MAM
POKKT announces the launch of a first-of-its kind technology revolutionizing ad-viewing for brands and consumers
Mumbai: POKKT, Asia’s leading rewarded video ad network co-founded by Rohit Sharma, Manish Tewari and Vaibhav Odhekar, is creating and setting industry benchmarks again with the launch of their cutting edge technology that promises to transform the functioning of the ad-tech industry. With this in-house technology, a first of its kind in the region, brands will be able to pay only for viewable impressions through tracking sensors in real time that will observe if the user is watching the video or not, thereby negating misleading or fraud traffic numbers.
Launched in 2012, POKKT enables over 500 global and local game publishers and developers to monetize their apps through branded video ads by integrating their Software Development Kits (SDKs) and has a reach of over 100 million unique users in the region.
While ensuring 100% viewership of all in-app mobile video ad campaigns, POKKT’s new technology also aligns to the Media Rating Council’s* guidelines for measurement of in-app viewable impressions. It applies to all in-app video ads bought directly or via private programmatic deals.
This technology aims to do away with the current ad-tech and mobile video advertising industry challenges related to ad blocking and fraud traffic. Ensuring 100% viewership is an important Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for POKKT to re-innovate mobile advertising by providing top notch ads and measurements that advertisers can understand.
Speaking about their latest innovation, Manish Tewari, CTO & Co-Founder, POKKT said, “The ad tech and mobile industry had been facing a major roadblock in measuring effectiveness of their campaigns and its exact reach. To resolve this for all of our clients, we have developed this technology wherein the advertisers and we can measure whether the target is actually watching the video through tracking sensors which provides us with data such as if there is a change in the angle at which the video is being watched etc. If the sensors indicate that the person is not watching the video, we pause the ad, thereby reducing fraud traffic numbers.”
POKKT’s new proprietary technology will give all campaigns and advertisers the most comprehensive viewership offering possible. Advertisers will only have to pay on viewable impressions that are calculated on a CPM-basis (Cost per thousand impressions) verified by an independent third party ad rating tools like Nielsen, Moat, Comscore.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
