform that aims to bring together minds from the brand, media, advertising, digital & TV fraternity to explore the ever-evolving landscape of content, Adtech, Martech, metaverse and Web 3.0, the evolution of traditional media planning and buying, data and privacy infringement and ROI on advertising.

    The day-long affair is to make sure to tantalise the thoughts of those looking for answers to myriad topics under the branding, advertising, TV, digital media planning, and buying roof.

    The session can provide valuable insights into the strategies, challenges, and future trends associated with creating a seamless customer experience through personalized marketing.

    The session of the event was chaired by Wavemaker India chief digital officer Sairam Ranganathan and consists of panellists including – Dr Reddy’s Laboratories India director head digital omnichannel & transformation Rupali Krishna Digrajkar, Shemaroo Entertainment COO, digital Saurabh Srivastava, MiQ MD and global board member Siddharth Dabhade, Criteo country head, India Medhavi Singh, Interactive Avenues VP, media, Priyanka Mohanty Nayudu.

    Here are the quotes from various industry experts on the power of personalisation: Strategies for creating a seamless customer experience:

    MiQ MD and global board member Siddharth Dabhade

    I think the evolution we’re witnessing involves a convergence of media and data, with companies worldwide, including those in India, consolidating functions like data science, marketing, and business priorities. Those who’ve successfully integrated these elements have outperformed because marketing can’t solely focus on one aspect; it must combine media and data. Many companies possess vast data, but it often remains fragmented. Thus, the challenge lies in consolidating this data to establish a unified consumer view. Additionally, families are accumulating more first-party data, which is crucial. Moreover, macro trends significantly influence consumer behaviour and brand perceptions. The ongoing challenge is integrating all these elements effectively. For instance, in a recent case study, we targeted consumers interested in inverter solutions while considering the macro trend of power outages driving inverter sales. It’s about merging data from various sources, deriving actionable insights, and ensuring data privacy. Another case study involves an auto player, where we analyzed dealership sales and inventory levels in real time to optimize marketing campaigns accordingly. personalisation should benefit both consumers and advertisers, enhancing relevance and efficiency.

    Shemaroo Entertainment COO, digital Saurabh Srivastava,

    One business I represent that’s highly relevant to this topic is Shemaroo, which operates a direct-to-consumer OTT business. Effective personalisation is crucial for us as it enhances consumer engagement and drives loyalty, ultimately impacting our business model, especially considering the high cost of acquiring consumers. When content is personalized based on data analysis, it sharpens our proposition and improves user engagement. For instance, our collaboration with Amazon Personalize has led to a significant shift in how users consume short-form video content, demonstrating the power of data-driven recommendations. This collaboration has become a noteworthy case study, indicating potential for further expansion beyond short-form content. Loyalty is paramount for every brand, as retaining consumers is key to maximizing lifetime value. Additionally, the OTT market in India is poised to double, creating opportunities for both global and local players. However, achieving this growth requires significant efforts in storytelling, data utilization, technology, and personalisation to meet the diverse needs of consumers. Ultimately, the collective integration of these elements will contribute to the expansion of the market, albeit with considerable effort.

    Dr Reddy’s Laboratories India director head of digital omnichannel & transformation Rupali Krishna Digrajkar

    We’re currently in the data-driven era where across various industries like pharma, media, entertainment, and telecom, customers demand both convenience and quality interactions with brands. This emphasis on convenience and expectation highlights the importance of personalisation. At Dr. Reddy’s, we engage with two main segments: B2B/B2B2C customers, such as doctors who then convey information to patients, and the over-the-counter (OTC) segment for direct consumer products. personalisation relies heavily on understanding data and deriving insights from it. Defining customer personas and understanding their needs, triggers, and barriers are essential for delivering targeted experiences to micro-segments. In our case, since we interact with diverse sets of doctors within specialities, influencing their perceptions about our products is key to driving prescriptions. This requires continuous relationship-building and content-based marketing to engage doctors effectively. While the theory is clear, executing personalisation at scale is complex and requires expertise in various elements such as data analytics and customer data management. Dr. Reddy’s is actively involved in orchestrating numerous initiatives due to the breadth of our business, which includes 74 brands. Personalisation efforts extend to content production, which must be customized and distributed modularly across different formats and geographies. Visualization plays a critical role in data-driven decision-making, and defining use cases and selecting the right toolbox are crucial aspects of implementing personalisation effectively.

    Criteo country head, India Medhavi Singh

    In today’s landscape, personalisation isn’t just about attracting more customers and boosting conversion rates. It’s also about fostering long-term customer relationships and maximizing lifetime value. Some may think personalisation is about individualising every interaction, but it’s crucial to understand that true personalisation occurs at scale. This necessitates investing in the right technologies to enable widespread personalisation efforts across various verticals. For instance, consider streaming platforms that recommend content based on users’ viewing history; this is made possible by their vast user bases. Similarly, at our company, leveraging our extensive data—over 720 million videos and 5 billion products—enables us to achieve personalisation at scale. Across the user journey, from acquisition to engagement, personalisation plays a pivotal role. For example, in collaboration with Clinique, we targeted audiences with high purchasing power, tailoring our approach to appeal to premium and luxury segments. Likewise, in the gaming vertical, we personalize ads to encourage user conversion. Personalisation extends to minute details, such as tailoring ad formats based on user preferences—be it single-window or scroll-based views. Moreover, real-time adaptation is crucial; algorithms must dynamically adjust based on user behaviour shifts, ensuring a personalized experience at every touchpoint. Therefore, creating personalised experiences at scale is paramount in today’s context.

    Interactive Avenues VP, media, Priyanka Mohanty Nayudu

    From initially attracting consumers to actively engaging with them and ultimately retaining their loyalty, personalisation plays a pivotal role throughout the entire journey. Take Spotify, for example, one of our brands during its launch in India. Globally recognised for its personalized approach, Spotify’s DNA is infused with personalisation. Therefore, our launch strategy had to emphasize personalisation from the outset, incorporating the “person, place, moment” framework along with extensive data analysis to understand our target audience’s preferences. This journey encompasses capturing audiences through media campaigns, acquiring them, engaging them with content recommendations tailored to their tastes, and retaining them by continually adapting to their usage patterns. Remarkably, leveraging personalisation has led to a significant increase in streams—up to 30 to 40 per cent more compared to regular usage. This underscores the critical role personalisation plays throughout the consumer journey.

  • MiQ unveils global report on advanced TV advertising

    MiQ unveils global report on advanced TV advertising

    Mumbai: MiQ, the world’s largest independent programmatic media partner for brands and agencies, unveiled its global Advanced TV research report, which surveyed 7,000 consumers and 1,100 decision-makers from brands and agencies across eight countries, including India, the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, China, and Singapore.

    The report reveals that TV viewing habits have become more fragmented globally, with average daily watch time across linear TV and OTT being 2 hours and 53 minutes, and watch time on streaming platforms surpassing linear TV by 22 per cent. Cord trimmers (those who watch OTT and linear), cord cutters (a little linear, mainly OTT), and cord nevers (OTT-only) outnumber those who only watch linear TV three-to-one globally.

    The report highlights the following trends in global TV consumption:

    ●    Consumers subscribe to three streaming services on average
    ●    10 per cent of viewers jump from subscription to subscription based on what they’re watching
    ●    93 per cent of consumers are re-evaluating their subscriptions, and 33 per cent of those are looking at ad-supported platforms.

    With a clear shift towards streaming, marketers need to include connected TV as a key pillar of their advertising strategy. The report also points out that consumers aren’t giving their full attention to just one screen; in fact, 45 per cent of viewers often (or almost always) use a second screen while streaming videos or watching content on TV.

    Viewership insights from India reveal that:

    ●    Attention is split – 56 per cent of consumers use a second screen frequently when streaming videos or watching TV
    ●    Price is more important to consumers than content – 42 per cent of consumers claim that cost is a bigger consideration on streaming platforms than content.
    ●    Ad tolerance is high – 37 per cent of viewers would consider a cheaper ad-supported streaming (AVOD) platform

    Brands and media agencies are optimistic about increasing ad spends on Connected TV with:

    ●    59 per cent of Indian brands and agencies anticipate a rise in their CTV marketing spend over the next 12 to 24 months
    ●    74 per cent of CTV advertisers measure the success of their campaigns through reach/frequency towards the intended target audience

    Commenting on the global report, MiQ global commercial board member and managing director Siddharth Dabhade said, “Consumer and advertiser insights from our report indicate that connected TV advertising is poised for robust growth in India. With the highest ad engagement rate in the world, CTV advertising presents a huge opportunity for brands to make an impact on the biggest screen in the household by taking a data-driven approach to TV planning and activation. Trends like cord-cutting and second-screening are on the rise, which implies that advertisers need to focus on mobile retargeting and competitive conquesting to supplement their CTV strategy.”

    According to the report, only 15 per cent of the respondents who have executed CTV ad campaigns consider themselves a CTV ‘expert’ owing to the cost and creative challenges advertisers face when planning and executing a CTV campaign.

    To gain more insights on CTV advertising in India download the report: https://marketing.wearemiq.com/advanced-tv-report

  • MiQ launches sustainable advertising solution to reduce the carbon footprints of digital ads

    MiQ launches sustainable advertising solution to reduce the carbon footprints of digital ads

    Mumbai: As companies target ways to minimize their carbon footprints and achieve their climate commitments, global programmatic advertising technology company MiQ has launched its sustainable advertising solution in India, powered by partnerships with Scope3 and SeenThis.

    Digital advertising is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has been overlooked as a source of significant carbon emissions across its supply chain; however, it relies on millions of servers to host and power ad serving, real-time bidding, data processing, machine learning, and a myriad of related functions. According to Scope3’s Q2 2023 State of Sustainable Advertising report, digital display and streaming ads produce 7.2 million metric tons of emissions every year. Broken out by channel, display advertising accounts for just over half—3.8 million metric tons—and streaming contributes 3.4 million metric tons to the global number.

    MiQ has built an industry-leading sustainable ads suite to help clients reduce the carbon footprint of their campaigns without sacrificing performance by combining the right insights, tech, creative, and supply strategies. MiQ’s granular data from customer campaigns identifies exactly where and when ads run online and is paired with Scope3’s accurate, comprehensive, and independent emissions modelling data for clients to provide MiQ’s proprietary Green Score, helping clients effectively assess, reduce, and offset their carbon emissions.

    MiQ’s commercial board member and managing director, Siddharth Dabhade said, “By giving marketers comprehensive insights to measure and reduce the carbon impact of their digital campaigns, developing climate-smarter ad creatives, and optimizing the programmatic supply path, we have developed a formidable sustainable advertising solution that would empower climate-conscious brands, agencies and media practitioners to make sustainable media buying choices. More importantly, it enables us to start change-making conversations with brands and media agencies about digital ads that are good for consumers, good for communities, and good for our planet.”

    To make digital ads more sustainable, MiQ has partnered with SeenThis, an adaptive streaming technology provider that delivers high-quality programmatic creatives with less data waste. These ads stream in bite-sized pieces when in view, ensuring that data is transferred only when actively consumed by users and is otherwise paused. For MiQ and its clients, this reduces data waste by an average of 25%, as well as associated carbon emissions, all related to excessive buffering and offscreen loading. It also eliminates reliance on publisher bandwidth to download files and improves the overall user experience for static images, video, and other display formats.

    Paired with MiQ’s agnostic, multi-DSP optimization tactics and advanced programmatic activation strategies, MiQ and SeenThis have already achieved greener and more performant results for over 100 campaigns to date, including for major fashion houses, tourism brands, and next-gen gaming companies.

  • Havas Media Network India partners with MiQ to drive innovative CTV

    Havas Media Network India partners with MiQ to drive innovative CTV

    Mumbai: Committed to leading innovative solutions, Havas Media Network India (HMNI) conceptualised and executed an integrated launch campaign for JBL, an industry leader in audio technology, for their premium soundbar, JBL Bar 1300. JBL’s aim was to connect with tech-savvy consumers during the festive season, for which it entrusted Havas Media Network India (HMNI) and MiQ to deploy a cutting-edge Connected TV (CTV) campaign across major OTT platforms and live TV channels.

    An innovative cross-device retargeting strategy was implemented for a premium product, meticulously constructing audience targeting cohorts based on JBL’s top geo-markets. By engaging viewers who viewed JBL’s CTV ads on their Meta platforms, the strategy ensured that these potential customers were seamlessly engaged with relevant ads across their devices. This retargeting approach resulted in increased brand visibility and enhanced lead generation. As a result, JBL successfully captured the attention of its target audience and elevated its brand presence by leveraging data lake capabilities to create precise audience profiles that were interested in high-end speakers. The campaign not only contributed to upper-funnel metrics in terms of VTR but through meta-retargeting, also contributed to mid-funnel / lower-funnel metrics.

    The collaborated efforts exemplify the potential of combining innovative technology, strategic planning, and a customer-centric approach.

    This audience-targeted methodology enabled JBL to achieve a remarkable 15% increase in brand awareness with a high-impact CTV campaign and an innovative cross-device retargeting strategy to engage affluent CTV audiences on social media.

    The brand lift study analysing the uplift in brand awareness and ad recall among viewers from the campaign showed:

    1.   The CTV campaign had a 1.2x View Through Rate

    2.   2.53x Click Through Rate

    Harman India head of digital marketing, lifestyle consumer audio Akhil Sethi said, “As marketers, innovative campaigns as such enable us to significantly stay ahead of the curve. It is reported that CTV in India will reach 80 million households by 2025. This evidently shows the immense growth potential of CTV advertising in India. This innovative first-of-its-kind campaign in India by Havas Media India and MiQ has shown great results for the JBL brand. Through this campaign, we have achieved 15 percent increase in brand awareness on CTV and through an innovative cross-device retargeting strategy we also successfully managed to engage an affluent CTV audience on social media.

    The expertise of Havas Media coupled with MiQ’s data-led capabilities has effectively helped us target precise audience profiles, thereby enhancing our brand awareness and uplift in purchase intent. The quantifiable results that this campaign has helped us achieve is proof of the value proposition that CTV advertising holds. We are delighted with the results and can’t wait to again explore this exciting space in the near future.”

    Talking about campaign, Havas Media India managing partner digital Rohan Chincholi said “Our team at Havas Media India is committed to providing meaningful and innovative solutions to our clients. With over 20 million CTV households and a wide range of video content, India is one of the world’s fastest-growing advertising markets. CTV ads are known to create significant brand impact, helping boost awareness, favorability and uplift in purchase intent. This triumphant partnership underscores the importance of innovation in navigating the dynamic business environment, reinforcing the potential for future successes driven by shared expertise and strategic vision. This integrated campaign has not only propelled JBL’s premium sound bar into the spotlight but also solidified our reputation as forerunners in the world of connected marketing.”

    “We are thrilled with the outcome of our collaboration with Havas Media India and JBL,” said MiQ global commercial board member Siddharth Dabhade. “Our unique CTV solution and data lake capabilities enabled us to deliver a highly targeted and impactful campaign for JBL. The results speak for themselves, with a remarkable 15 percent increase in brand awareness. This success has reinforced the value of data-driven, connected marketing in driving exceptional business outcomes.”

  • MiQ appoints Rohit Monga as the head of product and partnerships for India

    MiQ appoints Rohit Monga as the head of product and partnerships for India

    Mumbai: MiQ, a global advertising technology company, has appointed Rohit Monga as the head of product, partnerships, and marketing in India. He will be responsible for expanding MiQ’s commercial business and build partnerships in India. With more than 10 years of industry experience, Monga brings an extensive understanding of advertising products and services with a global market exposure.

    Monga comes with a demonstrated history of working with the new age business and internet industry and has a deep understanding of multiple business formats in digital commerce including retail media. Monga has built successful go-to-market and sustainable businesses strategies across technology and digital businesses. In his last role, Monga headed the sales team at Criteo, where he led the new business acquisition for the India market.

    In the past, he has worked with brands like Oracle and EY and closely engaged with founders and entrepreneurs to build strategies aligned with the company’s growth plans, focusing on short- and long-term goals, and boosting the product portfolio and partnerships for the brand.

    Commenting on the appointment, MiQ global commercial board member and managing director Siddharth Dabhade said, “India is a key growth market for MiQ, and we are focused on bringing exceptional talent to our team to bolster our solutions, strengthen our partnerships, and deliver data-driven programmatic advertising solutions to brands and digital media agencies. Rohit has the right balance of technology and media acumen. I welcome Rohit to our India team and look forward to partnering with him in our growth journey ahead.”

    Monga said “I am excited to join MiQ to shape the future of programmatic advertising in India. In a fast-evolving digital marketing landscape, we bring our technology and data analytics expertise to drive results for our clients. My focus will be on building solutions for India and engaging with new clients and partners to drive our business goals. I look forward to building strong relations further strengthening the brand’s upcoming retail expansion.”

    Monga has a bachelor’s degree in engineering in information technology from Rajasthan University and has won various accolades. Monga is an industry thought leader who has spoken at several AdTech conferences and events.

  • “MiQ’s secret sauce is our partner-agnostic, tech-enabled and people-powered approach to programmatic:” MIQ’s Siddharth Dabhade

    “MiQ’s secret sauce is our partner-agnostic, tech-enabled and people-powered approach to programmatic:” MIQ’s Siddharth Dabhade

    Mumbai:  Today we are seeing the rise in programmatic advertising and MiQ  (www.wearemiq.com) is a programmatic partner for marketers and agencies combining industry knowledge with technology and data analytics to offer better-connected marketing solutions for over 1,100+ clients globally. We are experts in data science, analytics, and programmatic trading, and are always ready to solve challenges quickly and ensure our clients always spend their media investments on the right things in the right places. They’re present in 22 cities across 9 countries, with over 1,000 people. The company has a Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, with a global technology, analytics, and innovation base, where it develops cutting-edge programmatic advertising products for India and the rest of the world.

    Siddharth Dhabhade is a luminary of the technology and internet industry with over 21 years of experience across management, business development, digital marketing, key customer relationship management and business advisory roles with global technology giants.

    As managing director, Dhabhade is responsible for the growth of MiQ’s programmatic and analytics solutions, relationships with brand and media agencies, revenue growth and P&L management and strengthening the company’s leadership position across India, China and SAARC countries. He is also a part of the global operational board and helps drive the global strategy and operations for MiQ.

    Prior to joining MiQ, Dhabhade held a variety of technology, business development and management roles with industry giants such as Google, Microsoft and IBM, with his most recent position leading the Indian business of global retail technology and advertising leader, Criteo. At Google, he scaled the business 11x, and at Criteo he made India region as the fastest-growing region for Criteo worldwide with innovations in mobile/apps solutions.

    Indiantelevision .com in conversation with MiQ (India China and SAARC) managing director Siddharth Dabhade on the growth of MiQ from a start-up to a Unicorn, on data privacy, use of AI, MiQ innovation in data science, programmatic talent and much more…….

    Edited excerpts

    On the journey of MiQ

    Our growth story has been extraordinary; we have grown from a few hundred to over 1,000 individuals globally. We’ve had stupendous growth in the UK, US, and Canada markets, and we are expanding in emerging markets including India, China, APAC, and MEA to chart out our next wave of growth. India is a key market for us globally, and we continue to invest in adding more agencies, clients, partners, and talent to our India portfolio.

    MiQ has been present in India with our Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bangalore since 2012, and it has been an integral part of our global operations, serving as a hub for technology, data science, analytics, and innovations. We launched the India commercial business during the pandemic in 2020, but over the past couple of years, we have grown nearly 10 times more than the industry average. We’ve always been focused on growing profitably, and today we work with over 300 brands and almost every digital media agency in India.

    On the funding front

    Our founders, Lee Puri and Gurman Hundal, initially bootstrapped to grow in the UK and Europe but MiQ was first funded by ECI back in 2017, and that was our first foray into private equity. It was beneficial to us on a strategic level. We’re really proud to share that in ECI’s 40-year history, they have made the best ever return with us, making nearly 6.1x return on their initial investment.

    Last year, we partnered with private equity firm Bridgepoint to fuel our long-term growth strategy to deliver the next phase of programmatic media solutions, with a focus on continued international expansion and client growth.

    On advertising unfolding globally and in India

    Data privacy is the foundation on which future-proofed, privacy-centric advertising solutions are being built. Globally, the entire AdTech and Digital marketing ecosystem is gearing up for a cookieless world. This means advertisers and marketers are investing in technology that will help them identify, target, and measure without using third-party cookies. Brands are investing to bolster their first-party data, and enrich it with second- & third-party data to succeed in their marketing and advertising campaigns.

    Cookieless measurement is one of the most challenging aspects facing advertisers as we move toward a privacy-forward future, as the AdTech industry is heavily fragmented – consider all of the media channels, formats, ad exchanges, ad servers, demand vs. supply-side platforms, and the different data, measurement, and analytics available within walled gardens versus on the open web.

    Virtually all channel marketers utilize today will be impacted by the deprecation of cookies, including measurement data. Household reach, IP-based conversions, footfall, incremental lift, ROAS and CPA all currently rely on cookie-based attribution for measurement of the interlocking key between channels.

    Technology companies will embed AI into their products and solutions, which will have a transformative impact on personalization, media planning, unlocking consumer insights, campaign optimization, and measurement. We’ve been using AI, and data science algorithms to programmatically do things differently than our competitors.

    On that secret sauce that makes MIQ stand out in terms of technology, data science and programmatic talent

    MiQ’s secret sauce is our partner-agnostic, tech-enabled and people-powered approach to programmatic. In India, we have a team of over 400 data scientists, analysts, technologists, and programmatic traders, which gives us a winning edge in doing programmatic differently.

    .   Custom Analytics Solutions: MiQ offers bespoke data analytics solutions that go beyond traditional media campaign analytics. We leverage our expertise in data analysis to help businesses address major challenges such as reducing breakage and churn, identifying high-converting customers, and solving supply chain issues. This ability to apply analytics to various business aspects sets us apart by providing valuable insights and driving better performance.

    .   Data Science Expertise: At MiQ, we have a team of skilled data scientists who possess a deep understanding of data analysis, modeling, and statistical techniques. These experts are proficient in extracting meaningful insights from complex data sets, enabling them to provide valuable recommendations before the campaign begins and drive data-driven strategies to achieve campaign goals.

    .    Programmatic Trading Capabilities: MiQ has a pool of programmatic talent comprising expert traders and professionals well-versed in the programmatic advertising ecosystem. Our programmatic trading team understands the intricacies of media buying and optimization, ensuring efficient and effective campaign execution.

    .    Partnerships and Collaborations: MiQ has established strong partnerships and collaborations with data providers, technology platforms, and industry experts. Our strategic alliances allow us to access diverse data sources, cutting-edge tools, and specialized knowledge, enhancing our capabilities and enabling us to provide comprehensive solutions to clients.

    By combining our custom analytics solutions, advanced technology, data science expertise, programmatic trading capabilities, and valuable partnerships, we offer a unique combination that sets us apart in the realm of technology, data science, and programmatic talent. This comprehensive approach allows us to deliver impactful insights, optimize performance, and drive business outcomes for our clients.

    On India today making a name for itself in the global arena for its creative work

    With a large talent pool of tech, digital and creative professionals, India has the potential to become a global hub for digital and programmatic advertising akin to IT and technology services. Most global organizations (including MiQ) have their centre of excellence, captive and capability centres in India as it offers them significant advantages in terms of skills, costs and infrastructure. I personally believe that with investments in upskilling, digital infrastructure, new technologies and industry collaboration, India will become a digital advertising hub for the world over the next few years.

    On concepts such as connected television, cookie-free and sustainable advertising, data clean rooms evolving in the startup ecosystem

    In the advertising ecosystem, challenges and trends catalyze the creation of new solutions and channels. Take the connected TV ecosystem for example, which has evolved into the new fastest-growing advertising channel and has the potential to uproot the dominance of linear TV by bringing digital-like capabilities to TV advertising. MiQ’s breadth of industry-leading programmatic TV solutions enables brands to unlock incremental reach with campaigns that marry first-party linear TV data with over-the-top streaming content, a full range of devices across manufacturers, and contextual and behavioural audience analytics to give brands scale.

    With increasing concerns over data privacy and most web browsers phasing out third-party cookies, cookieless solutions are gaining popularity and more data will live inside clean rooms – a platform where advertisers and agencies can perform analysis and data science on any dataset in an aggregated way (meaning, at a group level rather than data that can be linked to specific individuals), and without moving it out of the platform.

    MiQ is also bringing the sustainable advertising solution to India, through its partnership with Scope3 and Seen This. This is the first such offering in India.

    While there are many point solutions in this space, the programmatic ecosystem is very fragmented and requires a specialist like MiQ which can help brands connect the dots between technology, partnerships and people.

    On CTV or digital advertising is the go-to medium for brands today

    With a boom in CTV/OTT platforms, FAST channels, Smart TV manufacturers and ISPs jumping into the CTV advertising space, the complexity of this platform is increasing. Advertisers have many options to buy, activate and measure their campaigns but an integrated, data-driven approach is often missing. To make media buying on platforms like CTV or digital advertising more transparent, MiQ employs various approaches and tools. These include:

    .    Authorized Digiadvertising,, or ads.txt is an IAB Tech Lab initiative that helps ensure that your digital ad inventory is only sold through sellers (such as AdSense) whom you’ve identified as authorized.

    .    Our campaign manager tool is available to all clients to ensure transparency of inventory

    .    Third-party brand safety – IAS (pre-bind and post-bid)

    .   Supply path optimization

    .    Fraud detection through internal algorithms

    On sustainability today as many brands have climbed on the sustainability bandwagon

    If the internet was a country, it would be the third largest polluter in the world – after the US and China. MiQ aims to be a game changer in the field of sustainability by offering carbon footprint measurements of brands’ digital campaigns. We recognize the significant environmental impact of online activities, and by combining data partnerships, technology, and programmatic approaches, we can help brands reduce their carbon footprint without compromising performance.

    To achieve this, MiQ has set off on a mission to understand how to minimize carbon emissions associated with programmatic advertising. We have developed a tool called the “Green Score” that allows brands and their agencies to assess the environmental impact of their programmatic advertising campaigns. The Green Score provides insights into campaign emissions compared to industry and vertical benchmarks. By analyzing the Green Score, brands can gain a better understanding of their environmental impact and build more sustainable campaigns.

    MiQ’s approach involves standardizing measurement and providing benchmarks to help brands improve their sustainability efforts. By measuring the carbon emissions resulting from various actions in programmatic advertising, such as running devices, connecting data, and powering servers, MiQ enables brands to identify areas where emissions can be reduced. By implementing sustainable practices based on the insights provided by the Green Score, brands can effectively reduce their carbon footprint.

    The way we use the Green Score Report is simple so that every advertiser can benefit from adding this to their campaigns risk-free, with no impact on performance. We use it to:

    .    Inform tactical day zero planning (before your campaign goes live);

    .    Adapt mid-flight media mixes; and

    .    Dynamically optimize to greener supply using the Green Score as a secondary KPI

  • MiQ partners with Samsung Ads to reach Samsung Connected TVs

    MiQ partners with Samsung Ads to reach Samsung Connected TVs

    Mumbai: Programmatic partner MiQ has announced a partnership with Samsung Ads DSP (demand-side platform) to bolster the reach of its solutions and video campaigns across Samsung’s current device ecosystem. Through this partnership, brands and advertisers would have access to CTV inventory, as well as access to targeted audiences across Samsung TVs.

    “By partnering with Samsung Ads’ DSP, advertisers working with MiQ can target audiences against more data-driven insights through online programmatic channels,” said the statement. “The partnership comes at a time when digital media prepares to move away from cookie-based targeting.”

    This partnership allows MiQ to deterministically reach interest-based audiences as well as premium video inventory on Samsung TV Plus. Advertisers can understand and manage the campaign reach and frequency across linear TV and connected TV (CTV).

    “We are thrilled to partner with Samsung to be a trusted partner in helping advertisers to buy smarter, focussed, impactful solutions, enabling a superior return on their investment,” said MiQ MD Siddharth Dabhade. “We are constantly building innovative solutions to empower our clients with accurate data sets and intelligence. The opportunity to partner with Samsung Ads across its TV platforms provides us with an extraordinarily unique position in the market as we now have the ability to analyse the impact of current TV campaigns. We are confident of forging more such partnerships to help organisations extract optimum benefits from their advertising spend.”

    “We look forward to working closely with MiQ, a company known to combine industry knowledge with excellent technology and analytics solutions,” said Samsung DSP senior director India and Southeast Asia Prabhvir Sahmey. “Global brands can now have widespread reach across device platforms. It is now for the first time that along with MIQ; we are able to bring deep TV insights programmatically via the Samsung DSP.”

  • YouTube helps 83.3% Indians to discover new brands: Criteo Research

    YouTube helps 83.3% Indians to discover new brands: Criteo Research

    MUMBAI: The online shopping market in India holds tremendous potential as it has some of the largest consumer segments across each e-commerce category, and it is focused on innovation, research and development, making it one of the leading e-commerce markets in the world. Advertising and technological advancements have led to better personalised experiences as it allows the communication of hyper-personalised messages that resonate with the target customer. In light of this, Criteo, the advertising platform for the open Internet, unveiled the survey report titled ‘Why We Buy’. The survey was conducted across 10 countries, with over 10,000 respondents split almost evenly over all countries.  The report in respect of India highlights that 90 per cent of Indian consumers are willing to consider a new brand across all the shopping/product categories, which is the highest compared with consumers from the other countries surveyed.

    The report for India also throws light on various aspects such as brand values; more than one in four shoppers said they stopped shopping with a brand whose values weren’t aligned with their personal beliefs. Loyalty depends on more than just low prices- while respondents in the study did appreciate value for money, customer service was the most important consideration, followed by product selection and what the brand stands for. The report also gave us insights into how consumers discover brands, with omnichannel discovery on YouTube, Facebook and websites as the top channels – but they were far from being the only source. Relevance makes a difference: 66 per cent of Indians like that online ads can help them in discovering new products, while 57 per cent like online ads for reminding them of products they’re interested in, and 51 per cent like that online ads offer discounts for products.

    Sharing his thoughts on the outcomes from the report, Criteo India managing director Siddharth Dabhade said, “It has been phenomenal to witness the Indian consumer behaviour and we are glad to share this on a larger platform for the benefit of the Indian advertising industry which has evolved from being a small-scaled business to a full-fledged industry. It has been phenomenal to witness the advancements of technological innovation in advertising over the years. The shift of ad spending from traditional to digital media is happening at a rapid pace. The advertising and marketing sector in India is expected to enjoy a good run. Growth is expected in retail advertisement, on the back of factors such as several players entering the food and beverages segment, e-commerce gaining more popularity in the country, and domestic companies testing out the waters.”

    Other key insights revealed that 49.4 per cent of Indian survey participants stopped shopping from a brand that they were loyal to before because of poor customer service; 83.3 per cent said YouTube helps them most to discover new brands; 60.9 per cent would try a new brand for the first time because it provides a discount that is personalized and relevant, and this also appears to be the best way to gain customer loyalty; 44.4 per cent strongly agree that their purchasing decision is affected by a company’s mission/values; customer service is still key as it is the main reason for remaining with a brand (62.3 per cent), or for leaving if customer service is poor (49.4 per cent); consumers are least loyal to Groceries brands, and are most loyal to Jewelry & Luxury Goods.