MAM
GUEST COLUMN: How talent agencies bridge gaps between brands and celebrities
Mumbai: Celebrity endorsements saw a 44 per cent rise in 2021 as opposed to 2020, according to the data released by AdEx India, a division of TAM Media Research. As per the report, 27 per cent of the overall ad volume share on TV were celebrity endorsements last year while the remaining 73 per cent were non-celebrities ads. Of this, film stars together added more than 80 per cent share of advertising during 2021 followed by sports persons and TV stars that added 13 per cent and three per cent share respectively.
Balancing the interests of a brand and a celebrity can be challenging to such a large extent that sometimes a collaboration that may on paper look most organic would not necessarily materialise. This is where the expertise of the agencies comes into play to bridge the gap between the brand and the celebrity. Whilst there is no right answer to this or not even a straight answer to this question, the right approach is to break down the questions: what is the brand looking for, and which celebrity is currently best aligned with this ideology? In simple words how do they both benefit from this association?
There are various factors to consider in a proposition like this that lead to a successful collaboration ranging from price points to organic compatibility to rebranding and both the brand and the celebrity need to be dealt with sensitively on each point.
The biggest advantage today is that brands have understood that there is no standardised price point in today’s dynamic entertainment landscape. Each deal has different deliverables and hence standard prices will never work. The biggest reason why standard prices will not work is the ever-changing brand equity of an artist. The artist should have the liberty to change their price points as and when they want. And honestly, brands understand this aspect as for them also it’s all about ROI – so they know before investing what is the worth of the celebrity they are signing.
Endorsements are also becoming extremely dynamic, it is not only limited to ambassadors or large advertising campaigns but are changing their landscape with the influx of time spend on social media. Ecom-media/ent/social media as a category saw the maximum celebrity from different profession endorsed brands under it. The category ran ads featuring over 44 celebrities. This was followed by ecom-gaming with 40 celebrities. Edible oil and building materials/systems category tied at the third place with 25 celebrities while aerated soft drink claimed the fifth spot with 20 celebrities under its belt as per the TAM report.
The process will always remain the same, the core concept behind any deal will usually never differ. The only difference would be turnaround times between the ranges of celebrities when we close our campaigns and the price points that would depend on the brand equity that they bring to the table; the higher the brand equity of the celebrity, the higher the price point. This is in no way a reflection of their importance for the deal or the brand but simply to find the perfect fit for the brief. They all have a role to play – it’s just the reach and popularity that play a huge role in determining prices.
Having said this, every endorsement deal starts with the basics, there is no set formula or standard brief to attach the right celebrity to the brand and its message and ethos. Transparency on all fronts is key in making sure that neither the brand nor the celebrity gets the shorter end of the stick, be it from what each party needs and wants and trying not to compromise but understanding the brief so well that everyone wins. An honest conversation with both parties will always get the job done.
(About Author: Sonya V Kapoor and Amrita Mendonza are M5 Entertainment founders)
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
