AD Agencies
Zee melt, largest convention forming synergies between mar-comm-tech is back with its 4th edition
ZEE MELT, a pioneering convention forming the cross-pollination of creativity, marketing, communication, technology and digital space since its inception has announced the 4th edition to take place on 30th and 31st May, 2018. The two-day festival will be held at NSCI, Mumbai and features an impressive line-up of keynote speakers, who have established themselves as disruptors and creative thinkers in the global marketing arena.
The speakers include:
· Chuck Porter: Co-Founder & Chairman, CP&B. An American advertising executive, marketer and author
· Fernando Machado: Head of Brand Marketing, Burger King. A global marketer with a passion for growing brands and businesses. Burger King became ‘Client of the Year’ at the D&AD in 2016 and Creative Marketer of the Year in Cannes 2017 under his leadership
· Tom Fishburne: Chief Marketoonist. A veteran marketer and cartoonist.The brainchild behind combining content marketing with a sense of humour
· Tom Goodwin: Executive Vice President and head of innovation, Zenith Media. A self-established marketing provocateur and commentator on the future of marketing and business
· AnindyaGhose: Prof. of Information, Operations & Mgmt. Sciences, Leonard N. Stern School of Business. The youngest ever recipient of the prestigious INFORMS ISS Distinguished Fellow Award
· Mark Shayler: Autho. A public speaker, trainer, a founding partner of the Do Lectures and runs Do Workshops. He also helps run Good for Nothing – a collaborative group that deliver design and strategy work for good causes, for nothing.
· Matthew Quint – Director, Center on Global Brand Leadership – Columbia Business School. Co-producer of the acclaimed BRITE Conference which brings together big thinkers from industry and academia to discuss how innovation and technology help build strong brands.
Speaking about Zee Melt 2018, Kyoorius, Founder and CEO, Rajesh Kejriwal said, “Zee Melt continues to march forward with its focus on bringing the biggest and the creative minds together on one platform and change the way marketing is perceived. Year after year, we look forward to unfold a highly-energized and knowledge driven convention. Having such notable speakers on-board for the sessions fortifies this objective and we are certain this edition will add immense value to all the attendees.”
Over the years Zee Melt has been an all-encompassing arena of 150+ speakers, 280+ sessions, 6000+ delegates and 100+ partners. The convention this year too will be an insightful hub that reverberates with powerful, resourceful ideas, striking content and creativity across keynote sessions, speaker presentations, panel discussions, seminars, workshops and an exhibition.
AD Agencies
AdTrust Summit 2026 to examine trust, AI and Gen Alpha in advertising
Two-day summit in Mumbai to explore ethics, regulation and the future of advertising trust
MUMBAI: At a time when advertising is navigating a delicate trust deficit, the Advertising Standards Council of India is preparing to bring the industry to the table. On 17 and 18 March, the body will host the inaugural AdTrust Summit 2026 in Mumbai, a two-day gathering designed to spark conversation around responsibility, regulation and credibility in modern advertising.
The summit, to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex, will bring together leaders from advertising, media, technology and policy to examine how brands can build trust in a marketplace increasingly shaped by algorithms, influencers and artificial intelligence.
In an age of deepfakes, dark patterns and blurred lines between content and commerce, the question is no longer just how brands capture attention, but whether audiences believe what they see. The AdTrust Summit aims to unpack that challenge.
Day one will turn its attention to the youngest digital natives. Titled Decoding Gen Alpha, the session will unveil ‘What the Sigma?’, a study by ASCI and Futurebrands Consulting that explores how children growing up in a hyper-digital environment encounter advertising and commercial messaging.
The report presentation will be delivered by Santosh Desai, founder and director at Think9 Consumer Technologies and a social commentator known for his insights into consumer behaviour. The discussion that follows will attempt to decode how Gen Alpha consumes media, interacts with brands and navigates the growing overlap between entertainment and marketing.
In a move that mirrors the subject itself, two Gen Alpha students will also join the conversation, offering a rare perspective from the generation advertisers are trying to understand.
The second panel of the day will shift the focus from observation to implication, asking what the report’s findings mean for brands, agencies and society. Speakers include Karthik Srinivasan, communications strategy consultant; Preeti Vyas, president at Mythik; and Abigail Dias, associate president planning at Ogilvy. The session will be moderated by Sonali Krishna, editor at ET Brand Equity.
Day two moves from insight to regulation. Under the theme From Compliance to Trust, ASCI will release its Ad Law Compendium, a comprehensive guide to India’s advertising regulations.
The day will open with a keynote by Sudhanshu Vats, chairman at ASCI and managing director at Pidilite Industries, followed by a chief guest address by Sanjay Jaju, secretary at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Legal experts from Khaitan & Co., including Haigreve Khaitan, senior partner, and Tanu Banerjee, partner, will present an overview of the current advertising law landscape in India and examine whether existing frameworks are equipped to deal with emerging technologies and formats.
Subsequent panels will explore issues increasingly shaping the industry’s ethical compass. Conversations will range from the limits of persuasive design and the rise of dark patterns, to the growing scrutiny brands face from digital creators and consumer watchdogs.
One session will also feature Revant Himatsingka, widely known online as the Food Pharmer, whose critiques of packaged food brands have sparked debate around transparency and corporate accountability.
Later discussions will turn toward media literacy among Gen Alpha, asking how children can be equipped to navigate a digital world where gaming, content and commerce are becoming indistinguishable.
The summit will conclude with a final panel on the future of advertising, bringing together voices from agencies, legal circles and technology platforms to discuss how innovation, intelligence and integrity can coexist.
For an industry built on persuasion, trust has always been its quiet currency. But as audiences grow more sceptical and digital ecosystems more complex, that currency is under pressure.
Events like the AdTrust Summit suggest the advertising world knows it cannot afford to take credibility for granted. The real challenge now is turning conversation into commitment.
