The future is more about being media neutral: Navin Khemka

Shrugging off the disruptions of the year gone by, businesses and agencies are looking for a strong revival in 2021. Over the next few weeks, Adgully – as part of our annual TRENDING NOW endeavour – will be presenting the strategies and views of a cross-section of industry leaders as they go about reclaiming lost time and market opportunities and build for a stronger future, armed with the lessons of 2020.

Navin Khemka, CEO, MediaCom South Asia, sees digital growing at a faster pace than any other media. He further states that the industry needs to start planning for a connected world across all media.

Do you estimate digital advertising spends to outpace TV ad spend by next year?

Digital spends were the least impacted in the COVID-19 period. We expect these spends to continue to keep going north. In terms of the pace of growth digital will grow at a faster pace than any other media. This is led by digital adoption and e-commerce growth.

What are the business priorities in 2021 leading to adoption of digital media?

At Mediacom, we have been taking a media neutral approach across all our brands. Our key priority is to continue our focus on media neutral teams, digital certifications that are mandatory across all levels. This will eventually lead to a more holistic approach to all our media solutions that we recommend to our brands.

2020 led to a momentous shift in the way we function as a society. What is the learning for traditional media business to adapt for future uncertainties?

I would say the future is not about traditional and digital. It is more about being media neutral and understanding the consumer and the shift in media consumption. Video is still going to be the main stay and this could be either on TV or Mobile. All audience is going to get connected and we need to start planning for a connected world across all media.