MAM
10 digital evangelists decode the digital mantra at The Advertising Club’s third edition of D:CODE
Mumbai: Leaders from different digital domains, spanning publishers, marketers, new age digital companies, and creative and media agencies, gathered on 26 August at The Advertising Club’s third edition of D-CODE: The Annual Digital Review 2022 in Mumbai.
The evening kicked off with tech professional turned stand-up comic turned compere for D-CODE 2022, Anshu Mor, who welcomed the attendees with a humorous anecdote narrating his real-life resignation story.
Welcoming the attendees, The Advertising Club president Partha Sinha, emphasised how digital has become a game-changing medium for brands over the course of the last 10–15 years.
Dentsu Creative CEO Amit Wadhwa kicked off the event as the first speaker, showcasing two case studies – ‘The Protest March’ and ‘Back Up Ukraine’—and prodded the audience to remember that we are still about people.
S4 Capital CEO – APAC Michel de Rijk presented the Tata Tea example done for Independence Day and emphasised how the integration of data and content with technology enables agencies to create high-quality content overnight in just their own studio.
ONDC chief business officer Shireesh Joshi articulated the vision and implications of the ONDC initiative for sellers, buyers, and every component and process along the e-commerce chain.
Shedding light on the power of targeting and geolocation insights in campaigns, Jio Ads CEO Gulshan Verma enlightened the audience on the scale and solutions offered by JioAds.
Talented founder P G Aditiya took the audience through the 55 steps that were involved in creating the Cannes 2022 Grand Prix winner, “The Unfiltered History Tour,” and emphasised the benefits of a long client-agency relationship in creating path-breaking campaigns.
Following this was Disney+ Hotstar executive VP and CMO Sidharth Shakdher, who shared his thoughts on reversing the narrative of digital driving people apart by building a better consumer experience.
YouTube India head of consumer marketing Mansha Tandon, spoke about shaping creativity with culture and trends in the digital space.
Speaking next was luxury & lifestyle influencer Rizwan Bachav, who walked the audience through his journey, learning, and challenges in becoming an influencer.
Sharing thoughts on how creativity can build brands, Starcom CEO Rathi Gangappa emphasised the need of being human in the age of digital transformation.
Concluding the review, Meta marketing director Avinash Pant spoke about the evolution of social connections and the exponentially growing metaverse space empowering meaningful experiences.
Addressing the evolving digital ecosystem at the third edition of D:CODE, Sinha said, “Digital marketing has gone on to become a game-changing phenomenon and the Advertising Club’s D:CODE is a testimony to our persistent efforts to create awareness and enhance the learning curve of the fraternity with insights and takeaways from the industry’s best digital minds. D:CODE has witnessed great case studies that have worked beyond the boardroom. As we move forward in this ever-evolving and competitive digital era, D-CODE will continue to become a significant platform with case studies that give profound experiences, transforming the way brand custodians especially approach their digital.”
At the third edition of The Advertising Club’s annual digital review, the 10 digital evangelists from the advertising and marketing fraternity shared key takeaways that brands and their digital custodians can make use of.
MAM
Lessons from global media markets on building enduring content franchises
Rose Audio Visuals COO and CFO Mitesh Patel.
MUMBAI: The global media landscape has undergone a fundamental shift. Success today is no longer defined by a single hit show. It is defined by the ability to build intellectual property (IP) that travels, evolves, and compounds over time.
At Rose Audio Visuals, this shift is central to how we think about content pitching and creation. We are no longer in the business of just making shows. We are in the business of building IP ecosystems.
From Hits to Franchises
Globally, the most successful content is designed to extend beyond its first outing. It travels across: Seasons, Platforms (TV → OTT → Digital), Formats (series → spin-offs) Shows like Stranger Things and Money Heist are not just successful series they are multi-layered franchises with global recall, fan engagement, and long-term monetisation. The key learning is simple: If content cannot scale beyond one season or one platform, it remains a project not a franchise.
Local Stories, Global Impact
One of the most powerful global trends is the rise of culturally rooted storytelling. Platforms today reward local authenticity combined with universal emotion. Stories that are deeply regional are no longer limited by geography they are amplified by it. Consider the global impact of Squid Game or India’s own Sacred Games. The takeaway is clear: The more authentic the story, the greater its potential to travel if the emotion resonates universally.
Monetisation Begins After the First Window
A critical global learning is that the true value of content is not realised at launch, it is realised over time.
Strong franchises unlock multiple revenue streams: Licensing, International remakes, Brand integrations, Digital extensions , Events and immersive experiences
Global players like The Walt Disney Company have mastered this approach, turning content into long-term ecosystems that extend far beyond the screen.
The first window is just the beginning. The real value lies in what follows.
At Rose Audio Visuals, we increasingly evaluate projects not just on commissioning value, but on their long-term franchise potential.
The Rise of Creator-Led Franchises
An important global shift is the emergence of creator-led IP ecosystems.
Creators today are not just content producers they are building full-scale franchises across platforms, formats, and businesses.
A powerful example is MrBeast. What started as YouTube videos has evolved into: Multiple content formats, Global audience scale , Brand extensions and businesses, High-impact experiential content This is a fundamentally different model digital-first, audience-owned, and infinitely scalable.
This model is still in its early stages in Indian but it represents a massive opportunity.
The next wave of Indian content franchises may not come from traditional studios alone but from creators who think like media companies.
Balancing Data with Creative Instinct
Streaming platforms today are deeply data-driven. Data helps Identify emerging genres, Predict audience behaviour , Inform commissioning decisions However, global experience shows that data alone does not create hits. Data informs scale, but storytelling creates impact.
Talent is the Foundation of Franchises
Enduring franchises are rarely accidental they are built through long-term creative partnerships. Globally, there is a clear focus on nurturing Actors, Writter, Show runner and director. Franchises are not built on scripts alone they are built on creators. This is an area where we continue to invest deeply building long-term relationships with talent rather than project-based collaborations.
Multi-Platform Thinking from Day One
Content consumption today is inherently multi-platform. A successful show must be designed not just for its primary platform, but for: Short-form extensions, Social media amplification, Digital-first engagement. Every show today needs a second life beyond its original format.
India: A Market at an Inflection Point
India today stands at a unique moment in its content journey.
We are seeing significant opportunity in Regional markets (Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and others) Emerging formats such as micro-dramas, Scalable, franchise-driven fiction IP
India does not lack stories. What we have historically lacked is structured franchise thinking something that is now beginning to evolve.
The Way Forward
The biggest lesson from global markets is this: The future belongs to companies that do not chase hits, but systematically build franchises. Because while hits may deliver immediate success, franchises create long-term value, recall, and compounding growth.
At Rose Audio Visuals, this belief shapes how we develop, greenlight, and scale content across platforms.
For content companies today, the question is no longer “Will this show work?” It is: “Can this become a franchise?”
A Personal Note
Having worked across content, business, and strategy, one thing has become increasingly clear to me, the most valuable companies in our industry will not be those that create the most content, but those that create content that endures.
Building a franchise requires patience, conviction, and a long-term lens something that the industry is only now beginning to fully embrace.As we continue this journey at Rose Audio Visuals, our focus remains simple: to move from volume-driven creation to value-driven storytelling. Because in the end, stories may start conversations but franchises build legacies.
