MAM
Cholayil opts for ‘Power of One’ from Publicis Groupe
MUMBAI: Building on the outstanding success of its creative partnership with Leo Burnett India, Cholayil has now extended its entire integrated communications mandate to more Publicis Groupe agencies. It has now brought on-board Starcom India as its media agency while Digitas India has been appointed to manage the digital communications mandate for the entire product portfolio under Cholayil.
As part of the mandate, Starcom will manage strategy and media planning and buying across media platforms while Digitas will be providing a robust suite of digital marketing services for popular Cholayil brands such as Medimix, Cuticura, and Krishna Thulasi.
Leo Burnett India had won the creative mandate for Cholayil’s flagship brands Medimix, Cuticura and Krishna Thulasi for their entire product portfolio as also future launches. The business was won after a multi-agency pitch and is being led by Leo Burnett India’s Mumbai office.
Cholayil Pvt Ltd chairman and MD Pradeep Cholahil said, “Cholayil has strong equity and base in Ayurvedic and natural products and as we contemporize our offering further and reach out to newer segments, we needed a partner that leads in integrated communications play and leverages the power of data for engaging, personalised consumer experiences. Publicis Groupe with its ‘Power of One’ model and offering brings in new perspectives and future-facing capabilities. As we embark on our expansion plans, we look forward to benefiting from their experience and expertise.”
Cholayil Pvt Ltd head of marketing Ashish Ohlyan said, “Cholayil and Leo Burnett associated last year and together we delivered great results. Medimix, our flagship brand has grown at a significant pace in a sluggish market on the back of new repositioning. We strongly feel that if there is a synergy in the approach of all key stakeholders then it will benefit the brand exponentially. We look forward to the new collaboration to deliver stronger performance of the brand.”
Commenting on the new partnership and the Power of One offering on behalf of the Groupe, Leo Burnett, South Asia MD India and CSO Dheeraj Sinha said, “We have had a great relationship with Cholayil over the last year. I am hugely excited that this relationship is now turning into a full Power of One collaboration model with Digitas and Starcom coming on board along with Leo Burnett. We are confident that this will enable us to weave a seamless narrative for the brand across platforms to deliver on the business through a cross functional team. We are looking forward to creating some outstanding work for each of the Cholayil brands.”
On winning the media business, Starcom India CEO Rathi Gangappa said, “This is a prestigious win for us. We were able to demonstrate strong media value for Cholayil and with our Human Experience proposition, we look forward to helping them unlock newer, more contemporary consumer connections. Starcom will help them exceed their marketing objectives and remains committed to their growth and success.”
Adding further, Digitas India COO Sonia Khurana said, “The entire team at Digitas India is thrilled to partner with Cholayil. It's not everyday that one gets a chance to work with brands that have such a rich heritage. We are looking forward to providing digital solutions that will help Medimix, Cuticura and Krishna Thulasi connect with new age consumers to drive business growth.”
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.
