MAM
Deepraj Hegde joins Publicis Groupe as SVP, strategic solutions
Data-led marketer takes on growth mandate, blending analytics and creativity
MUMBAI: Deepraj Hegde has joined Publicis Groupe as senior vice president, strategic solutions, marking a return to the fast lane after a brief career break.
In his new role, Hegde will be tasked with driving strategic growth, sharpening data-driven marketing capabilities, and deepening client partnerships across the organisation. His mandate centres on blending analytics, consumer insight and digital innovation to deliver measurable business outcomes in an increasingly competitive landscape.
“Thrilled to join Publicis Groupe as senior vice president, strategic solutions. Looking forward to working with brilliant people as we turn data, creativity, and strategy into measurable outcomes. Let’s make great work together,” Hegde said in a statement.
Hegde brings over a decade of experience across data, analytics and digital strategy. Most recently, he served as chief strategy officer at Ethinos, where he led strategic frameworks to drive client acquisition and revenue growth, while also building proprietary tools such as a brand positioning study and a digital asset valuator. He also represented the company at industry forums hosted by Google and Meta.
Prior to that, he was head of customer success and consumer insights at Ethinos, and earlier spent over six years at MediaCom, where he worked across roles including senior business director and business director, insights and analytics. There, he focused on social intelligence, business intelligence solutions and data-led campaign optimisation.
His career also includes stints at Everymedia Technologies as VP strategy and analytics, and at Hansa Cequity, where he handled analytics, campaign strategy and client delivery for major accounts. He began his journey in business intelligence roles at Hungama and Robust Designs.
With a career rooted in data but shaped by creativity, Hegde’s move signals Publicis Groupe’s continued push to fuse insight with impact as brands chase sharper, faster and more accountable marketing outcomes.
MAM
GUEST COLUMN: How data and adtech are driving OOH growth in India
Data and technology are reshaping OOH and boosting advertiser confidence.
MUMBAI: Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising is evolving from a traditional, location-driven medium into a data-informed channel that blends physical presence with digital intelligence. For Nipun Arora, co-founder of Osmo, this transformation is redefining how advertisers plan, execute, and measure campaigns in India. In this piece, Arora explores how traffic, mobility, and AI-powered data are enhancing site and audience insights, why DOOH is accelerating precision planning, and how authenticity, creativity, and repeat exposure are driving renewed advertiser confidence in OOH.
For years, Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising operated with minimal reliance on data. Site selection was largely driven by visibility, location, and a planner’s understanding of traffic patterns.
That is now changing rapidly.
The first shift came with traffic data, offering basic estimates of vehicular movement. This evolved into mobility data powered by GPS signals, enabling deeper insights into audience movement and behavior. Point-of-interest data further refined this by helping advertisers understand who is likely to be present around a location.
Today, artificial intelligence and computer vision are unlocking an entirely new layer of site and audience intelligence. Together, these data streams are transforming OOH from a real estate-led medium into a data-backed one.
The rise of Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) is accelerating this shift. Campaigns can now be planned, scheduled, and optimized with increasing precision bringing OOH closer to an adtech model. That said, as a physical medium, OOH still operates within real-world constraints, making this transition gradual rather than absolute.
At the same time, advertisers are returning to OOH with renewed interest.
One of the biggest drivers is authenticity. Unlike digital platforms, OOH offers real-world visibility free from bots, fraudulent impressions, or ad blockers. What you see is what exists.
There’s also growing digital fatigue. Consumers are overwhelmed by constant online advertising, often choosing to skip or ignore it. OOH, by contrast, engages audiences naturally within their environment, without interruption.
Mobility further strengthens its impact. As people move through cities daily, OOH benefits from repeated exposure building recall over time in a way few channels can match.
Add to this the power of creativity. Large formats and contextual executions don’t just capture attention, they often extend beyond the physical space, finding life on social media.
Finally, the increasing availability of data at the planning stage is boosting advertiser confidence. Better insights mean better decisions and more accountability.
As cities grow and movement increases, OOH is uniquely positioned at the intersection of physical presence and data intelligence. Its evolution from billboards to big data isn’t just a technological shift, it’s a redefinition of the medium itself.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
