MAM
Inshorts curates interactive campaign for ‘Bard of Blood’
MUMBAI: Advocating that creative content in today’s time cannot be restricted to only text, English news app Inshorts has created a first-of-its-kind interactive campaign for the recently launched Netflix original ‘Bard of Blood’.
The interactive campaign is designed to intrigue the audience to engage with the content and further hook the users to the brand story. The innovative ad is designed to tell the users a story in an interactive format in short snippets activated on user actions. Starring popular actors including Emraan Hashmi, Shobhita Dhulipala, and Vineet Kumar Singh in the lead roles, the innovation is appropriately able to capitalise on aspects of the series and create intrigue which would have been hard for any other media or format.
Inshorts national sales head Piyush Thakur asaid, “The six-inch screen today allows for ample experimentation to create ad formats and innovations that are non-intrusive, interactive, and easy to follow for the user. We have seen high engagement on such formats, which makes us believe in utilising the combined power of vertical, video, and interactive to create a new paradigm in advertising on the small screen.”
With a large pool of content available on the internet, consumers today are spoilt for choice and it takes a flicker of a second to lose the interest of the audience. Thus, it has become crucial for marketers to choose the right ad format to engage the users and get the most value out of their advertising spend. Inshorts being the leader in the short form content space has effectively catered to the changing online behaviours by consistently investing in Ad-tech and thus offering novel and customised ad solutions to brands.
With the primary focus on creativity and innovation, Inshorts has marked a dent in the advertising space with its engaging ad formats like – motion story, digital magazine, and vertical videos.
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.
