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Advertising Club announces the 2nd edition of India Digital Review: “D-CODE” presented by MX Player
MUMBAI: Digital marketing and engagement has now emerged as the staple in every brands marketing strategy. Fuelled by affordability, accessibility and data availability, digital is now the new mantra being leveraged by advertisers to build brands and businesses. After the phenomenal success of the first edition addressing the drivers of the tectonically shifting brand ecosystem, The Advertising Club has now announced the 2nd edition of D-CODE presented by MX Player and powered by Tik Tok Ads.
The last edition saw the best minds in digital, media and marketing come together to share insights and learning from the evolving digital ecosystems. The upcoming edition to be held on 7th August, 2019, 6.30 pm onwards @ Taj Lands End, Mumbai will continue to drive idea exchange with 12 Industry game changers showcasing best in class digital campaigns by their own brands and celebrating other inspiring digital campaigns, all in just 10 -minutes each. Each speaker showcase will include:
• One best work of theirs
• One best work by another brand
• 3 tips to crack the digital code
The first round of stalwarts confirmed to speak at D-CODE include
1. Bajaj Auto: Sumit Narang, Vice-President, Marketing – Moving the world as the 4th largest three and two-wheeler manufacturer
2. Bytedance (Tik Tok): Sachin Sharma, Director, Sales & Partnerships – Revolutionising short-form digital content
3. Corner Stone Sport and Entertainment: Jogesh Lulla, COO– Talent Management of many sporting icons like Virat Kohli.
4. Dentsu Webchutney: Sidharth Rao, CEO & Co-Founder – Category evangelist making India proud with a lion’s share of global laurels.
5. Facebook: Nirmal Pulickal, Head – Facebook Creative Shop – A beacon for brands to get the most from Facebook and Instagram’s social environment
6. Google: Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director, Google – Just ask Google!
7. Kolkata Knight Riders: Venky Mysore, MD and CEO – A franchise known for upping the cricketing game
8. MX Player: Karan Bedi, CEO – Leading holistic mobile entertainment experience in India
9. McCann Worldgroup: Partha Sinha, Vice Chairman and Managing Director – World leaders in creatively driving effective marketing services
10. Nestle: Rashi Goel, VP- Consumer Communication Media, CRM & NHW – Global leader in Food & Beverage
11. Swiggy: Srivats TS, VP Marketing – Driving the digital revolution in Foodtech
12. Kenny Sabastian: The multi-talented youth icon redefining entertainment
Speaking about the second edition of the review Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, media and OOH, Madison Communications & President, The Advertising Club said “Digital occupies a higher share of mind space of marketers than the share of spends. Partly because they are still trying to figure out how to unleash the true power of Digital. D-CODE is the most important calendar entry for these marketers, because it is the only forum where numerous Digital practitioners, will share their best work, someone else’s best works, and give their essence of learnings on what worked. Miss it at your own risk.”
Speaking about the need for a Digital Review, Aditya Swamy, Head, Agency Partnerships and Creative Services at Google & Managing Committee member, The Advertising Club said “Curating D-CODE with Punitha, we have looked to get views from all sides of the eco system. Publishers, marketers and agencies will put their work and the work of the industry under the scanner to tell you in a rapid-fire format the kind of work that truly makes the cut across creative, media and data. With over 500M users, digital is now truly mainstream and cracking the D-CODE is a huge opportunity to grow your brand and business.”
Punitha Arumugam, Digital evangelist and the Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club added “Similar to D-CODE last year, we are ensuring a speaker list that represents the vast and multifaceted dynamics of the online world. Our speakers this year once again include a mix of the established and emerging online publishers, a client list that spans the traditional advertisers to pure online commerce businesses, representation from the agency world , creators who have built their brands online and the speaker list would not of course have been complete without cricket given its dominating online presence this year . We hope at the end of D-CODE 2019, the 24 case studies and 36 tips from these 12 speakers over just 2 hours would provide great insights on how to use online for brands and business”
D-CODE, the Digital Review 2019 will reflect on the work presented by brands across digital platforms from April 2018-June 2019. The Review is slated to be presented on 7th August, 2019, 6.30pm onwards @ Taj Lands’ End, Mumbai
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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.
