MAM
Aaren Initiative bags Tata Indicom’s MP & Chattisgargh circles
MUMBAI: Aaren Initiative, the outdoors arm of Lintas India’s Integrated Marketing Action Group, has clinched the outdoor business of Tata Indicom’s Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh circles. Aaren Initiative earlier this year also won the Tamil Nadu circle.
Tata Indicom is is amongst the largest out-of-home advertisers in India. Other agencies in the fray were RMG David and Prime Time; the latter being the incumbent.
Tata Indicom officials confirmed the development to Indiantelevision.com, stating that the first phase of activity would involve a one month focussed tactical campaign. The competitiors in the MP & Chattisgarh circle being Reliance, Idea and Airtel.
Aaren Initiative managing director and IMAG director Ashish Bhasin states,”We won the account as we focussed on innovation as well as due to the Aaren initiative of transparency, better rates and better planning.”
Bhasin further added that Aaren Initiative would be looking at very high levels of service, speed of response and innovations to add value to Tata Indicom in MP & Chattisgarh. “The investments Aaren Initiative has made in professionalising the outdoor industry and introducing planning softwares like AiPT and AiMS for the first time in India, is now standing us in good stead.”
The brief from Tata Indicom is very clear – To ensure high impact visibility and be cutting edge in these circles. The overall Tata indicom account is pegged at Rs 300 million.
AiMS (Aaren Initiative Media System) is a proprietary planning tool developed by Aaren Initiative that claims to provides error free and efficient operations in the outdoor field.
AiPT, another proprietary planning tool, lists more than 9,000 out of home options in nine cities, along with different angles of photographs, access maps and a unique rating system and visibility score.
In 2005, Aaren Initiative has expanded its operations to handle out of home operations in more than 126 cities and towns, for blue chip clients like LG CDMA, Pantaloons, Big Bazar, Mont Blanc, Motul Lubricants, The Hindu, Bilt, Thai Airways Sutherlands, CNBC Group, Indus League and Dena Bank, to name a few.
Aaren Initiative is a member of Lintas India’s Integrated Marketing Action Group which also has Linterland (Rural), dCell (Strategic Design), Lin Opinion (PR), Advent (Events), Lintas Personal (CRM & Direct Marketing), Lintertainment (Entertainment Marketing) and Lintas Healthcare as its members.
MAM
Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
