MAM
Hyundai Motor India collaborates with Red Bull for ‘Urban-Downhill’
Mumbai: Hyundai Motor India announced an exciting and adrenaline packed collaboration with Red Bull for the inaugural Red Bull Urban Downhill. Red Bull Urban downhill is a high-speed mountain biking event wherein athletes engage in a downhill adventure course with various obstacles and high jump ramps along the course. The event is set to take place in Aizwal, Mizoram, in March 2024. This marks the first collaboration between Hyundai Motor India and Red Bull in India, bringing together the dynamic worlds of automotive innovation and extreme sports.
Commenting on the announcement, Hyundai Motor India AVP & vertical head, marketing, Virat Khullar said, “This association is the perfect amalgamation of Hyundai Motor India’s outdoorsy spirit with Red Bull’s energetic spirit. This partnership aligns with a common cohort that is enthusiastic, fun loving and outgoing. On a path to creating benchmarks with a new age audience, I am confident that ‘Urban-Downhill’ will mark a new chapter in our exciting journey.”
Renowned as one of the elite performers in the mountain bike 4X discipline, Red Bull Athlete Tomáš Slavík boasts a string of world titles that affirm his status among the cycling elite. Sharing his excitement about the groundbreaking urban downhill project in Aizwal, Slavík said, “I am thrilled to have been part of the first-of-its-kind urban downhill project in Aizwal. Exploring challenging routes and breathtaking views during my time there was truly exhilarating. The content is tailor-made for the Indian audience, igniting the spirit of adventure and undoubtedly inspiring young bikers. I eagerly anticipate the response to this video.”
Smriti Mandhana, the left-handed batswoman living the dreams of every young Indian, applauds the collaboration between two of her favourite brands, Red Bull and Hyundai. Witnessing Tomas effortlessly executing tricks during his downhill descent, she said, “The collaboration between Hyundai and Red Bull marks an exciting journey into the world of adventure. I am thrilled to see the incredible feats captured in the documentary, showcasing how Tomas Slavík’s skills seamlessly blend with the spirit of adventure. It highlights the prowess of both brands in pushing the boundaries of exploration.” Hailing from the Sangli district in Maharashtra, this Red Bull Athlete, like most youngsters in India, grew up dreaming of donning the country’s cricket colours.
Red Bull Urban Downhill, an extreme mountain biking sport, is an event that has been organised across various countries and has garnered high engagement from audiences across the globe with majority engagement coming from India on digital platforms for the event. Recognizing the growing fan base for mountain biking, especially in the Northeast region of India, Hyundai and Red Bull are excited to introduce this thrilling sport to Indian enthusiasts. The event, titled “Red Bull Urban Downhill Tlang Ruam, Aizwal,” aims to act as a catalyst for the sport’s growth in India.
Hyundai and Red Bull’s commitment to nurture the local interest in extreme sports is evident through the engaging content created in collaboration with Tomas Slavik, a celebrated mountain biking professional and a UCI 4X World Champion. Thomas recently visited India and created an engaging documentary. An engaging companion on this journey for Thomas was Hyundai’s Venue N Line which brings together the perfect balance of motorsport inspired styling and technology that add thrill to every drive. The documentary along with action clips will be shared on various social media platforms to generate excitement leading up to the Red Bull Urban Downhill Tlang Ruam, Aizwal slated to happen in March 2024.
MAM
Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
