MAM
Amagi’s Mix challenge
MUMBAI: “Small and medium enterprises that participate in TV advertising, can help broadcasters expand their revenues. While the combined media spends of 100 such SMEs would equate to the TV spends of one of heavyweights in the brand world, SMEs can contribute around 15 per cent of total advertising dollars in India, if trends in other markets are to be believed,” Amagi Media Labs co-founder Baskar Subramanian said.
Giving a fresh new twist to the line ‘anything can be bought online these days,’ Amagi recently launched the much-talked-about online media buying and planning platform Amagi Mix that aims to make media buying more inclusive for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the ever-growing start-up companies in India. While the service is currently available for only television buying, Amagi intends to expand it for other media as well.
A senior broadcasting professional and advertising industry expert, however, was skeptical of Amagi Mix calling it an “evaluation biz” that does not focus on profit-making. He did not think Amagi’s geo-targeting model was very successful either. He also doubted the broadcasters on board had a bulk inventory on sale on the platform.
But, Amagi Mix, as per Subramanian, is win-win initiative for both broadcasters and brands. On the one hand it allows brands with limited budget to access a national television broadcaster’s reach and customise it to reach its target audience. This is enabled by Amagi’s existing geo-targeting technology that allows a single ten second slot to be multiplied according to different regions, so that different advertisement plays on the same spot in different locations.
“TV goes national with the help of satellite signals – which could be DTH or cable – and these then come down to different headends in the country, which pipe the content to your homes. We intercept these signals in each of these headends in thousands of locations in the country. It allows us to change the content only for 10 or 30 secs of the ad slot. We buy one spot which then gets spliffed to different content at the headends,” Subramanian explained, adding that the broadcasters install it on Amagi’s behalf as part of their deal. Some of the networks that Amagi has partnered with for its geo-targeting service are ZEEL, Viacom18 group and Times Network.
“Since we are not competing with the big agencies, we are actually adding or expanding the advertising pie rather than eating away from it,” Subramanian added. It is good for broadcasters to have a variety of advertisers rather than few spenders, because if there is a cost cut in one, it adds more burden to the broadcaster.
Since going online, the platform has already attracted 5500 visitors, some even resulting in buys starting as Rs 25,000 to tens of lakhs. As per Subramanium, the ideal budget for an average SMEs should start at at least Rs 1 lakh to see the effectiveness of a campaign on Amagi Mix.
Given the restricted budget of the said advertisers, Amagi is also offering to create creative content for the ad spots in a cost-effective way. “We also create advertisements for those who don’t want to spend a bomb on making ads via big name creative agencies, some of them for as low as Rs 20,000. It is an add-on to our services that ties up well with the rest,” Subramanian informed.
As to how SMEs would embrace being hands-on with the complex work of buying the right TV media mix for themselves, Subramanian clarified that they have deliberately kept the website simple and easy to use. So far, Subramanian observed that Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi have emerged as strong markets where SMEs are interested in buying media online.
The idea was to leave the complex knowledge of media buying at the backend, while brands can concentrate on their simple marketing needs.
“The challenge,” Subramanian said, “is to grow the breadth of media options the SMEs have now. We want to ensure that Amagi Mix is the most trusted platform available to them so that these advertisers, who used to shy away from buying national TV ads thinking it’s too expensive, feel comfortable buying online. It’s not easy to spend lakhs of rupees on a faceless online transaction. Therefore, making ourselves the most trusted brand is very critical.”
To address this, Amagi has also launched a television commercial, titled ‘Yaari Yaari’ which has gone on-air across Amagi’s vast channel bouquet to educate TV audiences about the viability of the tool. The entire TVC has been scripted, conceptualized, financed, shot, produced and edited in-house at Amagi.
Amagi Mix works on an algorithm that extrapolates and processes historical data of successful campaigns from around 4000 brands to learn and take intelligent decisions for an advertiser using the service.
Currently the service offers an ad inventory of 70 national and regional channels, who are already partners with Amagi for its other services. “It’s at a nascent stage now so we don’t have clear figures but channels have come on board with some thousands of 10 seconders for now. We are aiming to broaden the width of channels as well to be more relevant to regional SMEs.”
About the kind of commissions Amagi expects from transactions online, Subramanian made it clear that currently they aren’t looking at making money right now. “We haven’t really planned the commissions yet. Our primary focus is to make Agami Mix the best place for SMEs to trade in media by making it really user friendly. We will figure out the economics of it once we have established Amagi Mix as the most trusted brand for being media online for SMEs.
He however affirmed that the company expects the platform to reach maturity in 18 months, post which it is expected to contribute 20 per cent of the agency’s overall business.
“We had to wait till online buying became more commonplace in the county. It took us two to three years to be ready with everything, in our wish to give a quality service. Especially for brands in the tier II and tier III cities who often complained about the lack of skills or access to the right media inventory for their campaign needs. Either relevant media agencies didn’t exist there or they didn’t have the heavy budget to deal with the media behemoths of the country,” Subramanium shared.
While media reports suggest that the company is looking to raise series D funding of $25 million, Subramanian stated that the company is adequately funded for the time being and looking to execute in three areas — smooth sailing of Amagi Mix in India expanding into online video business by providing targeted advertising solutions to broadcasters for streaming videos online, and growing its international base.
MAM
Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
