ad:tech 2018 wraps up with focus on Next Gen technology in Post Advertising Era

The 2018 edition of ad:tech New Delhi, the biggest gallery of advertising and marketing community in the country, concluded its 8th edition of Digital Marketing & Advertising Conference & Exhibition in India, which was held at The Leela Ambience Hotel, Gurugram. ad:tech 2018 delivered two action packed days with more than 90 companies from across the Globe including Google, Adobe, PepsiCo, Future Group, Nestle, Philips, and Oath, among others, who actively participated. Ad tech also witnessed advertising agencies, publishers and international players from Japan, China, Israel, Russia, US who showcased and discussed the technological innovations in the post advertising era. 

The Keynote session on Day 2 talked about amalgamation of Automation and Human Experiences. Perhaps more than any other industries, marketing has been completely disrupted by technology. Marketers work tirelessly to track customers on their journey across new devices and platforms, and are looking to new and ever-evolving technologies to streamline the process. Prominent keynote speaker Sapna Chadha, Head of Marketing India and Sea, Google, said “The biggest challenge today is the pace at which digital marketing is evolving in India is much faster than the architecture in place to support their creativity.” Rashi Goel, Head of Consumer Communications, Nestle, shared her views on the topic stating that “The perfect balance between DATA and IDEA is of paramount importance for brands.” 

David Shing, VP and Digital Prophet, Oath, in his keynote session on ‘Innovation is out, Invention is in’, stated that “Today it’s all about packaging! To adopt a new habit we need to break one”. Shing further added, “Creativity should reflect culture. Leveraging data is important. Without data there can’t be creativity and vice versa.” 

Elated on the successful closure of 2018, Jaswant Singh, Country MD at Comexposium India, said, “We are overwhelmed with the phenomenal response we have received for ad:tech this year. It is important for us to be relevant and to ensure that the platform brings latest trends and innovation for the industry to the forefront.” 

He added, “We are excited to see ourselves grow over these 8 years and plan to amplify our presence further in the Indian market with the launch of ad:tech Mumbai in November 2018.” 

Santosh Desai, Managing Director & CEO, Futurebrands, in his keynote session on ‘Towards A Digital Society’ stated that, “People experience themselves as individuals on a minute-by-minute basis – liking, clicking, muting. Digital is helping individuals crystallize their sense of self and re-conceptualise their relationship with the world.” 

The Next Big Thing Challenge 

GetVidAI walked away with the coveted ‘The Next Big Thing’ (TNBT) title along with a fully funded pilot project with Nestlé. TNBT Challenge is a global initiative of Nestle in association with ad:tech with the aim to build a platform that brings entrepreneurs and marketing leaders together and kick start collaborations. This proves to be a great platform for start-ups to prove their mettle by showcasing their indigenous ideas in front of Nestlé and digital media professionals. 

Commenting on TNBT, Jaswant Singh said, “We are very pleased to provide this platform to budding entrepreneurs. We strongly believe that The Next Big Thing Challenge is a great platform for start-ups to push the whole start-up ecosystem.” 

The final day saw sessions on automation, innovation, integrating AI, machine learning and building brands the Indian way by renowned brands like Nestle, Google, Oath, Philips, and Hero Motor Corp, among others.