MAM
Social Panga on boards Indrayudh Mitra & Archana Sudarsan; bolsters creative leadership
Mumbai: Integrated digital marketing agency, Social Panga has further strengthened its creative team. The agency, founded by Gaurav Arora and Himanshu Arora, has appointed Indrayudh Mitra as senior creative director & Archana Sudarsan as creative director.
Mitra comes on board with a vast experience of 15 years in the sector and has worked with agencies such as RK Swamy BBDO, Grey, Ogilvy, and Mudra. He has engaged with brands like Nokia, Vodafone, Marico, Dish TV, etc. In his new role at Social Panga, he will be leading brand engagements with an integrated mandate involving BTL, digital & films too.
Sudarsan brings in her experience of about more than 14 years of working with leading brands like Airtel, Honda, Toshiba, Canon, Philips, Medanta, Network 18, Adidas & many more. Prior to joining Social Panga, she worked with agencies like Ogilvy, Taproot Dentsu & few more. At Social Panga she will be leading a creative team to focus upon creative strategy, brand positioning & ad films.
Commenting on the appointments, Social Panga co-founder Gaurav Arora said, “As we move forward to be a solution-driven, integrated advertising agency, we are excited to have Indra and Archana onboard who will play a crucial role in strengthening our creative team. Their role and contributions will play an integral part in our growth story over the coming years.”
“We focus upon creative business solutions and how we can positively impact the brand. Digital or BTL is just a channel to reach out to the audience, our core will always remain the creative solutions, he further added.
On joining Social Panga, Indrayudh Mitra stated, “After spending more than a decade in mainline, I have embarked on an integrated brand journey with Social Panga. I’m sure it will be an enriching and exciting ride.”
Archana Sudarsan commented, “It’s very exciting to be a part of a set-up like Social Panga. The whole idea of being the solutions people have kept advertising interesting for me and to find myself in a place with the same mindset opens a lot of avenues. What makes my role envious is a great team of enthusiastic and proactive, creative people focused to deliver business results.”
MAM
Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
